WhileBoy Meets Worldmay be a beloved ’90s sitcom, several members of the show’s cast agree that one particular season 6 episode was beneath the show’s usual high quality. Part ofABC’s TGIF lineup,Boy Meets Worldwas embraced by a young audience, and often featured cameos from A-list celebrities of the moment. Season 6, episode 15, “Road Trip,” sees Cory accompany Shawn on a getaway after Shawn lost his father. A major storyline in the episode is their arrival at a diner, where they meet four waitresses played by the members of ’90s girl group, Nobody’s Angel.
On their rewatch podcast,Pod Meets World,Boy Meets Worldactors Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel, and Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter) discuss their thoughts on the episode (viaEW). All three are in agreement that “Road Trip” is a dud as far asBoy Meets Worldepisodes go.They cited the lack of plot as the episode’s failing, with Fishel saying it “needed a blood transfusion"and felt it was more about promoting Nobody’s Angel than telling a compelling story. However, they were quick to point out that the band was “lovely” to work with. Read their comments below:
Strong:This was a clunker for me, just flat, low energy. It was just inert. It felt like just a weird episode of nothing happening. There’s no energy…
Our Take On How Boy Meets World’s “Clunker” Episode Affects The Show’s Legacy
TheBoy Meets Worldepisode is indeed one of the show’s most skippable, as it awkwardly combines the dramatic storyline of Shawn grieving his father with a silly and random diner sequence. Strong is right that the episode feels more like a shoehorned promotion for Nobody’s Angel than an actual installment of the show. The reason for this is thatDisney and ABC, the network that airedBoy Meets World, recently merged, and Nobody’s Angel was signed with Disney’s Hollywood Records. Thus, Disney was likely looking to capitalize onBoy Meets World’s popularity to introduce new fans to Nobody’s Angel.
Unfortunately, putting marketing ahead of good storytelling is almost never a smart idea, and “Road Trip” proves this logic right. But really, withBoy Meets Worldairing 158 episodesthroughout its seven-season run,it’s inevitable that there will be a couple of misfires, for one reason or another. It’s not like the Nobody’s Angel diner waitress characters became a seasonal subplot. Ultimately, the sitcom was able to right the ship, all the way up untilBoy Meets World’s heartfelt ending, and “Road Trip” was a small dip along the way.
It Was Poorly Timed
While “Road Trip” essentially being a big ad for Nobody’s Angel is its biggest problem, the episode’s timing inBoy Meets World’s overall plot made it even worse.The death of Shawn’s father cast a pall over the normally lighthearted sitcom, and “Road Trip” has more serious moments for Cory’s best friend, including Shawn contemplating never returning home. To throw Nobody’s Angel into the mix gave the audience tonal whiplash.
Silly celebrity cameos are nothing new to sitcoms, and can even be fun. Just look atJennifer Love Hewitt cameoing inBoy Meets World’s horror episode, “And Then There Was Shawn,” following herI Know What You Did Last Summersuccess. Her appearance was fun and goofy, and totally fit within the spirit of the episode. Had Nobody’s Angel been featured in aBoy Meets Worldepisode with a little more levity, it would have been a more successful venture for everyone involved.
