Let's make this quick. Let's do bullet points.
- Shut the fuck up about the Bay Window. We're not worked up about the bay window. We don't find it iconic. It means nothing to us. It's a fucking window. Relax about it. The Ghost of the Bay Window? Charged with making sure someone appreciates this bay window. And now she's off to appreciate another bay window? Fuck right off.
- Hey, Doy's back! Hey, Doy's cute joke about his name is back too and has now been beaten to death, and then dropped off a cliff, and then a train ran over it, and then a lion ate it. And then a whale ate that lion. And then the world blew up. And then it turned out the world was just inside a marble that an alien was playing with. And then THAT alien's planet blew up. And then a train ran over that. The kid's still cute as can be, but if he's a one-trick pony with his name then I don't want to see him anymore. And I like Doy! And I like that he's a cute lil lion! Let's just move off the name thing. His name is Dewey, but he goes by Doy. Let's move on.
- Same goes for Ava. All done with Ava. We get it - she sucks. Poor Auggie has been severely underutilized this season, and then in an episode where he should have been the star he gets sidelined by his two dumb friends. Don't get me wrong - Auggie shouldn't be the star of episodes. But a bigger focus on his friends isn't the solution.
- Wow, they, uh, sure felt like they had something with that "Hot Feet" song, didn't they? What'd we hear it, like six times? Never got any better. I'm a big fan of the 1920s, way to ruin them.
- Austin & Ally might as well have not even been there, but I did like their costumes. I like Ally. And I like how these two, like, 18-year-old superstars are just like "Yeah, sure, we'll babysit these two random preteen girls. No problem." If I'm going to have to watch a fucking episode of Best Friends Whenever, and Riley and Lucas add no more to the proceedings than Austin & Ally did, I'm going to be pissed.
- No Farkle or Lucas in this one. Usually no Lucas means a good episode. What happened here?
- Man, Ben and Danielle sure are good sports. It had to have been, like, Danielle bursting into Ben's dressing room holding the script going "Have you read this shit?" and Ben's like "Yeah. I know. I don't know what to say." Still, at least they gave Topanga stuff to do, I guess.
- I'm sorry, is "It STARTS at 10?" a catchphrase of Riley's now? It was really funny and perfectly utilized in Tell-Tale Tot, why would they think they have to call it back? Same with Doy. It was good in its episode, why go back to that well? Imagine if Boy Meets World was always doing that - "Hey! They liked 'Good Looking Guy'! Let's bring him back next week!"
- Anything else? I can't think of anything else. Maybe I'm done. I hope so. Oh, god, the cartoon thing, right. I don't have anything to say about it beyond that it was dumb and they didn't do anything interesting with it considering how high-concept it was. I guess that's all there is to say about this episode in general.
Episode MVP: Fuck if I know. Danielle Fishel? I guess? God, I don't know.
I'm going the traditional route this time, where I'll be writing while I watch-and-pause. I don't have a reason. In the immortal words of Cory Matthews, "I don't like to be predictable."
Regarding The Bay Window, there is one good thing to come out of it all. ...I learned what a bay window is. I had never heard that term before, but now I can comfortably use it in conversation. For example, "Oh. A bay window. How unremarkable." That's about the extent of how it should ever be used.
They did the thing with the kids' reaction to Austin and Ally. Like "It's famous person x! I am passionately and of-my-own-free-will a fan of them!" Both guest characters are surprisingly endearing though. And their costumes can't be underappreciated. You would expect something that screams "We're good looking Disney stars, buy our albums!" like, I don't know, Elvis and Marilyn. But they're sandwich toppings. It feels good, but maybe in the same way that the guy who punches you in the stomach every day not punching you feels good.
Ding Dong the Doy is Dead. The joke is, anyway. Dead and buried. Except they put the wrong body in the coffin. They put Ben's dignity in the coffin. They put their own shame in the coffin. They put THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in the coffin.
Here's Sarah in the background at least.
Oh of course, now Ally and Austin look stylish. Nice job, The Ghost. The actress's name is Brittany Ross, and I feel like I recognize her, but I can't find anything on imdb. She's got big eyes and a tiny lisp that make her cute, but that and any amount of skill as an actor are totally undercut by how boring this is.
Why are they dancing again? I would kill for a ham fisted Cory lesson right about now. Anything but this. Especially since it's so sloppy. It's not their fault, Riley and Sabrina aren't dancers, but... then why did they do this? It's like your six your old kid comes up to you, "Mom/dad, I learned a new dance!" and they show you, and you're like "wowww that's goooood" because, you know, it's your kid. So Jacobs had to be like "wowww that's goooood" because it's his show and he has to work with these people for a long time. Rowan looks so uncomfortable, and I don't blame her at all.
I have to imagine that the people at Disney don't know actually know what flappers are, aside from their iconic appearance. The movement was partly a sexual revolution for women, which is great, I'm just saying that it clashes with the channel's apparent set of values. There's nothing else to write about, shut up.
They're clay now, and my neutral reaction is proof that this episode has numbed my emotions. I should be furious, but as Evey Hammond explained after a similarly torturous experience, "I can't feel anything anymore."
Clay Maya looks like Clay Britta from that Community Christmas special.
The ending is as Christian described. If any of you are insane enough to watch this episode again, count how many times Maya and Riley silently make eye contact like this:
The tag scene is... hoo boy. I'm exhausted. Poor Ben Savage, having to put up with this. I'm so sorry Ben.
I am so very sorry. I hope that one day you can forgive us.
Grade: D- since the claymation was actually really smoothly animated and I care about that sort of thing.
MVP: The claymation animators.
I actually forgive the celebrity thing with Austin and Ally for two (conflicting) reasons.
#1) Ava was really the only one who got excited. I never necessarily got the sense any of the rest of them (besides Auggie, who I think corrected Ava about Ally?) cared about whatever celebrity they may possess. and #2) We have no idea how famous Austin and Ally are in-universe. There are celebrities so famous that they would likely engender that kind of reaction, they just never tend to be the sort of celebrities that guest star on sitcoms. If Austin & Ally are the, like, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift of their world, then everyone knowing them would make sense. And, even if they didn't like them, teenagers (and many adults) would likely be so starstruck they'd fawn anyway. Much different than everyone being so excited because two supporting cast members from the fucking Love Boat showed up. Because we know no one cares about the Love Boat.
But, obviously those two reasons conflict. Either only Ava happens to be a fan and the rest maybe don't even know them, or they're so big that it's okay everyone knows them.
Ha, didn't even catch Sarah in the background there.
I feel like I had one more thing to say, but I can't think of what that may be. Oh well. I will say, that this is really a distressing shitty streak we're on. There hasn't been a decent episode since Semi-Formal (which, admittedly, is THE best episode) But Creativity, I am Farkle, Cory and Topanga, Rileytown, and now World: of Terror 2. Dud after dud. And this is the worst of the bunch. God, is there even any episodes coming up I'm excited about? Forgiveness, I guess. But it's disheartening to have no confirmed Shawn or Eric episodes on the horizon or confirmation of any other vet returns this season beyond another Minkus appearance or two. Season 2's been pretty good on the whole, but I think if trends continue we're looking at an extremely weak bottom half in contrary to the relatively strong first half.
I think I'm done. You?
One and done. Hit and quit.
I found something more to say. I figured that Austin and Ally being enjoyable in these guest spots, in contrast to their own show, was due to the power of good direction. True enough, this episode was directed by Joel Zwick, who also directed Pluto and Semi Formal. He's the man.
What's odd though, is that this script was written by Jeff Menell. The man responsible for And Then There Was Shawn and The Eskimo, among others. How the hell did this happen?
Well as I said in the last post, this episode was terrible. For me though it did have a few moments of genuine comedy.
ReplyDelete1. When Topanga opens the door and Ava is dressed as Glinda the Good Witch and Topanga says "Yea, no one is buying this." and Ava counters with "Where is your broom Topi". That was great
2. After the Trick-or-treating when Ava steals all the candy from Auggie and Doy.
3. The very end where the writers directly tell us that Ava is Topanga as Topanga once again steals the candy, screwing Cory out of his share the same exact way Ava did to her friends. Classic (Also Ava has now used "Topi" more times in a season and a half than Cory has ever done)
My biggest issue was that we know the guest stars can sing and dance, we know Sabrina can sing and supposedly Rowan can sing as well. Why then did they use a song that sounded like they were all talking instead of actually singing? WTF?
Grade: D - at least everyone was trying, it was just terrible writing. I'll assume that this entire thing came down from the network and wasn't Jacobs' fault.
MVP: Corey and Peyton - for being lucky enough not to actually be in this.
I can't even blame this on Disney this is just laughable. I don't even really want to comment on the episode. But I will say that not all halloween episodes are this terrible! Does anyone remember the Halloween episode of suite life of zach and cody! That was so much fun! If anything halloween episodes should be more fun than usual. Just throw a fun costume party and let your best characters interact and have a fun time and maybe pull some pranks since its halloween. ITS JUST NOT THAT HARD. But i think Ill just laugh this one off
ReplyDeleteGood Looking - you are right that not all Halloween episodes are this bad, not even on Disney. Last year Liz & Maddie had a Halloween episode that actually was pretty good (they got a triplet who was a demon). But I think that trying so hard to jam all 8 Disney shows together into this structure instead of letting each of them do what they do best is the real issue, and that can only be blamed on the network, even if the individual presentations turned out poorly. I can't believe that any of the writing staffs were actually excited about being forced into this, and it will probably show all weekend.
DeleteThat's very true. Some people are good at it, some people aren't. Some people revel in network-mandated challenges, some people take it very begrudgingly. Some people take it as an opportunity to stretch the formula, some people would just rather paint-by-numbers and collect a paycheck and be done with it (it's easy to tell shows by the latter as this is their MO for every episode).
DeleteMy favorites were how Shake it Up used to do theme episodes, as Shake it Up was done by Christopher Thompson, the same guy who brought you shows from Laverne and Shirley and Bosom Buddies to The Naked Truth. When SiU did theme episodes, they were directly poking fun at the network and the executives for thinking this is what kids honestly want to watch.
I forgot, the Good Luck Charlie Halloween eps were also really good because they actually did those as regular episodes and not exercises in let's lose our fucking minds here.
DeleteGuys, come on. This wasn't so bad. I'll give the writers credit for TRYING to make a...
