By Emily Sullivan
Opinion Editor
Cory, Shawn, Topanga, Eric and Mr. Feeny.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say these five characters of “Boy Meets World” helped me through a lot in my life. They made me laugh with all of their silly antics and by the end of the episode I had learned a lesson…usually because of Mr. Feeny.
At first the idea of the sequel show ‘Girl Meets World’ didn’t sit well with me. I immediately cringed when I heard that ‘Girl Meets World’ was a done deal, because my mind automatically connected it with the new and most likely horrible Star Wars movies.
But when Ben Savage, who played Cory Matthews, tweeted “I’m going to be a father! Well, on TV at least. The ‘Boy Meets World’ sequel is officially happening!” I couldn’t help but get a little excited.
“Boy Meets World” ended with Cory and Topanga Lawrence, portrayed by Danielle Fishel, moving to New York City following college graduation. The sequel will pick up years later to follow the story of the couple’s 13-year-old daughter Riley Matthews, according to a Nov. 27 Fox News article.
Savage and Fishel have already signed on to reprise their parts on ‘Girl Meets World,’ according to the same article. No other cast members have announced their return on the new show, but the pilot episode is still in the works. Disney hasn’t even cast Riley yet.
After Fishel signed on to play Topanga, she created a Tumblr account, so she could reach out to the anxious fans about the upcoming show.
“GMW is a new show,” Fishel said in a post. “It will have familiar faces, familiar themes, and familiar messages. It will also have new faces, new themes and new messages.”
She ended the post by saying, “For those of you who knew and loved BMW, please allow this show to evolve as well. Stick with us. Give us a chance.”
Despite my initial reaction, I will give the show a chance. “Boy Meets World” went through so many situations my generation had to deal with, and it taught us how to get through hard times. I remember being so sad when Shawn’s parents both walked out on him, and then again when Mr. Turner went into a coma after his motorcycle accident. These were real problems that real kids would have. It showed them that they weren’t alone.
Even though problems like this still happen all the time, things have changed since we were kids.
So if Fishel is right, “Girl Meets World” will help this younger generation to get through problems in their lives. Maybe it’ll teach them how to deal with bullying and suicide, which has become a huge issue among kids and teenagers. But hopefully, it will make them laugh and cry and think just as much as “Boy Meets World” made me think.
We shouldn’t write the show off just yet. Let’s just wait until the show actually begins before we decide whether or not it’s a horrible idea.
We need to allow a new group of kids to take lessons from their own Mr. Feeny, even if he’ll never be as good as the original.
