Boy Meets World ran successfully on ABC Network for seven years, ending as Cory and Topanga prepared to set off for their new lives in New York City as Shawn and Eric went with them. Years later, Disney Channel picks up in New York City with Cory, Topanga, and their children Riley and Auggie. The lessons Mr. Feeney had taught them over the years continue through Cory as he takes up the mantle of the middle school, and later high school, history teacher.
Both shows were very moral driven as the main characters connected to lessons others had learned in the past to help them determine how to handle their present. However, while the nature of both shows may have been similar, each series had to present the scenarios differently.
BOY MEETS WORLD: GROWING UP
Boy Meets World lasted seven seasons, aging Cory, Shawn, and Topanga from pre-teens to adults. Due to airing on ABC Network, the series was allowed to portray growing up realistically. Life milestones were able to be touched on and given an in-depth conversation.
The series was never scared by the concept of change, even if Cory was. Girl Meets World aired on Disney Channel, giving it less room for the characters to grow up the same way. Even though the team behind the show certainly succeeded in giving Riley and Maya more mature things to do, the series was never able to achieve the same growth as its predecessor.
GIRL MEETS WORLD: BULLYING
When Cory was in high school, he was bullied by Harley Keiner and his friends. In Boy Meets World, it was physical bullying that tended to be seen more often. However, Girl Meets World preferred to go the route of verbal and cyberbullying. Farkle feels belittled when another kid makes fun of his clothes and tells him that he is nothing. Farkle’s friends rally around him and make sure he knows that is not the case.
In " Girl Meets Rileytown," Farkle realizes that Riley is getting bullied too, just in a different manner. She receives text messages from an unknown character that calls out her upbeat personality as a bad thing. Girl Meets World took a more emotional route with its bullying storylines.
BOY MEETS WORLD: RELATIONSHIPS
There is no relationship like Cory and Topanga. Those two went back and forth on their relationship until finally deciding to get married at the beginning of the seventh season. Their relationship has stood the test of time and held its ground through good moments and bad.
Riley and her friends attempt relationships, but the love triangle that lasts throughout seasons two and three makes it difficult to stand behind them. Riley, Maya, and Lucas’ inability to make a decision kept the triangle going on far longer than it should have.
GIRL MEETS WORLD: ACKNOWLEDGES A CHANGED WORLD
In the early days of Girl Meets World, Cory creates an assignment that forces the students to use books rather than the internet, forcing them to interact face to face. By doing so, Riley, Maya, Farkle, and Lucas connect on a deeper level than they had been expecting. It also asks if technology makes people better.
By acknowledging the changes from when Cory was a child, it encourages kids to put their phones down and talk to each other. By the end of the episode, it has a solid medium justifying that while technology has helped the world, sometimes it is better to interact in the world rather than stare at a screen.
BOY MEETS WORLD: MR. FEENY
As well envisioned as every character in the series is, Mr. Feeny is the clear moral compass of Boy Meets World. He is consistently there for Cory, the Matthews family, Shawn, and Topanga. Mr. Feeny is an advice-giving machine, and always has something prominent to say or teach.
As much as the kids may have driven him crazy, he always cared about them and tried to guide them in the right direction. In Girl Meets World, Cory plays this role in the classroom. However, Cory learned everything he knows from Mr. Feeny and still considers him to be the best teacher he ever had.
GIRL MEETS WORLD: CONTINUITY
Boy Meets World, unfortunately, did not do that well with their continuity. Details such as Cory and Topanga’s history and Shawn’s amount of half-siblings get contradicted the further into the series you go. While it may not have affected the overall arc of the story, especially when they try to justify their continuity issues later, the confusing details are still relevant.
Meanwhile, Girl Meets World learned from the previous show’s mistakes. While Girl Meets World kept their details more in line with how it is described later in the series, it also has fun with Boy Meets World’s continuity errors as well, making jokes about the number of first dates Cory and Topanga had.
BOY MEETS WORLD: COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS
On Girl Meets World, things may not easy between the characters, but Boy Meets World has a leg up in this category. Relationships like Shawn and Mr. Turner are complicated and involved in a way Girl Meets World had not dived into that much. Although Turner was not Shawn’s father, Shawn could not help but look up to Turner for support, and Turner equally cared for Shawn.
Mr. Feeny also shared complex relationships with Cory, Topanga, Shawn, and Eric, even if he chooses not to admit it. Due to the complexities of the bonds, it forced other characters to look at things through another perspective that they had not seen.
GIRL MEETS WORLD: FRIENDSHIPS
Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have the central friendship in the series until Eric becomes more heavily involved, along with Angela, Jack, and Rachel. Those relationships were all relevant to the show, but in “The War,” it is apparent that there are underlying issues below the surface. Friends since they were children, Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, do not realize that they have made Jack, Angela, and Rachel feel left out.
However, Rachel has the most massive issue, as she views everyone else as having familial or romantic relations with Cory, Shawn, or Topanga, while she does not. In Girl Meets World, Eric confirms that Jack fell out of touch with everyone else. Meanwhile, Girl Meets World highlights friendships as the focal and most significant part of the story. There is no relationship more critical on the series than Riley and Maya. Keeping secure connections with Farkle, Lucas, Zay, and Smackle is a constant relevant storyline.
BOY MEETS WORLD: ADULT THEMES
Girl Meets World’s place on Disney Channel did not allow it to dive into adult topics. However, that does not mean that the series did not try. While they did cover essential themes, the show was not able to discuss things that were not acceptable for children to see.
Boy Meets World did have the opportunity to dive into those issues. Drinking, sex, and other adult matters are placed into the series as the characters grow older. By doing so, it allows the audience to grow with the show rather than grow out of it.
GIRL MEETS WORLD: PARENTAL GUIDANCE
Alan and Amy were excellent parents to Cory, Eric, and Morgan. However, they were the only constant parental figures in the series. Shawn’s parents appeared and disappeared while Topanga’s was hardly shown at all. Girl Meet World not only utilizes Cory and Topanga but also has Katy Hart’s influence in the show when she is not present.
Farkle’s father, Stuart Minkus, makes small appearances on the series as well. Even though they are brief, he is still there for a significant reason in the story. Although Lucas’ parents are never introduced, “Girl Meets Texas” brings the main characters to Texas and allows the audience to see the environment Lucas and Zay grew up in.
