Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Character Battle - Quarterfinals

Welcome to the quarterfinals, where only 8 characters remain. Exciting matches all across the board, folks. Here's your updated bracket.



MATCH #1

CLOSED. Cory Matthews defeats George Feeny 53% to 47%


MATCH #2

CLOSED. Shawn Hunter defeats Topanga Lawrence 72% to 28%



MATCH #3

CLOSED. Eric Matthews defeats Alan Matthews 82% to 18%



MATCH #4

CLOSED. Riley Matthews defeats Maya Hart 59% to 41% 

122 comments:

  1. Okay, with Round 3 complete here's how it CURRENTLY STANDS between Sean vs. Christian, out of a possible 48 points

    Christian: 43 (Wrong picks this round: None!)
    Sean: 40 (Wrong picks this round: [Lauren] over Topanga, Griff over Riley)

    WILL SEAN BE ABLE TO CATCH UP?

    No. No, he will not. We now only have one more disagreement left, Eric vs. Shawn in the finals. Even if Shawn wins that, I'll have won the bracket.

    CONGRATULATIONS, CHRISTIAN!

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    1. Yeah but I had more fun than you

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    2. You're just lucky Gambling Dan wasn't in the bracket, you woulda got everything wrong.

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    3. I forgot about Gambling Dan. Sean, who would you vote for if Gambling Dan took on Dancing Guy?

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    4. "Yeah but I had more fun than you"

      That is literally the best response.

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    5. Gambling Dan would be Sweet Sixteen on name alone. I think if Nunzio was in the bracket, he'd gone far, for this I am sure.

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  2. I voted for Cory, Shawn, Eric, and Riley!

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    1. Same here. Though it was really close between Cory and Feeny.

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    2. I went with Feeny, but it was really, really hard. It the toughest choice this entire tournament.

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  3. I voted Feeny, Shawn, Eric, Riley

    I feel like most brackets are underrating Feeny. I mean I LOVE Cory, especially in the later seasons but without Feeny I really don't think this show would've made it past season 1

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    1. I voted for Alan over Eric, but I agree with your sentiments about Feeny. He was someone very special, played to perfection by Bill Daniels, who refused point-blank to do so if Feeny was not treated respectfully.

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  4. Cory, Shawn, Alan and Riley

    Cory over Feeny was really hard for me. Loved Feeny, loved William Daniels, but BMW was Cory's story and Cory remains the only character to appear in every episode in the franchise.

    Shawn over Topanga was easy. He had a much more interesting story and Rider is a better performer.

    Alan over Eric was easy for me, though I'm sure not the popular pick. I love Alan Matthews, All-American Dad. Not so much with Eric.

    Riley over Maya was a hard choice. Both characters are great and though Sabrina is a little better performer, it was still too close to call. So it came down to GMW being Riley's show and her life perspective being the one I prefer. Maya may be more interesting but this vote isn't just about that. I could see this race going either way.

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  5. Ooh final 4...now the claws come out. So I never got around to making a bracket since I was absent for the first few weeks so I'll make my bets now. I think Jacob's right about people underestimating Feeny. He's had a bigger lead over his two other opponents so far than Cory has, and I think people miss him even more since he's not in the new show much. I wonder if these results would be different based on a sample of boy meets world fans who never saw girl meets world.

    So I say Feeny beats Cory (by a single digit margin)

    Shawn beats Topanga by a lot, but not as much as Christian and Sean think he will. Sorry guys but I think there's more Topanga fans out there than you're anticipating. Or at least more than Sean thinks, since he picked Lauren over Topanga.

    Eric will beat Alan by a significant amount, but not by as much as Shawn will beat Topanga if that makes sense? Idk I'm not as sure about this one.

    And finally the two girls. This one is tough to call as based on the comments, it seems the fanbase is pretty much split down the middle as to which girl they favor in general. Personally I think they both do a good job but I have to give this one to Riley because I pretty much like watching her in every episode while sometimes Maya can be kind of annoying? I think I'll go with my gut on this one and say Riley over Maya. But i dont know man this could be close.

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    1. I'm convinced there was a glitch somewhere and Lauren actually beat Topanga 90/10. I will not budge on this.

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    2. I agree that Feeny is a dark horse. If he defeats Cory, I know I would vote for him over Shawn (I believe Topanga has no chance) and I'm sure others would as well. William Daniels was hands down the best actor on either series, and Feeny was soooooo important to the growth of all 4 kids in BMW.