ReplyDeleteNope. Playing devil's advocate isn't worth it. Screw this episode. We all know that this was a junk episode. I agree that the last few episodes weren't as good as Semi-Formal or Yearbook but they all had potential for greatness squandered by mediocre second halves or writing (which likely came from the network). I've enjoyed the last few episodes despite their underwhelming endings, but come on. This was just atrocious. Next week is Rah Rah. Please be good. Heck, please be average.
Grade D-
MVP: August Maturo. He wasn't too bad. And the kid should get one at some point.
Runner Up: Danielle Fischel
Auugh, what else is there to say? Nothing. I hated this episode so much. Can't say the rest of the cast looked like they were having fun.
So, Sean, how's the animation thing going?
I suck ass with no end in sight. Thanks for asking though :D
DeleteMy current project should be done by the end of october, so that'll be cool.
Riley and Maya stalking Shawn and Katy was pretty cute at least. Plus I did see the animation charity drive you had, that was fun.
DeleteOh you came to the charity stream? Shoulda said hi!
DeleteAnd thanks for the support, god knows I need it.
yw
DeleteI take it you already gave Best Friends Whenever a try and didn't like it? Maybe you'd like Austin & Ally better...but I doubt it. And yes, they're basically Disney Channel's Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift respectively, they're supposed to be massively famous. Hannah Montana-famous, in fact.
ReplyDeleteI guess another Google Docs link to the episode, or is it already on Watch Disney Channel?
We're looking to post a review of BFW on Friday, but neither of us has seen it yet.
DeleteI watched an episode of A&A and it seemed like pretty standard Disney schlock.
Are you asking for a link to this GMW or BFW? 1960poster dropped the link for this episode in the previous review.
Yeah, after your stint reviewing some of the other shows it seems you've gotten a feel for what the other shows are and what the rest of the runs are going to be like. A&A is, if anything, even worse schlock even by Disney standards. It wasn't always like that but like Jessie the showrunners just took the helm and did a nosedive completely cratering into the ground. Actually even faster than Jessie. They took what charm it had and just made it into 22 minutes of slapstick juvenile humor that a 8 year old would find patronizing broken up by some equally soft, glorified kiddie songs (though catchy).
DeleteAnd yeah, GMW, I'll catch 1960poster's link in the other review. I'm curious what episode of BFW you're going to review, if it's the upcoming Monstober one (Monstober, for all of the holiday themes, tends to be the most schlocky and worst) or a "regular" one.
Yeah it's the Monstober one since Riley and Maya are in it
DeleteWe wouldn't go near that shit without them
DeleteYou guys should try a Season 2 episode of I Didn't Do It sometime (anything from the first half, really. Like GMW, it's suffering with a meh second half of Season 2). Maybe "Stevie Likes Lindy" which features GMW's very own Corey Fogelmanis, while not my favorite episode. If you don't care about Corey then I guess watch "Logan Finds Out"
DeleteIt's really a slight Disney version of Friends tbh.
Personally, Jet, I always found Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101" to be "Friends for Kids."
DeleteYeah, I'm with you, Jet. Other than Liv and Maddie, I didn't do it is as bearable as Disney gets these days.
DeleteSee, I wasn't planning on being a regular; GMW is an "if it's on in the background" show I only pay attention to out of my fondness of its progenitor. I only checked back here to see if a casual comment I made had been responded to.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, you made me a regular. This was hilarious.
:D
Deletehave you seen my previous blog for Boy Meets World?
I'll vouch for Sean so he doesn't seem too boastful. Boymeetsworldreviewed.blogspot.com is an amazing and meticulous site. Read every single review. You won't regret it!
Delete:')
DeleteSeriously I've read through the entire Boy Meets World Reviewed blog twice and it was well worth it. Read it! Sean may be your new "celebrity" crush after you do.
DeleteThat is the best thing anyone has ever said
DeleteIt's really late right now, so I'll elaborate more later:
ReplyDeleteThis episode is not canon. The mythology of the Disney Channel Live Action Universe directly contradicts that of Boy Meets World.
God in Heaven, how did we end up with something worse than "Who's Afraid of Cory Wolf"?
My thoughts exactly. I could use some Cory Wolf like mouthwash after this one. I was CERTAIN that I would die before I saw Jacobs come up with a worse Halloween episode than Cory god damn Wolf.
DeleteI thought "Cory Wolf" was actually funny. They were still like 12 years old and it was all cute. This was just so much garbage.
DeleteAnd as for not canon - Cryptid, didn't you say that about "No Guts, No Cory" as well. Do you know if you look carefully in Cory and Topanga's apartment there is a picture of the 2 of them WITH Salem the Cat. I have to think Jacobs actually did that as his way of saying to the audience "yes it all happened, and we acknowledge it all". While I'm sure we will never again hear the names of Austin & Ally mentioned in the show, I'm sure that sometime in the future we will see that picture of Ava and Austin somewhere in the apartment, even if it is in Auggie's room.
*Covers ears*
DeleteI can't hear you! I can't hear you!
This episode cannot be canon, it just can't. The mythology of the Disney Channel Live Action Universe is incompatible with the Feeny-verse.
The real contention comes mostly from "Wizards of Waverly Place." The DCLAU has witches and wizards, werewolves, zombies, vampires, superheroes, cyborgs, and frankly a pretty damned offensive portrayal of angels and demons.
Say what you will about "Cult Fiction," and I think most of us agree it's awkward at best, and more than a little anvilicious, there is no question that it's canon. Shawn implores God to intervene on Jonathan Turner's behalf. And God answers.
If God is real in the Feeny-verse, then that means biblical angels are real. They are NOT what were portrayed in the DCLAU, where they are little more than busybodies who have no cosmic powers whatsoever and when the Universe's Moral Compass is stolen in a "Wizards vs. Angels" special, the angels have no interest in getting it back.
Thus, the DCLAU and the Feeny-verse are incompatible.
*Sets mic gently down and backs away*
"Say what you will about "Cult Fiction," and I think most of us agree it's awkward at best, and more than a little anvilicious, there is no question that it's canon. Shawn implores God to intervene on Jonathan Turner's behalf. And God answers. "
DeleteI'm not prepared to agree with that. Yes, Shawn implores God to intervene on Turner's behalf. But it's not like God then goes "Ah! Hello Shawn! So good to hear from you, my son. Of course, I'll fix Jonathan right up!" Hell, we don't even see that Turner even recovers for the rest of the show. Sure, Turner gets better, but that doesn't strike me as serving as proof that God is unquestionable fact in BMW. If I beg God to the sun to rise tomorrow, that doesn't prove God is real when that happens. Sometimes the stuff you pray for happens anyway.
Certainly this is worse than Cory Wolf, but Cory Wolf is most certainly awful. The only good Halloween episode is "And Then There Was Shawn" which isn't even one.
DeleteWhy do all the Halloween episodes have to involve haunted shit actually happening? Cory Wolf, Witches of Pennbrook, the Worlds of Terror. Just, like, do a Halloween episode about Halloween. Maybe Riley wants to go trick-or-treating still, but Maya thinks they should be doing big kid stuff like Halloween parties instead. Stuff like that.
Maybe it's more than the audience is supposed to believe that God intervened in helping Jonathan Turner recover, I probably could have articulated that better. While Shawn claims to feel God's presence, you're certainly right that God doesn't present Himself to Shawn in a fashion akin to "Touched By An Angel."
DeleteI agree with you though. Why not have an episode about Halloween? The first World of Terror is much better than this and I never thought I'd hear myself say that.
That's not a bad idea about Riley wanting to go trick-or-treating but Maya thinks it's kiddy. "Weekenders" did the same thing and it's one of my favorite episodes and it had character development! Tino enjoys trick or treating; his friends don't, but that's okay! Friends don't always have to do the same thing.
If they wanted scary, why not have Riley get mugged and now she's too frightened to leave the apartment? Too dark for Disney Channel, I'll admit, but hey, kids have to learn somehow that the world is not always a sunshine-y place.
I did a whole thing on this when I reviewed Cult Fiction so I might as well chime in. It's pretty much a given that "God" exists in the Meets World universe, but it's not automatically the biblical Christian God. So I don't think we can draw any conclusions about angels.
DeleteI think I got a little ahead of myself back there--I really don't want Girl Meets World to be stuck in the DCLAU--but to expand, "Sabrina The Teenaged Witch" doesn't mesh up at all with "Wizards of Waverly Place." The systems of magic are completely different.
DeleteAnd then there's the very-Disney Ghost of the Bay Window and how it compares to Chet popping in to check on Shawn on occasion.
Seeing as this episode had zero impact on the plot whatsoever--heck, even Fish had some semblance of plot--I think I can at least pretend it didn't happen.
Bottom line is, and I've said this from the jump. I don't want BMW/GMW anywhere near the DCLAU. Period. Which is why I hate these crossovers, even if they aren't cannon. They just offer up too many questions that can't really be answered.
DeleteOk guys I think I've got the solution. Auggie & Company are telling the story, so it's a case of unreliable narration. Everything with the ghost and cartoons was made up by the kids and didn't really happen. Any scene with Cory or Topanga are real events...... maybe.
Deletedisneydork57- I haven't seen the episode yet, but if it's anything like last year's Halloween episode, then I think it is safe to say it is not part of canon.
DeleteOn the contrary Kit, there is nothing to indicate that last year's World of Terror is not canon. Farkle's afraid of getting hit by the ball in gym; Riley's afraid of Maya's neighborhood; Auggie's afraid of the monster under the bed, a being that is entirely in his imagination.
DeleteCryptid456-How can it be canon when each segment was introduced by Auggie "pretending" to host his own little show. I thought each of the three stories was basically an imagine spot.
DeleteNah, Auggie told the audience that Riley was still over at Maya's in the third story--which explains why he didn't call for her instead of his parents because we know from "Tell-Tale Tot" that Auggie goes to Riley when he gets nightmares.
DeleteDidn't BMW meets Sabrina the teenage withc once? (I'm a BMW newbie, so forgive me if that crossover was non-canon but it still happend, i think)
DeleteSabrina the very very attractive teenage witch was in the tag scene of Witches of Pennbrook. The only episode I consider not canon is No Guts No Cory.
Delete"No Guts No Cory" could have been a nightmare brought on by cafeteria mystery meat.
