Top Ten Friday? OK. Eric Matthews Moments
WalkinradioI know I’m a day late with this, but if Jeff and Eric took President’s Day off, then I figured I could be a day late, too.
Growing up, I wanted to be Cory Matthews. He was a dork like me but loved sports (Except he was a Philly fan. I never could back him up on that one.) He had a super hot girlfriend, a loyal best friend, and a hilarious older brother.
Cory Matthews was the everyman, but Eric Matthews provided the bulk of the laughs. Eric was a prototypical older brother, an absurd clown, a golden-hearted person and everything in between.
So, this week, I present to you the Top Ten Eric Matthews Moments. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll wish TGIF was still on the air.
10) The Truman Show (Kind of): Eric decided to turn his life into a social experiment and put his and his roommates’ lives on television 24/7. This parody of The Truman Show kept the laughs coming, particularly when Eric announces to the student center, “Ladies and gentlemen. You have just witnessed the triumph of the human spirit.” Leave it to Eric Matthews to make that line crack me up.
9) The Planet Flafluga: Eric became involved with an impossibly cheery singer who set up camp outside he and his father’s store. When he realized just how sunshine-y and sugary she was, he called her a psycho and told her “I want to put you on a rocket ship and send you to the planet Flafluga.” The sequence culminated in Eric screaming, “CHECK! For the love of God, will someone please bring me a check!” Haven’t we all wished we could say that on a date or two?
8) Chasing Rachel: The competition between Eric and Jack for Rachel’s affection was both hilarious and relatable. My personal favorite moment from the multi-episode courtship was when Eric tried to become sensitive and serious. The exchange was as follows:
Rachel: Eric, what’s the matter?
Eric: It’s the children. It’s the…children.
Rachel: The children? What children?
Eric: All of them. They’re so little, just…please, don’t make me go on.
Later, after Eric touches a lit candle, he utters the phrase, “Ow, dat hot.” Terrific.
7) Adopting Tommy: Eric always cared about others. His heart of gold was one of his most endearing qualities and it was perhaps most prominently on display when he tried to adopt his little brother, Tommy. Eric spent time with the foster child and eventually decided that he wanted to adopt him, but it became abundantly clear to Eric that a family in California could give Tommy a life that he could not. So, though it broke his heart, he had to let Tommy go.
6) Eric Tries to Kill Topanga: After Topanga and the other girls won Eric and Jack’s apartment, the eldest Matthews sibling refused to let it go. He hid in couch cushions, jumped out of paintings, hid inside a glass display case and even joined an ROTC program in an attempt to hunt down the one he called “Opangatay.” And we loved every second of it.
5) Kid Gets Acquainted with The Universe: After he was a hit in a production of a Shakespeare play, an executive from ABC approached Eric to offer him a role on Kid Gets Acquainted with the Universe, a show that just so happened to star Ben Sandwich as Rory, Schneider as Shane, etc. This episode exercised one of my favorite TV devices: the meta-reference. It was abundant in this episode and it was awesome.
4) Eric Gets into College: Eric was never a bright guy, at least not in school. But when he finally got accepted to Pennbrook, it was the culmination of all his hard work and effort. His whole family and Mr. Feeny celebrated with him and Eric thanked the latter for all he had done for him. Mr. Feeny simply replied, “It’s what I do.”
3) Plays with Squirrels: Eric was always an oddball. So it makes sense, in some crazy way, that in a possible future, Eric would become a hermit named “Plays with Squirrels” who married a moose, has a lollipop in his beard and wrote a 3,000 page, eight-word manifesto.
2) Eric Says Goodbye: Eric and Mr. Feeny’s relationship was one of the more heartfelt and important components of Boy Meets World. So it tugged at the heartstrings all the more when Eric and the others said goodbye to Feeny in their old classroom. Eric’s final lines captured the heart and soul of what Feeny had taught him over the years.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. But I do know that I’m going to be a good person who cares about people. And I blame you for that.”
1) The Feeny Call: Eric Matthews’ greatest gift to humanity was the classic “Fee-nay! Fee-hee-hee-hee-nay!” Just hearing it makes me laugh and remember my youth. It also makes me wish I knew someone with the last name Feeny so I could use it in everyday life without sounding ridiculous.
-Andrew Meola
Reader Comments (2)
I like the list. Other notable great moments include the episode where DJ from full house guest starred as a witch, and wanted to sacrifice Jack and Eric. Also, the Halloween episode when the gang was chased around their middle/high school by the Scream character. God, the list goes on!!!
How about the episode where Eric has the autographed picture of the MLB player Teddy "Beanbag", and just one HBP away from breaking the record, Teddy inexplicably retired for Baseball mod-game, rendering the autograph borderline worthless.