Friday, November 18, 2016

Episode Review: "Girl Meets Hollyworld" (#3.17)

This whole time Sean's had this episode titled "Girl Meets Hollyworld" rather than "Hollywood" and y'all jokers didn't notice. I'm leaving it up as proof. I'll change it tomorrow. Joke's on you, joke-joker, that's the right name. If this is the case, then the joke absolutely is on them. I like it, it still has "girl meets world" in the name, if you cover up the Holly part. You say that like having the name of the show in the episode title is of some inherent benefit.

It's almost Thanksgiving and I am thankful for Mackenzie Yeager. The Yeagermeister. That's the only pun you'll get out of me tonight, so cherish it.
Yeah, like that. 

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Apparently blogger has joined the 21st century by finally encoding native emojis, which is exactly what this blog has been missing, let me tell you. You can stop flooding the comment section begging for emojis, and I can finally end my hunger strike, because here they are. 

And yes. It's got the poop one.

πŸ’©πŸ’©πŸ’©πŸ’©πŸ’©πŸ’©πŸ’©


We're gonna need that one. 

Or maybe not, who knows, the rest of the season looks pretty good. I'm stalling.

What was it Shawn wanted to bring back? Reckless spontaneity? Maya might have listened.

So this kidnapped woman is actually sort of an iceberg, she's played by Deborah Lemen who is seemingly nobody. I actually wrote a whole thing here originally because imdb is wrong. The actress is in fact Stephanie Lemelin. I didn't double check until I was done with the episode, and I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd known from the start. She's done voices for a few video games that I love, and a couple good cartoons. 
It's not easy to watch though. I can't stand her accent and the story is going nowhere, let's pleaaaaaase move it along.

I liked the line "Have you always had that lady?" Otherwise, I think they're a little too joke-y glib-y in the opening. Like, instead of it naturally being fun, it's a lot of "Oh boy, aren't WE having fun? Look at how we're talking about this wacky situation!"

And yeah, they sure don't seem in a big hurry to explain why Maya kidnapped her or what's going on. And Riley doesn't seem too curious about why Maya did it either. For an episode about kidnapping, I suspect this episode will be short on plot.

And yeah, this accent? No, no, no. Better not have to listen to this the whole episode. Betttttter not. 

I like the idea of these early scenes from Topanga's perspective. She's just reading on the couch, Riley and Maya walk in and say "How good a lawyer are you?" and Topanga answers and they walk out of the house and go to Maya's house for a bit, then come back into the house maybe an hour later, Topanga's still reading, Riley's like "Really? Never lost a case, huh?" she confirms it, Maya says "Haha!" like Nelson from the Simpsons, and they walk back out of the house.

I like it because there's nothing else to like here. This sucks so far. Hard. They're stalling soooooo aggressively. It's like 5 minutes in, and we don't know what the deal is.

I thought "I'm laughing because what on Earth is my father going to put on the board for this one?" is a funny line, but then they literally went to school in the next scene. What is it, the next day? Did they do all that, including three trips to Maya's from Riley's just in the morning before school? In high school, I barely had time to grab my books and give myself a look and make it to the corner to see the BUS DRIVE BY. But it's alright, because I was saved by the bell. 

Oh, and then so what? They go through the whole day? This lady just let her kidnapped an entire day? Where's Katy or Shawn? SCREAM, lady. Enough's enough. 

Okay Maya kidnapped her to make sure Katy gets a part in a movie. ("Okay, so, now that you've aided me while I kidnapped this woman for an entire day, let me tell you why we did it since you haven't asked.") Look I'm totally up for shenanigans. Shenanigans are the fuel that runs the Meets World engine. But I don't think even season 7 Eric ever went this far. 

Oh, there's Katy. Welcome to your fucking house, lady. Waltzing in, taking new fountains in your daughter's room like a champ.


My favorite part about the episode is where the audience laughs every time Anastasia said something. You know, because she said it with a ridiculous French accent? Don't you like it? Please respond.

Guys you're not gonna believe it! She switched to a ridiculous southern accent! Don't you like it? Please respond.

Hey Katy and whosit are old friends, the lore is just so rich on this show. 
Riley and Maya are carrying this episode pretty hard so far. The story is... off the rails... but Yeager has maintained her ability to make the two leads a joy to watch. I loved them flipping out at the revelations. I also like

If it doesn't turn out that "Anastasia" portmanteau'd her fake last name "Boulangerie" out of "bologna" and "lingerie," I'm gonna riot in the streets.  "Boulangerie" is the French word for "bakery". Anastasia Bakery. Didn't have to look it up, I've been to France. Where would you be without me? I bring CLASS to this outfit. *edit* She didn't, I'm disappointed, but life goes on. *end edit* Regardless, the one interesting throughline so far is the question of just how far Riley is willing to go to stay by Maya's side, which is the sort of compelling question that we expect from Meets World. And it looks like Katy and Bobbie Joe went splitsville despite once being as close as Riley and Maya. 

It's weird how Katy is now Katy Hunter but Maya is still Maya Hart. We've finally gotten around to establishing that Clutterbucket is Katy's maiden name and Hart is Kermit's name. And Kermit is garbage and Maya has no connection to him. If Katy switched, you'd think Maya would switch. I figured the only reason Katy was keeping Hart was professionally, but apparently not. 

Instantly Riley asks the question I was dreading, "how can this happen to best friendsssssssssssssss" blah blah blahhhhhhhhhh disney magiccccccccccc shut up. Like, has Riley just never HEARD of two best friends becoming distant? This one event has shattered her belief in best frienditude? Come onnnnnnnnn. Especially since she's seen evidence of it. Cory and Shawn never had a falling out, but by the beginning of GMW they'd grown apart and she was aware of that. Also Jack told her how estranged he'd grown from Rachel. 


Wohoah let's calm down there, lioness. Little less talk a little more rock you know what I mean? Little less fight a little more spark. 

Half of that was right. I don't listen to Elvis. Speaking of Elvis, I'm taking Farkle showing up in that costume and they're like "You're keeping the costume?" and he's like "What costume?" as a shout-out to the kid in the cape from "Cory's Alternative Friends." I'd much prefer if Farkle was that kid's son. That was just a really good bit. "I gotta ask. Every day you come to school in a cape. Always a cape. What's the deal with the cape?" "What cape?" That's hilarious. I wonder if that aired earlier than the Seinfel cape episode. I checked, it DID. It aired a season earlier. So, they didn't rip Seinfeld off with that as I always assumed. Good on you BMW. 

