# Forget ‘Scream,’ This Beloved ‘90s Sitcom Has a Near-Perfect 23-Minute Slasher

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/forget-scream-this-beloved-90s-sitcom-has-a-near-perfect-23-minute-slasher/
- Published: 2026-10-25T16:43:15+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-25T17:15:26+00:00
- Original publisher: Collider
- Original article: https://collider.com/best-tv-halloween-episode-boy-meets-world-scream-inspired/
- Topics: Entertainment, Horror

## Key points

- A *Boy Meets World* sitcom episode turns detention into a slasher story.
- “And Then There Was Shawn” aired in February 1998.
- Its horror references are balanced with the show’s comedy.

## Summary

The article highlights “And Then There Was Shawn”, a 1998 episode of the sitcom *Boy Meets World*, as an unusually effective slasher story and one of the series’ strongest episodes. It argues that the episode’s mix of horror and comedy makes it a good choice for Halloween viewing, despite not being made as a Halloween special.

In the episode, Cory, Topanga, Shawn and their classmates are left in detention after school, where a masked killer appears to target them. Flickering lights, a blood-written threat and a creepy janitor set up the horror, while the script plays with slasher conventions such as the “virgins never die” trope and the early death of a minor character. The article says the episode draws on the 1990s horror style associated with *Scream* without simply parodying one film.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.