DeleteI dunno, I kinda like No Guts No Cory. I'm not sure why Sean hates it so. It's the only of the time travel episodes I kind of enjoy. It's not, like, in the top 50 Boy Meets World episodes, but it's infinitely funnier than cringefest Teenage Spy and the inexplicable As Time Goes By. Eric's really funny in it, and I enjoy French-Cory. Hell, it gets at least a B if only for Shawn's line "If it was up to me, Cory would walk through that door the morning after the wedding and we'd get the whole thing annulled."
DeleteAt least a B? You are absolutely joking. Everything in the foxhole is a total waste of time. That whole sequence is oppressively stupid.
DeleteThere's always wiggle room for personal taste, but a B? No way.
I agree that the foxhole portion is not great, but I just checked and confirmed, the foxhole takes up very little time. We first see them there 8 minutes in, and everyone but Cory is back home 14 minutes in. And it's not like there's 6 minutes of fox hole, we cut away extensively to Philly in the middle. It's more like 4 minutes of fox hole.
Delete*Dusts off old olive branch to offer peace*
DeleteHey now, everyone is entitled to their opinions. Look at me, I loved "Rave On" and "Sixteen Candles and 400-Pound Men."
What would I give "No Guts, No Cory"? I don't know, maybe a B-. Eric's pretty funny.
Sean ain't the only one who dislikes No Guts No Corey:
Deletehttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1zd8yu_kids-are-smarter-than-this-no-guts-no-cory-boy-meets-world_fun
We're also entitled to savagely debate our opinions without someone waving sticks in our faces :)
DeleteShipping Wars threw my olive branch away when I wasn't looking. So, I still had some leftovers from "Cory and Topanga." That episode was so cheesy, I was able to make tacos for everyone. And then I was able to make a cheesecake.
DeleteAnd I already vacuumed up the crumbs. :)
Taco?
what the hell are you talkin about man
DeleteIt was a joke from two episodes ago, Sean. The episode was really cheesy. So much so that I was able to use the cheesiness from that episode to make tacos. And then I was able to make cheesecake with the leftover cheese.
DeleteAnd a couple weeks back you complained about me getting crumbs on the blog from eating cinnamon rolls, so I already vacuumed them up.
Dang...I am out of my mind.
I don't mind NGNC as a joke AU episode but do people actually consider it canon?
DeleteI consider it a very vivid dream Cory had, induced by too much Chubbie's food. So, kinda canon.
DeleteAnd wait, Sean, you mean you actually consider "As Time Goes By" and "Who's Afraid of Cory Wolf?" canon?
DeleteI'm okay with Cory Wolf even though it really sucks. It's like the spiritual precursor to Witches of Pennbrook. ATGB though... I forgot that even existed. Probably shouldn't include that one.
DeleteYeah, anything involving actual supernatural events as plot points--Bay Window Ghost, ATGB, NGNC--I just pretend is caused by indigestion-induced nightmares. Except for Ghost Chet--he's awesome and always will be.
Delete"I Was a Teenage Spy" helps with the above philosophy--it's not very good, but Cory knocked himself out in Chubbie's and dreamed the whole thing. So, a bad dream from Coryland isn't that bad at all really.
"Cory Wolf" doesn't actually have supernatural elements, though, right? It's all in Cory's head and turns into a (slightly awkward) metaphor for puberty. Witches definitely had some supernatural elements, although the story would probably work okay without them (I think it was pretty much the giant laser thing at the end and the jokey tag with the Shawn frog). Compared to GMW's Halloween silliness, I'd much rather take Cory Wolf for a spin again.
DeleteFuck this. I'm not watching the fucking link. No. Just no. I hate theme weekends with a passion of a 1000 flaming suns. I was going to maybe watch for the costumes, just to see what they went with. The girls were flappers, Doy was a lion, Austin & Ally were sandwich toppings. Cute. Ok, that's it for my interest. Burn this mother down, and I'll see ya'll for the next new episode.
ReplyDeleteDoy was a very very cute lion. It opened on a shot of Doy as a lion and I wondered how it could possibly be bad. Alas.
DeleteAnd I have to agree with you Sean, the flapper costumes almost seem out of place in comparison to the others.
DeleteWhat link? Did I miss something? How are y'all getting this episode so early?
Deletethere's some on demand service or something that lets you see them early, i dont really know, but there's a link to it in the comments of the rileytown review. ctrl f "drive" and you should find it
DeleteSince you asked about it in the main review I looked up Brittany Ross and it appears she mostly does yeoman/journeyman work across the TV industry playing small roles, like probably the majority of actors in Hollywood. She's had similar individual/bit parts throughout a number of Disney Channel shows so she appears to be one of the few regulars kind of stuck on that network, but not big enough to make it as a star herself.
DeleteI didn't watch last week's episode and I'm not watching this either. Call me when it's time for Texas, Belief, or Graduation.
ReplyDeleteEven if those suck, at least it'll be in an interesting way and will hopefully inspire interesting discussion of some sort.
DeleteI commend your force of will. I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't watch every episode.
DeleteHaha I didn't watch Fish and maybe a couple others either, though I probably will watch Rileytown at some point. (I don't even think I've seen every single episode of Boy either, though I do plan on fixing THAT!)
Delete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Deleteyeah I'm giving you homework. watch bmw.
You act like I haven't watched it at all XD I've actually seen a lot of it. But yeah I've been watching it just to make sure I've seen them all :)
DeleteWTF was I even talking about? Oh yeah why I like Disney Channel...no, why GMW and Disney Channel have a poisonous relationship. They need to cut this "synergy" nonsense bullshit out right now, especially now they have GMW. Not everything has to live in the same goddamn universe. We don't need to have Riley Matthews, Jessie Prescott, Austin Moon, Alex Russo, Spider-Man, Gactcus, Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, John Munch, MOTHER FUCKING GOD HIS MOTHERFUCKING SELF, etc., all coexisting. The demands of Disney Channel isn't just dragging down GMW, it's dragging down the whole goddamn network. They literally think Ally having to explain the joke of a bunch of giraffe paintings is on such a gold level that the Boy Meets World veterans who tuned in to see how Cory's going to get out of another scrape will love to see this, and at the end of the day all it's doing is giving Disney Channel really bad word-of-mouth. So yeah, maybe GMW should be kicked over to ABC Family. Or better yet, maybe lop the entire head off of Disney Channel because with ratings in freefall for nearly every show that isn't GMW (and even then it's iffy) maybe it needs to be run by people who want TV shows, even for kids, to be good instead of relying on gimmicks and thinking that's good enough. GMW itself and Liv and Maddie actually have some effort behind them, it's time they either demand the same from other showrunners or do what they did to the creators of I Didn't Do It and FIRE THEM and replace them with actually competent people (unfortunately the people that got replaced on I Didn't Do It weren't competent either).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I do feel a little bit better after that rant, thank you very much.
Also you guys need to migrate from Blogspot it's pretty awful for comments.
Delete*Slow clap*
Delete*Slightly faster clap*
*Fast clap*
*Rapid clap*
*Stands up while clapping*
*Thunderous applause*
*Hands so sore from clapping they fall off*
Dang, Blogspot cut off where I likened Disney Channel to my drunken-ex girlfriend though (that's what I was complaining about with needing to migrate out of Blogspot).
DeleteLet's have some fun, guys! This was a Halloween episode, so I decided to take all the holiday episodes of the Feeny-verse and rank them.
ReplyDeleteWorld of Terror 2
Bleh! Get the taste out of my mouth now. I am hoping against hope this isn’t canon, for aforementioned reasons.
Witches of Pennbrook
Probably the worst of Boy Meets World holiday specials. Not memorable at all and more weird than scary. I literally remember only the witches doing their witchy things. And I learned that my computer recognizes “witchy” in its dictionary.
Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?
Silly, kind of pointless by itself, but sets foundation for Cory and Topanga in Season 2, so it’s probably among the more important narrative-wise.
Cyrano
Barely qualifies since Alan and Amy’s anniversary is barely the B-plot but hey, I included all the other anniversary episodes, it’d feel wrong to leave it off.
Train of Fools
Seeing as the holiday is little more than a plot device than actual plot, there’s not much to say here. Sean was right all those years ago—why even bother with a stuck-on-the-subway episode when “Hey Arnold!” squashes all the competition?
Easy Street
Not wild about this episode, though I think it does do a good job of highlighting just how far Cory and Shawn are willing to go for each other. Shawn’s line about finally being able to buy decent presents for his friends and family stands out.
Wheels
This one…okay, Cory the Whiny is not funny. Cory the Neurotic is funny. Cory the Whiny is not. And it shows. That being said, we get one of the best guest stars ever with the balloon-making judge.
Kid Gloves
Again, the holiday really just initiates the plot, but this episode is still enjoyable. The Matthews brothers show a bit of growth from “Father-Son Game.” Not fantastic, but nothing to complain about.
A Very Topanga Christmas
DeleteA Christmas Carol! And Boy Meets World! Yay? Well, to a point. Cory learns an excellent lesson about compromise in traditions that frankly, I agree with 1960, should have been in “Home for the Holidays.”
First Girlfriends’ Club
I don’t know about this one. I’m not sure it holds up. Sure it’s kind of funny. But the antics of the boathouse are actually kind of horrifying. Shawn’s bad behavior is brought to the forefront though, and he does resolve to change for Angela. So that’s good.
World of Terror
Eh, not as bad as a lot of people make it out to be, the first third non-withstanding—that actually is rather dreadful. Riley actually grows quite a bit all things considered, getting over her arguably-justified fears of Maya’s not-as-safe neighborhood. Had that been the A-plot, we’d have been looking at a modern “Turkey Day,” so credit to what could have been.
My Baby Valentine
Cory’s antics here are actually kind of fun. And Valentine’s Day is very important! And, hey look everybody, Morgan is in this episode!
It’s About Time
CORPANGA WEDDING! Weddings count as holidays!
Rave On
I personally love this episode. A lot. Amy and Alan are given quite a bit to do here and Alan gets Amy something good—he’s grown a lot since Cyrano. And, more importantly REG! Reginald Fairfield!
Family Trees
Alan’s birthday, and also sort of Christmas. Looks like it was at least partially ret-conned, or to be more precise, the ret-cons were undone. Shipping Wars and I have a soft spot for this one. I love Alan’s efforts to reach out to Shawn.
Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men
I’m a sucker for this episode. It embraces every single plot point and tired trope about two places at once and makes you love it too.