Here are some clips from the Seinfeld cape episode. 



I'm glad this movie director is asking a group of kids where a missing famous movie star is. That's smart. That's clean detective work. Take notes, Officer Yogi's Dad (Yogi's dad is named Officer Yogi, so it sounds like you're asking Grandpa Yogi to do it, which is sad, because Grandpa Yogi is dead), cuz you don't know what you're doin.

I remember this guy who plays Sarah's dad from a minor role in an episode of The West Wing. He was much less hairy and looked young and fit and vital. Time comes for us all. But he's good in this. I like his delivey of "Also because... we can't find the other one." and "I mean, I was just gonna look around, but hey!"

Sarah wrote a screenplay, meta humor, blah blah blah, really would like to move on with the story please. 

Whoa, whoa, whoa. We just learned Sarah's whole backstory and deal, and that's all you got? Sarah! Your girl Sarah! What HAPPENED to you? 
Also, Sarah's last name has been previously established as being "Carpenter" (her real last name) and now her father's name is D.W. Kreminger. Probably Sarah's folks are divorced and Kreminger primarily lives in California and it's enough of a break that Sarah goes by Carpenter, but she and her dad are cool. But jeez, Sarah. Maya goes by her dad's last name and she's barely met the dude. I'm all up in arms about last names and dads today.

Okay, if we're keeping a running list of good stuff here, let's add Topanga being relevant in some capacity other than a mother. Cory is relevant as both teacher and father in every episode, while Topanga is just the mother 99 times out of a hundred. So here we go, lawyer Topanga, that's great. Ava and Doy are nowhere to be seen. As an aside, fuck Doy. That kid's been on Shameless two weeks in a row. That is not a show for him. His... his mom would not want him watching the show that he stars in. And I hate him. And he sucks. Jeez, get off his back, he's adorable.
I don't know you guys. Maya lucked out of a serious fucking crime on the one in a billion chance that the kidnapee was childhood best friends with her mother. That is not compelling writing.

Not just that they'e childhood best friends, but that Anastasia would be SO fucking cool with this. If my childhood best friend's child kidnapped me for days (and it's been two days at this point, we've had a wardrobe change, and we've had two school days) I don't care what unresolved history we have, I'm calling the police and they're all going to prison. You hear that CHARLIE from MADISON ELEMENTARY And EDISON MIDDLE SCHOOL? You're on notice. 

 It sounds like a soap opera honestly, like I'd see it on the cover of Soap Digest in the checkout aisle, "Anastasia secretly childhood best friends with WHO??? WE GOT THE TELL ALL FROM THE ACTORS, YOU WON'T READ IT ANYWHERE ELSE."

Hey, Sean, wanna see something? From top to bottom the characters on that magazine arrreeeee... Steve and Kayla Johnson (of Days of our Lives), Rex Balsom (of One Life to Live), Zach Slater & Kendall Hart (of All My Children), a woman I don't know, Marcie & Michael McBain (of One Life to Live), and Max Brady (of Days of our Lives).

Yeah, I used to watch soap operas growing up, most only off and on but I religiously watched Days of our Lives for a period of about 15 years, stopping when they killed off my favorite character, Jack Deveraux, at which point I was, like, an adult and was kind of over it. Because make no mistake, they'e usually not great. Fun fact, that woman Kayla up there at the top? Big deal. My numbers may be slightly of here, but only slightly - in 1986 the name 'Kayla' wasn't even in the top 500 female baby names. In 1987, a year later, it was in the top 5. You know what happened? That character came on Days of our Lives. Isn't that nuts?

Anyway, there you go. New information about Christian. Back to our show!

Oh good, teenage wisdom about REAL best friends. I just don't wanna hear it. The hallmark of Boy Meets World was that Shawn and Cory don't know shit. I'm so sick of hearing wisdom from teenagers. I'M SO SICK OF IT. 

When Shawn proposed to Katy, did he know that she used to be a Possum Trotter? Is this what gets Shawn going these days? I'm sure he's seen a few private performances of this Trot. Objectively it's pretty great, more backstory for Katy is welcome any time, it's just really silly. 

Bologna Joe does not, in fact, betray everyone after being uncuffed like I thought she would. So we have to watch more Possum Trotting and to be perfectly honest I don't know why.

Topanga throwing in that line "You could have lifted up that radiator anytime you wanted to, I wouldn't call this a kidnapping." felt very much like a last minute addition because someone on the writers staff was like "Hey, um, guys. So, Maya and Riley kidnapped someone in this episode." and they decided to throw in a line like "See? It wasn't a kidnapping! Maya and Riley don't kidnap! You can still like them!"


Who doesn't love boots though. Whoooooooo doesn't. 

Cheryl is ridiculously attractive, is the point I'm trying to make. That's true. I was thinking about being subtle, doing my own little trot around the issue, but you know, subtlety, this is Girl Meets World Reviewed on Blogspot. It's not Hemingway.
Fooled you, that's not Hemingway either. Not me. I've been to Hemingway.

Maya informs us that friends are supposed to be friends because she has literally never heard of friends growing apart before today. It's dumb, I'm sorry. 

You know what was cool about Cory during the breakup and marriage arcs? Cool but also annoying, was that whenever Topanga brought up divorce statistics or all the odds against them, Cory just doesn't care. He is so completely solid in believing in his relationship, and while it wasn't logical, I totally respect him for believing in something. Nothing (except Lauren for like five minutes) in the world could shake Cory's belief that he would always love Topanga, and always love Shawn, and nobody else in the world matters. But it seems like every other god damn episode of this show is like
Girl 1: Oh my GOD what if we're not FRIENDS FOREVER
Girl 2: Oh GOD, you're RIGHT, what IF. 

There's a bit of poking fun at Lucas and Zay which is great, they've been in a very comfortable place for the last handful of episodes. I don't know why we bothered pairing up Riley and Lucas if it would never matter, but fine.
Do you guys wanna hear me do a pitch perfect impression of Anastasia's French accent? 
So I guess Katy is getting the part in a movie because this is Disney channel and it is literally illegal to show a struggling actress or musician fail on this channel. They must always succeed, every show, every time, no matter what. Did Katy earn it? Who cares! Maybe! She's in her forties! Eh, no, I don't think she's in her 40s. I mean, Shawn's not. Cory and Topanga aren't. And Cheryl Texiera's only 34. And wait until she sees what you just said about her! That's not how life works! I'll give them a pass on this one. For one thing, Katy's established as having been struggling to make a living as an actress Maya's entire life. That's a long time. Success in acting has not come easy for Katy, we just haven't seen the failures on-camera. For another thing, this story is literally about her. 


