‘Boy Meets World’ Shows Hint Of Maturing
“Boy Meets World” (at 8:30) is a coming-of-age sitcom that has taken a long time to come into its own.
The ABC series starts its fifth season tonight with Cory (Ben Savage), Shawn (Rider Strong) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) beginning their senior year. It’s supposed to be the best of times for Cory, especially now that his brother Eric (Will Friedle) has graduated and moved out of the house.
After all these years, Cory has a room of his own.
But when Eric bungles his enrollment, he moves back home, much to Cory’s disappointment.
Shawn’s life changes too, when his estranged half-brother (new cast member Matthew Lawrence) shows up. An angry Shawn wants no part of his wayward brother.
However, their simple but well-meaning dad (Blake Clark) encourages them to mend their differences.
Meanwhile, Cory and Eric’s parents (William Russ, Betsy Randle) differ on whether Eric should be welcomed home or forced to take responsibility for his life. Parents everywhere will relate to the dilemma.
There’s a lot to chew on here, especially considering this is often such a lightweight, uninspired comedy, one I’ve bashed for years. I must add, the acting is still thin.
If you overlook the goofy dream sequence that opens the episode, you have a respectable half-hour that suggests that this might be the season that “Boy Meets World” finally grows up.
Highlights
“Baseball,” NBC at 5: The Florida Marlins meet the San Francisco Giants in Game 3 of their divisional playoff series.
“Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” ABC at 8: Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart), with help from Cupid (Patrick T. O’Brien), tries to make a love connection for Aunt Hilda (Caroline Rhea) and Mr. Kraft (Martin Mull). But Hilda isn’t buying it.
Mull is a nice addition to this delightful comedy.
“Meego,” CBS at 8:30: Bronson Pinchot is nutty enough as a space alien. Now he has a date with daffy Andrea Martin, who guest-stars as the Parker family’s next-door neighbor.
As silly as this show is, Pinchot and Martin are a hot ticket.
“Nash Bridges,” CBS at 10: There’s a dash of humor in this hour as Nash and Joe (Don Johnson, Cheech Marin) find themselves in charge of Joe’s 6-month-old daughter as they try to stop a gunman out to kill all of San Francisco’s crime bosses. But I like the secondary story line in which Nash’s father (James Gammon) becomes intimate with a younger woman (Jennifer O’Neill).
Cable Calls
“Biography,” A&E at 5 and 9: “Queen Victoria: Royal Family Values” chronicles the life of the British monarch, painted here as “supremely misunderstood.” The hour, based in part on her exhaustive personal diaries, includes the story of her relationship with her servant, John Brown, whose picture she was clutching when she was buried.
“Extreme Measures” (1996), SHOW at 8: Michael Apted (“Gorillas in the Mist”) directed this intelligent thriller about an emergency room physician (Hugh Grant) who discovers that a famed medical researcher (Gene Hackman) is up to no good. Strong performances - Grant effectively drops his comic boyishness - and a tight script make this one worthwhile.
“Legends,” VH1 at 5: A profile of Stevie Ray Vaughan includes highlights of the blues great’s debut at the Montreaux Jazz Festival as well as the last performance before his death in 1990.
“Blazing Saddles” (1973), COM at 4 and 8: Mel Brooks’ Western parody is as ripe as ever. Slim Pickens’ campfire scene is a gas.
Talk Time
“Tonight,” NBC at 11:35: David Duchovny (“The X-Files”), swine master Mel Silverlake & Robinson’s Racing Pigs, and actress Julianne Moore.
“Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS at 11:35: Actress-model Elle Macpherson, Jon Tenney (“Brooklyn South”) and musicians Elvis Costello & the Fairfield Four.
“Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” ABC at 12:05 a.m.: Joey Lawrence, Deepak Chopra and political commentator Susan Carpenter McMillan.
“The Late Late Show With Tom Snyder,” CBS at 12:35 a.m.: Performers David Crosby and his son, James Raymond.
“Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” NBC at 12:35 a.m.: Musical guest Sister Hazel.
xxxx KSKN LISTINGS INCORRECT The KSKN programming listed in the above grid is not correct. Current programming for KSKN (Channel 22) was unavailable at the time tonight’s TV grid was compiled.