Boy/Girl Meets World

[Avaitor]

Apparently they're adding in a younger brother in there as well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The kid was on How I Met Your Mother and Weeds, too. It should be an interesting fit to see how this all goes together.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Have they released an air date for when the first episode airs, or has the season STILL not been picked up for broadcast, yet?

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's been picked up, but I don't think it's airing until early next year.

[Avaitor]

The kid was on How I Met Your Mother and Weeds, too. It should be an interesting fit to see how this all goes together.

TYLER NO LIKEY?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I saw you guys talking about the how BMW was a better show after the first 2 seasons, while not getting why other people thought that the first 2 seasons were better in the first place, on another thread. I agree with this point, but it got me thinking bout something else: What is my favorite season of the show?

I thought about it, and for me, it has to be season 3, though season 4 almost one out.

I think season 3 is my favorite because at it's core, it really focuses on 2 things; Cory's relationship with Topanga, and Eric being forced to grow up and get ready for the real world. It's simple, I am a fan of Eric's character (notwithstanding the fact that they turned him into a pure joke character in season 7), so with season 3 being the most Eric-centric of them all, it's no wonder that it has the best gathering of some of my favorite episodes of the show. Of course, there was also Shawn living together with Mr. Turner, which was also a terrific aspect of the show, and another one of my favorite things about season 3, and on that note, I felt that season 3 had the best balance of characters. I felt that Mr. Turner became severely downplayed in season 4, before he was written off, which is a shame because he was one of my favorite characters on the show. With season 3, though, I felt that every character had terrific and memorable moments to contribute to various episodes of the series, and this is really where I felt that all of the kids each started to form a very strong bond with Mr. Feeny, whereas in previous seasons he was just their strict, crazy teacher (and next door neighbor for the Matthews) who occasionally gave them some useful advice about life and such. In season 3, he really became like a father-figure to all of them.

Getting back to Eric, though, I liked him because aside from being downright hilarious, I could relate to his character in a lot of ways. Being funny was just one of his characteristics (something that the writers clearly seemed to forget in later seasons), but despite not being good as schoolwork, he was by no means a dumb guy. He could be extremely productive if he applied himself to things that interested him. The episode where he gets an internship working at the news station was one of my favorite episodes of the series for that very reason. On a serious note, he was still a very interesting character, and his great addition of humor to the show only served to make him even more appealing on top of that. Now, to it's credit, the first half of season 4 was also terrific in Eric's characterization, but I felt that he slowly started to progress into just being the comic relief guy as things progressed onward from there, and the other aspects of his character seemed to kind of fade away little by little, though thankfully seasons 5, 6, and even 7 each still had a couple of episodes that remembered that Eric was at his best when he was both funny AND a relatable character on a serious level, rather than just a goof-ball idiot.

At any rate, I do sincerely like the entire show (even seasons 1 and 2 have their charm for me, despite being the weak links in the show). I thought season 4 was also great, on the whole, and seasons 5 and 6 were almost on par with that, for me. Season 7 faltered a bit, IMO, but even that was still good stuff for the most part, and who the hell could even begin to watch those last 5 minutes of the series finale without falling to tears?

Overall, yeah, this is still one of my favorite TV shows ever.

[Spark Of Spirit]

My opinion on each season is as follows in sitcom terms:

Season 1 - 7/10

Almost an entirely different show, but still enjoyable enough. Shawn felt pretty disposable here until the mailbox episode, Topanga was barely there, and the plots all seemed close to similar. Minkus was a good one season character, but I don't think he would have added anything else if he stuck around. It was a good start, but the show got better.

Season 2 - 8/10

There are a few warts in the season (the werewolf episode is... odd), but all the new characters were great additions. The plots were more focused, the jokes were stronger, and about every change was for the better. They toned Morgan down a bit too, which was nice. Unlike most people I don't mind that Minkus was dropped and Topanga was no longer one note, because it led to better things.

Season 3 - 10/10

Pretty much the perfect balance of everything season 2 brought to the table. Eric becomes the breakout character, Cory and Topanga's relationship works well here, and the humor hits the right mixture with the serious moments. I don't even know how to say more, as far as sitcoms go this is one of my favorite seasons. I liked Eli's addition and Frankie's face turn, as well as the Turner/Shawn dynamic.

