Boy Meets World Fans Make It Abundantly Clear Who Their Least Favorite Character Is
"Boy Meets World," a '90s sitcom staple that was part of ABC's "TGIF" lineup — that hilarious and family-friendly Friday night block of shows like "Full House" and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" — changed quite a bit during the course of its seven seasons on the air between 1993 and 2000. The coming-of-age show started out focusing on sixth-grade Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his family but then moved into the college life of Cory and his friends — yes, apparently a few years were lost in there somewhere.
Those college seasons after Season 5 aren't as well-regarded as the previous ones. One Reddit user, u/MoviePassReviews, when ranking the seasons, wasn't the only one who felt the later years of the comedy were not as good as the previous ones. "it got too melodramatic and cheesy. They didn't mature much along with their audience," the user said. Plenty of folks think that's when the show "jumped the shark," too. And it wasn't just because the main cast became parodies of themselves, as some contend, or because the stories got less interesting. During this period of time, "Boy Meets World" also introduced its least-liked character, who was, fortunately, a one-off.
Based on that one episode, the character deserved to be disliked, even though he was played by someone with a major connection to the show.
The most-hated character in the series is Professor Stuart
In a Reddit poll from last year trying to determine who the most unlikeable character was on "Boy Meets World," Professor Stuart (Fred Savage) was by far the most reviled. He received 78 out of 198 votes — or 39% of the total. Don't remember him? He's the other Stuart on the show, and was in just that one episode, "Everybody Loves Stuart."
At first, everyone likes the teacher's style. Only Eric (Will Friedle) seems to think differently: "He's bad news, you trust me," he tells Jack (Matthew Lawrence). Eric's warning surprisingly proves accurate when Stuart then hits on Topanga (Danielle Fishel) in her dorm room. Though she expresses her discomfort, he won't leave. Fortunately, Cory enters the room before anything else happens. Later, Cory's confrontation with Stuart turns physical, leading the teacher to threaten Cory's academic standing. Eventually, the dean (Bonnie Bartlett) holds a hearing to determine Cory's future at Pennbrook University.
Things don't get better with this guy. When Topanga asks him to lay off Cory, he shows that he's willing to lie to save his skin. On Reddit, u/Klutzystrike explained the dislike, saying, "When he says to Topanga, without a breath, 'you came on to me,' I always want to jump into the screen and punch him so bad. And then his attitude in the "court" room and how he's twisting everyone's words...ughhhhhh."
Despite it all, Cory prevails and he only gets suspended for one day for attacking Stuart. But in true "Boy Meets World" style, he and his friends realize that college is different from high school, and they've just become adults.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Stuart was played by Fred Savage, Ben's brother
Professor Stuart wasn't simply memorable for his slimy misdeeds, though. He's also memorable because he was played by another popular actor from the era. Fred Savage starred on "The Wonder Years" from 1988-1993 — and happens to be "Boy Meets World" star Ben Savage's older brother. Fred is also known for being The Grandson in "The Princess Bride."
Unfortunately, later events have shown that perhaps the episode was art imitating reality — or at least, foreshadowing it. In 2018, Alley Mills of "The Wonder Years" claimed the original series had been canceled due to a baseless sexual harassment suit brought against the then-16-year-old Savage and co-star Jason Hervey, who was 20. However, that year, a crew member on Fox's series "The Grinder," which also starred Fred Savage, filed a lawsuit accusing the actor of attacking and harassing her on-set in 2015. Fred Savage was also dismissed from the set of the rebooted "The Wonder Years" in 2022 following allegations of misconduct (per Deadline).
After hearing about Savage's dismissal, fans on Twitter wrote that the situation reminded them of the "Boy Meets World" episode he guested in. "No wonder the 'acting' was so good for that role," @dannymacjr said.
The poll also singled out some other unlikeable characters
The Reddit poll also singled out some other bad people from "Boy Meets World" history. In second place with 24% was Mr. Philip Mack (Jerry Levine). He is the head of The Centre, a cult leader who preys on Shawn's need to belong while living with inattentive parents and dealing with judgment from others in his life in the uncharacteristically heavy 4th season episode "Cult Fiction." This man isolates Shawn from his real friends and family in his quest to manipulate lost souls. Some fans have trouble choosing between him and Stuart, but some decided he was worse. "He takes advantage of so many more people than Stuart does," u/ilovebmwandgmw pointed out. Others said they chose Mr. Mack because he targets children and vulnerable people.
Running a close third is Doug (Sean Babb), a character in the 4th season episode "Janitor Dad." The fellow high school student mocked Shawn's father when he became the high school janitor, causing Shawn to ask Feeny to fire his dad. Also appearing on the poll with 17 votes, was recurring character Lauren (Linda Cardellini), the ski lodge employee whose attraction to Cory threatened to end his relationship with Topanga; Virna Hunter (Shareen Mitchell), a recurring character who contributed to the instability of Shawn's tumultuous family life and turned out not to be his real mother; and Melissa Harrington (Johna Stewart-Boden), the student who only invited people she thought were uncool to her make-out party in Season 2's "The Uninvited."