Though sitcoms were long one of the most dominant types of shows for decades, the 1990s saw the form take a leap forward. If the form was defined by I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners in the 1950s, every era would have sitcoms that came along and pushed it even further (and became a staple of the entire decade). The 1970s gave us Sanford and Son and All in the Family, the 1980s delivered Cheers and The Golden Girls, and the 1990s brought us Friends, Seinfeld, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. To point out how many beloved sitcoms came from each of these eras, especially the 1990s, you might already be annoyed that your favorite wasn’t mentioned.
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One of the most iconic sitcoms 1990s, one that skewed younger and allowed its audience to grow up alongside its characters, was the hit ABC sitcom Boy Meets World. The Ben Savage-starring series followed Cory Matthews and his friends and family in Philadelphia, but quickly became an ensemble show that saw all of its characters grow and change over the course of seven years, even shifting perspective as they go through major life changes. On the whole, Boy Meets World was a light-hearted show, which made the episode that premiered 27 years ago today such a rug pull for viewers.
Boy Meets World Stunned Fans With Shocking Death
On January 22, 1999, Boy Meets World released a new episode in its sixth season, one that would totally shake up the dynamics of the series. Titled, “We’ll Have a Good Time Then,” the episode begins as one might expect, Shawn and Cory head to the student union building of their college, only to find that Shawn’s dad, Chet (Blake Clark), has returned to town and has decided to plant his roots and spend time with his sons, Shawn and Jack, for good. Jack (Matthew Lawrence) is elated by his decision, having never gotten to know Chet, but Shawn isn’t convinced, knowing Chet’s history of showing up only to leave for years at a time. The show’s history supports this, with Chet having only appeared in eight episodes up until this point, his most recent one previously being the second episode of Season 5 (which aired fifteen months earlier).
Shawn naturally makes his frustration with Chet public, which culminates in a shocking moment as his dad appears to suffer from a heart attack in Jack’s apartment. This episode of Boy Meets World is pretty distinct from almost any other in the entire series. Though it begins with some lighthearted laughs, there are very few punchlines to be found at all, even when it cuts away from Shawn’s storyline. On the whole, it’s a somber and dramatic episode, one where the mortality of his own dad makes Shawn realize that, despite his frustrations with his father, he is actually following the path of the same bad habits that have defined his dad. He pushes people away when they get close and can never stick to one thing for too long. It’s a major moment of self-reflection for him, especially as the episode arrives not long after his breakup with Angela.
The episode brings in all of the major players from Boy Meets World, too, after they learn about Chet’s health scare, all arriving to comfort Jack and Shawn as they can. Furthermore, the episode also seems to be confirming Shawn’s biggest fears, as Chet confides in Alan Matthews that he needs to “look out” for his boys when he leaves (revealing he intends to go to Vegas when he gets out of the hospital).
Shawn finally explodes on his brother about the trauma he endured from his father’s absence, a conversation that Chet overhears. As Shawn confronts his dad, it culminates in him telling his dad that he loves him and he needs him, only for Chet to hand him a wrapped present, an early gift for his birthday. Before they can open it, though, Chet clutches his chest and asks his son to call someone. The episode concludes with the reveal of the gift, the photo of all three of them taken earlier in the episode, but also the stark confirmation that Chet has died.
Shawn’s Dad Still Made Appearances in the Series After He Died
The death of Chet serves as a major point for Shawn’s character, and one that offers him a lot of growth over the rest of the show, but it’s specifically a moment across the entire series that really stands out. Again, there are very, very few jokes in the episode on the whole, which makes it pretty distinct even moreso than the fact that it’s quite dramatic (and often dour). About the only other moments that rival Chet’s death across the entirety of Boy Meets World are Mr. Turner’s motorcycle crash and the series finale when the characters largely go their separate ways.
That said, as surprising as the death of Chet Hunter was, Boy Meets World had a major surprise up its sleeve when it came to the character, as Blake Clark actually had three more appearances in the series after his character passed away. Just two episodes after Chet’s death, Clark returned, appearing to Shawn in his truck after he’s taken Chet’s trailer out on the road, telling his son that he’ll always be there for him. Though it would be easy to write this off as the series, which has largely been grounded in reality, as jumping the shark and now having a ghost character, it’s deeper than that. Chet’s returns are seen only by Shawn, a visual interpretation of the fact that we still carry our memories and feelings for people after they’ve died.
Chet wouldn’t return for months, returning in a Season 7 episode, where Shawn goes to visit his father’s grave. Naturally, Chet’s ghost shows up there to talk to him, revealing to him that his real mother was a stripper who left after he was born and that his family history is one full of deadbeats, which he should use as fuel to hold on to the people he really loves in life. Finally, Chet returns in the series finale, appearing as a ghost to watch over his sons one last time (and in a moment that hasn’t aged well, pinching Rachel on the rear before he departs).
Weirdly though, this wasn’t the end of Chet Hunter. Despite dying in Season 6 of Boy Meets World, Shawn’s late father showed up in an episode of the legacy-sequel/spinoff series, Girl Meets World. In the episode, Chet naturally appears to Shaw in a vision to offer him some advice. Within the big picture of the entire “Meets World” franchise, it’s a moment that makes sense and has precedence. That said, it was still a unique decision to have happen with the character, but one in keeping with his sporadic appearances across the entire show, and it all started today, 27 years ago, with an episode of the series that flipped the structure of the series on its head and had fans stunned.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Image Courtesy of Paramount
