Das Leben und Riley

Where to begin? There seems to be an unwritten rule that Disney Channel sitcoms must be mindless and badly-written. Yes, I know they are not intended for adults, but children are actually intelligent beings. As a kid I loved Wonder Years, which was an excellent show, very well-written. I also liked Boy Meets World, although even back then I could see that it was clearly worse than Wonder Years. Still, it was meant to be sillier and it had enough heart and integrity to make you care about the characters and be willing to accompany them as they grew up and learned life's lessons.

Now there comes this spin-off and I tried watching for nostalgia's sake, but I had to give up after forcing myself to watch a few chapters. Girl Meets World is bad even when compared to other Disney shows. It just has no redeeming features. Sure, it's nice to see Cory and Topanga again, but I still spent the time cringing instead of remembering fondly. They decided to make a spin-off of a beloved old show, and they took the trouble to hire the original actors... couldn't they have taken the trouble to hire decent writers too?

The writing is bad, and I would feel sorry for the actors for getting so little to work with if they did not do a bad job too, either overacting or being expressionless. Cory's classes are a mess, Farkle is a creep with no nuances, Lucas is inexpressive and vacant, Riley is all about making overacted faces, with no personality...

If you are interested in this because of Boy Meets World, sure, give it a try and form your own opinion, but be warned that you'll probably decide this is a painful waste of time.

Don't get me wrong... Boy Meets World was good, but this spin off is not done well. The lead, Rowan Blanchard, is visibly very nervous, and tries to hard to make her character different from Ben Savages' character, Cory. Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel are back and still the same, but with a hint of absolute CHEESINESS!! The show is very cheesy and seems like it only will MAYBE entertain an 8 year old. The show does not target the Disney pre-teen, teen audience, even though the characters are supposed to be around that age. The only standout of this show is Sabrina Carpenter, who overshadows Blanchard by basically saying everything for her like a ventriloquist. Carpenter delivers a very real, and raw performance as her troubled character Maya. The only thing Boy Meets World fans will be happy about is the endless cameos and appearances of the original cast. This show needs a better script, and a better storyline for Riley.

What happens when Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel get it on? According to Michael Jacobs and April Kelly, you get Rowan Blanchard and August Maturo. While many have incorrectly labeled "Boy Meets World" as a Disney Channel series, simply because it was shown in reruns on DC late at night years ago, the production actually pre-dates Disney's acquisition of ABC and its former parent company Capital Cities Communications Industries. And though I was well past the age of the main character and his supporting cast when that series aired, it was impossible to ignore all the kids who either grew up in the 1990's and saw this, or just saw the reruns who have been clamoring for something reminiscent of that series. Obviously, it came in the form of "Girl Meets World."

As mentioned in the first paragraph Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel reprise their roles as Cory Matthews and the former Topanga Lawrence. Cory is a teacher at John Quincy Adams Middle School, and Topanga, who has been married to Cory since the waning years of Boy Meets World is a corporate lawyer with two kids, Riley and Auggie Matthews played by the previously mentioned Rowan Blanchard and August Maturo. Sabrina Carpenter plays Riley's sidekick Maya Hart. I still remember her from her breakout guest appearance on the Austin & Ally episode "Moon Week & Mentors," but she's nothing like the nervous geeky Lucy Gluckman here. She's artistic, level-headed and cynical, and we find out part of the reason why she's the latter later in the season. The show focuses primarily on Riley and Maya, the former of which has a crush on Lucas Friar (Peyton Meyer), the show's heartthrob who's a Texas transplant and also a military brat, and seems a little too good-natured for the streets and schools of the Five Boroughs. Watching Maya make fun of him for being a "cowboy," and hearing him blow it off is hilarious.

Corey Foglemanis plays "Farkle," who is a next-generation carbon copy of Stuart Minkus from the original series. Thankfully, there's a genuine reason for that -- he's the son of Stuart Minkus, and not just a cheap attempt to recreate the previous supporting character. From his brief appearance in the pilot episode, I've been a little worried that William Daniels was going to wind up like Alec Guiness in the Star Wars sequels. This is a man who's acting career pre-dates the Golden Age of Television. Since it has been confirmed he's supposed to appear during Season 2, we can only hope at this point that George Feeny will still be among the land of the living.

The series started to pick up a little roughly in mid-season, with episodes like "Girl Meets Maya's Mother," "Girl Meets Smackle," and "Girl Meets 1961." In "Girl Meets Maya's Mother," we find out Maya's single mother is a waitress and struggling actress. Jessie Prescott has better luck with her acting career. Ann Marie had better luck in 1965, and she had it better than both fictional characters. In "Girl Meets Smackle," we're reunited with the academic rival and pre-teen lust-filled admirer of Farkle. Isadora Smackle (Cecelia Balagot), who originally was seen in "Girl Meets Popular," is as capable at smacking him down in the debate competitions as she is damn near ready to jump his bones. She requests a makeover from the two girls, and though baffled over the nature of beauty as well as herself around boys, she still goes through another debate unscathed. I have to admit the last line from that episode is quite heartwarming, if a bit dishonest. In "Girl Meets 1961," we find that the kids had ancestors who hung out at a local beatnik café modeled after Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village, and almost changed the world... the key word in that sentence being "almost."

