Minisode: The Boy Meets World Pilot

Hey there, Fana Ritos, Welcome back to a brand new episode of How Rude Tana Ritos. For today's minisode, we will be adding a fun little TGIF twist. Since we've spent the last couple of years recapping our own show, we wanted to see what the other TGIF shows at the time had to offer, and it only felt right to watch the Boy Meets World pilot, as Jody and I have never seen it and we love the host of Podmeets World. Of course, so join us as we break down this iconic TGIF pilot that a lot of

Let's do this.

This was so fun, Like, this was a fun exercise to watch.

Compose the show. I have never watched any of Boy Needs World.

I hadn't either hadn't, which we all discovered here and there, but not.

We did the live show and.

We all of us hadn't seen each other's shows, which was hilarious, and then we had to like try and invent who is this person? And we had were like, oh, yeah, yeah, I just want a random stories are I love it. I'd never watched it, and I also forgot it was a TGIF show.

Well, because I think it was after Okay, so this pilot aired in nineteen ninety three. It was kind of wrapping up. We might have gone to Nicete Nights. We wrapped, No, we wrapped in ninety five, but we were off TGIF in ninety three, yes, because yes, it was ninety ninety five is when we last shooting.

There in ninety four, our last shot shooting.

Ok I got it, yes, but I think we were on Tuesday Nights by nineteen ninety three, we were no longer part of the TGIF.

Right, that's right, we got yeah.

So yeah, okay, so I know this was not boy Meld was not on my radar. Yah, we weren't shooting on the same lot like there was not. They were own Disney, right, I think they're on Disney, And yeah.

I think that's what it was.

I thought because they were on the Disney lot, I just thought, I mean, Disney and ABC are the same thing or whatever.

But yeah, I guess I just didn't. I don't know.

I thought it was a Disney show, not necessarily an ABC Disney show.

Well, because it airs now on Disney Plus. And I think Girl Meets World was a Disney it was a Disney plus.

Yeah, it was because ABC and Disney. I don't know who owns who.

Disney probably owns ABC because I think Disney owns everything at this point.

Yeah, all of the things. Yeah, so we were such.

A cute pilot though.

Oh my gosh, I told did you have expectations going into it?

Did you?

Did you have high expectations, low expectations.

I mean I didn't really. I tried not to go and do it with any expectations. You know. I knew it was going to be a little bit different because the kids.

Were older, they were on our show, So I was like, Okay, it's gonna be like, there's gonna be a little more like funny dialogue. It's it'll be a little more I don't know, quick witted, I guess was kind of the thing.

And I and and that totally lived up to expectation.

It was much more like team you know, middle school queen, team friendly.

They're no no babies, no babies, no, no, right, And again it wasn't you know, this was about the kids, not really the parents. So yeah, much more kid focused, school focus. Yeah, and the family is just sort of in the background. Yeah. I went into it was like I sort of had mid expectations. I was like, this is gonna be another sitcom, it's gonna be a ninety sitcom. But I think the succeeded those expectations. I mean too, it was a great pilot.

It was a great pilot.

Ben was hilarious all I mean, the Yeah rider was great, like the will Oh my god, he was just such.

You know, so funny.

It's uh, it's and it's so fun to see everybody like, you know, god, back when we were all babies.

It was so fun seeing our friends as less child actors. It's just hysterical. Yeah, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. Did any actor really stand out for you in this pilot?

Oh?

I mean Ben, Ben really stood out for me. He I mean, he has to.

Carry this whole show, and he absolutely did it. And he was funny and his timing was great and no, he was. I mean I can absolutely see why they cast him as a lead in that show because he really he was great.

Really funny.

So that's a lot for an eleven year old to carry, Yes, and he did. I think he was in every scene too, Like I don't call any scenes that he wasn't in so that's a huge load for anyone much less than eleven year old.

So absolutely, but he really I really enjoyed the pilot.

It was fun well, and I believe correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that Boy Meets World was written for Ben Savage because Fred had had such success with Wonder Years, so they were like, we're gonna write We're going to write this show for Ben Savage. Yeah, is that right? Oh yeah, Matt Mattie says, that's it's correct,

Oh, I mean, I'd say as far as pilot goes, it was like a seven.

It was a good It was a really good pilot. Yeah.

