Boy Meets World – The Complete First + Second +
Third Seasons (Lionsgate DVDs)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C+
Some
series were THE BEST when you were younger; so in turn when it is released on
DVD or Blu-ray we jump at the chance to own them. This is a mistake that is fueled by
inexperience and nostalgia. As a
reviewer I am here to guide readers and let them know, it is not all as good as
we remember. Sure, there are plenty of series out there that we can name as
classics, but Boy Meets World is not
one of them; to put it simply, it did not stand the test of time.
Boy Meets World stars Ben Savage (younger brother
of THE CLASSIC Wonder Years actor
Fred Savage) as Cory Mathews, a pubescent 13 year old who is entering the 6th
grade with friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong).
The series follows the boys on the exploits inside and outside of school,
always under the watchful eye of teacher and Cory’s neighbor George Feeny
(played by the all too perfect William Daniels). The Cory/Feeny relationship blossoms
throughout the series as Cory quickly realizes that Feeny’s hard exterior is
actually there to guide the children and people in his life that he cares
for. The series also stars Topanga Lawrence
(played by Danielle Fishel, now host of The
Dish) who will later become Cory’s love interest on the series (and for
good reason).
Whereas
much of the series is original and humorous, for the most part is a cliché teen
sitcom that features ‘lessons of the week’ and heart warming moments with a
dash of ‘safe comedy.’ The parental
figures on the series are played by William Russ (Allan) and Betsy Randle
(Amy); with Cory’s older brother played by Will Friedle (Eric). Eric is an odd duck as he was more believable
as the cool, harsh older brother in the early seasons, but as time went on he
became a goofy, idiotic character who was suppose to be the lovable,
good-looking, moron. Then again the
whole series had that goofy element to it towards the end.
This
series is a slightly worse version of Full
House, that many of us have fond memories of, with plenty of those ‘Danny
Tanner’ moments. And like Full House the series just does not
hold up for viewing all these years later.
I must admit I love the nostalgia and buying sets to collect dust on my
shelf, looking at and saying remember when?
Overall, there are plenty of better series to watch and Boy Meets World is only so, so of a
series; only to partake in when it reruns on television when you are home sick
from work.
The
technical features on these three seasons are nothing new as they are exactly
the same as the sets previously released by Disney. The picture is presented in an underwhelming
1.33 X 1 Full Screen that is washed and void of color, depth and detail. The clarity is fine, but nothing better than
a TV broadcast. The sound is a simple
2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo that comes from the front, which is fine for this
dialogue driven series, but don’t expect anything impressive or immersive from
such simple series.
The
extras for each season are as follows:
Season One
Bonus
Episode - From Season Four “Hair Today,
Goon Tomorrow” with commentary
3 Audio
Commentary Tracks with cast/crew that are very short and retrospective
Season Two
5 Audio
Commentary Track with cast/crew, once again not all to invigorating or with
replay value, 1 Picture-in-Picture, Commentary Tracks; same as without picture
pretty much
Season Three
Boy Meets
World Trivia Game
Overall,
fond memories are where I leave the series and there is no real need to own
this.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