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    3. Hahaha I agree with you on a lot of things Sean but I don't think you'll ever get me on board the Lauren train. The storyline itself was interesting but I didn't think she was that special. Don't hate me for this, but I think if you put Lauren at her best up against Topanga at her best, Topanga's the better character. Lauren seemed better because she served a very interesting purpose.

      And she's certainly no moral compass. She was in like one episode before she kissed a guy that she knew for less than 24 hours who had a girlfriend of like 5 years. I don't care how strong you think your connection is, I don't think I can justify that. And yes the person in the relationship is always more at fault and more responsible but it doesn't take all the blame off of her. She's not a villain but she's not great either.

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    4. "He's had a bigger lead over his two other opponents so far than Cory has."

      Well, that's not precisely true. Cory beat Frankie 97/3, and Feeny beat Turner 91/9. But obviously Turner is a much tougher opponent.

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  6. I dunno. I like Feeny a LOT, you guys, but I'm not sure why so many people would go for him over Cory. Feeny had some epic episodes and epic moments, but after the first season, he really didn't have that much to do and was a supporting character ever after. A GREAT supporting character, but supporting nonetheless. Cory was consistently important, was really funny, and is just sort of the center around which every other character orbits. I never thought I'd say this, but I feel like Mr. Feeny is being overrated here.

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    1. I think a big part of it is coming from what we ve seen on girl meets world. In the new show Cory is being sold as a feeny replacement. Eric jack topanga and turner have all basically called him the new feeny. Of course Cory could never be a better feeny and so maybe since this is the most recent image of him that we have in our minds, it's causing more people to vote for the original feeny.

      Had this bracket been put up before girl meets world even existed, say early on the boy meets world reviewed blog, I think Cory would be winning by a more significant margin. Instead of comparing teacher feeny to teacher Cory people would compare teacher feeny to student Cory.

      Just a pet theory. And I'm not saying it's fair or that that's how people should judge this round. I'm just taking a guess that it's influenced people's votes since you and Sean seem shocked by the results

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    2. "I think a big part of it is coming from what we ve seen on girl meets world. In the new show Cory is being sold as a feeny replacement. Eric jack topanga and turner have all basically called him the new feeny. Of course Cory could never be a better feeny and so maybe since this is the most recent image of him that we have in our minds, it's causing more people to vote for the original feeny"

      This. Completely this. From where I stand it appears that Cory's taken Turner's tendency to interact a bit more with the class ("Back 2 School" and "Turnaround" come to mind, Turner was always a bit more conversational than Feeny), and brought that Up to Eleven. And while it may not be fair to compare Cory to Turner or Feeny, it's hard not to. Turner's style is not well-suited for a history class. The overt favoritism Cory displays just makes things worse.

      It makes me wonder what would happen if Cory was taking on Alan. While there is little question that Cory is a very affectionate and devoted father to both his children, he is no Alan. Alan's character was established in "On the Fence" as Superman and he only continued to grow. More to the point, Alan could bring down the Wrath of God...which Cory appears to be able to do from the Pilot of Girl Meets World and he chooses not to. And Alan wasn't afraid to let his kids know that sometimes he wasn't that great--"Turkey Day" got the life lesson badge on Sean's original blog when Alan said resignedly that Cory being right wasn't enough to change how people feel.
      That's not to say that Dad-Cory is not great; Riley consistently calls him Daddy out of affection rather than trying to butter him up for anything. Cory is great...but as a father, he feels a little too Danny Tanner-y. Just a little though.

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  7. Cory's the Boy, but then so is Shawn and Eric. Their connective tissue is Feeny. Fee-eh-eh-eh-ney!

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    1. Those three are not all connected by Feeny. They're connected by Cory himself.

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    2. Wouldn't Cory be connected to Eric by Amy and Alan? Don't disagree though, Cory's the glue that held them together. Without Cory's nagging, I'm not convinced Feeny wouldn't eventually, albeit reluctantly, give up trying so hard to reach out to Shawn, and Shawn, for his part, probably wouldn't have a corporeal example of something to reach for.

      Makes you wonder whether Cory, Topanga and Shawn might have a B-plot in "Girl Meets Bay Window." If that's supposed to tell the origin story of Riley and Maya (and possibly Farkle), we may get a glimpse into the old days again.

