Trivia: According to Adam Scott, during a season 2 wrap party, he witnessed Rider Strong hugging Ethan Suplee and Blake Soper. Scott then went over and hugged Strong, which caused Strong to aggressively shove Scott away and then take off in the other direction. Scott kept this to himself for nearly 30 years, finally revealing it during his appearance on the Pod Meets World podcast. Strong, Soper and Suplee have no recollection of the incident. The aforementioned individuals have speculated that either Suplee or Soper, who were known to be pranksters on-set, may have grabbed Strong's butt during the hug and caused him to think Scott did it.
Trivia: Blake Soper and Ethan Suplee wrote and pitched a Catcher in the Rye-inspired script to producer Michael Jacobs. He told them they wouldn't buy the script, but offered them contracts to be regular cast members moving forward. They subsequently never heard from him nor appeared on the show again. Suplee admitted to having a drug problem at the time, and thinks that may have been the reason he didn't return.
Trivia: Late professional wrestler Vader, who played a fictionalized version of himself and Frankie's father, once told Ethan Suplee about the time one of his eyes was popped out of its socket during a wrestling match, which he himself then popped back into place. Suplee said he thought Vader was just pulling his leg when telling him the story.
Trivia: After earning money from his role in the show, Ethan Suplee took his dad on a vacation in the Caribbean. He encountered some children at the pool and was worried they would make fun of his weight. As it turned out, the kids approached him to talk about Boy Meets World. Suplee said he feels this was the first time in his life that his dad was proud of him.
Wrong Side of the Tracks - S2-E19
Trivia: The reason why Harley is played by a different actor for this episode, and then subsequently written out of the show and replaced by Griff, is because Danny McNulty, in his own words, suffered a bipolar meltdown during the table read and ended up checking into a mental health facility for around a month. He said it ended up largely derailing his acting career until he returned to play Harley again in Girl Meets World.
Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men - S4-E9
Trivia: While filming the wrestling match, Rider Strong said he was tempted to run and hide backstage because the actual wrestling fans present for the filming of it were mocking him and Ben Savage.
Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men - S4-E9
Trivia: While filming the wrestling match between Vader and Jake "The Snake" Roberts, the actual wrestling fans in attendance didn't like Vader and shouted insults at him. Ethan Suplee said he almost got into a fight with some fans because of this, and a crew member had to tell him to stop engaging with the fans because he was mic'd up.
Trivia: Ethan Suplee and Blake Soper once tricked occasional guest star Adam Scott into telling a dirty joke to Anthony Tyler Quinn, whom Rider Strong describes as being very clean cut and not receptive to that kind of humor.
The Thrilla' in Phila' - S2-E21
Trivia: Guest star Adam Scott said his kiss with fellow guest star Yasmine Bleeth was actually his first onscreen kiss.
The Thrilla' in Phila' - S2-E21
Trivia: Despite all evidence to the contrary, guest star Yasmine Bleeth allegedly denies having appeared on this show. It was suggested on the Pod Meets World podcast recap of this episode that she agreed to appear on the show without ever knowing what it was called.
Trivia: Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle have admitted to having been uncomfortable with filming romantic scenes throughout the show and lamented not having an intimacy coach on set.
Trivia: After the introduction of Harley Keiner, and his role in this episode in particular, Will Friedle's father was afraid that the character was being positioned to be an updated version of the Fonz who would have frequent interactions with Cory, and as a result, Eric would either be scaled back or dropped from the show entirely. He even said that his father, who is a lawyer, was so livid over the idea that he contacted his agent to make sure it wouldn't happen.
Trivia: Prior to being cast as Mr. Turner in season 2, Anthony Tyler Quinn was asked to read for the part of Alan when the cast of the show was first being filled out. Quinn previously worked with producer Michael Jacobs on a show called Black Sheep.
Trivia: When Eric is dumped into the tub of butter, Will Friedle actually tried to continually force himself further into the liquid, because the lobster suit he was wearing was buoyant. (00:19:44)
Trivia: Despite being placed in the middle of the season, this was one of the first episodes filmed. Will Friedle and Rider Strong stated on the Pod Meets World podcast that they think it was originally supposed to be the pilot that was rejected by the studio, because footage from the episode is in the opening credits sequence.
Trivia: Rider Strong towered over the other child actors when the show began. He was 5'8", but never grew another inch for the rest of the show.
Graduation - S5-E24
Trivia: For the scene where Eric sings "To Sir, with Love" to Mr. Feeny, the producers actually sent him to a professional singing coach for two weeks to prepare. Will Friedle wondered why they bothered when the scene was played off as a joke.
Trivia: Will Friedle said he was approached by Michael Jacobs towards the end of season one and told that he was gaining too much weight, following the filming of a scene where he hops over a fence. He attributed this to having a case of Coke placed in his trailer every morning that would be gone by the end of the day. He proceeded to slim down ahead of filming for season two.
Trivia: Will Friedle once received a phone call from a Disney executive inquiring about a pair of black dress socks worn by Eric, to which he told them he didn't have them.
Answer: I learned the answer to this one today. It is "Tree of Life" by Garé Barks.
Phaneron ★