Boy Meets World: The Complete Third Season

Rating NR Formats DVD Genre television series Starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, William Russ, Betsy Randle Directed by Jodi Binstock, Micky Dolenz Publisher Buena Vista Home Entertainment External Links ABC

Predictable misunderstandings, plenty of teenaged coming-of-age angst and a cast of wacky characters designed to make the lead look normal - That's Boy Meets World (and a dozen other 90's sitcoms) in a nutshell. The series debuted in 1993 as part of ABC's TGIF lineup which also included shows such as Full House, Hanging with Mr. Cooper, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Boy Meets World was very much a sitcomized version of The Wonder Years, which coincidentally (or not) starred Brad Savage's older brother Fred. It revolves around the life of somewhat goofy pre-teen Corey Matthews (Savage) and his friends Shawn (Rider Strong), and Topanga (Danielle Fishel).

In this third season outing, the series expands its point of view to include more of the supporting cast. While the adults in this series are almost throw-aways, you will find yourself drawn to John Adams High School principal and Matthews' neighbor, Mr. Feeny. If he sounds familiar, it's because he's veteran actor William Daniels, best known as the voice of K.I.T.T on Knight Rider.

The teens who star in the series are all captivating in their own ways. Savage is bumbling and normal, reminding many of us of our own teen years. Fishel is sweet and fresh and very likeable and Strong (the bad boy) is mischievous on the surface, but lonely and sensitive underneath. One of the joys of watching a series such as this is the opportunity to see the young stars grow up before your very eyes. Not just from season to season, but from episode to episode! In the third season, the three stars range from twelve to fourteen, just the age where people change from children to mini-adults. The scriptwriters made good use of this natural progression, offering us plots about teen dating, taking responsibility for ones actions and family relationships (including a very poignant episode where Corey must deal with the fact that his brother is leaving home to go to college).

As is bound to happen with any long running series, Boy Meets World threw out a few quirky curves in its third season. There's I Was a Teenage Spy, which has Corey traveling back to the fifties (thanks to a short in the microwave) where he meets up with several members of the Happy Days cast. Rave On! gives us Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz (aka: The Monkees) playing other characters but still singing together as a band. And what would an ABC (read Disney) sitcom be without a trip to Disney World in The Happiest Show on Earth.

Turning to the DVD itself, there's good and bad. The packaging, a tri-fold Digipack in a cardboard slipcase is nicely done and in complimentary colors to the first two seasons (for neatniks who like to shelve them all together). The downside is that there are three discs so two of them are nested on top of each other, so you must remove disc 1 to get to disc 2 (I hate that.)

The visuals are quite nice. The sound quality is good, particularly after the first few episodes which seem to have the loudest laugh tracks in history. The disc graphics of the three stars are also very clean and clear and there's a "fun" sense about the package in general.

The biggest drawback to this third season set is the lack of extras. Earlier seasons were packaged with commentaries but this season has only a lame "The World According to Boy" trivia quiz. Viewers are challenged to supply the missing word or response to quotes chosen from a variety of episodes. If you guess correctly, you get to see the clip. If you choose the wrong answer you're berated. At the end of the quiz you're compared to a character based on your score. I was labeled a "Shawn" (not so smart). Presumably a better score would have made me a Topanga or Corey.

All in all, Boy Meets World: The Complete Third Season is a good buy for those who enjoy the simpler comedy of the time. (Comedy that actually reminds me of the sitcoms of the 60's!) No foul language, no heavy-handed sexual humor, just a fun, warm, coming-of-age comedy. In other words, exactly what you'd expect from a Disney backed TV series.

To quote Principal Feeny, "I love you all," pause. "Class dismissed."