I definitely think that they'll find their their even better groove. But I thought for a pilot it was funny. The characters were really good. It was well written.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I would agree with that. If if we're using the Full House Pilot as our barometer, and I give that a ten. Right, so we're judging all other pilots based on Full House up against the Full House Pilot, I would give this an eight. Yeah.

Actually I don't, Sally, we're judging it up against Full House?

It in eight? Yeah, yeah suh, because it was right. It was right up there, right up there. Wasn't perfect by any means, but I really enjoyed it. I did really enjoyed it. Okay, So do we get into some do we want to talk about these fun facts? Do we want to just get into.

This show we kind of covered.

The show premiered on ABC September twenty fourth, nineteen ninety three, at eight thirty pm, and it was following Family Matters and before Step by Step, so it was kind of sandwiched in there with them, okay, And it debuted is sixteen and a half million viewers. Wow is in which is probably for them like great ratings. But now you're like sixteen million people to watch one show.

You get it's you. You don't get that kind of those kind of eyeballs all in one.

Spot really as well, you don't know, especially with Streamy and everybody watches things on their own schedule. So sixteen million, Yeah, that's hugely impressive, very impressive.

And that's funny.

Although and it says, although Sean is in every episode and Corey's always talking to him, no one's speaks his name until season one, episode.

Four, Corey's Alternative.

Friends, when mister Feenie calls him mister Hunter.

Huh.

Later in the episode, Corey calls him Sean, thus revealing his name, which had somehow gone unspoken to this point.

I wonder if they hadn't named like, did he have a name? And in the script the script, so was it Seand it was they just did he was?

They just didn't.

He just didn't like they didn't call it out in the Yeah, he wasn't like, hey Sean, what's up?

Yeah, it didn't.

Interesting the things you don't think of. That would have been an easy way just to write in have you been savage, say hey Sean or whatever. So, okay, that is pretty funny. So the synopsis of this pilot, just very briefly, Corey is caught listening to the Phillies game in class while Feenie is trying to teach the class about love. Eric decides to take his girlfriend on their first date to the Phillies game instead of Corey. So Corey decides to live in his treehouse. All right, good,

I was going to say, also, mister Feenie really stands out. I mean, oh, Daniels is so great and just is the perfect mister Feenie. I absolutely see why he was like so popular and white people still absolutely love see him because, yeah, he had there was a heart to him that it was really great.

He was a legend. He's a legend. You know, he won Emmys, he was on Saint Elsewhere, he was the night writer. Yeah, ye, so yeah, he was great. But my unpopular opinion is that I thought he was terrifying and unlikable in this episode, right, I just thought I was scared so sorry, timidating ismoy very.

Yeah, he's very, very harsh, but I think there's the payoff is worth it.

They he's definitely invested in these kids, because otherwise he wouldn't take the time to teach Corey that lesson at the end about love. But he's just he seems like he shouldn't be working with children like. He just seems very I.

Mean, I've met a lot of teachers. They don't like kids.

Well kidding this.

Forever.

That's justified, honestly, middle school.

Is he's been dealing with like eleven and twelve year old idiots for decades, So thatsgruntled.

So disgruntled. No, he's just a very distinguished character. He seemed a little up like up uppity up. Yeah he is.

That's I think that's all that the character is written.

Okay, Okay.

I just think he's supposed to be mister like super likable. I think he's kind of he's Corey's uh not well nemesis a little bit. Yeah, it's his front of me, it's his it's his kid, you know what I mean. Some nuts, but also has like there's moments of connection.

Yeah, I think just because I know I haven't seen the series, but I know how beloved mister Feenie is even to this day, Like people are just like they cry and they they just quote his lessons and stuff. So I was expecting like this teddy bear type no person that everyone loves so much, and I'm like, oh no, no, I didn't know.

I did know that. I mean, I haven't watched a whole episode.

But I did know mister Feenie is particular uptight, sort of disdainful of you know, these kids that don't understand and don't pay attention, and so that's kind.

Of the the that's the character and for yeah, okay, that's how it was written. And yeah Bill Daniels, wooh, he was great. He knocked that out of the park.

Uh.

And they're working on Romeo and Juliet in this okay stabbing the other one with a fake knife, which I'm pretty sure these days you wouldn't be allowed at school.