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    3. Aside from two episodes of "Remember we're brothers!", Eric and Cory don't care about each other. Shawn and Eric don't care about each other. Shawn and Cory have true bromance though. Eric and Feeny could be it's own show. Shawn and Feeny could be it's own show.

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    4. That's a little harsh Ben; Cory and Eric care about one another, they just don't have much in common and thus...well, they're no Fred-and-George.

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    5. Ben I'm not sure that is true. While I agree that aside from those 2 episodes Cory didn't seem to have a real care for Eric, Eric did show brotherly love for Cory in a number of hard times. A Long Walk to Pittsburgh comes to mind immediately, but there were others. As much as I personally dislike Eric he showed more compassion for Cory than Cory ever did for him.

      It is a shame that they weren't closer, especially after Jason left and before Jack showed up.

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    6. Well, when the show started, Cory idolized his older brother. As Cory got older, and Eric got stupider--part of this was the writers going overboard--the idolization kind of went away. A large part of it may have been Cory and Topanga dating--here's Cory, a few years younger than his would-be casanova brother, dating the girl of his dreams, while Eric cannot keep a relationship for more than two episodes. Seriously, Desiree may have been Eric's longest girlfriend, since Rachel went nowhere.

      That said, if we want to cast stones at Cory for being a lousy brother, do it because he had almost nothing to do with his little sister, who loved him so much she went to /him/ when she had nightmares rather than their parents.

      I've said it before, but I think one of the strong points of "Girl Meets World" is Riley's outright adoration of her little brother.

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    7. Ben did you vote for Cory or Feeny?

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    8. Cryptid456-"we may get a glimpse into the old days again."
      Old days as in late elementary school/early middle school crazy hair Topanga or old days as in llama pen? I love the llama pen story so much, it's embarrassing.

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    9. Probably the llama pen, seeing as the whole met-in-first-grade and all.

      We say that Cory is the connective tissue of the original show--it makes sense, I can't see Topanga having anything to do with Shawn if Cory didn't exist. And Eric would have no reason to interact with these underclassmen.

      The same can be said for Riley. She's the connective tissue on the new show. I can see Riley being friends with Farkle or Maya if one or the other did not exist. That's just the way Riley works; she reaches out to everyone, heck she's probably friends with her locker. I can see Farkle having a crush on Maya but with no Riley, I doubt they'd be friends. And Lucas, while Riley would probably have a crush on him no matter what, if Riley didn't exist, then Lucas would not be friends with her friends. Well, maybe Maya due to the Southern Boy/New York banter. But not Farkle at all; if Farkle didn't sit with Riley at lunch, I doubt they'd have anything to do with each other. Outside the Core Four, it's been firmly established that they swim in different circles.

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    10. Sean, I'm a Feenyite, I always like teachers who give a damn characters. I'm not sure when Cory nagged Feeny to keep caring about Shawn. From City Slackers and knowing a lot more about Shawn and it was Feeny who told Shawn get the Superbowl tickets and not take the easy way out.

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  8. Feeny over Cory. Cory may have been the titular Boy of the original show, but George Feeny is what set the show apart from other coming-of-age shows.
    Shawn over Topanga. I love Topanga but Shawn is in a class of his own
    Alan over Eric. Similar reasons for voting for Feeny. Alan was the best television father in history. If it hadn't been for Season 7 Eric, I'd probably flip a coin..
    And Riley over Maya. No overt reason, mostly Riley is the titular Girl, and since I didn't vote for Cory, I guess I owe the show.

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    1. Cryptid, even though I voted different on Feeny-Cory, I find it hard to disagree with your reasoning at all. Good picks all.

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    2. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 9, 2015 at 5:08 AM

      To be fair, at this point, there really isn't a wrong choice.

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  9. If you're looking for a laugh, this article seems confused about the show. It mistakenly calls Riley River and refers to the two girls as seniors.. http://www.parentherald.com/articles/9777/20150908/girl-meets-world-season-2-finale-spoilers-title-revealed-middle-school-graduation-everything-you-need-to-know.htm

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  10. Here we go! All of these are the absolute toughest battles so far.

    Feeny over Cory: While BMW is the story of Cory's life, and all the tribulations he faced growing up, Feeny was an ever present constant. He is the great specter of wisdom and guidance. He became a TV icon on a level reserved for a slim few. As great as the character Cory is/was, he never became that.

