Entertainment

This Debate About The ‘Boy Meets World’ Set Will Make You Question Everything

by Parry Ernsberger

An intense debate has been happening on Twitter, and children of the '90s are taking two very different sides. The argument surrounds Cory Matthews' yard on Boy Meets World, and — in what may end up becoming one of the greatest quandaries of our time — fans can't seem to agree about whether Mr. Feeny's fence ran alongside the side yard or the backyard of the Matthews' house.

On May 8, a fan created a poll on the yard topic, and took to Twitter for opinions. "A generation divided," @lowellpro wrote. "This could fundamentally change who we are as a whole." He then asked some of the show's stars to weigh in, and tagged Ben Savage (who played Cory Matthews), Rider Strong (Shawn Hunter), Danielle Fishel (Topanga Lawrence), and Will Friedle (Eric Matthews).

The tweet received more than 100 comments about the poll, and people are really sticking to their guns. "Side 100%," one fan wrote. "Back- directly in line with their front door. The side door was in the living room," another person replied. "I've thought about it for like 10 minutes. I'm going side," someone else chimed in. (Same, by the way. The topic definitely takes some time to ponder.)

One fan even went so far as to construct a blueprint of the Matthews' house to prove his position on the matter. "If you pay attention to the show at all you would know that the front door is here [as per the drawing], making the door off the kitchen the side door," the fan wrote in support of the side yard. "Now everyone go back and watch. I’ll wait here."

The poll eventually caught the attention of Will Friedle, who — as Eric Matthews — had actually lived (on TV) in the house in question for seven years, and had set foot in the very yard that was sparking a debate. "It was the kitchen door on the side of the house kids," Friedle wrote in favor of #TeamSideYard.

Friedle then went above and beyond to confirm his opinion, and decided to take the issue straight to the top: He emailed Michael Jacobs, the person who created the show. That's commitment. "Okay people...just sent an email to #MichaelJacobs the creator of the show," Friedle tweeted. "While he says he’d never really thought about it before, he agrees it’s the side of the house. He would know."

Well, there you have it. Doesn't get much more official than that, so it looks like this case is closed. Right? Wrong. Enter: Topanga, who was played by actor Danielle Fishel. "Backyard. It was clearly the backyard," she wrote in response to Friedle. "The Matthews' backyard butted up to Feeney's backyard. Ya weirdos." And the plot thickens.

Friedle wouldn't have it, though. "It was NOT!" he replied to Fishel. "Feeny was the next door neighbor. Not the backyard neighbor. Plus, how many times did we enter end exit that way? Who enters from the backyard? #TopangaIsWrong." Following up with another tweet he added, "I get that the architecture doesn’t work but...side yard."

And yet, Fishel refused to conceded. "We pull up and pick Cory up from the FRONT DOOR (thus the street)," she fired back at Friedle, attaching a clip of the Boy Meets World intro. "So, the side of the house is clearly behind the couch in the family room and the back of the house is out the kitchen."

Nothing makes sense anymore. The world is flat. Down is up. Up is down. I'm shook.

Finally, the sea parted, and Friedle emerged with undeniable proof. Proof that proved ... that he and Jacobson were wrong. It was the backyard. According to an old show script he shared, at least.

"I was always raised to admit when I am wrong so...here it is folks," Friedle confessed. "Directly from one of our shooting scripts. All hail Toganga! #IStillConsiderItTheSide." The script Friedle shared included very clear stage directions, with the nail in the coffin that read, "Ext. Matthews' back yard." Everyone can sleep soundly now.

Despite the fact that Friedle dug his own grave by revealing the script's proof, he remained firmly on #TeamSideYard. And no matter where Friedle, Fishel, Jacobson, or anyone else stands on the issue, I think we can all agree that everyone appears to have way too much time on their hands. Oh, and also that Boy Meets World was a really great show (and can be streamed on Hulu, by the way).