'Boy' meets sixth season on ABC

Ben Savage has finally grown up. After following in the footsteps of his older brother Fred, currently on the NBC show "Working," Savage is now 17, and a veteran of television. He first appeared in the ABC miniseries "Wild Palms," created by Oliver Stone, and had a recurring role on the NBC comedy "Dear John."

Courtesy of Touchstone Television The cast of ABC's "Boy Meets World," Trina McGee-Davis, Ben Savage, Maitland Ward, Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel, Mattew Lawrence and Rider Strong return for its sixth season tonight.

But Savage is best known for his role as the bright-eyed lovable Cory Matthews on the hit television show "Boy Meets World," which can be found Friday nights on ABC at 8:30 p.m.

When the fifth season ended, his girlfriend, Topanga, (Danielle Fishel) proposed to Cory on the night of their high school graduation. The upcoming season will deal with some of the trials and tribulations that the two will experience in dealing with the marriage proposal.

Cory's best friend, Shawn, (Rider Strong) will put a wrench in the living plans of Cory's older brother Eric (Will Friedle) and Eric's best friend, Jack, (Matthew Lawrence). Shawn will move out and share a dorm room with Cory. Ironically, or perhaps conveniently, Topanga and her best friend Angela (Trina McGee-Davis) are living together across the hallway.

While Eric and Jack struggle to find a replacement for Shawn, a beautiful woman named Rachel, who just happened to have been dumped, sets upon them. Thinking that two male roommates is the perfect arrangement that she needs, she moves in with them. Since her previous relationship has left her devastated, the last thing she's interested in is another man. What she doesn't realize is that Eric and Jack immediately fall for her, turning the situation into a competition to win her over.

New beginnings seem to be a theme for the coming season. Cory's parents (Betsy Randle and William Russ) will continue to prepare for the coming of their child. This prospect delights Morgan (Lindsay Ridgeway), Cory's younger sister, because she won't have to be the baby anymore.

Courtesy of Touchstone Television Topanga and Cory may start their college life off as a married couple. The answer will come tonight at 8:30 p.m. on ABC.

Although this sounds a little too wholesome, that's what "Boy Meets World" is - a wholesome show that viewers of any age can watch.

Admittedly, it probably doesn't appeal to the mainstream college audience, but in an age of bad programming on television, "Boy Meets World" proves that there is still a glimmer of hope. Whatever happened to those days of "Who's the Boss?" and "Family Ties"? "Boy Meets World" helps us to relive those days. With its Friday night primetime slot, the audience most likely will be those middle-school to high school freshmen who have nothing better to do than to cruise the malls and hang out at burger joints. For older fans, it is still sometimes fun to turn to a cheesy, wholesome show just for a contrast to our normal, stressful, hectic college lives.

"Boy"- and his friends - will continue to meet the world in the sixth season of the sitcom. Now, it's a more grown-up, less insular, more complex, sometimes decidedly less friendly and definitely more challenging place than what they left behind at high school graduation such a short time ago.

But don't worry. Even when "Boy Meets World" tackles the more serious issues, it'll still be an exception rather than the norm.

ABC
Fridays at 8:30 p.m.

Three Stars

Boy Meets World

09-25-98