    Shawn over Topanga: Easiest of the 4 matchups. The two closest people to Cory outside of possibly Feeny. Yet, as this show often joked and suggested, he loves Shawn maybe a little more than his own wife. And when you look at them as characters, I don't think she's nearly as developed as Shawn. I love Topanga, and Danielle was one of my early crushes. Yet, Shawn is the better character.

    Eric over Alan: The comedic heart of the show. I think the impression he left, and now continues to have is one of fun and pure love. He is the consummate end of the rainbow personality, even when writing changed some of his personality traits. Something that his niece embodies today. Alan was a tremendous father and husband, but this comes down to who entertained me more, and that was Eric.

    Maya over Riley. This was very tough for me. The new generation, and they are well on their way to making their own names in this universe. I think both girls have their faults, but they also have such strong points that endear me to both. I love Riley, and everything she brings each episode. However, Maya is just the better character at this point in time. Better written and acted, despite some miscues. This has the benefit to change over time. As of right now, however, Maya is better.

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  11. Cory is one of my favorites, easily, but I had to give it to Feeny. William Daniels is the best actor in either show by far, and I don't think Feeny has a single bad scene in the series.

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    1. "To beat KING KOOPA! AND SAVE THE PRINCESS!" is a bad Feeny moment/lesson in my opinion. It's really just Jacobs projecting his own shit into the series. Feeny's a creative, I think he would see the value in video games and having fun in general.

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    2. It's not that Feeny doesn't see the fun in video games, it's that he doesn't want it to be at the expense of other things. A student wanting to play video games after finishing homework assignments is fine. A student who neglects homework assignments for video games is the problem. He also probably wouldn't approve of a student who only played video games and never read for fun.

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    3. We have to remember, that scene took place during "Quiz Bowl." I'm certain that seeing Cory and Shawn, and maybe even especially Topanga, going along with the pop culture stunts of the new show had really, really ticked Feeny off. It had been going on for a couple of weeks and Feeny, seeing that nothing of value was being retained, lost his temper.

      You know, I never actually saw "Game Night," because Christian's review scared me too much to want to see the ending--"Friends become family." But when I first saw the clip in the theme song, when Riley and Cory are holding the trivia game, my first thought was "Quiz Bowl."

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    4. As a huge fan of both King Koopa and the princess (and Rocko's Modern Life), I still think that scene works nicely. As Cryptid mentioned, the context involved the Quiz Show becoming an absolute circus that rewarded dumb pop culture knowledge and looked down on actual intelligence, and it had been going on for weeks. Of course Feeny would be furious about that!

      I don't really see him as specifically targeting video games (it was really just the single line to make a point), but rather the collective whole of BMW's youth squandering their immense wealth of educational, modern tools.

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    5. Yeah but it's so incredibly smug. The expectation of today's youth to study harder than past generations simply because they have easier access to technology kind of defies human nature. And isn't fair. And what, he's upset that the Quiz Show wanted to make money? That's not fair either. Is Feeny mad that jesters entertained at kings' courts instead of philosophers? It has always been this way.

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    6. That's a fair point Sean...but I think Feeny's outburst may be tied into that episode where he remarked to Alan about the general breakdown of the American classroom. When Feeny started teaching, he said that the majority of students wished to learn and only a small minority rebelled. He then noted that by the 1990s, the small minority was now the majority. I think that was key. Here were his three favorite not-Eric students, the ones who had stood up to the mob over his test-taking procedures, completely disregarding the material he had spent his life trying to teach.

      Also, I shudder to think of what Feeny would say if he saw Cory's classroom.
      I do remember reading that in the original pilot--I believe when Big Brother Elliot was still part of the show--Cory's moping in his classroom after the Sparkler Incident when Ghost Feeny appeared and said something to the effect of "Don't give up Cory. Do you really believe I was always Mr. Feeny?"
      Hmmm...I know a lot of people didn't really like seeing Not-Really-There Feeny, but I don't know. Eric saw Ghost Feeny back in Season 5 I think it was.

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    7. Cryptid456-I don't remember the Sparkler incident. Also, where/how did you see or read the original pilot.

