A “Boy Meets World” Writer Just Shared Some Seriously Fascinating Insight Into The Show’s Most Controversial Moment In One Of Disney’s Banned Episodes

This nonfiction mentions depictions of intoxicant misuse and home violence.

While the ‘90s sitcom Boy Meets World is mostly known for being a family-friendly staple of ABC’s iconic “TGIF” slot with wholesome storylines focusing connected meaningful beingness lessons from the omniscient Mr. Feeny, immoderate episodes were inactive considered to beryllium beauteous controversial.

The archetypal banned installment was Season 5, occurrence 22, “Prom-ises, Prom-ises,” which aired connected ABC successful May 1998. Here, the show’s titular “boy,” Cory Matthews, and his semipermanent girlfriend, Topanga Lawrence, program to suffer their virginities to each different connected the nighttime of their elder prom. Cory adjacent books a edifice room, and the mates effort to portion disconnected portion kissing connected a furniture earlier yet deciding that they privation to hold a spot longer.

Disney besides banned Season 5, occurrence 18, “If You Can’t Be With The One You Love,” which sees Cory and his champion person Shawn Hunter get drunk astatine a party, pee connected a constabulary car, and get arrested portion underage. While Cory stops drinking immediately, Shawn carries connected and ends up shoving his girlfriend, Angela Moore, into a doorway portion nether the power — this is the wake-up telephone helium needs to springiness up the booze.

Finally, Season 6, occurrence 20, “The Truth About Honesty,” was removed by Disney and follows Cory’s exasperation astatine inactive being a virgin. Now Cory’s fiancée, Topanga yet agrees to amusement him her butt, which helium calls “the promised land.” In the aforesaid episode, Shawn and Angela excuse themselves to Shawn’s bedroom, wherever they are filmed making retired aft agreeing to a no-strings-attached nighttime of passionateness aft splitting up.

And immoderate of the formed person reflected connected 2 of these banned episodes connected their rewatch podcast Pod Meets World, which launched successful 2022. While they are yet to scope the Season 6 installment, Rider Strong, who played Shawn, remembered being “very upset with the adults connected set” erstwhile filming “Prom-ises, Prom-ises” due to the fact that helium felt similar they were being “irresponsible” by not making immoderate references to harmless enactment — particularly truthful soon aft the AIDS epidemic.

Rider hosts Pod Meets World alongside Danielle Fishel, who played Topanga, and Will Friedle, who played Cory’s older brother, Eric Matthews, and each 3 stars were unfastened astir their grievances with “If You Can’t Be With The One You Love” erstwhile they rewatched it for the podcast.

The trio agreed that the occurrence felt rushed and tried to cram excessively galore superior taxable matters into the 22-minute duration, and they were peculiarly bothered by the country wherever Shawn shoves Angela — particularly arsenic Shawn doesn’t truly look immoderate repercussions for this violence. This infinitesimal has agelong been a contentious contented among viewers of the show, too, with the hosts of fashionable instrumentality podcast Bruh Meets World pointing out that it is peculiarly upsetting arsenic Angela, played by Trina McGee, is the lone idiosyncratic of colour successful the show.

And connected Monday’s episode of Pod Meets World, the hosts interviewed Gary H. Miller, who wrote the publication for this arguable episode. Shockingly, Gary revealed that not lone was the shove not successful his archetypal script, helium actively didn’t similar the information that it was added astatine the time, and cringes whenever helium is reminded of it.

Speaking to Rider, Danielle, and Will, Gary explained that helium has ever “gravitated” towards much superior storylines during his scriptwriting career, which is however helium ended up penning astir Cory and Shawn experimenting with intoxicant aft Cory concisely divided from Topanga. He said: “I figured that astatine Cory’s age, a young lad similar that, the feelings helium had astir Topanga and being separated from her would pb to immoderate experimentation of a kind. Especially since helium was considered depressing and everyone was connected his case."

Referencing however Shawn’s half-brother, Jack Hunter, warns Shawn that their begetter was abusive amid his conflict with alcoholism successful the episode, Gary continued: “Jack enlightens Shawn astir the familial predisposition of intoxicant and however superior it is, and that [their father] deed Jack’s mother, and that’s what turns Shawn. The girls weren’t adjacent successful that country successful my script. So the vigor that I mightiness instrumentality due to the fact that Shawn throws Angela up against the partition was ne'er successful my script, I wouldn’t enactment it successful my script, and I cringe each clip I spot it.”

Gary besides said that 2 scenes with Cory’s parents were chopped from his archetypal script, including his dad, Alan, telling Cory that helium is “depressing” since splitting from Topanga and should “do thing astir it,” which is what primitively led to Cory turning to alcohol. Gary shared: “There’s besides different household country aft the bull car shows up wherever Amy’s disquieted they’re retired late, and Alan says: ‘Don’t worry, we told them to person fun, he’s having fun, fto them be,’ and past they get the call.”

Gary past addressed that successful the last chopped of the episode, it seems arsenic though Shawn becomes addicted to intoxicant and past overcomes this addiction successful an incredibly abbreviated magnitude of time, sharing: “In the past scene, I person written: ‘Some clip later,’ not the adjacent day. All those things about: ‘Why would helium beryllium drunk 1 day, he’s not drunk the adjacent day,’ there’s a transition successful time, it’s existent hard to amusement that.”

And circling backmost to Shawn shoving Angela, Gary confessed: “I couldn’t basal her reaction. If I were penning that country and you shoved her, you would perceive astir it close determination successful the moment. She wouldn’t slink distant and cower and accidental later: ‘I inactive emotion you erstwhile you don’t drink,’ she’d archer you disconnected successful nary uncertain terms.”

And Gary asked Rider however helium felt astir the country arsenic the actor, and Rider admitted: “I retrieve it each conscionable felt excessively much. That country successful peculiar was like: ‘Oh, we’re going to compress this revelation astir his dada and fundamentally marque Shawn an aggravated alcoholic, abusive…’ I conjecture for me, if you’re going to bash that, it conscionable ne'er felt similar the consequences were resolved successful a mode that empowered Angela. It was ever like: ‘Oh, Angela getting wounded was a mode for Shawn to alteration and for him to travel to a realization,’ arsenic opposed for it to beryllium a infinitesimal — if you’re going to wounded somebody, person her basal up for herself a small spot more, oregon person her effect the alteration successful Shawn arsenic opposed to conscionable benignant of being a prop.”

What bash you marque of the infamous Boy Meets World shove? Let maine cognize successful the comments below!

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is struggling with substance abuse, you tin telephone SAMHSA’s National Helpline astatine 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find much resources here.

If you oregon idiosyncratic you cognize is successful contiguous information arsenic a effect of home violence, telephone 911. For anonymous, confidential help, you tin telephone the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline astatine 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) oregon chat with an advocator via the website.