The television series Boy Meets World depicts the life of Cory Matthews (Ben Savage). In the second season, twenty-three episodes are provided to tell various life stories from the point of view of a seventh grader. Joining Cory are his parents Alan (William Russ) and Amy (Betsy Randle), the older brother Eric (Will Friedle), the best friend Shawn (Rider Strong), the love interest Topanga (Danielle Fishel), and the former teacher turned high school principal Mr. Feeny (William Daniels). Each provides an interesting perspective and occasional guidance on Cory's life by helping him in the two biggest settings of a growing boy, the home and school. In this season, there is a big focus on girls, young love, and dating. There are also plenty of moral lessons, with some that touch upon the same issues found in the first season. In addition, there are also plenty of fun episodes. Overall, I felt that the second season was very entertaining. In comparison to the first season, it was a definite improvement.

Like many sitcoms, with a new season come new characters. In this second season, there are a number of new characters introduced to the series. The first major addition is Jonathan Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn), a young English teacher. He takes an unconventional, yet "hip" methodology to the learning process, which leaves him clashing with Mr. Feeny on more than one occasion. He becomes vital to helping Cory and friends learn some very valuable lessons. In my opinion, he's a very nice addition. I especially love the humorous interaction that results from Feeny and him.

In addition to Turner, there are several reoccurring characters that appear in the second season. For instance, there is a group of bullies who push Cory and his friends around. The ring leader is Harvey Keiner (Danny McNulty), who plays the typical tough guy who is way too old for high school. Joining Keiner in the bullying are Frankie (Ethan Suplee) and Joey (Blake Soper). Frankie is the huge bully who intimidates others with threats of physical force. Joey isn't much of a tough guy, as he's the kind of small bully who hides behind big guys like Frankie. Together, the three guys make the school setting feel normal, but at times their roles are way over the top. Still, they're enjoyable characters. My favorite episode involving these three was "Sister Theresa". Cory's new girlfriend turns out to be more than he can handle and to make matters worse, she's Keiner's baby sister. There are also fun episodes like "Cyrano" when Cory and Shawn help big Frankie in the ways of love. Of course, considering that Cory and Shawn aren't really that experienced in the area, it makes for a few laughs. Overall, the reoccurring roles are written in well, but there are times that various roles feel over the top.

One of my favorite aspects about this season is the focus on dating and young love. There is something funny about watching Cory haphazardly find his way with girls, whether it be something as simple as talking to a girl or a little more extreme like a kiss or even, gasp, dating. I guess what really makes it funny is that we've all been there and know how difficult it can be at first. In these episodes, the corny approach that Cory takes, which he devises through bad advice from Shawn and his brother Eric, usually contain some great laughs. The first great dating episode is "Pairing Off", which is the second episode of the season. It's a fun episode, where Cory begins to realize how important (and fast) the high school dating scene is. Another fun episode is "Turnaround". In this episode, the school is having its annual turnaround dance, where the girls ask out the guys. It's very important for Cory, because who asks you out determines how cool you are. Unfortunately for Cory, he's not that cool. In "Band On The Run", Cory and Shawn learn an invaluable lesson about lying. They try to impress some girls by 'pretending' that they're in a band. Of course, the you know what hits the fan when they have to actually play! In "Breaking Up Is Really, Really Hard To Do", Cory's new girlfriend is a little more serious than he is about the relationship. Considering how young they are, it's no surprise that Cory is a little worried about the situation. In addition to these fun young love and dating episodes, the romance between Cory and Topanga begins to settle. This becomes very important to the development of the later seasons. Overall, this was my favorite aspect of the season, simply because inexperienced dating can be result in many sticky situations (no sexual pun intended). In addition, the way that Cory seems to react in each situation is hilarious.

Similar to the first season, there are many episodes that cover various issues, most of which are filled with valuable moral lessons. The episode "On The Air" addresses the importance of freedom of speech. Cory and Shawn "misinterpret" what it means. Fortunately, Turner and Feeny are there to help them out. Now, what kind of show would Boy Meets World be without a moral lesson on cheating? In "Pop Quiz", Cory and Shawn learn an invaluable lesson about cheating and Eric gets his chance in "By Hook Or By Crook". At the end of the season, the series addresses an important issue, the value of an individual by giving Shawn a dramatic life experience. Some of the episodes are just playful and fun. In "Danger Boy", both Cory and Feeny get pegged as safe and overly cautious. In an effort to convince their respective counterparts, Shawn and Turner, they go out on a wild rampage! In the episode "Who's Afraid Of Cory Wolf?", what we all know as puberty, Cory believes is transmigration of mind and body. He's turning into a werewolf! I felt that these kinds of episodes were more entertaining than the first season.

Overall I really enjoyed the second season over Boy Meets World: Season One. The primary reason is the age of the cast. In the first season, the characters were fairly young and the situations were slightly more naive. While in the second season the characters and situations are both still naive, they do seem a little more mature, simply because these young individuals are attempting to act like adults. I think that this is a very strong season in the series, perhaps one of the best.

Episode Guide
1. Back 2 School
2. Pairing Off
3. Notorious
4. Me and Mr. Joad
5. The Uninvited
6. Who's Afraid of Cory Wolf?
7. Wake Up, Little Cory
8. Band on the Run
9. Fear Strikes Out
10. Sister Theresa
11. The Beard
12. Turnaround
13. Cyrano
14. I Am Not a Crook
15. Breaking Up is Really, Really Hard to Do
16. Danger Boy
17. On the Air
18. By Hook or By Crook
19. Wrong Side of the Tracks
20. Pop Quiz
21. The Thrilla' in Phila'
22. Career Day
23. Home

The DVD

Video:
The video in this DVD release is presented in its original television aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame color. In general, the picture seemed to be slightly rough on detail. The cause of the rough detail came from video compression. While it isn't any worse than most television on DVD releases, those with an eye for detail will notice it and be slightly disappointed. In addition, there are some really rough spots, where compression artifacts are very distinct and color distortion occurs.

Audio:
This DVD release includes a single audio track in English Dolby digital surround sound. The sound quality is fairly standard for television on DVD release. The audio consists mostly of dialogue, which remains flat throughout the entire season. It comes off fairly clear and easy to understand. There are also English subtitles included in this release.

Extras:
The special features that are included with this DVD release are intended for the fans. There are five audio commentaries and one video commentary. Two of the audio commentaries are with Michael Jacobs, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong for episodes "Back 2 School" and "Home". Those three also do a video commentary for "Fear Strikes Out". The video commentary is presented with a picture-in-picture. It's really not much different from an audio commentary, except we get to watch Jacobs, Friedle, and Strong speak into a microphone. The other three audio commentaries are with Michael Jacobs, Ben Savage, and Danielle Fishel. They cover the episodes "Fear Strikes Out", "Who's Afraid of Cory Wolf?", and "Wake Up, Little Cory". Overall, the extras are pretty good. I really liked the audio commentary with Savage and Fishel for "Fear Strikes Out". It's a very funny episode. Still, I don't think the commentaries have very much replay. I would have loved a gag reel. I'm sure these kids said and did some pretty funny things behind the scenes.

Final Thoughts:
The second season of Boy Meets World is pretty exciting. The series itself is a bit corny and cliched, but considering that it's supposed to be through the point of view of a young boy, it works out fine. However, as the series progresses into the later seasons, the corny and cliched dialogue gets to be too much. Fortunately, the cast is still very young in season two and can get away with this behavior. In addition, there are some downright fun episodes in this season. I really enjoyed season two, much more than season one. It's highly recommended.