Okay I'm wrong, it's possible. It's just so Disney Channel that it bothers me.

For some reason Cory asks Maya to tell us about her life and she says some shit I don't know, the most important takeaway from this episode is Zay Whaaaaat?

God I love Zay. I really do. He's great. Remember when we didn't like him? He's now my favorite character that wasn't in BMW probably. Granted, that still puts him behind like everyone from BMW. Besides Jack. And Harley. And Angela. And Minkus. And Jennifer. So, okay, he's doing well. 

HEY! What happened to Zay liking Maya?! They totally dropped that too! God, this show sucks with romances.

You know what I would have done? I would have had Farkle get the part of Lucas, or vice-versa. Hell, that's just what I would have made the plot of this episode about. Lucas and Farkle audition for their own parts in a movie and both get cast, but in the opposite role. And Lucas is insecure about it, and Farkle is cocky about it, and they both have to learn each other's mannerisms.

I don't know what to say, this episode is super weird. The ending tried to pretend that some revelation was made between Riley and Maya but... what's new exactly? They're going to stay friends? We knew that since the Pilot episode. So in that regard, I can't really say that I care too much, there wasn't any character development in Riley or Maya at all. Anastasia herself annoyed the crap out of me, but Katy is a cool character and we got to do a bit of world building with her. So that's good.

I just have no idea what the takeaway is here. You can still do your old best friend a favor if you're rich and famous? You can turn your shitty screenplay into a movie as a teenager because of the rampant nepotism in Hollywood? That second one is that real shit, I wasn't ready for that level of commentary on the industry. It's kind of sad actually, Sarah the person is probably only here because of her sister, and Sarah the character only got her screenplay produced because of her father. Oops.

Happy Thanksgiving. Christian wants to write a screenplay where Frankie goes on a cross country trip to reconnect with his father Vader who is sort of dying in actual real life. Pester him to get it finished and email your suggestions to him at *redacted*

Well, more accurately I just kind of want one to be made. I don't really have any ideas for it. 

This wasn't very good.

Episode Rating: C-
Episode MVP: Rowan Blanchard, I didn't really talk about it, but she was great.


103 comments:

  1. the only thing i really liked about the episode was how katy mentioned shawn i think girl meets world was trying to do an eric hollywood episode.

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    1. yeah liked hearing about shawn. I really really hope this wasn't supposed to be like eric hollywood, it was way too much about Katy and like 10% meta humor.

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    2. Not only was there a lot of meta (and some of it the funniest of any show I've ever seen), Eric Hollywood also had an excellent B-plot with Topanga mother-henning over a chicken pox-stricken Shawn and Jack, and addressing a very good question in whether or not Shawn and Topanga are friends independently, given Topanga's break-up with Cory.

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  2. What do you guys think of the show ending after this season? I don't know if it actually is, but there are really strong suggestions that it might be. Like the finale for Season 3 being called Girl Meets Goodbye and the entire cast of Boy Meets World returning for it has me worried. Plus cast members are tweeting out the hashtag: #girlmeetsworldseason4 and #saveGMW is a desperate cry for help. Girl Meets World is probably the best thing that is on Disney Channel at the moment, definitely the best sitcom. I will be really disappointed if Disney Channel would cancel it. Anyways that is what I think, I was wondering what you think about GMW potentially ending soon.

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    1. yeah i hope it gets a season 4. im excited about girl meets goodbye because most of the boy meets world cast is going to be in that episode and shawn and turner reunion is going to be so emotional they havent been in an episode together since boy meets world season 4 cult fiction. im going to have to go back and re watch home career day, i never sang for my legal guardian and cult fiction to prepare im also excited for feeny and eric to be in an episode together.

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    2. I think it's time to let it go. I'm glad it existed and we all got something out of it, but I'm not sure what another season is going to give us.

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    3. I think Sean may be right--I don't know if we're going to be getting a Season 4. I'm not sure I actually want one, though. So much of this show, just doesn't measure up.

      The shenanigans are rarer than before, and often more cartoony. The characters very rarely take actions by themselves, which makes it harder to connect to them individually. Potentially interesting arcs are introduced, and then ignored.

      This makes me very sad--there was a genuine chance to give kids today a coming-of-age show that was different from its contemporaries. BMW was something special, and with the exception of a handful of episodes ("Semi-formal" being one of the most notable, and "Her Monster" being the most recent), that original magic hasn't been here.

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    4. Whilst signs aren't looking good, and I don't even entirely disagree with Cryptid about this show not being as good, I'd honestly just wait and see.

      Though it's not as flat-out special as BMW, I do think it's better than a lot of the kids/early teenage shows going around today.

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  3. Haven't seen this one yet because I goofed up and thought this one wasn't going to be for another week. In any case...well, I'd like to reserve judgment until I see it for myself.

    And that really, really sucks about Vader. He was one of my favorite guest stars.

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    1. Odds are you'll still see it before Christian.
      Oh snap.

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    2. You absolutely did see it before Christian. Christian watched it tonight.

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  4. i just have a random fact about this episode i thought was funny: amir actually decided to be semi regular this season rather than a regular as michael jacobs said they wanted him to be, which makes that moment when zay comes in the classroom on the phone in hollywood mode talking about how he only want to be a semi-regular bc f that full time shit hilarious to me

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    1. thaaaaaaaaaaaaaat is fucking hysterical. Oh my god.

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    3. Yeah, I heard Amir wanted to just be a recurring character. But I'm not sure his being a "main" character would have changed very much, short of him being in the opening credits, since several of the main cast (Danielle and Corey) haven't had much to do this season, save for an occasional focal episode.

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    4. Hey good for him. I'm glad to hear that. As for what Cryptid said, you're right, the only real difference is that Amir likely would have had contractual obligations to appear even if he didn't want to. This way, he's really having just as much (if not more) to do than supporting characters like Topanga an Farkle, without the obligation of doing anything. If he's busy when they're filming an episode? He opts out and they write Zay out. That's not a bad deal, even if it doesn't lower his paycheck... but he's the son of DJ Jazzy Jeff, so he's probably fine.