Santa’s Little Helpers
Eric! Lots of Eric in this episode. Shawn and Angela have a very important discussion about their relationship; I remember the conversation, I just forget it’s in this episode. And I enjoy it whenever Eric has something fun or heart-warming to do. And in this episode Eric gets to be Santa.
Home for the Holidays
Too crowded for its own good, truth be told, but what the heck. This is as fan-service as it gets and I still love seeing the Matthews together. Cory and Shawn are back!
Master Plan
Cory and Shawn are back, and better! Real plot development here! This is probably the strongest episode in Season One and it fits well.
Girl Meets Brother
Surprisingly strong for the first holiday episode of Girl Meets World. Cory and Topanga’s anniversary is the B-plot but initiates the A-plot. I’m a sap; I love strong sibling relationships and I love this episode. Would that we could have Riley and Auggie interact like this more often.
Turnaround
An excellent episode all the way around with great antics from Cory, Shawn, and Eric and a very good life lesson. I wonder whatever happened to Ingrid?
Santa’s Little Helper
Talk about ways to start on a good note. The very first holiday episode of “Boy Meets World” sets the foundation for one of the best bromances in life-action television history.
The Eskimo
Ask anyone who works in a supermarket—Super Bowl Sunday is as crowded as Thanksgiving; it might as well be a holiday episode. And this one has Feeny at his very best in encouraging Shawn. How can I not put it on this list?
Turkey Day
The crown gem of all holiday episodes in the Feeny-verse. This one has it all: Involved Feeny, Loyal Cory, Shawn Who Doesn’t Storm Off In A Huff, Funny Eric, Chet, Life Lesson from Alan, Fantastic Classroom Scenes, Frankie the Enforcer, Character Development, and Turkey!
From his old blog, Sean says he’d show “Last Tango in Philly” to someone who hasn’t seen any Boy Meets World. Me, I’d show them Turkey Day.
Not entirely relevant, but this comment reminded me of how annoying Topanga was in "AVTC," which made me check out Sean's review of it again (I was planning on posting something about that).
Deleteanyway
I saw this GIF:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-08AHU0aNj0Q/VADOLg8FPNI/AAAAAAAAD20/_sTKO-BkGYk/s1600/2.gif
and, not knowing exactly when it looped the first couple times, took it as eric getting progressively angrier until he's basically screaming at cory and i don't know why but i can't stop laughing
So I gave this another view to make sure that it was as bad as we all think, and ..... yes it was. Well at least we can rest assured that all the episodes we have left will be better than this.
ReplyDeleteI would bet that it gets good ratings though. The entire weekend is getting a big push. That can't hurt. "Meets Rileytown" was pretty much panned by us but it got the highest viewership of season 2 with 2.63 million viewers. Who knows.
Maybe if viewership continues to increase, if we get a Season 3, they can take more risks.
DeleteYeah, Rileytown did great. And I wouldn't go so far as to say we panned it. There was quite a bit to like from the acting, if not the writing.
DeleteHere, the only remotely good bit was Riley apparently being the physical manifestation of Maya's conscience.
And Season 3 is due to film in January.
Omg My Babysitter's a Vampire is going to be on in a few days this is something on Disney Channel that doesn't suck!
ReplyDeleteYou know what, this review needs something good. Something to wash this episode out of our mouths and collective memories. So, since the girls sang a bit in this episode, I'll post a video of one of them singing. Well, a link to a video. If none of you have heard Sabrina and Sarah sing, here's them doing a really great cover.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpnpzUUMFDo
Beautiful :)
DeleteAre you guys enjoying this show? I've seen every episode but I am not sure my love for boy meets world can keep me going much longer.
ReplyDeleteWell... I'm enjoying the blog... That's enough to keep me going.
DeleteI don't know, it's a tv show with Cory Matthews. I don't think I could ever not watch a tv show with Cory Matthews.
If you replaced all the characters and actors that were on BMW with different characters and actors, but kept the exact same dialogue and stories, I wouldn't watch it. I don't know if that answers your question.
Like if it were Riley Matherson, with her dad/teacher Carl Matherson, mom Tazmania Matherson, uncle Ulrich Matherson, and dad's best friend Shane Hubbard, all played by different actors but with all the same dialogue and stuff, I wouldn't even give it the time of day.
DeleteDo you think it's because Micheal Jacobs lost something between Boy Meets World and now or do you think its because of the demands and conformity to Disney Channel?
DeleteThat is the question of the century. Almost all of Boy Meets World was shown on Disney Channel, so it's not like they're THAT strict. But it may have changed sine then, who knows.
DeleteConsidering this whole thing started when Disney approached Michael Jacobs with the intent of re-booting "Boy Meets World," I'd say there's something going on at the network. BMW ran in syndication on Disney from 2000 to 2007. According to Wikipedia, 2007 saw a turn in intent for Disney programming, though I would argue it started in 2006 as that's when Hannah Montana premiered. Whenever it started, it is the explicit intent of Anne Sweeney, the President of the ABC-Disney Television Group to have Disney Channel be the "major profit drive for the [Walt] Disney Company."
DeleteMichael Jacobs, I think, was rusty--he hadn't made anything new to my knowledge in the years between series--but he's still got some stuff left in him. He insisted Riley be played by a twelve-year-old actress, rather than have Dawson Casting for his protagonist.
I'm more curious about the new writers they hired. Jacobs brought back some of the old crew, though I'm not sure if everybody came back. That could be significant--the best writer for "Last Airbender" was Aaron Ehasz and he did not come back for "Korra" and it showed. If one of Jacobs' old generals didn't come back, the show might be suffering for that
Jacobs also brought up some new women writers so the staff could learn how to write girls.
While there's merit in that idea--speaking for my own writing, I'm always wondering whether or not I'm doing even a passable job when I'm writing from a girl's perspective--I'm not sure it worked out from a quality standpoint.
There's so much here to answer that perhaps I should do it with my own blog post. For starters the time that has passed since Boy Meets World was on Disney is greater than the total time it was even on the network now. Times have changed. The last time it aired was in spring 14 with a smattering of early run episodes that were obviously edited (all of these had their scenes edited into future GMW episodes in fact including Meets Cory & Topanga). Disney Channel has changed its mandates and content, not necessarily for appropriateness but for likely what it deems profitable.
DeleteI know I'm literally the only guy here who thinks Jessie or any other show on the network is non-F-rated-terrible but if you watch a S1 episode and compare it to an S4 episode it's like a completely different show with the same actors and sets. For starters I forgot how Jessie was basically chick-Lucas in more than one sense. My point being that the network might have changed its own mandates for what constitutes quality, and that the change might actually be fairly recent (remember how good Good Luck Charlie was?)
The thing about hiring young actors is the old saying, never work with children or animals. There's a reason why that saying exists and why Dawson Casting exists. It's for practical reasons and being offended by it is like being offended that your neighbor drives a Toyota instead of HURR MURICA. It's based on emotional idealism derived from facts that might not even exist. They lucked out bigtime that they found Rowan Blanchard, a girl practically born from God to play this role. Christian and Sean have found out that most of the other kids her age on other shows aren't that great actors.
Also STFU about Korra :P Its third season was godly, though...yeah the others kinda sucked. The final season was a letdown.
Also *sexist comment of the day* Anna Sweeney is surprisingly hot for her age. Also just curious what are you writing?
Oh, I understand the practicality of Dawson Casting. If nothing else, there's child labor laws to factor in. Not many young child actors can play their age well. I only brought it up because it was one of the things Michael Jacobs was that adamant about. He said in an interview that he didn't think he could get the same sense of "coming of age" from a fourteen or fifteen-year-old playing a twelve-year-old. They lucked out big-time with Rowan, though there's probably some risk of her winding up being type-casted.
DeleteI'm writing several things. But my concerns about how to write from a girl's point of view comes primarily from my attempt to rewrite my thesis.
It's a coming of age novel about a small group of teenagers who spend their afternoons and weekends visiting a long term living facility for critically ill children. Two of the teenagers are cousins and the girl moves in with her male cousin's family after her parents divorce and forfeit their custody rights.
Consider it the church-goer's "Perks of Being A Wallflower/Fault in Our Stars."
I wasn't particularly fond of "Good Luck Charlie." It went downhill fast and hard. The children were rarely sympathetic and often downright selfish and demanding. The middle son Gabe should have been sent to a military school. And the mother...God knows we complain that Topanga is not utilized to her full potential, but the mother on Good Luck Charlie was often more childish than her own children.
DeleteAnd I watched the show through till the end--though Season 4 was spotty, I'll admit. And I struggle to remember the finale and it only aired a year and a half ago. "Suite Life" was critically worse than Charlie, but it had a very memorable, cathartic, heart-warming finale that should be a model for children's shows.
Credit where credit is due though, if ever there were somebody fit to be Eric Matthews' successor in Wacky Big Brother then it was P.J. Duncan. If we can't have Big Brother Elliot, then I'm glad we got P.J.
ya it answers my question, and I appreciate you responding Sean. I really enjoy the blog and all the effort you guys put into it. Knowing i get to see the analysis from you guys after makes watching some of these terrible episodes bearable.
DeleteMy reason in turn for bringing up Dawson Casting is because in my mind it brings into question Jacobs' willingness to compromise, which might be a further indication of what exactly is going on and in turn compromising the creative process. In the end it's really, really hard to tell because it almost as if God hand-delivered Rowan to him making the whole scenario moot. You can't overemphasize how much of an outright gift Rowan is to the show and the network,and it's puzzling the network wants to almost bury her under Sabrina and Dove, as great as they are. They're even burying Zendaya under Sabrina and Dove, even though she has mass-appeal too and her show sometimes outstrips GMW. Debby might as well be persona non-grata to the network at this point. I think it might actually be an age-related thing. It's not because of any double-threat considerations because Rowan can sing too, but they're not promoting her like that. I still wouldn't worry about Rowan being typecast, she's already getting roles that are different enough from Riley including Invisible Sister. Maya is flexible enough a role I wouldn't worry about it either with or without Further Adventures. It's Debby, Peyton List, Olivia Holt etc. I'm worried about (if you even care to worry about it).
DeleteI'll agree with you on GLC, though it managed to avoid the nose-dive into a crater like Jessie (or the Denver Broncos for that matter...goddamn McDoofus) and it ended up being more insidiously subtle. It got more noticeable in Season 4 but by then most of the audience was going to be invested in it no matter what by habit if nothing else anyway. I don't think it was that quite fast and hard, or maybe again I'm looking through rose-colored glasses. Also what you said about Suite Life, its' amazing that those are the same exact writers on Jessie and Bunk'd now. It's amazing that the Jessie writers are still the Jessie writers for that matter. And Jason Dolley really is an underrated actor.
