In case you’re a reader of a sure age, there’s an opportunity you grew up watching “Boy Meets World.” The approaching-of-age comedy lasted for seven seasons, and audiences have been capable of watch Cory and Eric Matthews, Shawn Hunter, Topanga Lawrence, and Angela Moore transition from childhood into maturity, all underneath the watchful eye of their parental figures and their collective mentor, Mr. Feeny. Years after the present’s finish, “Boy Meets World” returned for a brand new technology as “Lady Meets World,” specializing in the daughter of Cory and Topanga, Riley, and her mischievous pal Maya Hart, performed by pop sensation Sabrina Carpenter. The reignited love of the collection impressed the iHeartPodcasts community to launch “Pod Meets World,” a retrospective collection the place the present’s stars Danielle Fishel (Topanga Lawrence/Matthews), Will Friedle (Eric Matthews), and Rider Sturdy (Shawn Hunter) revisit every episode.
The trio is commonly on the conference circuit collectively as nicely, which permits followers to listen to concerning the private lives of the actors chargeable for bringing to life a few of their most formative TV favorites. It is also an effective way to listen to behind-the-scenes tales, gossip, and private emotions concerning the present in spite of everything these years. For instance, in a 2023 episode of the podcast, Rider Sturdy passionately confessed that the season 3 episode “Practice of Fools” is his least favourite episode of the complete collection. With 158 episodes to select from, that is a reasonably enormous dishonor to tack on the episode.
“I believe that is fingers down the worst episode of ‘Boy Meets World,’ sorry to anyone who liked it,” Sturdy mentioned. “There are episodes that I do not like for, you realize, I disagree with the way in which the characters are behaving however this is rather like … I simply assume that is type of a nasty episode like performance-wise, story-wise,” he continued. “It even type of seems bizarre to me. Like there’s, no, like nothing about this episode labored for me…”
However is the episode actually that dangerous? I gave it a rewatch to search out out for myself.
Boy Meets World does New 12 months’s Eve on the subway
“Practice of Fools” is a New 12 months’s Eve episode concerning the first time Cory and Eric are allowed to have fun the vacation away from their mother and father. Eric has a date with supermodel Rebecca-Alexa, Cory cannot wait to kiss Topanga at midnight, and Shawn is worked up to go to a cool celebration with all of them. Sadly, after Cory sends away the final cab within the metropolis fearing that the motive force is an imposter who’s going to drive them to a secluded space and reduce out their livers (at all times residing in actuality, that Cory Matthews), the group decides to take the subway, which breaks down en-route.
It is undoubtedly a sillier episode of an admittedly foolish present, but it surely’s additionally a bit cringe in its humorousness. That is the period the place Eric turns into fairly unlikable and returns to his season 1 shallowness, as Rebecca-Alexa is completely content material with hanging out on the Matthews’ residence however Eric insists on “being seen” collectively on the celebration, which acquired all of them into the mess within the first place. Shawn does not have a complete lot to do aside from pop out and in of practice automobiles with information of bizarre happenings with different folks off-screen, whereas Topanga and Cory in some way generate props and meals for an NYE celebration primarily based on provides different passengers have in different automobiles. It is best not to consider the logic of how they pulled off appetizers and celebration hats. There’s additionally a subplot with Turner and Eli — two lecturers (one among whom is Shawn’s guardian) — and a bunch of Turner’s exes displaying as much as speak and ruining their “boys solely” NYE plans that … does not have to be there.
However the absolute worst a part of the episode is the situational humor of the white “Boy Meets World” youngsters being thrust into the seedy underbelly of *gasp* PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION! that basically drags the episode down. It isn’t honest to guage the social norms of a piece by way of a up to date lens, but it surely does not make watching all of them not perceive a Black teenager saying “Parrr-tayyy” as “celebration” any much less embarrassing. So is it the worst episode of “Boy Meets World” ever? That is up for debate, however I would not rule it out.