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    8. The sparkler incident was when maya held up the homework claiming she was going to burn it, and then accidentally set off the fire alarms. (She was using a sparkler because she took it off of farkles project)

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    9. I never saw the original pilot--I just remember reading an article, I think it was on IGN or maybe in IMDB that mentioned that the Feeny scene of "Well done Mr. Matthews" was literally added at the last minute.

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  12. I just want everyone to know how disgustingly close Cory vs Feeny is and has been all day. This one matters. And I am sweating. This could very possibly be decided by one vote.

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    1. When will the results for this bracket be posted?

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    2. Isn't it for three days? Today's the second day, so that would me this bracket ends tomorrow and the Final Four will carry over with "Girl Meets Farkle" (They changed the name again).

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    3. Oh, is it "Girl Meets Farkle" officially now? I definitely like that better, where did you see that?

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    4. I think the Canadian Google Drive or whatever it is said it, or maybe Wikipedia. I agree though, the title is much better than "Girl Meets Normal" though I think it may have originally been "Girl Meets Genius."

      Saw the episode. It was really, really good.

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    5. I actually like girl meets normal better. I thought it was closer to what the heart of the episode was about

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    6. Well the episode airs in two days and then, oh then the comments will be a discussion to remember.

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    7. Of all the names suggested I like them best in this order:

      1. Girl Meets Normal
      2. Girl Meets Genius
      3. Girl Meets Farkle
      4. Girl Meets I am Farkle

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    8. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 9, 2015 at 2:05 PM

      Anything would have been better than I am Farkle.

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    9. Hmmm....well, the notions of these titles have certainly given me a bit to think about. Personally, I'd rather there'd not be a "Girl Meets Plot Point" gimmick but that's a dead horse at this point.

      While "I Am Farkle" is obviously the worst--it just sounds awkward to say out loud--I think I may have judged "Normal" too harshly.

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  13. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 8, 2015 at 7:49 PM

    Wow, what a Top 8.

    This was one of the hardest votes I've done. This was harder than most of the elections I've voted in. Thank you Sean and Christian, you sly dogs.

    I voted for Feeny over Cory. I love Cory. I love his neurotic behavior, the love he believes in, and the way he hopes for the future. But Feeny. What can we say about Feeny. This show would not have worked without William Daniels' Feeny. We wouldn't have this show without Feeny. He handled tough situations for our heroes every week. He cared. I had a Feeny in my life. If you're reading this up there, Dr. J, thank you for everything.

    I voted for Shawn over Topanga. Not much to say here. Shawn was one of the most damaged characters in the show. He had so many arcs and his relationship with Feeny and Turner are awesome. Topanga's brilliant but she just doesn't bring enough to the table.

    I voted Alan over Eric and this was the hardest decision I made. I honestly think Eric will win and I wanted Alan to get a bit more recognition. He wasn't funny, but he was honest. The way he lectured used a bit more of the "think of what you've done and who you are" type. "To me, average was a dream!" Shawn calls him his father. What more can you say? Eric's great and his arcs are fantastic. He was the funniest character on the show. But he'll probably win. Consider this one a coin toss.

    Lastly, I voted for Riley over Maya. We've seen these characters both come a long way. We saw Riley, who seems to be literally the nicest girl on the face of the earth, grow significantly particularly in the last few episodes. She's funny, but you know she cares about nothing more than her friends. Maya is a very fascinating character. I've been on record saying I'm not a huge fan. That's not the actress' fault. She does a great job. She's got the dramatic parts down pact. But when I look at this season, I haven't seen her character grow at all. For that reason, I voted for Riley.

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    1. I'm not sure why BMW wouldn't have worked without Feeny when the vast majority of the episodes just involved him walking by the characters in the hallway to say "Detention, Mr. Matthews." Feeny had some excellent episodes and some excellent moments, but it tended to be a handful a season. It's just nothing compared to the day-in, day-out significant and hilarious role Cory played.

      I really just don't get this. Feeny's doing almost... suspiciously well. There's been significantly more votes in that matchup than the other matchups too. It's... weird.

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    2. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 10, 2015 at 3:20 AM

      Hmm, maybe. But Cory can also really, really get on our nerves..like 85% of his talks about love. I only voted once so maybe more casual readers just wanted to vote for their favorites.

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    3. I'm sure you did, i don't think any of our regs would have double-voted. And, yeah, maybe no one did. Maybe more people just care about that matchup.

