29 Years Ago Today, Boy Meets World Released A Very Dark Christmas Episode (featuring Two Comedy Legends)

Image courtesy of ABC.

Sitcoms never miss a chance to do a holiday episode. Since there are so many episodes per season, it’s a great excuse to set at least one around a significant event on the calendar. Friends does it more than most, delivering some of the best Thanksgiving episodes in TV history, but it can’t forget about Christmas. While most of the time it portrays Christmastime as the most wholesome time of the year, having the gang exchange silly gifts, there are also some dramatic moments in December. For instance, in Season 9, Monica believes Chandler is cheating on him while working in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and goes to confront him.

Since Boy Meets World focuses on young people who spend most of their time goofing off in high school, one would think its holiday episodes are always family-friendly. However, its mission is to teach its audience lessons, and it’s not going to give that up just because it’s time for milk and cookies. In fact, Boy Meets World Season 4 houses one of the darkest Christmas episodes of all time, which brings in two comedy legends to do its dirty work.

“Easy Street” Sends Shawn and Cory Down a Dark Road

While the holiday season is a time to celebrate, it’s hard for some because getting presents isn’t as simple as waiting for Santa Claus to open up his magical bag. Shawn and Cory decide to take matters into their own hands in “Easy Street” by getting jobs during their break from school. While Shawn struggles to find his footing at the dock because it’s not as easy as the brochure made it out to be, Cory’s living the good life at a local restaurant run by two men, Mr. Fontaine and Mr. Martini, played by Buddy Hackett and Soupy Sales, respectively. Unlike most food service gigs, all Cory has to do is bring his bosses coffee and do odd jobs for them to make big money.

When Shawn hears about the arrangement, he goes down to the restaurant to see it for himself. Of course, he has a bit more street knowledge than his best friend, which allows him to pick up on the fact that Fontaine and Martini are members of the mob. It takes some convincing to get Cory to come to terms with the fact that he’s involved in shady business, but he quits as soon as he puts it all together. But Shawn sees an oppurtunity for himself and accepts Fontaine and Martini’s offer to take over Cory’s position. His choice proves to be the wrong one and takes Boy Meets World to a pretty scary place.

Shawn Nearly Makes the Biggest Mistake of His Life in Boy Meets World Season 4

Hackett and Sales are famous for their zany personalities, and they don’t leave those at home when they appear on Boy Meets World. Martini and Fontaine talk about how much they love Shawn’s work ethic, to the point that the young man skips school to make a few extra bucks. While Cory scolds him, Shawn doesn’t care because his ultimate goal is to deliver his best friend a nice gift. The two make up when Shawn brings over an engraved watch, and they promise to celebrate more the next day, during the Christmas Eve get-together. In typical sitcom fashion, Shawn doesn’t show, as he has one last job to do for his sketchy superiors.

Fontaine and Martini task Shawn with standing by the side of the road and handing a package containing mysterious contents to a car. Cory tracks down his friend and returns the favor by showing him he’s about to make a huge mistake, since the item he’s holding likely contains drugs. Shawn starts to see clearly and decides to head home with Cory instead of seeing his mission through. Since Martini and Fontaine don’t appear again, it’s fair to assume that they let Shawn off the hook. However, it’s hard to watch the next couple of episodes of Boy Meets World without thinking about what they could be capable of if they change their mind. What a way to kill the holiday vibe.

Boy Meets World is streaming on Disney+.

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