As for help on your thesis, you can go about it one or two ways, the best being having direct, physical contact with a well-regarded female writer of YAL, or barring that, being skilled at having extended Twitter or e-mail conversations with one (but talking face-to-face makes a world of a difference, I can tell you from personal experience). If that's impractical then choose some of the books most popular with teen girls and read those (not Twilight, ideally something in a like-genre). You've mentioned Perks of a Wallflower and Fault in Our Stars so I'm guessing you've already read them (or watched them). You might want to read Eleanor and Park, The Probability of Miracles (it's actually FIOS before that book) or, um, let me see if this works: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/best-of-year-2013 https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/23393173-ray?shelf=best-of-year-2014
DeleteBTW I actually originally set up my blog to review YAL as part of a class project and I've been reading almost a YAL book a day since...I really need to get a life.
I think most of my disgruntlement from GLC comes from how mean-spirited the relationships of the family were:
DeleteTeddy was livid about getting another little sibling when she was really at an age where she shouldn't be that upset by it since in less than two years, she'd be in college. There was outright, if understated, misgivings about having a baby sister in the pilot! She barely interacted with P.J. despite there being only two years difference between them. Their lack of a relationship makes me wonder what could have been with Elliot and Riley, since if nothing else Michael Jacobs knows what he's doing with siblings.
Gabe was one of the worst kid characters in recent memory. He was spoiled, demanding, manipulative, mean-spirited, and never once did the right thing of his own volition without having already done the bad thing.
Charlie was too little to do much, though it was funny when P.J. capitalized on her cuteness by using her to get more tips on his fried chicken delivery route. That was a very Eric thing to do. That, and giving advice to total strangers. P.J. brought a lot to the show.
That's awesome of you to say Mark. This thread seems to have been commandeered, but thanks for saying that :D It goes a long way
DeleteSorry for commandeering it, but I agree with Mark, I've enjoyed it a lot.
DeleteWhat Unknown said. Never meant to commander. Just sort of happened. I love this blog and I love the commenters.
DeleteOk, so I watched it and at first I was fine with it. Maybe due to low expectations, but I had little problem with the ghost and cameos. It's stupid stuff but no worse than say Salem taking everyone back in time or Eric stopping a bunch of witches.
ReplyDeleteBut then the cartoon happened.
What the flippity fuck was that! What a waste of animation. It was random, out place, poorly written crap! Who on earth thought that was a remotely good idea!? It was so awkward and dumb that was a pain to watch. I never ever want to see that ever again.
Hey, Witches of Pennbrook is the hilarious kind of bad. I think my review of that one explains it pretty well. No Guts No Cory, though, is the unbearable kind of bad like this episode.
Deleteoh I like Witches of Pennbrook just fine. I just meant that there is a persistence for the supernatural on this show so I could just about buy the ghost being there doing crap.
DeleteBut that cartoon though, ugh! What was even the point?
Dang, guys. I didn't think it was THAT awful. The dancing parts/song were pretty bad, the claymation stuff didn't work and the Doy stuff was overdone, but I enjoyed a lot of the Topanga/Cory dialogue and the bits with Riley/Maya made me laugh. I'd rather watch this than the first Halloween episode.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the Bay Window :(
They have to teach the girl playing Ava to enunciate, though, some of her lines I couldn't make out at all.
I don't mind the Bay Window. I mind the personification of it.
DeleteBut it makes sense why Riley's so attached to it. She lives in an apartment in New York City, specifically Greenwich Village. She does not live in a suburban neighborhood. No suburbia, no yards. No yards, no tree houses or club houses or forts. Bay Window was probably Riley's "clubhouse" and she and Maya never got around to hanging out anywhere else, except the bakery.
The Bay Window serves as a pretty important centerpiece set that every show on the network has for all or part of the cast to have intimate moments with, so yeah it's a pretty big deal. In Jessie it's either the screen room, the kitchen or the Central Park set (all have served it in some function), in Austin & Ally it's the songwriting room, in Liv & Maddie it's the backyard set, in Girl Meets World it's the bay window. It ends up being a natural place for Riley and Maya to meet, so I can see why it ends up being made a big deal.
DeleteIt's not so much the "Bay Window," it's them saying it ten times an episode that's more annoying.
DeleteLater this season we'll have Girl Meets the Bay Window. Over/under they'll say it fifty times for that one?
The window is an important part of who they are and how they live. They are going to talk about it and being there often. If it bothers you that much you can fast forward through those scenes or not watch. I don't mean to be an ass here, but it seems obvious that they will talk about it and no amount of complaining will change that.
DeleteRight, you are. I could fast forward it. I could fast forward everything I don't like. I could stop watching the show. I could ignore every stupid or bad thing that ever happens in this world or to me rather than addressing it.
DeleteBut, then. Why do anything? Sean and I are reviewing this show. When we don't like something, we'll say so. That's why we're here. The idea that we should just shut our mouths and take it when we don't like something is utterly contrary to the entire point of this website. I find the big deal they make about this bay window to be stupid and completely unearned. They're foisting sentimental attachment to an inanimate object that they haven't done a good enough job making us care about. That's bad writing. That deserves ridicule. And we're going to keep doing that until it changes. I find suggestions otherwise kind of offensive, frankly. What is it you're expecting of us?
No amount of complaining will change ANYTHING about this show... But that's not why we're here. The blog isn't a force for change, it's just a place to write about our opinions. I don't think "offensive" is the right word, though.
DeleteIt's just so silly what they're doing with it. Yes, it's a place where the characters commonly hang out. That in itself conveys its significance. Drawing a big red arrow to it and saying LOOK LOOK LOOK IT'S SIGNIFICANT is really annoying writing, not to mention unnecessary. You can't shove symbolism/iconography in people's faces, it defeats the purpose.
Right, you are. I could fast forward it. I could fast forward everything I don't like. I could stop watching the show. I could ignore every stupid or bad thing that ever happens in this world or to me rather than addressing it.
DeleteBut, then. Why do anything? Sean and I are reviewing this show. When we don't like something, we'll say so. That's why we're here. The idea that we should just shut our mouths and take it when we don't like something is utterly contrary to the entire point of this website. I find the big deal they make about this bay window to be stupid and completely unearned. They're foisting sentimental attachment to an inanimate object that they haven't done a good enough job making us care about. That's bad writing. That deserves ridicule. And we're going to keep doing that until it changes. I find suggestions otherwise kind of offensive, frankly. What is it you're expecting of us?
Christian, I wasn't even responding to anything you wrote, unless you post as Anonymous from time to time just for fun. But I have to say that for someone that writes an online blog that allows for rebuttal and discussion, you certainly seem to take offense at a lot of what gets said here. This isn't the first time you have gotten ticked off at posts that aren't trying to flame or troll. So I guess it's time for me to leave.
I have enjoyed the reviews, but I can get replies like this one on IMDB. No need to get flamed here.
And Sean, I agree that it is silly, but this show is catering to a much younger demographic than BMW was and so what may seem like bad writing on a sitcom on ABC may be exactly what is expected on Disney. I think that you have to take some of that into account in your reviews. If this show moved to ABC and continued to be written like this I would agree that you are correct, but while it is on Disney I think you have to lower your expectations for how some things are executed. Actor performances however, are fair game as those shouldn't depend on where they show this.
1960, I certainly don't think anything I was saying was any more inflammatory than what you said above, which essentially amounted to telling someone who made a mild complaint that they should either should stop talking about it or stop watching. I found what you said to be out of line, and I said so. No one's telling you to leave, but if that's what you feel you need to do, it's entirely your call.
DeleteAnd it doesn't matter if you were talking to me or not, what I said holds true for this Anonymous too, who should also be able to complain about anything he wants to with regards to the show. You took issue with exactly what Sean and I had been doing in our review. Hell, we complained about it a heck of a lot more vociferously than Anonymous did. If it's simply someone stating their view on the show, and it's not something you'd give Sean and I hard time about, I'm not sure why you'd give this Anonymous a hard time about the same thing.
Well that's the thing, I don't think it needs to cater. 12 and 13 year olds are smart enough to understand subtlety. Boy Meets World is legendary for never talking down to its audience, and it started out with that same demographic. I wish Girl was the same way.
DeleteYou will (and should) despise Austin & Ally then. They've never seen or heard the arrangement of words that spells subtlety at any point in their lives.
DeleteHahah, yeah the one episode I watched was a travesty. That was when we stopped reviewing the other Disney shows, I couldn't handle that one. The characters were fairly enjoyable in these guest spots though, which speaks to the power of good direction. Yeah I just checked, it's got the same director as Pluto and Semi Formal. Fuck yeah, I called that shit.
DeleteThe writer was Jeff Menell though, which is weird, since he was one of the best writers for Boy.
For god's sake, the man wrote And Then There Was Shawn AND The Eskimo. What the hell happened
DeleteMandates.
DeleteThat's what happened Sean. Mandates.
Mandates and executive meddling.
DeleteOkay, I say we build a time machine and go back and show Michael Jacobs and whoever is in charge of ABC what will happen if GMW airs on Disney. Maybe show the executives of Netflix as well--they're airing Fuller House, so it's not like it's out of the question that GMW could have had its home there. And we bring a billionaire with us to shower the network with enough funding that Jacibs can do whatever he wants.
that's such a cop outtt. "it's Disney Channel" isn't an excuse for putting shitty dialogue on a piece of paper. Semi Formal had great dialogue. It's possible. They should still be held accountable when they do a bad job.
DeleteTime machine was meant to be a joke, Sean.
DeleteI don't disagree that Disney Channel probably gets an inordinate amount of blame from us, when I stop to think objectively. Sure "Rileytown" probably had mandates--they can only show so much on Disney. We'll probably never see actual fisticuffs and the kids are not going to swear.
That's not saying that bullying will be done well on ABC--on LMS, the youngest daughter Eve is harassed for her conservative politics and her mother was more concerned that Eve was going to alienate herself from her peers by posting more conservative material rather than the fact that a male student had physical attacked her daughter, giving her a bloody nose.
Yes, I know that the time machine was a joke.