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  5. Believe me Sean, I was just as caught off guard as you when they showed Anastasia chained up. One hell of an opener. And we don't even learn who she is for a few minutes.

    Wait...IMDb had her listed as the wrong actress? Much like how she was pretending to be someone else in the episode???

    Anyway, this episode was just alright. Not my favorite this season by any means, but the meta humor did make me laugh. Definitely loved seeing Sarah speak, though, I always like it when she's more than just "that background classmate". I'm sure Christian will be happy about that (is he the one that has that Sarah obsession?). Wasn't a big fan of Anastasia either and the whole Trotting routine was a bit cringey (loved Riley and Maya's reactions to it though)

    And now, I keep this tab open until Christian rates this episode. Because you are never forgotten, Chris! Remember that!

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    1. Oh, and I did like Return of the Cookie Gag: Part IV. I guess this is a recurring gag now, I thought we'd never see it past those three consecutive episodes that mentioned it (Real World, Bear, Great Lady)

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    2. I'm the one who usually jokes about Sarah, I don't think Chris really cares.

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    3. I love your blog Christian and Sean. I didn't know the show was bad until I read your reviews.GMW is a bit too serious and cheesy for me. That's So Raven and Hey Arnold are better shows and I'm glad they're coming back.They show real kids in everyday life.Riley is a white privileged teen and her life is too easy. She needs more conflict. She gets everything she wants: that alternate position even though she should have been the mascot. She wasn't good enough for the position. She got Lucas. They are more like brother and sister.Filey and Lucaya. You can't just breeze through life and not work for anything and expect to get everything you want. Life doesn't work that way. Riley you were mad at your mom for not letting you watch TV. Your mom is loyal to a fault. She sent a girl's family to jail for you. All you had to do was work at the bakery and record the show. My mom is always on my ass. I live in Crappy Middle America: Mississippi: worst state in USA. I wish I had Riley's life.

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    4. Oh okay, I wasn't sure. Sometimes I mix you two up :P

      In regards to Chris not caring (was this in regards to him writing the reviews so late lately? or about Sarah?) I was just referencing how at the end of Her Monster's review he claimed that "nobody would read this" and "everyone else has probably moved on", but I'm just here to assure him that's not the case.

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    5. Thanks for the support Jamie.

      I meant C bear doesn't care about Sarah one way or the other. I'll make sure he knows people still read when he posts later :D

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  6. Season 1 was unwatchable. Season 2 had a few good episodes.Season 3 is a bit too corny except for meets monster. I wish I could go back in time to 2912 and show this blog's reviews and commments to the writers. GMW is not a very good successor to BMW and is very disappointing. It doesn't do the previous show little justice. S3 should have been moved to Freeform.

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  7. 2012. It does the previous show little justice. My mistake.

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  8. Hey everybody. This is only marginally related to Girl Meets World, but remember Josh Matthews?

    He's played by an actor named Uriah Shelton, and he stars in a new movie just released: The Warrior's Gate

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7dWTnALW1E

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  9. I liked this episode. It felt like Disney appropriate shenanigans, which I want to see more of. When Riley first asked if the bow was hers, I saw so much of Eric in her. That's probably close to what Eric's reaction would have been.

    I'm not sure if Katy is going to succeed. She got the role, but that's only a small element. What if the movie fails? What if she never works again? This may be her only movie role. I could see Katy telling Maya that she tried, but it's okay even though it didn't work out. Trying is important, and least now she won't wonder about what might have been. Katy will tell Maya that she's still happy even though things didn't work out the way she wanted them to.

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    1. Wasn't that bow Alternate Riley's, from "World of Terror 3"?

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    2. It was indeed. So that makes me wonder if that's just an outfit she owns but chooses to wear more in that alternate universe.

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    3. Kidnapping is disney appropriate shenanigans? I'm not disgreeing, I just don't really know the scope of shows that air right now.

      And it absolutely will be Katy's last movie because a thirteen year old wrote the script and half the characters have poopypants in their name.

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    4. I'd expect Sarah to be 14 by now since she's a freshman in high school, but that doesn't really help the screenplay's merit any.

      For the record, I'm sure other Disney shows have approached similar types of "shenanigans" - I remember in one of Liv and Maddie's Halloween episodes, the two brothers make clones of themselves that attempt to cook their parents (literally, they're seen tied up in pots of boiling water). That may be a bad example but I know there's definitely others I can't think of right now.

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    5. Surprisingly enough kidnapping is very much Disney shenanigans..in fact there's a whole DCOM on it called Dadnapped. Seriously.

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    6. Speaking for the "shenanigans" of Disney Channel shows, I've seen stranded-on-a-desert-island (Suite Life on Deck), a muppet coming to life (Crash and Bernstein--don't ask), characters from two different television shows becoming werewolves, and as Anonymous said, the Halloween episode of Liv and Maddie.

      So we're definitely dealing with things that are far more ridiculous than anything we saw on BMW.

      And kidnapping has been done before. You think Season One Farkle was bad?

      He has nothing on Creepy Connie, who kidnapped several main cast members and tried to force her crush to marry her. And she got off scot-free. Yes really.

      So while this isn't that too over the top as far as Disney Channel is concerned, I can't say I'm a fan of the idea.

      The trick with a shenanigan is never to cause so much trouble that the audience loses sympathy for the protagonist, unless that's the entire point. Cory and Shawn got into all sorts of mischief, in the vein of Fred and George (Harry Potter), but they almost never set out to truly hurt anyone. The same can't be said here.

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    7. Oh lord I forgot about Creepy Connie - I knew that was one I was forgetting, thanks Cryptid. That entire episode of Jessie was crazy and unrealistic.

      Wow, I had never heard of Dadnapped - interesting how three actors from Hannah Montana were in it. I know DCOMs practically always have stars from Disney shows in them, but for that one to have three from the same show is pretty uncommon (a lot of the recent ones bring actors from different Disney shows/movies together).

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    8. Riley reminds me of eric and that Corinna girl from that boy meets world episode shallowboy lol.

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  10. What do you two think about the confirmed Hannah Montana marathon this December? They're apparently marathoning the /entire series/ over basically the whole month of December. I'm kind of curious how they're scheduling that, if they're only showing the episodes at certain times of the day. We do have Christmas Maya Carol scheduled for next month so I can't help but wonder when they're going to squeeze that in.

