Pilot (Boy Meets World)

Pilot is the pilot episode of the television series "Boy Meets World", written by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly and directed by John Tracy. It premiered on ABC in the United States on September 24, 1993. The pilot introduces viewers to Cory Matthews and his friends, who live in Philadelphia and attend Jefferson Elementary School, along with members of his immediate family.
In the episode, Cory is given detention from his 6th Grade teacher Mr. Feeny for attempting to listen to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in class. The class is taught about the value of love by reading "Romeo and Juliet", but Cory struggles to see girls and love as "good" when his brother Eric takes a girl to see a baseball game instead of him. Eric's date is unsuccessful, but Cory advises Eric to give the girl another chance after a conversation with Mr. Feeny in detention.
Seven characters receive top billing in the episode: Cory Matthews (Ben Savage); Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong); George Feeny (William Daniels); Eric Matthews (Will Friedle); Alan Matthews (William Russ); Amy Matthews (Betsy Randle) and Morgan Matthews (Lily Nicksay). Krystin Moore made a guest appearance as Vanessa Kincaid, while Chauncey Leopardi appeared as Nicholas and Cynthia Mace played Evelyn.
The show aired from its premiere as part of ABC's popular "TGIF" comedy block on Friday, broadcast at 8.30 between "Family Matters" and "Step by Step". It debuted to 16.5 million viewers, ranking as the fifth highest rated broadcast of the night, and tied 48th ranked of the week.
Plot.
Cory Matthews is a young kid in sixth grade and is confused about girls. In class, his teacher Mr. Feeny gives him detention for listening to a Phillies baseball game. Afterward, Feeny continues his lecture teaching the meaning and values of "Romeo and Juliet". Cory initially does not like girls, which is the opposite of his best friend Shawn Hunter and older brother Eric, who is goofy and frequently idiotic. In the episode, it is later revealed the reason Cory does not like girls so much is that Eric took his girlfriend, Heather, instead of Cory, to see a Phillies game. In detention, Mr. Feeny pays no attention to Cory, who starts his wheedling to get Feeny's attention, Mr. Feeny goes into a speech about love and its many interpretations by poets, playwrights, and philosophers. Cory comes back home and apologizes to his family. When Eric comes back from the game, miserable that his nerves ruined his date with Heather, Cory convinces him to call her back.
Production.
Conception.
When ABC released their fall schedule for the 1993-94 season, the New York Times wrote that the network was creating "a new Friday night line-up that is explicitly aimed at younger viewers". Their description of "Boy Meets World" was a show "about life seen through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy".
Casting.
The series is considered a coming-of-age story for the 1990s in a similar vein to the 1960s-set "The Wonder Years", which starred Fred Savage and ran from 1988 until the end of the 1992-93 season. Savage, now 17, was considered too old to take on another similar role, but his younger brother Ben, who had made a cameo in "The Wonder Years" in 1990 at the age of 10 and had recently appeared in the miniseries "Wild Palms", was given the role of Cory Matthews. One of the other key castings was William Daniels as George Feeny, Cory's teacher and nemesis; Daniels had previously held a high-profile role on "St. Elsewhere" in the 1980s.
Reception.
Ratings.
The pilot episode premiered on ABC on September 24, 1993 at 8.30pm, following "Family Matters" and before "Step by Step". On the night it faced competition from hour-long shows "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." (Fox) and a special episode of "Blossom" (NBC), as well as half-hour comedy "Family Album" (CBS) in the same timeslot. It debuted to 16.5 million viewers, ranking it as the fifth highest-viewed show of the night, and tied with another ABC series "Matlock" as the 48th ranked broadcast of the week.
Critical reception.
Before the pilot aired, David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun wrote "Predicting Nielsen success for "Boy Meets World"...is not a particularly daring or incisive call. It's mainly based on scheduling and stars." He continued "Forget quality, these are kids we're programming for on Friday nights. Here's where you have to give ABC some credit for going an extra mile and adding William Daniels...to the cast as Cory's nemesis, his sixth-grade teacher, Mr. Feeny. The confrontation between the hey-I'm-just-a-kid Cory and the arch-and-starch Feeny makes this series something an adult doesn't have to feel ashamed of watching." He ultimately gave it two-and-a-half stars out of four, "but I won't argue with anyone who wants to give it 3 stars."