Trivia: Five of the nine kids from The Sandlot ended up having guest roles in this show: Chauncey Leopardi, Marty York, Grant Gelt, Brandon Adams, and Patrick Renna.
Trivia: Rider Strong would frequently get recognized in public because of his trademark hairstyle. To help remedy this during summer breaks from filming, he would put his hair in braids, similar to Chris Kirkpatrick from NSYNC.
Trivia: Aaron Metchik, who plays one of the bullies in this episode, was previously a pen pal to Rider Strong when both actors played the role of Gavroche in stage productions of Les Miserables on opposite ends of the country (Strong in San Francisco and Metchik in Washington DC).
Trivia: Will Friedle was forced by the network to cut his hair ahead of filming this episode, as they felt it was getting too long. Director Jeff McCracken knew how upset Friedle was about this, so he went home and cut his own hair to make him feel better.
Trivia: Darlene Vogel, who played Mr. Turner's brief love interest, Kat Tompkins, made her film debut in Back to the Future Part II. Will Friedle, being a big fan of that film, actually recognized her from it. He said it took him a day to work up the courage to finally approach her to talk to her about it.
Trivia: This episode sees Cory running for Class President. Ben Savage pursued politics later in real life in 2023, as he ran for Congress in California's 30th Congressional District.
Trivia: Danny McNulty has said that he felt like he abandoned Ethan Suplee and Blake Soper after he had to leave the show to focus on his mental health.
Trivia: This episode marks the first appearance of Mr. Turner's apartment. While recapping the episode on the Pod Meets World podcast, Rider Strong said he had absolutely no recollection of this set, even though Shawn would live there for several seasons.
Wrong Side of the Tracks - S2-E19
Trivia: Nancy Kerrigan later appeared in the 2007 ice skating-themed film Blades of Glory, which also featured Boy Meets World alumnus William Daniels.
Trivia: Danielle Harris auditioned for a part on this show 13 times before finally being selected to appear in this episode.
Wrong Side of the Tracks - S2-E19
Trivia: Eric's dream ice skating lesson from Nancy Kerrigan was filmed at Lake Placid.
Trivia: Although she doesn't remember it, Will Friedle claims that Danielle Fishel was directed to do so many takes of her campaign announcement at the end that she eventually broke down crying. Friedle noted that her eyes during the scene look like they had makeup applied around them to cover up that she had been crying, and Rider Strong added that she looked pissed.
Trivia: The "All girls are icky" note from Shawn on Paula's notebook was actually written by Rider Strong. When watching the episode, Strong said he had no recollection of writing it, but recognized it as his handwriting.
Trivia: Rider Strong once attended a bachelor party, and someone arranged for him to get a lapdance from a stripper. The stripper told him that she grew up watching Boy Meets World.
Trivia: Will Friedle once had an awkward encounter with a fan of the show at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. The fan wanted to get a picture with him, and he told them it wasn't an appropriate place to do it.
Trivia: William Daniels nearly quit the show after filming the pilot episode, as he was not fond of Mr. Feeny's portrayal. Michael Jacobs planned to replace him with David Ogden Stiers if he went through with it.
Trivia: This episode is Ethan Suplee's acting debut.
Trivia: Aside from a handful of episodes from season 1, Rider Strong never watched this show until 2022, largely due to his own insecurities about watching his performances.
Answer: I learned the answer to this one today. It is "Tree of Life" by Garé Barks.
Phaneron ★