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    1. It will be a sad time for man kind.

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    2. That bad, huh? TBH I actually grew up with the show so it has quite a bit of nostalgia value for me, so I'll definitely be watching some of it. Though I kind of fell out of the loop by season 3 or so, so there's a lot I haven't seen from the later seasons.

      I still have Miley's CDs and DVDs, too. Normally I would be ashamed to admit this, but I'm anonymous!

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    3. Also, I find it somewhat surprising that they're returning the show to Disney Channel given Miley's...erm, more recent actions (though they have been showing it in the graveyard hours lately, like at 3 AM). But the series turned a decade old this year so I guess it makes sense in that regard, given that a lot of similar people in my boat want it back for the nostalgia factor alone.

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    4. Hannah Montana was somewhat after my time; but I do like the idea that they can differentiate between the actor and the character. Besides, she seems to be getting her life back on track recently, and I don't have as many issues with her as I do with some other 20-somethings.

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    5. I've always supported Miley, personally. Obviously she got a lot of shit for twerking on Robin Thicke and all of those controversial music videos, but she's really not a bad person overall. She indeed seems to have improved, plus I'm not hearing about her as much (last time I really heard much about her was when she dropped that Dead Petz album last year)

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  11. I didn't mind the episode; but it wasn't really one of my favourites. And yes, best friends from 14 or so are rarely still around as friends 20 years later. You might remember them fondly, but they're not usually best friends any more.

    Heck, whilst Cory and Topanga may have defied the odds on teen divorce (and one reason I can be okay with that, is they haven't really pretended that their making it is common), for something like 13 years Cory and Shawn weren't really best friends any more. Sure, they're back to that now, but Shawn wasn't around and was more just a friend that you caught up with every now and then, maybe for nostalgia than a /best/ friend. I'd like it more if Riley and Maya accepted best friends didn't have to stay like that but 'we will!'.

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    1. You know, I actually don't believe that Shawn never kept in touched with Cory and the Matthews FOR 13 years. I mean, look, Riley DID say that he visited them before, Cory also said that Shawn was away 3 weeks ago, Josh even talked with Shawn like he's close to him even if it was that one short line that he asked "Hey Shawn, am I cooler than you yet?", and even Riley's youngest brother, Auggie, knew who Shawn was. I think what Shawn meant was that he was away from New York since 13 years ago.

      But about them still being best friends or not, I think that's more or less in their situation. They eventually became more than best friends by now as you can see, the Matthews are eventually a family to Shawn, and Riley even see Shawn more as her family and real uncle. So whether, Cory and Shawn are still best friends or just friends, I don't think that's really important because I could see they're simply became more than that. At least, Shawn came to realized that Riley (AND Auggie) are important to him as much as Cory (and Topanga) are too, so he became more intact with the Matthews after that.

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  12. On a completely different subject, but BMW related, the house the Matthews lived in for BMW hit the market recently for $1.6 million. The house is really in Studio City, California.

    http://www.refinery29.com/2016/11/130458/boy-meets-world-house-for-sale#slide

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  13. I'm watching it now...and Sean, this opening is just absurd. The audience is laughing at everything--likely because of the accent but...there's not much funny. Well, the "I do not mind being borrowed" isn't that bad, but I can't say I'm enjoying this. The last two openings Ms. Yeager gave us were two of the strongest of the season.

    Can't say I'm a fan of the accent swap either. Especially when Katy joins in--I've never noticed an accent this strong in her voice before.

    And what the heck? Katy's birthname was Clutterbucket, after all? That...is odd. I could have sworn Kermit's last name was Clutterbucket.

    Classroom scene...classroom scene...oh, God, are we ever going to have a good classroom scene again? Sarah wrote a screenplay off notes she took in class. She literally took notes on Riley and Maya...and I can't even enjoy the twist that they don't talk in the screenplay.

    This doesn't feel like meta...this feels more like "Gravity," in the vein that the writers are more making fun of the criticism rather than the material itself.

    And the themes of friendship. I get what they're going for, but the sentiment just doesn't work for me. Maybe it's because they've done it too many times--"no matter what, we'll be friends,"--without ever truly facing conflict (though that could, in theory, change), or maybe it's because the dynamic of the Riley-Maya friendship changes frequently: Maya bemoans Riley's carefree personality in one episode, and in the next it's shown that Maya is part of the Riley Committee.

    The less said about that last classroom scene, the better.

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    1. I think they changed their mind; but except for the first instance of Grandma Hart living with them, most references to Clutterbucket do make more sense with it being Katy's last name. Girl meets 1961 - it makes more sense for Maya to be able to do research on her mother's family, than on her father's who has basically had no contact with them since he left. The wedding episode - could go either way, but it doesn't make a lot of sense for Maya to revert to Hart but Katy to keep her married name.

      The biggest hint to me though was in the great lady episode - why make a big deal of taking her /mother/ to go see her Irish heritage as a Clutterbucket, if that was actually Kermit's name?

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    2. I suppose that's true Will--and if Katy reverted to her maiden name, it still makes sense for Maya keeping "Hart" as her surname.

      We've seen this before.

      Jack Hunter's mother left Chet, but he kept his surname, and didn't change it when she remarried.

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    3. The only problem is Gramma Hart living with them in World of Terror 1.

      But I dunno what it's like in America, but in Australia whilst it's relatively easy to change back to your maiden name after a divorce, getting kids to change to names that they've never actually had before is a legal minefield.

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    4. I'd forgotten about Gramma Hart--now that I stop to think about it, she may be a maternal great-grandmother. Katy's about the same age as Corpanga, and Gramma Hart is much older than Amy and Alan.

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    5. Yeah, that's what I guess I was thinking. It also would explain why Maya has always come across as proud of the Hart name; whilst that wouldn't make sense after Shawn revealed who was really responsible in that divorce.

      But it's also the reason I feel they changed their minds about where the name Hart came from. I'm not sure if they always knew Clutterbucket, when they first introduced the name anyway, was meant to be Katy's maiden name, but I think it's clear that's what they think now, and probably have for at least this season.

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    6. Eh, in all honesty "Clutterbucket" isn't a ret-con I mind terribly much. It's not as if Maya had a sibling who suddenly poofed out of existence. Like Nebula Stopthewar Lawrence.

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    7. I have less problems with Nebula than with Stacey Hunter. Nebula was old enough that she could have moved to go to university or the like. It's not like we ever saw inside Topanga's place outside her room.