DeleteYeah, but you were right. The show's on Disney Channel and although that probably means kiddie gloves on serious issues, that's no excuse for not having coherent plots or dialogue.
DeleteI think it might just be that this was an unholy mixture of a holiday episode, a crossover, and more likely than not, Disney-mandated singing and dancing, due in large part to crossover.
I am really starting to bristle at the "its all Disney Channel's fault" line that I'm starting to see more and more. Seriously, does anyone thing that Michael Jacobs was not aware that his writing style would probably have to change a bit to accommodate the networks standards. Now, that doesn't mean we should just settle for shit writing, or an inability to cover serious topics. But we can't act like Jacobs and his team were Bambi lost in the woods. That's just naive.
DeleteYou're right pwfan--I, and others, have been too harsh on Disney.
DeleteAll I know is that according to TVLine, Girl Meets World underwent "creative changes" after the pilot. I'm inclined to believe that means mostly how the classroom scenes are handled, but we'll likely never know.
I think I've overlooked just how much Will Friedel, Bill Daniels, and William Russ brought to the show in early seasons. Eric, Feeny, and Alan had B-plots that were often very amusing and helped keep the show going before the Cory-Shawn bromance really developed. To say nothing of the million-retcon romance of Corpanga.
I agree in that regard, the show is missing an older element to it that BMW had with the Eric B plots. Those early years had the Jason and Eric plots that in a way worked to try and balance out the part of the show that catered to younger viewers. I think GMW made a mistake when it cut out the older brother character because it narrowed the breadth of stories that could be told. Allowing a high school student as a family member opens up more content and a different age group to bring into the show. Middle School stories are narrow and have a ceiling really on the issues these kids can deal with on a weekly basis. You notice that while the BMW cast seems younger in the first season by the time the second season rolls around they thrust them into a high school setting. It opens up a wider range of topics and characters that can be introduced i.e. Joey, Frankie, Harley. Disney Channel does limit the stories and the reality that can be portrayed but so does the age and the idea they are in a middle school. I think when the show moves them into a high school setting the story telling will be better but until the show eventually works its way to ABC it will always be restricted in a way that BMW wasn't.
DeleteIt's not so much an older element as it is "What Lesson Will The Core Four Learn Today" as opposed to "Dear God, what did Cory and Shawn do this time?"
DeleteElliot was only meant to be a year older than Riley, if not her older Irish Twin (Same calendar year, two pregnancies). So there probably wouldn't have been a high school set, until Riley was in high school. Odds are, if for no other reason then budget, they'd have kept the kids together--Elliot being held back a year and being with his younger sister in secondary school is actually an interesting story possibility. And had Elliot been kept, we wouldn't have had Auggie. Say what you will of Auggie monopolizing Topanga's storylines, but almost everyone seems to enjoy Auggie when he's with his family. I loved "Girl Meets Brother."
As for the show moving to ABC, I seriously doubt it, what with the intent of Disney Channel to be the primary profit driver for the Company--that comes straight from one of the executives, so it isn't just a rumor. That being said, considering the networks had considered having a continuation for primetime way back when for "Lizzie Mcquire" I wouldn't consider it impossible.
Yeah, this show isn't moving to ABC, or ABC Family. That's a pipe dream of epic proportions. Neither network benefits from bringing in a show they most likely don't want. On top of that, this show's ratings is in the mid 2s, so there isn't a large enough audience that would follow the show that would entice one of the networks to take the risk. It ain't happening.
DeleteCryptid, I read that quote you posted, but DC is in no way, shape, or form a primary profit driver for the company. That exec that said that is really misinformed about how big Disney is. When you factor in the theme parks, the movies, merch from those other properties, ESPN and other such networks, and I could probably envision DC being very far down on the list of profit drivers for The Walt Disney Company.
Cryptid, I see what you are saying with the Core 4 learning something each week but to me its not all that different then Cory and Shawn learning something each week with a bit more edge allowed for BMW. GMW is more in your face about the lesson and what they will learn but BMW still had that same core to it. I disagree on the Auggie front, to me at least he has just been a one or two line character for most of the series that you are supposed to say Awwwww to when he says something that is supposed to be funny. There is only so much you can do with an actor as young as Auggie. The show just doesn't quite seem well rounded enough. The B plots for Eric like I said before just added more breadth to the story telling that giving B plots to Farkle or Lucas just can't match because they are so close in age to Riley and Maya. I think that is why to me the episodes with Shawn or Eric always seem better because the story doesn't seem so one-dimensional.
DeleteThe 2 million viewers GMW has is significantly higher than the other ABC family sitcoms, Melissa and Joey, Young and Hungry and Baby Daddy are well below 1 million viewers. Two years ago, they approach Jacobs of reviving Boy Meets World about Cory, Topanga raising their daughter and son, it'd do fine then. But branding is important. GMW is a kids show so it makes no sense anymore for it to move. That doesn't mean it has to be lazy about it's episodes either and phone it in.
DeleteI 100% agree with Ben. It's time to put this "channel" shit to bed. Semi Formal and Pluto are GREAT episodes. Not just great for Disney, great for television in general. There won't be any sex drugs and rock and roll, but it CAN still be great and they need to be held accountable when they phone it in.
Delete"I 100% agree with Ben. It's time to put this "channel" shit to bed. Semi Formal and Pluto are GREAT episodes. Not just great for Disney, great for television in general. There won't be any sex drugs and rock and roll, but it CAN still be great and they need to be held accountable when they phone it in."
DeleteI agree, Sean. Should I tuck it in and tell it a bedtime story?
If this show were on ABC, my biggest concern is that fans would complain that there should be the focus should be on Cory. When the show was first announced, people basically wanted a show about Cory and his friends living in New York as young adults. So basically Friends. Or How I Met Your Mother.
DeleteWhat we have can be good, great even. The last few episodes weren't even that bad. They all had a lot of really good moments. A lot of holiday episodes have always sucked. They suck on Disney. They suck on ABC. They really suck on the Hallmark Channel. And yeah, this episode sucked. We all know that. But if we hang in there, I'm sure we'll be surprised. The show will continue to get better. Think about consistently meh, Season 1 was. And look how better the actors are! Rowan and Corey are 10x better than they were at the start of Season 1. Hell, Peyton Meyer has really stepped it up lately too.
Lastly, we're getting a continuation of Boy Meets World, one of the best shows that a lot of us grew up with. What more can we ask for?
"I 100% agree with Ben. It's time to put this "channel" shit to bed. Semi Formal and Pluto are GREAT episodes. Not just great for Disney, great for television in general."
DeleteAgreed. Hell, even the crapper disney sitcoms can have good, even GREAT episodes. (Mighty Med's Storm's End is waaay more dramatic and good than any disney sitcom deserves to be).
I don't wish to hate on writers or creators just for making bad art, but if they can make good stuff, we can blame them for it.
Shipping Wars Are Stupid-I totally agree with you about it being a bad holiday episode. Sitcoms and light drama don't tend to do well with Christmas or Halloween. There are exceptions-this was not one of them. Thanksgiving episodes tend to be better.
DeleteThanks Kit. Most Christmas episodes aren't too bad but Halloween consistently has bad episodes across television. The Christmas one last year wasn't great but that was more a case of trying to cram in too much in too little time.
DeleteOh and I was the Anonymous above who made the Over/Under joke. I was too lazy to sign in to this account when I did. So 1960, sorry about that. I was criticizing the overuse of the term "Bay Window," not the window itself. My humor can come across as overly sarcastic a lot (Which I'm working on.) Please don't leave, you are a valuable asset to the community.
This is the actual tweet the Girl Meets World writers themselves (so Jacobs himself or at least someone directly on his staff) used to promote Meets World of Terror 2: https://twitter.com/GMWWriters/status/649574577798905856
ReplyDeletewhat in the holy hell
DeleteThe GMW Writers twitter is amazing. It reads like that one friend you make in college who is always posting vague shit on social media about the amazing novel he's writing, then you finally read his work and it's a really shitty short story and he doesn't even know how to use paragraphs.
DeleteThat account sometimes gives us good info. Other times, its a damned bad riddle that they think is cute. Its obvious a college intern runs it.
DeleteEh, Twitter be Twitter.
DeletePretty much the average tweet from @GMWWriters:
DeleteSpeedy Speed Boy - gasoline's burnin' in
Speedy Speed Boy - as fast as I can be
Speedy Speed Boy - every night and day
Wind is on my face!
I wonder if there's anybody here who will get that.
I trust the opinions from a lot of you here, but tonight when the episode aired I had it set to record. It's currently paused in the background. I just wanted to jump on quick to say, yep, you're right. This is shitty. The little kids at the beginning suck. I like Auggie, I think he's a cute little boy and I don't begrudge his existence, per se...but I would be okay with him never being shown again, ala the lost Cunningham or Winslow child Actually if there was just the original older brother and Riley, I think that would be better. The kids are fun for what they are, but when you devote a lot screen time to little kids, odds are, as kids, they're going to be bad actors. Just an older sibling would allow a better actor, like Josh's age or something. Close to it. Whatever. That being said I don't want to unpause this mess of an episode. I think Rowan and Sabrina are getting better at what they do, even here...I just wish they weren't doing it. Whoever else pointed out that being flappers as a 12 or 13 year old girl is a bad idea was right on.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Topanga asked the girls if they still like her shows that there is no connection between her and riley, they did say yes but they are a terrible mother/daughter pairing. I just hate what they have done with topanga' character. But I say this every week on here.
ReplyDeletePromo for Girl Meets Texas.
ReplyDeleteGarbage quality but it looks like we have plot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4b6kxiz_g8
I really like the bay window in what it symbolizes. I understand the problem some of you are having, but I am not too bothered.
DeleteI know this is off topic episode-wise, but how far do you think GMW will last? Just into high school graduation? I always figured it would last as long as BMW, but that seems unlikely. If they do 4 seasons on Disney, couldn't they then move it to ABC Family for another 4? I'm not really watching any other Disney show at the moment, so I was wondering exactly how old are Austin & Ally? I believe Christian wrote they were 18? And is this their last season?
I get that, there's nothing wrong with what it symbolizes, but can you imagine if there was a "Ghost of Chubbie's," restless because they don't want their restaurant to fall to ruin like some other ghost's restaurant? AND they expected us to take it seriously? I think the two are comparably silly.
