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: Guest star Jim Abbot reportedly didn't know he was going to be appearing in this episode. He thought he was just there to visit the set and meet the cast and crew. He became extremely nervous when he arrived, and they just handed him a script. Rider Strong speculated it was a miscommunication, as the producers probably asked him to make an appearance, which Abbot misinterpreted as visiting.
Trivia: When Topanga says "I will only answer to the name," and then proceeds to growl, after the laugh track dissipates, you can hear members of the production crew laughing. Apparently this scene was not filmed in front of an audience due to the amount of chaos being filmed, which is why the laughter of the crew is audible. (00:13:30)
Cory's Alternative Friends - S1-E4
Trivia: When Cory has curlers in his hair in an attempt to restore it to its curly state, Eric takes a Polaroid picture of him. Will Friedle revealed on the Pod Meets World podcast that he actually kept the pictures used for the filming of this scene and found them in his childhood bedroom ahead of discussing the episode.
Trivia: According to the Pod Meets World podcast, the ethnic slur that Linda is called was originally in the episode's script. Ben Savage had never heard the word before and mispronounced it at the table read. The slur was ultimately removed from the script, likely at the request of the studio, though the different ethnic slur directed towards Shawn strangely made into the episode. Cory later mispronounces "antisemitism" later in the episode, and Will Friedle pondered that Ben's mispronounciation of the Asian slur at the table read was the reason for that.
Killer Bees - S1-E5
Trivia: Eric ranting about his parents' behavior at the Aerosmith concert was actually Will Friedle's audition scene.
Cory's Alternative Friends - S1-E4
Trivia: Marla Sokoloff, who has brief appearance in this episode, originally auditioned for the role of Topanga.
Killer Bees - S1-E5
Trivia: The audience reaction to Minkus name-dropping Beavis and Butt-head was so strong that they decided to name-drop them again when filming Cory's Alternative Friends.
Cory's Alternative Friends - S1-E4
Trivia: Shawn's never-to-be-mentioned-again sister Stacey was originally supposed to be the sister of one of Corey's other friends. The actor playing the friend was fired, so the part was transitioned to Shawn. The sister's name was originally Rochelle. Ben Savage suggested to the actor to make a long pause when saying he will consult with Rochelle when Cory asks for help, thinking it would get a big laugh. The actor paused for 30 seconds before delivering the line, getting no laughs in response.
Trivia: Cory was originally supposed to have another best friend besides Shawn, and it was intended to be a permanent role played by Chauncey Leopardi. Cory ended up having a rotating second best friend in various episodes of season 1. The cast came to refer to the chair that the second friend would sit in as the "death chair," as Michael Jacobs opted not to bring back any of the actors.
On the Fence - S1-E2
Trivia: When he's being sprayed with water guns by all the other students in the cafeteria, Cory says "Oh my G..." The cast wasn't actually allowed to say "Oh my God" on the show, so Cory only enuncing the G sound was Ben Savage catching himself. (00:02:13)
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.
Cory's Alternative Friends - S1-E4
Trivia: After kissing Cory, Topanga reveals it's her first kiss. This was also true for Danielle Fishel. They did not rehearse the kiss, and she admits to having been extremely nervous to film it. She also revealed Ben Savage was extremely nervous about filming the kiss to the point that he didn't want their lips to touch, which is why his lips are tucked in afterwards.
Cory's Alternative Friends - S1-E4
Trivia: According to director David Trainer, the reason why Shawn doesn't appear in the hallway scene near the end of the episode is because, as Cory's friend, he would have stuck around after the rest of the group of students went to the library to sign the petition, and for the kiss between Cory and Topanga to work better, they needed to be alone.
Answer: I learned the answer to this one today. It is "Tree of Life" by Garé Barks.
Phaneron ★