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    8. Actually, "Stacey" was never meant to be a Hunter.

      Remember, Season One of BMW was experimenting with a bunch of things. One of which was that Cory would have two best friends--notice that he sits with Shawn and assorted other boys throughout the first half of the season.

      That scene was meant to have one of the other boys (I think the one with dark hair and slightly buck teeth), but the scene wasn't working. So Jacobs had Rider do the scene instead, since he had better chemistry with Ben than the other boys, and the rest is history.

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    9. But they still establish Shawn having multiple siblings in the early seasons. Stacey in the hair (and first Cory/Topanga kiss) episode. There was that whole phone call between Shawn and Stacey. And then, he had a brother in the trailer park who vanished also.

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    10. The brother in the trailer park was a half-brother, and didn't live with them. Stacey is particularly annoying to me because she clearly lived with Shawn. Having said that, I'm a Doctor Who fan so making inconsistencies actually work is my bread and butter. As long as neither of them ever gets called an 'only child' quite specifically, I can make it work.

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  14. Why would the girls doubt the strength of their friendship when nothing is threatening it when they constantly ensured each other that wouldn't be the case when something WAS actually threatening it - the triangle. Is Riley's memory that bad? I thought they're done with that topic, at least until something serious actually tests it again...

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    1. I would have preferred if they put more emphasis on what you do for the people you love - Riley assisting Maya, Maya trying to help her mom, Katy's friend giving up the role. Like, what kind of help is good and what isn't. Is it ok to break the law for someone else? Something like that.

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    2. That is a good idea, Evi.

      For all the talk of "friendship," we haven't exactly seen there be a great deal of stress on Riley and Maya's friendship, beyond the Triangle.

      And that's a real shame. Real friends argue and bicker and reconcile.

      To use one example, I would love to see, or to have seen, an episode where Maya actively pressures Riley to steal the answers to one of Cory's tests.

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    3. They have a rather absurd idea of friendship that friends always back each other up; which Cory even challenged Riley on in the first episode. Real friends stop each other going too far.

      I just don't know where they've picked it up from. Shawn and Cory constantly argued; even ignoring the break-ups, Cory and Topanga had their fair share as well. Katy doesn't seem like someone who'd have that either.

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    4. "Friends always back each other up," is, truth be told, not what I immediately think of concerning this show.

      While the characters often say, "We're friends, and we'll always stick together no matter what," I can't say they haven't actually broken from that model.

      Maya and Riley both have a very pronounced habit of violently objecting to anything that goes against the status quo.

      Maya more or less threw a tantrum when Riley wanted to redecorate her bedroom in "Bay Window."

      She's also a member of the Riley Committee, keeping information from her best friend on purpose (and annoyingly, often being exasperated by Riley's behavior).

      And I'm STILL mad about Maya's actions towards Riley in "Girl Meets Popular."

      That's not to say that Riley is blameless. However well-intentioned, she was a major player in the "Maya Identity Crisis" arc we had earlier this season.
      That said, we ended up seeing Maya face her demons alone, and that was quite a strong scene.

      So I guess I was wrong--Riley and Maya have argued. It's just that it's been about keeping the status quo of their dynamic.

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    5. That might be true, but it is what leads to their hysterics every time they hear of a pair of friends who had grown apart.

      Girl Meets Popular is in the unfortunate situation that -both- girls were quite wrong in that episode. I really hated the way Riley rubbed it in Maya's face about her being invited and Maya not. That is exactly the time you -should- be supporting your friends.

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    6. "That might be true, but it is what leads to their hysterics every time they hear of a pair of friends who had grown apart."

      Duly noted, Will. However often continuity has been ignored on this show (not that BMW was great in that department), you are correct that Maya and Riley often fear that they'll grow apart and stop being friends. In an age of social media, when Tommy was able to track down Eric, it does dilute the effect. To say nothing that with Shawn now Maya's step-dad, she and Riley are now more or less cousins and will be part of each other's lives whether they like it or not (humor the hypothetical).

      "I really hated the way Riley rubbed it in Maya's face about her being invited and Maya not. That is exactly the time you -should- be supporting your friends."

      Riley got her comeuppence though--she laughed in Maya's face and then came to the realization that she may well be in for a miserable time. And then Cory and Maya had a laugh at her expense--fair's fair.

      What I hated more in "Popular," was Maya's reaction, (to say nothing of Cory's behavior) after Riley changed her outfit (and considering the rest of the Geeks had done so as well, I'm inclined to believe she was actually dressing as an anime character), but, from my recollection, not that much of her personality.

      Usually, when a show has one of its characters interacting with a new group of friends, the character begins alienating themselves from the rest of the main cast. That was most certainly not the case in "Popular."

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    7. Oh I agree that Maya was certainly wrong in "Popular". I'm also inclined to think Cory is the worst of all of them, as he -should- know better.

      How that episode does make Maya seem particularly bad, is it is a strong suggestion that not only does Riley have to be her best friend, but her only friend. Riley found some new friends, and given Riley, at that point, didn't really have any friends with a similar focus on academics as herself, this felt wrong.

      Shawn and Cory may have been best friends, but there was never any hint that they weren't allowed to have other friends. The only time this was said, was when Shawn was starting to hang out with Harley. Hanging out with a bunch of "geeks" is not in the same vein as hanging out with bullies.

      I find Riley's behaviour to be very annoying throughout the series, and mostly, I do prefer Maya. But that particular episode was not Maya at her best.

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    8. "Oh I agree that Maya was certainly wrong in "Popular". I'm also inclined to think Cory is the worst of all of them, as he -should- know better."

      A reasonable position--Cory's behavior was probably our first really bad example of Cory the Dad interfering with his roles as a teacher (I maintain a soft spot for "Girl Meets Father.") It didn't help matters that I found his argument totally bogus.

      "How that episode does make Maya seem particularly bad, is it is a strong suggestion that not only does Riley have to be her best friend, but her only friend. Riley found some new friends, and given Riley, at that point, didn't really have any friends with a similar focus on academics as herself, this felt wrong."

      Going off on this, given that Friar was mysteriously absent from the episode (not even mentioned, not that I missed him), I think you make an interesting point. Early episodes tried to set up that Maya and Riley are best friends, despite being polar opposites, This was the first time conflict in that regard, and I find it a shame--by demanding a return to the status quo, we ended up weakening Riley's character. There was a chance to give Riley a new-found interest in science fiction, maybe give her a favorite show in common with Farkle, but it didn't work out.