DeleteLooking it up (I don't watch the show) it seems this final season of Austin & Ally is their senior year of high school. But, it also started with them being older than Riley and Maya. It seems unlikely this lasts as long as Boy Meets World, whose seven season run was pretty impressive for a show focused on kids. Apparently Disney Channel shows traditionally last only for four seasons at most. It seems to be a hard and fast rule. Sometimes they even create new shows with most of the same cast (like Suite Life of Zack and Cody... on Deck, where it was entirely the same cast but Ashley Tisdale, but now they're on a boat?)
DeleteSo, yeah, my guess is we're looking at four seasons, or like some dumb "Girl Meets FARMLIFE" where Riley, Lucas, and Farkle are now living on a farm, and Sabrina Carpenter's left the show.
Four seasons would take us to Riley and Maya's sophomore year of high school, which isn't really a super organic ending point. Michael Jacobs has expressed a desire to end the series with high school graduation (college seems to be out of the question) even saying that if the number of seasons they get from Disney doesn't cooperate, they'll condense high school into less years. But it seems like doing all of high school in just two years sounds untenable and two years from now, Rowan Blanchard will only be 15.
Maybe they could do it in three years if Disney threw them one extra, even short, season. Then you could make Season 3 be freshman year, Season 4 be nonspecific middle year (where you cover stuff like sweet sixteens) and Season 5 as senior year.
To go on from that, Season 2 is going to be 30 episodes long. Which is a lot. I'd probably prefer a Season 3, 4, 5, and 6, each only 15 episodes long. And you could even air 3/4 and 5/6 close together with only a mini-break in between them and then as far as Disney's concerned its 4 seasons. Maybe doing that would make them pick up the pace with some arcs, and not wste as much time with filler episodes, like we've been having a lot of lately.
DeleteChristian's right about there being a four-season limit on Disney Channel shows. That limit was actually my biggest misgiving about this show airing on Disney in the first place, but I dislike network limits concerning episode-count and whatnot in general, Disney or otherwise.
DeleteThe semi-exception is Hannah Montana, which had four seasons over five years--the third season took two years and had thirty episodes. The fourth season was only fifteen episodes long and more serial as I recall, with little filer.
Then there's the spin-offs that act as continuations. "Suite Life On Deck" is a good example. It wasn't great...but darn it, it had one of the best series finales I ever saw.
Part of me wonders whether this season is met to be taking place over two years--which seems a little plausible given "Yearbook" and "Semi-formal" seemingly be end-of-year events halfway through the season--but I can't seriously imagine that's the intent.
"Boy Meets World" aired for seven seasons, but one could be forgiven for thinking the college years were a spin-off. They had time jumps--though a case could be made that Season 2 is two years condensed if we accept "I Am Not A Crook" as near the beginning of eighth grade, as Sean considered on his original blog.
Michael Jacobs has said we're going to get time jumps for "Girl Meets World" and I can't say I'm excited. Christian's right--Rowan would only be fifteen or sixteen when it ends, and the difference between that and eighteen might not be large in length, but it is rather significant in the United States.
Thanks everyone for replying. Is there a reason why moving to ABCF seems implausible? I admit I have only seen a few episodes of Young & Hungry and Baby Daddy, though I can't imagine those are such hits that a more mature version of GMW couldn't compete. Maybe I'm being a little biased. ha
DeleteContracts more than anything else. And then there's the overall tone of ABC Family--it's a long and rather complicated story. Simply put, Disney uses it to cater mostly to high schoolers and college students. And "Family" is only in the channel's title because it's part of the deal Fox made with Pat Robertson when they bought the Family Channel. And then Disney bought it from Fox, with the intent to rebrand the channel as "XYZ" to be a counter to ABC.
DeleteSEAN and CHRISTIAN! You may want to see this...Uriah Shelton (Joshua Matthews) was in a horrible motorcycle accident
ReplyDeletehttp://bmwsequel.com/2015/10/02/uriah-shelton-joshua-matthews-was-in-a-horrible-motorcycle-accident/
Holy Shit! He's a real lucky guy to still be breathing.
DeleteUriah Shelton has been a Disney Channel veteran (appearing all the way back on Suite Life on Deck where he was just a youngin) and I've really enjoyed his performance as Joshua Matthews and have always hoped he'd be featured in future episodes. My thoughts and prayers are for his speedy recovery so that he can get back on the acting saddle again.
DeleteUriah! How could you mess up on your bike? DON'T BLOW HIM OFF, GOD!
DeleteNo, but, seriously, that's absolutely awful and I'm really sorry to hear that. Though we haven't seen much of him this season, and despite the iffiness with Maya, Josh is ultimately a good character on this show and Uriah's performance has consistently been contrary to the idea that the young guys on this show blow. But even if none of that was true, I would wish him a full and speed recovery. He's a young guy with a lot of life ahead of him. Hope to see him at full strength and back on the show soon.
Oh! Looks like this was earlier, and that month in the hospital has already happened. I wonder if this is part of the reason we've seen so little of Josh!
DeleteI think it is the reason, but he gave a description of his accident and though he's okay, his injuries were crazy. When j read about it there were a lot of mr. Turner jokes. But yes, he is doing much better.
DeleteI have to wonder if this affects the plans for S3 at all. Uriah just rolled out of a hospital bed, and he's not going to be ready to go for at least a little while. His next appearance isn't till Meets New Years, which also happens to be his last appearance this season. I can only imagine if this did mess up some of S2, but S3 probably had a wrench thrown in it.
DeleteReal life injuries occasionally have an effect on a show--I can think of at least three instances when a child actor broke a finger and had to wear a cast, but it never made it into the plot properly. I'm sure there are other instances but I can't think of any.
DeleteGiven the seriousness of these injuries, I don't know what will happen. Uriah may be slow to heal and that could have an impact on the show. I really hope they don't try to recast Josh Matthews---I never enjoy it when they do that. Sometimes it works, but it usually is really awkward..
Additionally, since there's already a hospitalization storyline with Lucas in "Texas" (Scene in promo), I'm not sure if they'll write this in for fear of hearing criticism of lazy writing, and more likely--and appropriately--tactlessness.
Maybe they'll bring Michael Jacobs' son back to reprise his role since he did suuuuuch a good job in the BMW finale.
DeleteSeriously though I'm glad Uriah is okay and I am proud of him for admitting his mistakes.
Joel Zwick was a director on Shake it up.
ReplyDelete...Don't think he can be thanked. As a side note....christ, i don't need to watch this to know someone people are overreacting ot.
Although i like that the reasons for hating it do not relate to Austin & Ally showing up. I hope no one makes a deal of this or the BFW cuz it's really no big deal. These aren't meant to be big crossover events, just quick little things.
Topanga was just silly in this episode. I thought everyone knew that when you went trick or treating as a group, and the end of the night you swap candy. Some people like gummy things, and others don't. Some people like peanut candy, and others don't. Has she never seen someone trade a Milky Way for a Snickers, or a pack of gummy worms for a Kit Kat?
ReplyDeleteThe episode had potential. Unlike last year when it was three variations on a theme, this year seemed like they were going for a novella with three chapters. I liked the idea, but it was a poor execution. I was hoping we would see Riley and Maya successfully help the sad ghost in the haunted house. At the end of the episode the Bay Window Ghost and her friend would go into the afterlife together.
ReplyDeleteThe animated segment was a waste. I'm guessing the writers were running short on time, and that drugs or sleep depervation were involved.
Didn’t outright hate it as much as everybody else, but can’t claim to have liked it.
ReplyDeleteOutside of a couple of possible clues to the Maya riddle, I didn’t get much out of this one.
If I had been more engaged with the episode, I might have been more troubled by the sight of the two girls as Lulu. As it was, I had to make a conscious decision to shrug it off as something they couldn’t possibly have meant.
I accept that the Bay Window is part of the show’s mythology, even if all it really does is keep them from having to sit somewhere else. It would be okay if they referred to it less often, but it doesn’t bother me when they do.
I stalled out midway through Season 1 of BMW a couple of weeks back and fully intend to get back to it. Unless someone has a recommendation to the contrary, I will probably wait until I have finished the cycle to read Sean’s blog.
Even if I come at these episodes from a completely different angle, as an unlikely fan of GMW and not having a grounding in BMW, I really enjoy this blog, contretemps and all, and can’t thank Christian and Sean enough for keeping it going. I hope 1960poster wasn’t serious above about quitting as a commentator. I always enjoyed ready his (?) comments. And assuming the obvious about the screenname, I would regret and find it awkward possibly being the only person of my generation around these parts.
"Even if I come at these episodes from a completely different angle, as an unlikely fan of GMW and not having a grounding in BMW, I really enjoy this blog, contretemps and all, and can’t thank Christian and Sean enough for keeping it going. I hope 1960poster wasn’t serious above about quitting as a commentator. I always enjoyed ready his (?) comments. And assuming the obvious about the screenname, I would regret and find it awkward possibly being the only person of my generation around these parts."
DeleteTotally agreed.
As to Sean's original blog, I'd stick with watching the original show first. Season One drags but Season Two picks up much better. And his blog can be very addictive. It also would spoil a lot of the stuff that made the original show so great. We've talked about a lot of the arcs here but Sean went into a lot of detail in his blog. Tell us more as you get along with BMW!
Shipping makes a good point. The blog looks at each episode as a piece of the whole series, so a lot of it won't stick if you haven't already seen the entire series.
DeleteSo i watched and...yeah you are overreacting BUT this episode is the weakest so far. The strutruce was just all wrong. With these discount Treehouse of horrors episodes, you do 3 stories...not one story spread out.
ReplyDeleteNot only that but each segment has loads of useless filler, from the cartoon (WTF was that) to Austin & ally appearance. The idea itself is cute but it needed to be writter better.
It's not "shit" because it's mostly enjoyable for the actual jokes but the structure is off, very much.
If you don't want to wait until tonight to see the rest of the Disney Halloween shows (esp. Best Friends), you can go here http://watchdisneychannel.go.com/ (as long as you have Disney on your cable account) and watch them now. They also have all the Halloween episodes of all the shows from the last 5 years or so available for the rest of the month there. Some of them (Good Luck Charlie) are actually pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThat actually raises a point I meant to make earlier. Are there any Halloween episodes of any show you'd watch if it weren't October or marathoning the series? Any Halloween episodes to watch just 'cause they're good episodes?