No the night like someone is pretending to kill another with the with the knife. It's yeah you don't, yeah, you don't.

They don't do that.

They don't do that in schools anymore. Right, that was really not what the real knives.

No, that God, that ended poorly, so they were like, we need to start using the fake ones.

Yes, so yeah, Corey is secretly listening to the Phillies game and Phoene catches him, and he tries to emphasize the importance of Romeo Juliet, calling it Shakespeare's Ultimate Testament of Love, which.

I don't think, like, I think it's Oh.

I think it's unhealthy. Yes, it's unhealthy, codependent, Well, it's excited.

Romeo and Juliet are twelve than thirteen years old.

Yeah, oh yeah, they're they're that's true children, their children. They don't have their wits about them, right, so of course they it's a act. Actually yeah, yeah, it is a tragedy. Yeah, so the ultimate testament of love. I don't know if I agree with that, but it's a good setup.

For of course, what is Corey. Corey says, he's like, he sees the play as a kid who kills himself over some dumb girl.

And I'm kind of like, I mean, it's true, he's not wrong.

He's wrong, wrong, Yeah, but I get it. Phoene is like, now it's more than that.

So it's a it's a feme of the episode, so we will run with it. So Phoene fires back, he gives him detention on Friday, and that's it sets up nicely, this little this this rift between yeah Feenie and.

Mister Mister Feenie is like the tough.

Six screen teacher. I had a tough six screen teacher. Oh yeah, missus Porter.

She was scary, but if you got on her good side, she was awesome. But she was the teacher like you'd hear her out in the hallway because the sixth graders were acting up, you know what I mean.

Like she was messing around.

She did not mess around, but everybody respected her hardcore, but she was not there to play.

That's kind of how you have to be in middle school. Yeah, sixth graders, let's take advantage of you if you're nice. So yeah, but.

Still I remember her as a like great teacher that I really loved, kind of like you know, mister Venie.

Yeah all right.

Play.

So next with the Matthews house and we're in the boys bedroom and Eric. We meet Eric the big brother.

Ye Will is so like he's just so cute.

He's you can tell he's like nervous or a little I don't know, he was a little awkward, but he's just so so great.

I'm just kidding.

I love you.

Well.

She's a little stilted, but he's just so charming and he's super cute, and I'm like, there was like literally I saw him and I was like, oh, you are so going to be on the Tiger Beat magazine like six months. Yeah, yeah, one hundred. He was made for Tiger Beat cover Sea just eighteen beat, adorable, so charming, big,

True.

Yeah, well, how old is Eric in this? Do we think he's If Ben is eleven.

I'd say he's probably sixty sixteen.

Yeah, maybe he can drive to the date, so sixteen, Yeah, that's pretty common for six Yeah, he's gonna choose.

The girl anyway, bro.

Sorry, yeah right, I feel bad. I feel bad for Ben's simons.

I didn't say you could come. I just talked about it.

There would be a loophole, there's some sort of technicality that you're going to get off one. Uh okay. So next in the living room we meet the rest of the family. Amy the mom, Alan the dad, and Morgan is the little sister.

Yeah, very cute.

I love I loved these parents, these these sitcom parents, they just seemed very calm, had calm energy.

Yeas is great, Betsy Randall really great.

Yeah, oh my god, ton of stuff.

I was just like, I want you guys as parents. They're just you can tell they love their kids, but they're not afraid to punish them, and they are just like the sweetest, very calm energy. Compared to the Tanner House where you got like three nutcases. Was this is a nice, calm home where you want to go and decompress and relax. I like that. Uh so. Amy immediately mentions that Peene told her about the Ben Savage's upcoming to tension, and Corey winds about the fact that they live next to Foenie.

He's their next door neighbor. Thing Yeah, it's just built in conflict.

What are the odds that the teachers living right next door, Like, come on.

I mean, I've heard that happened to like cousins and stuff that live in like Iowa somewhere that's not you know, l a necessarily And they're like, oh, yeah, they live down the street from their teacher.

Is this common in Philadelphia? I would think it's in Philadelphia.

Seems like a pretty big city, right, But they're probably in the suburbs. Yeah, you know, you local neighborhood school. They I don't know, I don't know. I don't know what's going on with these people.