      On a secondary note, that bit about Riley's lack of academically-interested friends reminded me how Isadora was wasted this season.

      "Shawn and Cory may have been best friends, but there was never any hint that they weren't allowed to have other friends. The only time this was said, was when Shawn was starting to hang out with Harley. Hanging out with a bunch of "geeks" is not in the same vein as hanging out with bullies."

      Irony. I can't help but be reminded of Frankie the Enforcer, who stopped hanging around bullies, started hanging out with Cory and Shawn and became their friend.
      Frankie was one of my favorites.

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    9. Why I find it particularly sad in regards to Cory, is he juggled a serious girlfriend, a best friend; the two of whom often didn't see eye to eye, and there was never any hint from either of them, until some episodes of season 7, that he'd have to choose. As well as that, he showed ample signs of development from what he was, which is what Riley could have been granted in this episode.

      I think it would have been more interesting, if the conclusion of the episode was more like "Maya, you'll always be my best friend, but they fill holes for me that you can't". Not with those exact words; but that general feel.

      I liked Frankie. I even liked him even before he stopped being the bully; because there were always these hints that he was more sensitive than his 'Frankie the Enforcer' persona would suggest.

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  15. Ratings are in - wait for it - yes we have an all time series low 1.2 million views.

    Still number 1 on cable for Friday night though.

    Also December schedule from Disney Channel:
    Disney Channel Promo ‏@disney_promo · 6 hours ago

    Friday, December 02: Fa-La-la-la Days
    • Liv and Maddie - Cali Christmas-A-Rooney
    • Girl Meets World - Girl Meets A Christmas Maya

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    1. Which helps to classify the difference between US and Australian shows; but I'm not sure how much of that series low has to do with 'a show aimed at teenagers airing on Friday nights' and how much of it is that it's just not doing well.

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    2. I think it has more to do with cable as a whole not doing well. All of the children's channels have been struggling for the last few years.

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    3. Will, last year's shows in November (which showed in the same time slot) had ratings that were almost double what this November's are.

      While Cryptid is correct that the ratings are going down for all channels, I think that these marks will lead to Disney's decision to publicly cancel the show. Why continue to pay increasing production costs for GMW when you can just put on a brand new show for less money with unknown actors? Or they can continue to air shows they have no monetary stake in like "Backstage" and "The Lodge". I'm sure the ratings for those are much less worrisome because ratings here in the US will not dictate whether or not future episodes are produced.

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    4. Hmm okay, so they are indeed squeezing it in before the Hannah Montana marathon next month.

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    5. That's a fair point 1960. We have seen a steady decline for quite some time. (Thanks a lot Triangle)

      This is...disappointing.

      What were your thoughts on this one, 1960? You haven't commented at length on an episode in a long time.

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    6. Hey Cryptid. I've been working long hours lately. I will do a write-up some time this weekend. We have time until the next episode.

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    7. The big problem with the Triangle from a 'ratings means more episodes' POV, is I think it artificially upped ratings due to it being the kind of thing lots of teenagers will tune in for, and so when it was over the descent looks all the worse.

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    8. 1) I hope the general trend means the kids and teens are spending less time on tv and more time with their friends and doing hobbies (although, it's likely, they just prefer computer to tv now).
      2) If the viewers liked the triangle, maybe the show should finally bring in some relationship/dating stuff. At least try it before cancelling the show. I mean they've been promising it a lot in the beginning of the season (including with the triangle, which didn't get any follow-up) and their viewers are getting older too. There is a difference between what will attract for example 10 year olds and 13 year olds.

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  16. New Tweet from the Writers:

    Next: Maya: (To Riley) Oh spirit of Christmas Future I fear you most of all. Then: World Meets Girl - For our audience. Welcome to the show.

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  17. Haven't seen the episode yet but I'll catch it soon.

    More importantly,

    Bill Daniels (Mr. Feeny) has an Instagram.

    This is not a drill. I repeat. This is not a drill.

    And it seems he's reasonably active with it.

    https://www.instagram.com/mrbilldaniels/

    And apparently he has a new book coming out next year.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BMAdR0UFVKQ/?taken-by=mrbilldaniels

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  18. Still have a day and a half to go for this one to air up here, but I'm closing my eyes to the review and comments for now and wishing you folks down there a Happy Thanksgiving.

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    1. Hi Milestones! Happy American Thanksgiving! One thing I am thankful for is our friendship.

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    2. Cryptid, a belated but strong reciprocation of sentiment.

      I enjoyed this episode on its wilfully preposterous terms, and liked Maya in her amoral, "let's rob a bank" mode. Katy is always a very welcome sight. Riley was good, and the bits with Zay were great.

      The director being Sarah's dad was a nice callback to Maya's Mother.

      There might be a universe where the Sun recordings of Elvis were never made. If so, that would mean this can't be the darkest timeline. I also wouldn't want to be without "Suspicious Minds."

      When I lived in Montreal, there was a boulangerie just down the street.

      Delete
  19. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    Watch one of the best holiday episodes of the Feeny-verse, "Turkey Day."

    Quality's a little meh.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZlDP61iyBs

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    1. Happy Tanksgiving to those who celebrate it.

      I've always been somewhat jealous of Americans. Not that I want that particular holiday, but as Halloween is barely celebrated here (though it's getting bigger) and we have nothing else in the latter part of the year, we start getting Christmas decorations in early November. And Christmas songs playing in the stores...

      And that episode is an undeniably sweet episode.

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    2. one of my favourtie parts of the episode is shawn reading his paper "This past week, I spent Thanksgiving "with the Hutus and the Tutsis, "which was a real surprise to me "because I live in Philadelphia, "and I thought that kind of prejudice based on class differences "only happened in undeveloped countries.
      "But I discovered that even in my very own civilized country, "people can be just as undeveloped and just as cruel.
      "But more importantly, and the thing that gives me hope, "is that as long as the children are educated "about the dangers of prejudice and intolerance, "then perhaps there will be a reason for Thanksgiving in the future.

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    3. Oh, Will, you make me laugh. You think Australians have it bad with early November decorations? Friend, Mike and I were in a department store at the end of September and saw them putting up a Christmas tree. SEPTEMBER!