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    4. I have to completely agree with Christian. If you cut out all of Feeny's scenes from the series, you still have a show. It's not nearly as good, but it's still a show. You cut out Cory and there's nothing left.

      Now, that's not an argument for Cory being the better character, just a response to "The show wouldn't work without Feeny."

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    5. I don't think it's that "The show wouldn't work without Feeny." It's that "Feeny made this show so much better than other coming-of-age sitcoms." His devotion to Topanga and Shawn aside, Cory is not that much different from other Average Joe teenagers.

      Besides, no Feeny? No college arc for Eric or Shawn. And no Feeny call.

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    6. I completely disagree. Cory's a far more unique character than, say,. Shawn and Feeny for one. Angsty troubled friends in leather jackets and wise mentors are a dime a dozen, even if Shawn and Feeny had their own particular spin. The main protagonists in teen shows are not generally weird, neurotic pastiches of old man and little boy. On any other show, someone who acts like Cory would be a quirky side character, not the star.

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    7. I'm confused at what you guys are suspicious of? Of course there's be more votes for final 4

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    8. It's not that there's more votes for this round than other rounds (though there are) it's that there's specifically more votes for the Cory/Feeny matchup than any of the others. Like some people voted for that one alone.

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    9. But I agree it's probably nothing.

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  14. I voted for Cory because growing up he was always my hero. The average kid just trying to figure out the world and be a good person. But voting against Feeny hurt me. I voted for Riley because it's her show now and that's all I have there. I voted for Alan over Eric simply because I was bummed out by how dumb they made Eric. He's great at it, but I didn't dig it.

    And I voted for Topanga over Shawn. Wild, I know. She may have been an underdeveloped character. But damnit if I wasn't in love with her from the time I was 12 until...well still, 20 years later. Shawn is amazing but nothing beats first love!

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    1. Hi Tim, I was wondering when you'd show up. I like what you have to say about Cory. "Boy Meets World" gets compared to other coming-of-age shows, (Speaking of which, did you ever see "Wonder Years") and what you said made me think about the Feeny-verse in general. Feeny, Turner, Alan, and now Cory seem to be teaching their proteges something more than the textbook, even more than life in general.

      Sure Cory's a subpar teacher--he seems to be emulating Turner's interactions with the class and taking it up to eleven, and it suffers in no small part because it's a history classroom, not an English classroom with "Insert Awesome Book Here."

      The "Average kid just trying to figure out the world and be a good person" is key. Other coming-of-age shows, including most of what's aired on Disney and Nickelodeon, have focused on winning somehow. Be a famous singer. Have an awesome webshow. Be famous for the sake of fame. I have no patience for that nonsense anymore.

      What the Feeny-verse succeeds at, even at its most narmy moments, is teaching the audience what it means to truly live. The closest thing I've seen to a Feeny outside of the Feeny-verse? I'd say it's Uncles McCann from "Secondhand Lions."
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duu0bCkSlUo

      The man who directed "Secondhand Lions" is named Tim McCanlies. In addition to having an awesome name, he wrote the screenplay as well and sat on the film for a decade, terrified that a director would turn it into a cheap comedy. But for him, at the heart of "Secondhand Lions" was the question "What do we teach boys?"

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    2. Secondhand Lions is an excellent movie. I loved both uncles in that...Wonder Years is definitely akin to BMW with the hero being the everyman type. Good observation.

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    3. Secondhand Lions is, I think, one of the better examples of what happens when the creator of a work is given the lion's share of control in producing said work. Tim McCanlies wrote the screenplay and then he directed the film. He had the say in how everything went. He said in an interview he was terrified that some director might take his screenplay and put Jim Carrey in as Uncle Hub McCann. Just thinking about that makes my stomach churn.

      I'm a big freedom guy. I've seen far too many good ideas get squandered because somebody sought to put profit over story.

      What's worse, when profit is placed over story, or message over story? Quite a few potentially good episodes of Girl Meets World faltered because the message was too heavy-handed.

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    4. I should clarify: I've seen far too many good ideas get squandered because somebody sought to put profit over somebody else's story.

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  15. Shouldn't Maya v Riley have a "love them both equally" option?

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    1. A few people said they flipped a coin.

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    2. Cryptid, I am still not quite halfway through Season 1 so any other votes would be ill-informed anyway. Apparently I haven’t learned how to spell “Cory” the right way yet, and I still keep expecting William Daniels to show up in scrubs or a lab coat and lace into Ehrlich.

