History Series / BoyMeetsWorld

** In "A Long Walk To Pittsburgh: Part 2" Topanga says that her Aunt Prudence has never even heard of Romeo and Juliet. Aunt Prudence is played by Creator/OliviaHussey, known for her role as Juliet in the Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968 film.

The words "kill me?" were still intact on the UsefulNotes/ClosedCaptioning, however.

** Subverted by the slasher [[TheParody parody]] "And Then There Was Shawn", which despite the horror theme and since becoming something of a Halloween staple in reruns, originally aired during [[UsefulNotes/{{Sweeps}} February Sweeps]].

* TheBeard: In the episode appropriately titled "The Beard", Shawn can't choose between two girls, so while he goes out with one of them, he recruits Cory to "sit on" the other, lest he should change his mind. Needless to say, the girls find out and are none too happy about this stunt, and their schoolmates loudly proclaim them to be "scum."

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Eric pulls off a ZanyScheme to give Cory and Topanga a perfect wedding over the cheap one Alan was planning. The ending reveals everyone was suspicious the whole time, including Cory and Topanga, but kept silent for their sake. Once they leave, they immediately confront Eric, knowing whatever he did was most likely illegal. Eric confirms it was, and the only reason such a scheme was pulled off was because the manager is a moron, and the fallout will ensue very shortly. On cue, the man who paid for the wedding he stole comes in absolutely livid at everyone, including the manager. The next episode has Eric, Cory, and Topanga get arrested, and while Topanga forgives him, deciding it was WorthIt, Cory is still furious a few episodes later. 

This SitCom on Creator/{{ABC}} followed the main character, Cory Matthews, from elementary school, to HighSchool, to [[CaliforniaUniversity College]], and to marriage. It includes a lot of LampshadeHanging and [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaching]] as well as several fairly realistic [[HeterosexualLifePartners bromances]],. It lasted from September 1993 to May 2000, producing a total of 158 episodes over seven seasons.

Cory Matthews is the middle child of a typical suburban family. His parents bicker, but are generally HappilyMarried. His older brother Eric is a classic [[DitzyGenius "idiot genius"]] who in later seasons {{Flanderized}} into a [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} mimbo]] and occasionally a raging idiot, while his sister Morgan is...well, hardly touched upon. But the show's not really about her, so that's fine. Cory's best friend, Shawn, lives in a trailer park and has eternal problems with his father. Living next street over from and sharing a fence with the Matthews is Cory's teacher Mr. Feeny, always there to spout wisdom to Cory, Eric, his parents, or whoever else might need it. Rounding out the regular cast is Topanga. Originally a free-spirited GranolaGirl in Cory's class, she develops into his nerdy love interest and eventual wife.

Cory Matthews is the middle child of a typical suburban family. His parents bicker, but are generally HappilyMarried. His older brother Eric is a classic "idiot genius" who in later seasons {{Flanderized}} into a [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} mimbo]] and occasionally a raging idiot, while his sister Morgan is...well, hardly touched upon. But the show's not really about her, so that's fine. Cory's best friend, Shawn, lives in a trailer park and has eternal problems with his father. Living next street over from and sharing a fence with the Matthews is Cory's teacher Mr. Feeny, always there to spout wisdom to Cory, Eric, his parents, or whoever else might need it. Rounding out the regular cast is Topanga. Originally a free-spirited GranolaGirl in Cory's class, she develops into his nerdy love interest and eventual wife.

This SitCom on Creator/{{ABC}} followed the main character, Cory Matthews, from elementary school, to HighSchool, to [[CaliforniaUniversity College]], and to marriage. It includes a lot of LampshadeHanging and [[BreakingTheFourthWall fourth-wall breaching]]. It lasted from September 1993 to May 2000, producing a total of 158 episodes over seven seasons.

Cory Matthews is the middle child of a typical suburban family. His parents bicker, but are generally HappilyMarried. His older brother Eric is at best a [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} mimbo]] and at worst a raging idiot, while his sister Morgan is...well, hardly touched upon. But the show's not really about her, so that's fine. Cory's best friend, Shawn, lives in a trailer park and has eternal problems with his father. Living next street over from and sharing a fence with the Matthews is Cory's teacher Mr. Feeny, always there to spout wisdom to Cory, Eric, his parents, or whoever else might need it. Rounding out the regular cast is Topanga. Originally a free-spirited GranolaGirl in Cory's class, she develops into his nerdy love interest and eventual wife.

While occasionally campy and cheesy the show also delved into some surprisingly dark and mature stories compared to the other shows on ABC's Franchise/TGiF (Thank-God-It's-Friday) lineup, especially when it came to exploring Shawn's dysfunctional family. It had a sizable following for most of its run, a result of it combining a good cast, memorable comedic elements, the aforementioned darker themes and [[ParentalBonus plenty of hidden adult jokes]]. It also defied the usual StatusQuoIsGod edicts of its brand of sitcom, preferring instead to chronicle Cory's journey to adulthood in something approaching real time, with him [[CharacterAgedWithTheActor starting a new grade each season]], and eventually moving on to college and married life.