Season 4 - 10/10

This season went a bit more serious at times, the moving episode, Eric's job and future prospects, and Cory becoming more independent as a teenager. This one is a strong second to season 3, but it's really close. I also like that unlike most kid shows, the parents are still involved in the stories and not treated as idiots. I thought that Frankie's growth as a friend was a real welcome addition to the show to show how far he came from season 2. On the negative side, Mr. Turner appeared WAY less, Eli was cut, and there were less classroom plots, but the strong material makes up for it.

Season 5 - 7/10

I'm not going to lie, this was probably the most disappointing season to me. Mr. Turner vanishes, Frankie is a bully again, half the season is devoted to a break-up that didn't really need to happen (though I do like the resolving episode, most of the episodes centered on it are just kind of annoying) and everything feels more geared toward humor and less on character. But what keeps me from disliking it? It's still funny despite all that. As OOC as the whole Sergio and Nuncio episode was for Shawn and Cory, I still laughed through the whole thing. Nothing bad, but the changes weren't needed. Jack was also a good addition and a good foil to Eric.

Season 6 - 9/10

No, you're not reading the rating wrong. Rachel did help add dynamics to the show, Eric is slightly toned down to goofy (though sometimes he does go nuts) but still has some good episodes to him that reminded me of season 3 and 4. The baby was a good addition and a way to simultaneously help both Topanga and Shawn to grow as characters, and Cory began to see beyond his selfishness in his relationship. I kind of consider this season underrated in the grand scheme of things. Yes, Eric still got dumber, but he was used better here than in season 5. There was more character humor here than in season 5, and it was made more consistent as a result.

Season 7 - 7/10

This was the best time to end it. Characters began getting too cartoony (Eric is certifiable in this season) and some of the stories feel too gimmicky and over the top, but there are a lot of REALLY good episodes sprinkled in there which still makes it good. The finale is also excellent and all the characters end their arcs in the way they should. I particularly like the final Shawn focused episode that is clearly about him tired of being the baggage of the group and wanting to grow up. All in all, it's a worthy end to the series and about the best place to end it. I'm fairly certain that an eighth season wouldn't have been good.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I actually did like season 6, on the whole. It's not as strong as seasons 3 and 4, but it was MUCH better than seasons 5 and 7, IMO. Also, Shawn's character arc in season 6 was excellent. I season 3 was Eric's time to shine (aside from the main couple of Cory and Topanga in every season, obviously), then season 6 belonged to Shawn. Him having to deal with his resentment towards his father, and then shortly after that his father's death, was one of the highest points in the series for me. In the end, he learns that while he was never truly able to spend much time with his own flesh and bloody family, he still always had (and would continue to have) a family to turn toward with the Matthews.

So, yeah, I agree with your rating for season 6, overall. It was a great season.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I just hear a vocal group constantly going on about how it "went bad" when they got to college and I just don't see it. Season 6 has a lot of great moments to it for about every character and it doesn't get hung up on sticking to one character or story to every other character's expense. While I would agree that the last season isn't the strongest, it still goes out on a string of high quality episodes and when it's good, it's really good.

In any show, the weakest season should be the first one. I think BMW succeeds there.

[Avaitor]

I'm 100% with Spark.

The college seasons may not have been as consistently strong as 3 and 4, but there are more than enough good episodes and character moments to make me want to live through them all over again. I also liked the full-time additions of Shawn and Angela, as well as how Jack's character started to fit into the dynamic. The show ended at the right time, but those were some good years.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That's why I was excited to hear that they were doing a new show. While season 8 would have clearly been running on fumes, a long break and a focus on a new set of characters could really refresh everything. I would easily prefer GMW to a season 8 as long as it's executed well. But I'm not expecting it to be on par with season 3 or 4 out of the gate. It simply can't be without building on characters first.

But that aside, yeah, I think season 6 is one of the best seasons. No other kid show would have bothered with an episode like "Better Than The Average Cory" back then, never mind now.

[Avaitor]

Now it's down to two.

I guess we'll never know what the older brother was like, but if the creative decision that Riley didn't need one was made, it's probably for the best.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm going to throw a guess in and say that he was too similar to Eric.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Almost everyone except Jack and Rachel is there.

[Avaitor]

I'm gonna get this issue soon, since it also has a Frasier reunion. Looking good!