      It does seem that if you were a young actress back them, playing Eric’s latest interest was a good career move.

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    3. Hahaha sorry for the attack on the name spelling. A lot of commenters have been doing it, it wasn't just you. I just had to say it

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    4. I take it that you've seen St. Elsewhere Milestones. I thought about watching it if I can find it on Netflix. Was it good? I already know about "the ending."

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    5. Cryptid, I was moving around a fair bit during its run and couldn’t follow it, or any TV show, regularly. But I watched it whenever I could and was a big fan. Haven’t seen it since and don’t know how well it has aged. It’s not available on Netflix up here.

      It is certainly worth checking out if you can. “Sweet Dreams” from Season 3 (I had to look up both the title and year) is the episode I remember most clearly and fondly…though a familiarity with early MTV and ZZ Top might be needed for full effect.

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  16. Shawn over Topanga -and its not close for me . Shawn imo was the 2nd most important character on the show other than Cory. Also I would say had the best story lines of anybody

    Maya over Riley - only become I like the actress more, and she needs to cut it out with the inappropriate chemistry with Rider

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  17. Here's some fun, here are the current percentage spreads (in order of widest to closest) but without telling you which is which. MAKE SOME GUESSES!

    1. 82% vs. 18%
    2. 76% vs. 24%
    3. 59% vs. 41%
    4. 51% vs. 49%

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    1. Shawn vs. Topanga
      Riley vs. Maya
      Eric vs. Alan
      Feeny vs. Cory

      Names placed in order of the current winner

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    2. This happen quick! Only one of those percentage matchups is still current since I posted that.

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    3. Okay, I'm confused...and were you emulating Riley's "Yaaaaaaaaaaay" when you said Maaaaaaaaaaaybe?

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    4. No way Alan and Eric are that close Cryptid

      Shawn - Topanga
      Eric - Alan
      Maya- Riley
      Feeny - Cory

      I'm almost positive on which matchup with which scores but I'm not so sure on my guesses for the winners. Particularly the last two are very up in the air.

      Funny I originally would have liked to see Feeny win in part cause I like a fun twist. But now it's seeming that Cory's the underdog so I think I'd be happy with either. I love em both either way.

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    5. Yeah, I actually changed my mind about that not long after I posted. My first thought about Riley and Maya being so far apart was Riley's Protagonist Privilege.

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    6. I'm thinking

      Shawn - Topanga
      Eric - Alan
      Riley - Maya
      Cory - Feeny

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    7. Regardless of which set of numbers goes where, Topanga and Alan are doing better than I would have thought they would. Glad to see not everyone has the same opinion of all the characters.

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    8. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 10, 2015 at 5:21 PM

      As hard as this one is, the Shawn vs Cory/Feeny is gonna be rough. Eric's gonna flatten Riley/Maya and it wouldn't be close at all.

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    9. Oh Lord...what if Feeny and Eric have to fight each other in the final round?

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    10. "As hard as this one is, the Shawn vs Cory/Feeny is gonna be rough. Eric's gonna flatten Riley/Maya and it wouldn't be close at all."

      While I agree with the first part of your statement, I'm not so sure about the second. I think it depends a lot on whether the majority of the voters here are primarily GMW fans or fans of both shows. Newer fans are probably not going to vote Eric at all IMO, seeing as how Eric has spent the majority of his time on GMW in moron mode. That should give the Riley/Maya winner more votes than you might suspect.

      Even though I was an old BWM fan, I would vote for the RIley/Maya winner over Eric if he wins. Now if Alan wins, well that is a different story for me.

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    11. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 10, 2015 at 6:40 PM

      Fair point, 1960. Very well reasoned. I was looking more towards the overwhelming victories each of the BMW cast members had.

      Speaking of ages, Cryptid and I turned 22 yesterday. Although I've enjoyed this season of GMW much better than last season, I'd vote for the BMW characters.

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    12. "Newer fans are probably not going to vote Eric at all IMO, seeing as how Eric has spent the majority of his time on GMW in moron mode. That should give the Riley/Maya winner more votes than you might suspect."

      That's an excellent point, 1960. Eric has been a shade of his former self from Season 7 onward. I'm curious, what did you think of them bringing Tommy back to vouch for Eric? I thought it was really touching but it still felt a little...off. Given that it was a primary debate, I think it may have been nice to see Eric give his speech on the deck of cards and America.