It just seems a little too convenient. But again, this is six so of course they're going to set it up like this for convenience, right, so they can have conflict.

At least their backyard doesn't change.

Yeah, that's true.

It's true.

Their backyard is very different.

Yet I'm gonna wait, hold that judgment.

So Amy tells her husband that Corey got detention because he didn't want to learn about the emotional content of Romeo and Juliet.

But I mean to argue he got detention because he was listening to the Phillies game in class.

Oh yeah, that's true.

I mean, like, if you say what, you got detention for it.

It's not the emotional content, but that's the story broke.

He broke the broke a rule.

Yeah, yeah, you can't listen to the Phillies game. But it's the thing.

Yet it's an excellent setup for this next joke, exactly where Ben Savage says, I'm a kid, I don't understand the emotional content of full House. I screamed yes, like, oh my god, we made it. Yes, we made it into the pilot. Yes, boy meets the World fantastic. And then Corey tries to turn things back to Eric, back on to Eric, but his parents don't take his side. Eric bought the tickets with his own money, Okay, so he can bring whoever he'd like. All right, okay, I'll

Him, Because it would be really hard to have a scene where you see through a wall to what the.

Teachers are doing. That's really why.

Yeah, I get it. It's it's just again again.

It's a small school.

Okay, again, suburbia. They don't have money for teachers lounges.

There's no money for the teacher's lounge. Right, He's got to just eat with all the other kids.

All the kids got to live next door to one of them. This is why he.

Hates children, because he has to eat his lunch with.

Them and lived at them around middle and lunch.

God, no, wonder, yeah, wonder he hates good.

Blame mister Feenie. He's lived through a.

Lot, he really has. So that night, we see that Corey has locked himself away in his treehouse, which I think is a very cool little set for him. That's great. Like, you don't see treehouses very often, so I was like, oh, yeah, I.

Had a tree house in my neighborhood growing up. Not mine, but it was directly across the street. We had like a little club and everything.

I love treehouses. I don't know if they're really around anymore.

Like there's a couple of my neighborhood. Oh yeah, I don't ever see children in them. But the kids are like teenagers now that I see.

So yeah, I do love treehouses. Amy is very sweet. She checks on him and brings him a dinner, Like I love I love this mom. How she's not like get out of the treehouse. Get you know, you got detention, you're in trouble.

For great, stay in the treehouse attitude.

There's some dinner, you're having some feelings, Go ahead and have your feelings in your treehouse. Yeah, Like she's she's an excellent mom. He lover. Uh. Corey realizes that he can see inside Phoenie's house from this new vantage point.

How was he never realized this before?

But it's weird, like this is just this feels voyeuristic and just weird that he's spying on his teacher. Now, Like, there's so many boundaries being violated right now that I'm like, well.

Again, very hard to write the scene through a fence where he doesn't see him, So you've got to somehow get over.

That, I guess. So it looks like Phoenie is setting up a romantic dinner for two. But then Phoenie gets a phone call and sad music starts to play, and he hangs up the phone and takes that extra place, setting away. Assume that he's been stood up on a date, which is very Once the violins start playing, you know, you're supposed to feel sad, but I felt mostly confused why he like, had he only made a salad? Like that was the whole day? He made a sad that just a big salad. Yes, okay, you couldn't.

Throw it, that's it, you know what.

Maybe maybe he was making some sort of roast and that was still in the ovens, so you know, you eat the salad first.

You eat the salad first.

Well is roasting, right, Well, it's resting.

You know, he's taking it out for a little bit, so it's the resting.

Okay, So the roast is resting, and Phoenie is sad that he's stood up. I still think it's weird that he lives next door. I don't know. I'm not gonna be able to get past that.

Well, I have a feeling that's going to stick for the whole show. So yeah, if you're gonna watch anymore, you might want to move on.

I'm also curious about how they're gonna write Phoenie into. Like, so this show went for seven seasons. How do they write the teacher. He's obviously a major character of the show. He gets like second billing, So how do they keep writing him for seven seasons? Don't you switch teacher every year?

I don't know, so I haven't seen the rest of the show.

Wait, Maddie's given they made him their teacher every year? What that's weird. I mean, that's one way to write him into every season. But right, that never happen even in high school. That doesn't That.

