Reasons Why 'Girl Meets World' Just Doesn't Work
Whether Boy Meets World was a part of your childhood from the very beginning or wasn’t something you experienced until later in your teens, it’s safe to say that anyone that had a connection with the television show never exactly grew out of it. The timeless sitcom had a charm to it that kept it relevant for years well after its conclusion over 14 years ago. Since then, people have been calling for a movie, or a reunion episode -- anything that would allow some more Cory and Topanga in our lives. Well, we got our wish with Girl Meets World, but it sadly just doesn’t live up to expectations.
Girl Meets World still gets the benefit of the doubt for a few reasons: 1. The theme song is amazing, 2. We really, really hope the series turns out as good as it could be, and 3. It’s only the pilot episode. With that said, the first episode streaming online before its airing on June 27 was extremely disappointing. First off, Girl Meets World desperately tries to recreate Boy Meets World’s magic by emulating the same exact characters: the main character Riley, who is Cory and Topanga’s daughter, has a best friend Maya -- she’s basically the female version of Shawn Hunter, but not nearly as cool. Meanwhile, one of Maya and Riley’s classmates, a kid named Farkle, is quite obviously supposed to be the new Minkus, but much more obnoxious, and it’s not in a good way.
Girl Meets World also falls flat in its delivery. Cory and Topanga, however, are as delightful as ever, and they’re probably the brightest spot of the pilot. They’re made for the role and the premise of the show as a whole, and they also look like they haven’t aged in 10 years, which is kind of weird. But the worst part is that the pilot is filled with these pseudo life lessons that Cory tries teaching to Riley, but everything about it is ridiculously corny. I guess it’s kind of cute that it’s called Girl Meets World, and Cory is telling Riley to make the world her own and everything, but after the sixth or seventh time it’s mentioned, it becomes downright cringeworthy. Additionally, Riley and Maya are both two uninspired leads with boring personalities, and you’ll realize it when you’re finding yourself just waiting for another scene with Cory and Topanga again.
Now, Girl Meets World is not supposed to be a Boy Meets World 2.0. Nobody should be expecting the same exact thing, but they should be expecting the same quality. Girl Meets World failed to deliver that. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely. Boy Meets World started off with Cory as the same age as Riley, so it’s important to give the show and its characters time to grow. We’ll gladly wait. However, when you look to see how Boy Meets World progressed, with episodes like 'If You Can’t Be With The One You Love' and 'Prom-ises, Prom-ises' (both banned by Disney), you have to wonder if Girl Meets World can develop in a similar way, or if it’s doomed to be another cheesy Disney Channel sitcom.