      This character battle threw us all for a bunch of loops--I certainly didn't expect to see Frankie take down Minkus, though I did vote for Frankie. I look forward to tomorrow. The Final Four and "Girl Meets Farkle."

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    13. Besides a few jokes in his opening scene with Cory and the secret service agent, Eric didn't feel in "moron mode" at all in Semi-Formal. On the contrary, he tended to come off the savvier one in most of his interactions afterward, he knew what Jack was up to right away, and got him to see the error of his ways, he showed he had the more mature way of handling things with Rachel in the modern day, and even got a big band to play Riley's dance to boot. Mixed with the sweet Tommy stuff, Will Friedle's always top-notch performance and the fact that there's probably far less just GMW fans here than there are BMW/GMW fans, I expect Eric to do quite well next round.

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    14. Er... uh... assuming he.... wins this one....

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    15. True, Eric nailed it in "Semi-formal." Is Will going to write any more episodes, or direct? He's good.

      I had Eric pegged to beat Alan anyhow. Wait...just how close is this match-up?

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    16. Eh. I mean, I dunno, at this point, it's just not one people need to spend much time concerned about.

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    17. I agree Christian, as I said in my comments of the Semi-Formal review that Eric there was much more palatable to me. I assume it was because Will himself wrote the episode. But I absolutely hated him in Mr. Squirrels and in Goes to Washington. But I'm coming from a place where I don't care for the character very much to begin with.

      As for bringing Tommy back, I didn't have an issue with it, but I knew who he was. Fans of only GMW might have felt that that entire episode was a little too much BMW invading their show, and I can't say they would have been wrong. While GMW is a sequel, I personally believe they have to be careful with the amount of BMW guest stars and callbacks they do so that GMW can stand on its own. I think they do a very good job with this most of the time, but Goes to Washington might have crossed that line for me, though by a small margin.

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    18. I actually agree with you in 1960, I thought it was okay with Tommy because it seemed entirely dependent on the story. Like, there was a narrative reason to introduce Tommy based on what was happening. Some returns have felt much more random. I touch on this in a big way in the "Meets Farkle" review. Still, I do think other people liked the Tommy thing more than I did.

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    19. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 10, 2015 at 7:56 PM

      Have to agree with you both, Christian and 1960. The callbacks have been great. But I don't want the old cast members to return for the simple sake of returning. I'd like them to have something for the plot and the girls/Farkle/Lucas. I've also enjoyed Eric the most where he was playing supporting comic relief-but not moronic cringe relief.

      Tomorrow's discussion I imagine will go into great detail from you and Sean and the regulars.

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    20. For, what it's worth....

      1. 82% (Eric) vs. 18% (Alan)
      2. 76% (Shawn) vs. 24% (Topanga)
      3. 59% (Riley) vs. 41% (Maya)
      4. 51% (Feeny) vs. 49% (Cory)

      Cory eventually overtook Feeny (they'd been neck and neck the whole time) and Shawn lost a lot of ground last night and today. Eric/Alan and Riley/Maya wound up the same as here, but in both cases Eric and Riley increased their lead a few percentage points and then lost it.

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  18. Shawn vs. Topanga
    Eric vs. Alan
    Riley vs. Maya
    Feeny vs. Cory

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    Replies
    1. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 10, 2015 at 1:21 PM

      What he said.

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    2. Nothing, I'm just being coy.

      There hasn't been any votes in quite a few hours. This may be dying down.

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    3. Coy? Are you going to read Doy and Auggie a stoy?

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  19. Just saw a bunch of clips from Girl Meets Cory and Topanga. Hard to tell how good the episode might be from 3 minutes of clips, but I'm really looking forward to it.

    The clips are easy to find with a little Google search. If anyone finds a link to the entire thing, please post.

    Sorry to hijack this thread.

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    1. Huh. I didn't find them easy to find on Google at all. I can't find them at all.

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    2. Man I suck at google but I found them. Anyway here is the link. To see them all you have to scroll down a ways.

      http://websta.me/n/makeluck?lang=en

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    6. Deleted our little exchange because we might spoil.

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  20. Shipping Wars are StupidSeptember 11, 2015 at 6:12 AM

    Marginally better quality. More clips too.

    https://instagram.com/makeluck/

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for that. Can't wait for next weeks review.

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