Doesn't mean I have the same math teacher for three years.

But that was well okay, but not the same one you had when you were eleven in sixth grade, you know, he said, yeah, he even had.

Him go to college with them. Now it's becoming this is sorry.

We're getting notes from Maddie as we're discussing, like wait a minute, this is weird, and she's.

Like, oh wait, just wait to get weird. It's weirder. He goes to college. Okay, well, but you know what, here's the thing. What I'm glad to know that other shows also do stupid it like Full House did. It's very true, doesn't really matter. You just got to make it work and.

Reality be damned, you know so at least I like I feel like, huh, yeah, you guys did it too.

See, yeah, this doesn't make me feel little bit better about.

Like asteroid sized plot holes all in the place.

So funny. Okay, So Corey goes back in the house and Amy catches him. He says he's not state. Amy relates Corey's feelings of abandonment to his dad. His dad felt abandoned when Corey no longer wanted to play football with him after school, and so the mom explains how people grow up and priorities change and that's all natural. Good lesson. Yeah, another good lesson from mom. And next a great scene where Corey is stuck in detention with Foenie and this is masterful like this.

The two of them are so good in the scene.

They're so good together. I like they I want to see what their chemistry test was like like before they started taping this, Like it's just fantastic. Yeah. So, despite Cory's best efforts, Foenie will not talk to him, and he's like getting up, he's dancing, he's doing all of these distracting things. And Phoenie is just stonefaced grading his papers and will not give him the time of day. So Corey states that love leads to no good and

People move on, not mister Feenie, He'll be with you forever, right, he'll be, But other people's priorities change and they move on.

Now I know that Ben Savage and Topanga get married. Was he is he at the wedding? Does he officiate the wedding? Like?

I got so much questions. I don't know the first time I've watched the show.

I'm just wondering, Like, I'm just wondering out loud, like married Ben Savage and Daniel Fishel, their characters get married by the end of the series. Oh so yeah, But I don't know anything.

I'm sure I've heard it in passing. I'm probably that's weird.

Yeah, they were like they were a couple of goals back in the nineties. They were it was like every guy wanted Topanga and I don't know if they wanted to be Ben Savage, but they Yeah, so they got married, and I don't know. I kind of want to watch the rest of the series how to find out that these questions what happened? Yeah, I might, I might. I might be a new fan of Boy Meets the World. Uh, so Cory sneaks back into the house, and this time

But I think that was the point, right, was that, Like, Okay, he was bummed at first, like that you have, but actually I'm really glad you have friends, and I'm glad you have. You're supposed to do that, like mom said, that's totally natural, Like, you know, it feels bad at first, but honestly, the other person is doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing, so it's not you know.

I think that that was kind of what I took from it. Anyway.

Okay, well, this dad seems way more involved or evil not involved evolved. Then the full house dads because they always put themselves first and they're always like, you've hurt my feelings.

Right, Well, there's a mom in the house, so you know.

Yeah, the emotional needs are getting met because there's a mom in that. That's right. I'm not used to seeing a mom in on a sitcom. This is revolutionary and she's fantastic. She's like the ideal bomb. So next Corey's playing video games up in his room and Eric walks in. He had a terrible date. He was clumsy, he was embarrassing, he had nothing to say, and he says, I'll never go on another date with Heather ever. Again, Corey knows that's not true. Even though she's Corey's nemesis. He urges

Jane Lessons paying off.

He's like, oh you know, and the dad Lesson like, okay, actually, this is what you're supposed to be doing, Like this isn't let me be a good little brother.

You know what.

I will give the writer his flowers for this, because this was a great way to involve almost every cat yep, basically every cast member because even with the little sister. He decides to play tea party with the little sister too, So it's like, yes, the writer has somehow involved every character into this lesson on life different kinds of love. So that's actually very well done. So yeah, last scenes, or one of the last scenes, Corey is sitting with

Right.

When Amy tells Morgan to head upstairs and get ready for bed, Corey asks if they can finish their tea party, and he even offers to put Morgan to bed. When Amy notices the change of heart, Corey just admits, I don't understand anything about my life. Same Corey.

Yeah, I was gonna say, wow, doesn't really change.

He's very self aware for an eleven year old.

Yeah.

