The Event : Nothing to do with Boy Meets World
Mr Feeney mysteriously absent
What is the first thing you think when you see Rider Strong? I believe there are two main choices:
1. It’s that guy from Boy Meets World!
or
2. Who?!
If you’re around my age – mid twenties, give or take a few years – then you’ll probably fall into the first category. So when I saw he was going to be in a new show, my natural reaction was to assume it was a Boy Meets World spin-off. I mean what else has he been in? (I can hear the Rider Strong Fan Club typing their emails already..)
You can imagine my excitement when Shawn popped up on screen - though strangely he changed the spelling to Sean and had a different surname – but my heart broke as no other Boy Meets World characters were to be seen. Ok, fair enough if some of them actually got careers (though the ever reliable Wikipedia suggests otherwise for most), but it was going to take a lot to win me over without the old gang. We all know how rubbish Saved By The Bell: The New Class was!
Then it hit me. I wasn’t looking at a spin-off! I had mistakenly thought it was Rider Strong, when actually it was Jason Ritter. Seriously, go compare some photos. I’m sure I’m not the only person to have ever made that mistake! In fact, simply putting both names into a Google search proves my point, so thank the Lord for that.
One of these men is Rider Strong
And yet somehow, in amongst all the confusion, what I had accidentally stumbled upon was the spiritual successor to Lost. Bear with me..
People screaming on a plane? Check.
Beach scenes? Check.
Confusing time jumping? Check.
Mysterious off-screen entities? Check.
Lots of violin-based score? Check.
More questions than answers? Check.
Željko Ivanek? Check. (Though which show doesn’t these days?!)
Black dude you recognise but you can’t quite place? Check.
Suddenly it made sense. No longer was I peeved at the lack of Mr Feeney (is he still alive?) or disappointed that Topanga wasn’t in a gratuitous bikini scene. Someone had taken the best bits of Lost and put a new twist on them. As a huge fan of the show, it feels like I’m a drug addict who has just been given methadone. I don’t have to go cold turkey anymore …
… though if black dude starts shouting “WALLLTTT! at random intervals, I’m getting out now. No way you’re sucking me in for another six years you bastards.
The Event – no idea what it is, but at least it answered one question for me. It has nothing to do with Boy Meets World whatsoever.