      I do find it curious that Halloween isn't wildly acknowledged. Wikipedia reminded me that Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere

      "Turkey Day" is one of my very favorite episodes of the Feeny-verse. It has a little of everything: Teacher Feeny, an awesome lesson from Alan, fun with the Hunters (who doesn't love Chet), a visit from Frankie, Eric being Eric.

      I often wondered why that episode wasn't ever the inspiration for a GMW episode. An episode where Riley tries to get all of her friends and their families together could be interesting. The absurdly wealthy Minkii having to break bread with the Hunters, hosted by the Matthews.

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    4. Seriously? I have a lot of American friends; and nobody ever mentions Christmas till December.

      It's started to get acknowledged in the last few years; but I think that's a symptom of the embracing of American culture here, rather than it's anything that people really -feel-. My partner celebrates it to an extent as the old Celtic festival rather than what it is now.

      What I actually liked about that episode, is that the lesson is really provided by the kids. They were the ones who first didn't pay attention to class differences. Say what you like about Cory, he has never given two hoots about social class differences.

      I... think it would have worked better pre-Shawn entering Maya and Katie's life. He's not absurdly wealthy no; but we've had enough hints to suggest he's actually fairly well off. True, part of that is because he's only had to look after himself; but even so...

      Besides, if they were going to do something like that -thats- the story they would have told with 'girl meets money' - rather than... umm... what we got.

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    5. It's pretty weird how there hasn't been a Thanksgiving episode of GMW. I wonder if they're not allowed to do holiday episodes unless Disney requests them. The only Thanksgiving episode of a Disney Channel show I can remember is Good Luck Charlie.

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    6. Christmas time varies in the States. While the stores decorate before Halloween is even over, the Hallmark Channel devotes all of November and December to Christmas movies. I didn't mind the marathoning when I was in high school, but it seems like the list of movies has shrunk somewhat, and that older movies I used to look forward to are now very rare.
      The radio stations don't start the music until after Thanksgiving.

      Hi Jet, haven't seen you in quite a while. How have you been?

      That is a fair point--I don't even remember that Thanksgiving episode of Good Luck Charlie...and now that I stop to think about it, it seems odd. I can only remember several Thanksgiving episodes from when I was younger, but there doesn't seem to be as many these days.

      "What I actually liked about that episode, is that the lesson is really provided by the kids. They were the ones who first didn't pay attention to class differences. Say what you like about Cory, he has never given two hoots about social class differences."

      And that was one thing that I really like about Cory. He doesn't give a damn about class differences, which is an important part of his friendship with Shawn.

      I do wonder though, seeing as Alan apparently grew up very poor ("To me, average was a DREAM!"), whether his discomfort in "Turkey Day," was more due to discomfort at possibly painful memories being brought up.

      But I like what you say about the kids delivering the message. That's not really something that's been done on GMW--or if it has, it's been tampered by teachers pulling strings.

      From my view, if there were any lesson for the kids to teach their parents (and do it well), a Matthews-Minkus-Hunter Thanksgiving that devolves into anarchy would be a worthy candidate.

      Fair point about "Girl Meets Money." While I didn't hate the episode, I don't think it holds up very well, especially in the context of later episodes.

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    7. Yeah; I do have a fair amount of issues with Cory in BMW; especially towards the end of the seasons; but class differences is not something that concerns him; which I do applaud you for.

      As for Alan - to be fair, he tried. The real issues really came from Chet's neighbours in fact; and uncomfortable memories or not, it is hard to totally ignore surroundings. I always thought it might have worked better if the Hunters went to their house; but they may have felt intimidated by the, relative, wealth on display.

      "Girl Meets Money" has the issue a lot of season 2 episodes had - it started off strongly; but the conclusion felt a bit off-kilter somehow. Having that whole 'pitch your ideas' thing and then just giving the money to Maya was just weird, for me.

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    8. I have a few issues with Cory, but I think it's for the better. Who wants to watch a coming-of-age story for a character they have no issue with whatsoever?

      Environment might have something to do with it. Even Riley felt uncomfortable in Maya's poorer neighborhood in "World of Terror 1," if we take that story as canonical.

      As for "Money," to be fair, with the guest star Mark Cuban, it likely would have felt off-kilter no matter how good the rest of the episode was.
      And that's probably where the whole 'pitch your ideas' came from in the first place--Cuban's one of the stars on a show called "Shark Tank," where budding businessmen and women put their ideas on display to billionaires for investments.

      My point on "Money" not holding up well has more to do with Riley having a Save-the-World idea to combat malaria, and then in "Real World," we're supposed to believe that Riley has no idea that such a disease even exists.

      Either way, "Money" has a good heart, and the ending isn't nearly as saccharine as "Crazy Hat." Season 2 has its faults, but the stand-alone episodes are, for the most part, not nearly as rough as the stand-alones from Season 1.

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    9. Doesn't even need to be a coming-of-age story. A well-written character has room for character development.

      It's especially hard when you're talking about visiting a trailer park; when we're basically indoctrinated from a young age to think that people who live in such places -permanently- would steal the shirt off your back if they could.

      "Shark Tank" actually airs here. Or there's an Australian version of it; I forget which.

      To be fair; Riley's unwillingness to read the news at all made no real sense to me, not just because of that. Various other episodes have stated she at least knows what goes on in the world; even if she probably believes that's all 'far away from here'. I don't even think your best friend can be Maya and be that blind.

      To be honest, except for the triangle episodes; I did get some enjoyment out of every episode in season 2. Season 1 was dicier; but even there I got a reasonable amount.

      Delete
  20. Girl Meets a Christmas Maya was excellent, the best of the 3 holiday episodes. Don't miss it when it airs next week.

    YMMV, but I stand by my opinion.

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    1. i havent seen it but i wish shawn hunter was in the episode.

      Delete
  21. Where's Christian? We have a new GMW this Friday so he better hop on this soon before he gets behind.

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  22. With "Christmas Maya," the lag time for GMW to air up here is extending to two weeks. I was thinking that would effectively end active participation in GMWR discussions. But, if I do chime in, it might still be before Christian does.

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    1. Please don't be shy, Milestones. The minute I find a link so you can watch it early, I'll be sure to share it, and then you can join in the discussion.

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  23. Christian, the joke's on you, actually - "Hollyworld" isn't a typo, that's actually how the episode spelled it (it's supposed to be a pun on World)

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  24. A fellow former Days watcher. Which Jack death made you stop? They killed him like 4 times in the last 10 years.

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