* DeadPersonConversation: Shawn talks with [[spoiler: his father]] three times after he passes away, the show suggests that he's actually a ghost trying to help Shawn in what little way he can.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: "We'll Have a Good Time Then..." ends with Chet Hunter's death in the hospital]].

* DrowningMySorrows: Cory does this once after his break up with Topanga in season five. In a later episode, Shawn does this after [[spoiler: he is unable to find his real mother]].

* GameShowAppearance: Eric appears on a special "College Edition" of ''Series/SingledOut'', of all shows, in a fourth-season episode. The problem? He's not in college. [[spoiler: Luckily for him, neither is his eventual date.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** Cory and Shawn. More often than not, theirs is [[OneTruePairing the relationship with the most depth]], with Cory's relationship with Topanga taking the back seat. In fact, she's occasionally jealous and jokingly calls Shawn Cory's "lover". Part of the drama behind Cory and Topanga's wedding is Shawn realizing that he had to let them be best friends. [[spoiler: At the end of the series, he goes with them to New York.]]

** One episode even opened a scene with the two of them in bed together! [[spoiler: Stop it, nothing happened]].

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler: The last few moments with Chet, Shawn and Jack; where Chet promises they'll be a real family from that moment on]].

* IfWeGetThroughThis: Shawn's father, in the hospital after a heart attack, promises his sons that he will stay with them for good after he recovers. [[spoiler: He promptly dies]].

** Shawn drinks again in season 7 after [[spoiler: he finds out his mom isn't his birth mother]]. He appears drunk, but it's only mentioned by Jack he shouldn't be drinking. It's easy to miss.

* OrWasItADream: The episode "And Then There Was Shawn" turned out [[spoiler: to be an extended dream Shawn was having of some maniac in a skull mask killing everyone in detention to make sure Cory and Topanga stayed together. The killer was revealed to be Shawn... by Shawn. After he wakes up and everyone leaves Mr. Feeny's classroom... the killer emerges from behind the computer stand and departs the room]].

* ParentalAbandonment: Shawn. His mother takes off (taking the family trailer with her) and his father goes off after her leaving Shawn to the Matthews and later Mr. Turner. Both his parents return and stay together as a family for a while but then his mother takes off, again and his father follows after her, again. [[spoiler: Eventually Mr. Hunter dies and Vera sends Shawn a letter (from Honduras) telling him that she is not his biological mother. Shawn later learns (from his father's ghost no less) that his "real" mom was a stripper that abandoned the family very shortly after he was born]].

* SexEqualsDeath: A DiscussedTrope in "And Then There Was Shawn". After the killer has already killed [[RedShirt Kenny]] and Mr. Feeny, everyone wonders who will be next. The GenreSavvy Shawn announces that virgins never die - prompting Eric and Jack to announce their impeding death (and to celebrate Feeny's demise). Cory thanks Topanga for saving him, and Shawn remarks that [[TechnicalVirgin he'll get as sick as you can possibly get without actually dying]]. (Angela, who is also present, makes no comment one way or the other.) [[spoiler: This is interestingly played deadly straight; the only survivors by the end are the three confirmed virgins, Cory, Topanga, and Shawn.]]

* WhamShot: Two in succession in 6x17. After Baby Joshua has spent the whole episode in ICU, very sick with the above mentioned lung infection, we see the medical bed where he has been staying is empty, and his name is being taken off of it, with Alan looking into the ICU, upset. [[spoiler: Cue Amy holding a now healthy Joshua, who's ready to go home.]]

* YokoOhNo: This is invoked twice within the show, both times done to add hints of humor to otherwise serious scenes. [[spoiler: Shawn indicates he feels this way toward Lauren when she shows up at Cory's house, calling her Yoko because he is troubled over the friction between Cory and Topanga. Ironically, Shawn later does the same thing to Topanga herself when she bitterly refers to him as Cory's "boyfriend" due to her feeling less close to Cory than she should be when compared to Shawn]].

* {{Motifs}}: Cake is mentioned frequently, often in unexpected contexts. One review blog even had an ongoing "cake watch". See, for example, IWasToldThereWouldBeCake, above.

* LimitedSocialCircle: For a lot of the show's run it is just Cory, Shawn and Topanga. Cory is a CoolLoser, and it is implied that Cory and Shawn [[HeterosexualLifePartners spend so much time with each other]] that they don't make time for other friends. In Topanga's case it is sometimes alluded to that she has other friends but they are never actually seen. In a couple of episodes in season three she has a weirdo best friend named Trini (played by a pre-fame Creator/BrittanyMurphy), but that character is [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome dropped]]. When Angela becomes Shawn's girlfriend in season five she joins their social circle and eventually becomes Topanga's best friend and roommate. When they all go to college, they form more of a social circle with Eric, Jack and Rachel.

** Cory, Shawn, and Topanga are this or ThreeAmigos depending on the scenario.

%%ZCE* CoolLoser: Cory.