Morgan gives him a hugging and kiss on the cheek and all he has to say is, uh, yeah, thanks for that.

Yeah.

This was a very again, very sweet scene. You can see how Corey's evolved over the last twenty two minutes.

Yeah, you're like, okay, okay, get's paying attention.

Yeah, it's very cute, and I love how the little girl just chucked her doll. Oh she chucked him and was like, forget it. Look, then my big brother is here. I don't want, don't need a doll anymore. And then last, last, but certainly not least, the boys are spying on Phoenie having lunch with the same woman yet again. Phoanie finally asks this woman to dinner and she says yes. He boasts about being a good cook, admitting he made dinner for his sister the other night but she had to cancel.

But yeah, but but I liked it because it also it would like reminded the kids, like, you don't always know what you're talking about, so don't take things out of context and think.

That you're right when you.

Don't make snap judgments when it could be one of anything. So yeah, okay, but I love this pilot.

I thought it was really cute. I was glad that I watched it.

I can't joke with them and laugh with them and at them at the ridiculousness of the pilot.

Too, so ridiculous. And we didn't I didn't mention writer, but right strong. He is so strong from the jump, like he's cool and moody and I'm just like he had like four lines, but he was so strong.

Yeah, he was so shorn. Yeah, exactly, Sean.

And it's hysterical just knowing how they grew up to be and how they are now. It's it's hysterical.

Absolutely.

I really enjoyed this. I can see why fans loved it.

Yeah, I can't too. So uh it was great. Guy Boy Meets World cast well done.

Boy Meets World. Yes, it's you know, it was funny as it is the full House pilot, but very close, very very.

But but it's cute, you know what I mean. It was cute. It's it's up there, up.

There, yeah, and it's I feel like full House was definitely more of a family like younger children, family focused shit, and this is it.

Has a family, middle school teenage.

Yeah, I think the school is the main setting in the family background.

The kids and a younger audience, not.

Necessarily the whole family, the whole family as much.

Yes, I totally agree. I don't.

I kind of like it.

I don't know, I like I like that it's just kid focused, But I don't know. Full House was kind of a bigger cultural phenomenon than Boy Meets World. I think I'm okay saying that true. Well, yeah, as far as like people quoting catchphrases, memes that are out there, you know, the just the buzz surrounding our show, and the loyalty. I mean, I don't know, I feel like Boy Meets World fans are pretty damn Yes, I'm not going to say they're more loyal than than Full House.

I have experience with the Full House fans, so I can't speak for the Boy Meets World ones, but I do I think, you know, uh yeah, this was full House was for a totally not a totally different audience, but for I think more of a co viewing experience.

This was like, yes, this was.

This was a you know again, an ABC sitcom. It was the whole family would enjoy it, but it centered around the kids in a way that made them more friendly to like tweens and teenagers as they grew up.

So yeah, I wonder if it was easier to write for because you didn't have so many fractured You got, you know, a five year old and then the grandparents.

You've got three families existing in the same space.

Basically, so you just have to focus on the kids and their friendships and their romances.

And you can write a little bit more clever and bantery for older kids, you know, than you can so but no.

I loved it. I'm so glad we watched that. This was great.

This was very super cute. Yep, loved it.

Loved it.

I might have to watch a few more episodes.

Watch and keep me posted.

I will.

Thanks for joining us for this fun little minisode of of how Rude tana Rito's. If you want to find us on Instagram, you can find us at how Rude podcast or email us at how Rude Tanato's at gmail dot com.

Visit our merch store howard Merch.

Dot com, and uh.

Yeah, I don't know go watch The Boy Meets World Pilot. It's cute, great, it's very funny.

Yeah, tell tell us what you thought. I mean, if you are a fan of both shows, just give us your opinions.

Not Maybe there's people out there that also have never watched The Boy Meets World Pilot and give their thoughts. Yeah, yeah, anyway, let us know you guys. We love to hear from you. And remember the world is small.

The house is full of love, full of love. There's love everywhere. The whole show was about love.

Love is love.

Yep, it's true game up for mister Feeney because I was his sister.

So it sounds like he's in love with her, but he loves her, you know, still.

A different type of love. Yeah, and he's ready to get it on with that the teacher from the cafeteria. So go Feenie, right, bye and bye