DeleteI liked "I Didn't Do It"'s Halloween episode, "Bite Club." Sean & Christian, you should definitely check that one out because it's an example of what GMW should be doing... treating it like a normal episode but making the time of year Halloween, rather than going crazy with the script and driving fans away.
DeleteI caught the last few minutes of "Jessie." Hate that show but I was surprised at how the ending was actually relevant to a certain story arc. Don't watch the episode though, haha.
I do not plan on watching any other Disney shows.
As hard as this may be to believe, both Dog with a Blog Halloween episodes, (Howloween and Howloween II) are good episodes. The second one is just plain funny and even though I dislike this series, I would watch them if they were on (the first one guest stars Peyton Meyer - which may influence you to watch or avoid it). Both Good Luck Charlie Halloween episodes are just good as well.
DeleteSo the Best Friends Whenever episode is pretty good and much better than GMW was. That is scary.
DeleteWhat about not-Disney Halloween episodes?
Delete"Hey Arnold!" was good-ish, with its spoof of the "War of the Worlds" panic, but I actually prefer "Haunted Train" and "Wheezin' Ed," or even "Sewer King." Creepy, but not actually Halloween-related.
"Avatar: The Last Airbender" has "Painted Lady." Creepy, but not Halloween, again.
I actually loved the "Real and Scary" Halloween Episode of Fairly Oddparents. And while I'm not wild about the Halloween episode of Jimmy Neutron. I loved their "Haunted Pizza."
I'll have to think about any others.
"So the Best Friends Whenever episode is pretty good and much better than GMW was. That is scary."
DeleteThat's the scariest thing I've heard in months. That cannot be. I've seen BFW and it's dreadful. Er, well dreadful morals anyway.
I am definitely pretending "World of Terror 2" is not canon. This whole weekend never happened. Not at all. What happened this Halloween is just a nightmare brought on by too much candy. Please?
yeahhhhhhhhhh I agree with Cryptid. I watched the BFW crossover and I did not enjoy it at all. There was a certain amount of fun to be had with Riley and Lucas since those puzzle rooms are inherently interesting, but... Nothing else did it for me. The main girl with brown hair might be the worst actress on the whole channel.
DeleteBFW is...another disney sitcom, so in other words nothing too objectionable compared to Season 1 of I didn't do it, or the later episodes of Jessie. It's not as mean or morally screwed up as others, so i can give it a pass. People who it crap for the premise seem to forget that they made a show about a girl seeing into the future. I think Landry Bender is fine and has some charm wiht her costar, but she is a bit younger and came from a Disney xd show, so that explains her being a bit weaker, since she is new to being a real star.
DeleteI have seen Friday's other offerings and yeha GMW was somehow the weakest. Jessie was strong and IDDI was average, but better than their first Halloween attempt.
GMWOT 2 just suffered structure issues. I tend to love Halloween and Christmas episodes simply for the at,pshere. Which i why i can tolerate even the weak ones, depending on the show of course.
But i usually like disney sitcom crap as a guilty pleasure, so don't listen to me, i can't be trusted.
"GMWOT 2 just suffered structure issues."
DeleteCould you elaborate a bit Spongey? I thought this was a messy set-up from the beginning. This episode didn't develop much--outside of Riley apparently being Maya's conscience.
It reminds me a bit of how Christian thought of Rules, in that not much happened. Now, I think "Rules" had wasted potential--I'd have preferred to see Riley actually know her silent classmates' random quirks, it'd help justify her respected popularity, though I did enjoy the episode. Here, I'm not sure what could be done with a haunted house we don't even see the inside of.
I think I should explain my distaste for BFW:
DeleteBy "dreadful morals" I mean the episode "A Time to Cheat." You get your basic "Steal the answers to the test and then feel guilty" but with time travel. The girls' consciences catch up to them so they use time travel to let their strict teacher know the test was compromised. So the teacher decides to issue a harder test in retaliation. The girls, who are supposed to be our heroes, respond to this, by using time travel to prevent the strict teacher from becoming a teacher in the first place.
Look, I get how some teachers can be strict, and not everybody can learn from them. But the teacher was well within her right to assign a harder assignment due to students cheating. And, from my own experience, two of the best teachers I ever had in high school or college for that matter were very hard on me. One made me rewrite an essay four or five times, maybe more, before he would grade it an A. They were harsh, but darn it if I didn't become a much better student.
Hey, I for one actually liked BFW. It easily beats the hell out of the vast majority of voices around you going OMG LOLDEN LOLDEN LOLDEN RUCAS RUCAS RUCAS LOLDEN RUCAS LOLDEN RUCAS RUCAS OMG TESSIE TESSIE TESSIE RUCAS RUCAS RUCAS TESSIE RUCAS TESSIE RUCAS TESSIE TESSIE TESSIE RUCAS RUCAS RUCAS LOLDEN LOLDEN LOLDEN RUCAS TESSIE RUCAS LOLDEN RUCAS RUCAS GIRL MEETS TEXAS RUCAS TEXAS RUCAS TEXAS OMG JOGAN JOGAN JOGAN RUCAS RUCAS RUCAS TEXAS RUCAS GIRL MEETS TEXAS AUSALLY AUSALLY RUCAS RUCAS GIRL MEETS TEXAS RUCAS RUCAS RUCAS. But beyond this there's no need for me to carry this over onto this blog...
Delete...yes there is,I want other people to suffer along with me.
This is a quarantined area, folks. Do not enter.
Delete*Zips Hazmat suit and steps into quarantine*
DeleteOkay, back to good Halloween episodes. "Weekenders" is pretty good. And "Fillmore!" doesn't really have a Halloween episode--there's "Masterstroke of Malevolence" with its thunderstorm background and "Unseen Reflection" has vampires and werewolves in a way. And those are two great episodes.
So, is it sad that I now except the the BFW crossover as more cannon than the true GMW episode? Only, since they traveled back through time to undo the mess that means it never happened either. :/
Delete^And that is my biggest issue with BFW. They hit the reset button every time, which pretty much absolves them from any wrong doing. They undo any consequences they may have to suffer.
DeleteSeriously though, if I want to watch teenagers learn that time travel is not a toy, I'll watch "Minutemen."
'Could you elaborate a bit Spongey? I thought this was a messy set-up from the beginning. This episode didn't develop much--outside of Riley apparently being Maya's conscience. "
DeleteGaldy. By that i mean, them splitting one story up into 3 segments has a bad move. Maybe that could work, but in this context, not so much. That's how it's structurally off. The first Halloween ep did the structuce correctly, regardless of any other issues.
As for the BFW Morals one, one weak episode doesn't exactly give the whole show bad morals. while they do the rest button a lot, that's the only time it goes THAT far. Besides, the proper moral of cheating is learned, and that's WAAAY better morals than oyu iwll ever find in I Didn't do it it. (Or hell, even specifics episodes such as Freaky Fido from dog with a blog)
I agree with you on the nature of the World of Terrors. The first one had its three stories and Riley's was actually pretty good, reminiscent of "Turkey Day." And while Farkle being afraid of getting hit by the ball is a waste of a Halloween segment, I can't judge it too harshly--I was afraid of the ball until I was about ten.
DeleteI guess we'll have to agree to disagree about "A Time to Cheat."
Hi Cryptid, I might need some help here with this canon/non-canon business. I guess I understand the basic concept, but maybe don’t get what difference it would make to the series for this episode one way or the other.
DeleteIt makes no difference whatsoever, as the events of this episode are highly unlikely to ever be referenced again either way.
DeleteHi Milestones, I wondered whether you'd be posting.
DeleteFor the sake of argument, "Canon" refers to the material that is officially, by confirmation of the creator, acceptable as part of a series, whether literature or film. For want of a better word, it's real.
The term "canon" is derived from religion. You have the canon in what is accepted by the Church fathers in crafting the Bible as Holy Scripture, and then you have apocrypha. "Enoch" is an example of Jewish apocrypha, but let's move on.
In pop culture, "canon" dates back to Sherlock Holmes. In that respect, you have the novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and then everything else.
You have "ret-cons" where new information directly contradicts old. This is usually pretty minor--a recast for a guest character for example. Topanga's parents change actors three times over BMW. Early characters fade away without mention, and they were usually never seen in the first place--Topanga and Shawn had older sisters that essentially went "poof."
Then there's "fanon." This is material that is not actually confirmed by the writers but many of the fans think it's true. An example here is probably that some fans think that Riley and Maya first befriended Farkle when they were the only ones who came to his birthday party in the first grade.
For further reading, you can check out these links on TV Tropes, an online encyclopedia of tropes and cliches in pop culture. On second thought, don't click on these links. TV Tropes is extremely addictive--you won't get any work done.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CanonUniverse
Now in respect to this episode, Christian has a point. Nothing here will be referenced ever again. So given that, it has no impact whatsoever and therefore, it doesn't matter if it's canon or not. But I'm still considering it non-canonical. The Feeny-verse deserves better than this.
It's pretty obvious it's not canon due to being a treehouse of horrrs episode pretested by auggie that has a a freaking ghost in it.
DeleteThanks guys, I understood canon but some of the other terms are new to me. Continuity wasn’t a big thing in the TV shows I grew up with.
DeleteIn addition to wondering if it mattered, I was wondering why this episode would be apocryphal. That it sucked and we should all pretend it never happened and that is was ghost story told by Auggie are both excellent and not mutually exclusive answers. If it was just Auggie’s story, it surely had some basis in the reality of the show. It would pose questions if the image of his sister as some kind of twenties It Girl sprung unbidden from his mind, and I’ve done all thinking I intend to about this episode.
I liked Maya’s line about robbing a bank, though. Might have been the only thing that passed as a highlight for me.
Isn't hitting the rest button thus undoing consequences an incredibly common trope that happens in most time travel stories where things go wrong?
ReplyDeleteTrue, but it'll get tired after a while in a series. Usually, time travel is used to stop a bad thing. And then it turns out, stopping the bad thing made everything worse or unrecognizably (sic) different.
Delete"Minutemen" did in a hour-and-a-half what "Best Friends Whenever" is trying to do in three years. I'm a Jason Dolley fan, so I'm a bit biased, I admit. And like I said "A Time To Cheat" rubs me the wrong way.
I see what you mean, i get it. The show's better episodes avoid that trope, like the 70's episode. I find it amusing but odd that whenever they change the time, the subplot always happens the same way it did before.
DeleteAnd yeah, Minutemen is underrated. Weird how no one ever talks about it.