5 Things You May Or May Not Know About Boy Meets World

You could know all of these things, or maybe just some of them. You might not know any of them. These are just five trivia facts about Boy Meets World that I thought was fun.

1. Willie Garson Had Three Different Roles On Boy Meets World

Actually, if you read this blog at all, you knew that because it is literally the first sentence I wrote in The Legend of Leonard Spinelli. Most people catch on that Alan's first season assistant manager was the minister that married Cory and Topanga in the final season, but many miss out on the fact that Willie Garson was also in season 4 episode "Janitor Dad." He played Mervyn, a customer and job applicant at Alan's new store.

2. Mena Suvari Had Two Different Roles.

Mena Suvari would become well-known by the end of the 90s for her roles in American Pie and American Beauty. Before that, however, she was a guest star on Boy Meets World. Twice. Ms. Suvari played Laura in the season 2 episode "Danger Boy" and Hilary in the season 3 episode "The Grass Is Always Greener." Funnily enough, in both episodes, her character had an unsuccessful attempt to be with Cory.

3. Cory and Topanga's First Kiss Was Also Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel's First Kiss

In the season 1 episode "Cory's Alternative Friends," Topanga decides to give Cory his first kiss while he thought he looked weird, then admitted it was her first kiss, too. In real life, it just happened to also be the first kiss of then 13-year-old Ben Savage and 11-year-old Danielle Fishel. For those of you who are somehow sad that Cory and Topanga aren't married in real life, you can still take some weird comfort in knowing they will always be each other's first.

4. Cory and Shawn's Relationship Wasn't Defined Until the Episode That Introduced Topanga

If I may, I'd like to quote a famous Disney song. "Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through." Now, you Riley Meets World readers already know this, but originally, Cory was supposed to have a "gang" and in early episodes he and Shawn had a revolving door third friend. In "Cory's Alternative Friends," the third friend got fired, leading to two things: Shawn has a phantom sister named Stacey, and Shawn and Cory became Shawn and Cory. The episode was also Topanga's first. She wasn't supposed to be a regular character, but she proved so popular that they brought her back. Amazing how the planets all aligned in this episode.

5. Mr. Feeny's Geranium From the Final Episode Is the One Cory Gave Him In Season One

In the season 1 finale "I Dream Of Feeny," Cory gives Mr. Feeny a geranium that he plants in his garden and uses as a metaphor for Cory's growth. In the series finale, Feeny uses a geranium in his garden as a metaphor for Topanga's growth. It's the same geranium. I choose to see this as a metaphor for how Cory and Topanga's path was the same, which is why they were destined to be together, but that's just me.

Whether or not you know those five things before, you know them now. You're pretty prepared for battle if an impromptu Boy Meets World trivia war broke out.

Boy Meets World: The Legend of Leonard Spinelli

Willie Garson played three different characters on Boy Meets World. I decided to have fun with that. Enjoy.

As we know, the first season of Boy Meets World was a very different animal than the rest of the series. One notable difference is the assistant manager of Alan's grocery store, Leonard Spinelli. Lenny always introduced himself to various members of the Matthews family, only for them to remind him that they knew him. Eventually, poor Lenny admitted he was afraid that he would be forgotten.

It turns out, Leonard Spinelli had a real reason to be concerned.

Despite us knowing that Lenny has worked for Alan for years, after one season he went the way of Cory and Shawn's third friend. Leonard Spinelli was never seen again.

Or was he?

For three years, Leonard Spinelli bided his time, knowing he could get back into the Matthews family's good graces. For some reason, during this time, he changed his name to Mervyn. Then, when Alan became the owner of an outdoors shop, he had real opportunity. He became a customer of the store before becoming one of the respondants to Alan's help wanted sign. He lost out on the job to mountain man Ezekial. Mervyn decided to load up on mountain climbing gear before he walked off into the sunset.

Legend is that he fell off the mountain but somehow didn't die. The experience led to him finding God. He threw himself into his religious studies and became an ordained minister.

Three years after his mountain man attempt, by some happy miracle, he got to marry Cory and Topanga. He had come to peace with the fact that he had been forgotten by the Matthews, but he now knew he would be remembered. He was never seen again.

Or was he?