Besides the heartwarming moments and "important lessons" the show tries to foist upon the audience, usually in bumpers near the epilogues where the two girls throw paper airplanes in front of some fake CGI backdrop of New York City, the show relies heavily on it's connections to the characters of the original series. The most blatant example of this being in the episode "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays," where Cory's parents and Sean come to visit. Other BMW-connected episodes include "Girl Meets the Forgotten," and "Girl Meets Flaws," where we find the bully who used to attack Cory when he was in school is now a janitor, and in the case of the latter episode helps to defend Farkle from a bully. As comforting as it is to think that all the bullies we knew when we were in school grew up to be total losers in real life, that's not always the case. Nevertheless, the show also distinguishes itself from more far-fetched shows on Disney Channel such as "Wizards of Waverly Place," "That's So Raven," and to a lesser extent "Hannah Montana." After all, before there even was a Disney Channel in the first place, Walt himself use to pride himself on using magic to impress his young fans. In this case, the magic is in the heart. Let's hope the next two, three, or even four seasons prove to be worthwhile.

Just watched the pilot and am excited for the rest of the season. Huge fan of Boy Meets World, so I was super excited for this. But I also tried to keep my expectations in check - it's its own show, the 1st season of BMW was fairly cheesy, etc. Well, I really liked it.

Of course I'd like more Cory and Topanga, but the show is about Riley and her journey. And the two of them are incorporated, and I imagine will continue to be. (Think of how much we got to see of Amy and Alan's perspectives and they didn't even have the cult following.) I love the relationship between Riley and Maya - very Cory and Shawn. I think the actress playing Riley has the right amount of preteen curiosity and awkwardness as well as the ability to deliver humor. She seems like she'll be able to "grow with the show" as Cory did.

My only complaint is that some themes seem a bit forced - the "finding the world and making it yours" repeated over and over, and the "Riley is going to save Maya" motif is a little obvious. However, it's a kids show, so adult viewers need to remember that kids don't pick up on repetitive elements as easily.

For those worried about it being too "Disney", all I have to say is that after watching part of the "Disney Channel Original Movie" that was on before the pilot, this show is MUCH better than typical Disney shows. I think it has a lot of potential.

I think true fans of BMW - the ones who love it for the wholesome and important messages it sent - should give this show a chance. As much as the majority of its viewership is probably made up of the adults 20+ who grew up with the original, the show is for a new generation. And I, for one, am happy that Michael Jacobs and April Kelly are bringing this kind of programming to today's kids. I think fans of the old will appreciate the tributes and similarities, and new fans will enjoy a new, quality show for a generation that needs it.

I'm not too familiar with BMW therefore I can't compare them. The show looked like it could be promising. The lead actress is too nervous right off the bat. She needs to relax, her acting makes the series awkward. Maya on the other hand is a reaally good actress! She's got the right tone and gestures. I only think her character is written too mature for her age. It makes it weird to see this tiny teen acting like she has so much experience and giving life lessons. Kids shouldn't be seen that way. But I'm amazed by how smooth she is, my cousins and I only watch it cus of her (plus we think she's pretty). The Lucas guy looks way too old (like 17-18) to hang out with them (they look 12-13). Farkle does well for his role, he's supposed to be goofy but he does it with confidence, perhaps needs a little more face gestures. Cory and Topenga are kinda overkill for the show but I understand it's cool cus they were in the original. Cory gets too personal with his young students, it doesn't seem professional. And he doesn't have the coffee-pep most teachers have in the mornings. In fact, he acts the same in class as he does at home as a father. Topenga hardly does much in the series, sorta just mom stuff. The Little brother is funny, we hardly see him though. BMW had older actors so the deep lessons made sense. It doesn't work with young actresses and Disney. Since Disney can't go there, the deep lessons miss many significant elements. First episodes are about finding yourself. Like nahhh! Work your way up to that. I'm in college and STILL finding myself. This is why teens go through phases cus of all the pressure of finding their place whether it's a clique etc, that should just come. These girls should deal with mean bullies, trying out clubs, trying to get money, puberty, social networking issues, things girls their age experience. The episodes I've seen are about Riley and May as friendship like their friendships seem fake cus there's too much attention there. Put the attention somewhere else, and the friendship will naturally build up.