Some poetry is worth celebrating. Other poetry is worth unearthing after nearly 30 years and celebrating again. Particularly when it's poetry by the "Boy Meets World" character Topanga, performed by Danielle Fishel.
Yes, as you might have guessed (if you're a "BMW" fan, that is), Fishel has re-created the classic, weird, hilarious "donut in the sky" performance art poem she first acted out in Season One of the beloved series.
"The new episode of Pod Meets World is here!" she wrote in an Instagram caption that featured her hilarious, lipstick-smearing performance from 1993, side-by-side with a re-creation from 2022. "We break down 'Cory’s Alternative Friends,' the debut episode of Topanga and Donut in the Sky."
For those of you who haven't enjoyed a good sky donut in a while, you're going to love the "hole" thing:
There's so much to delight in this re-creation, including the fact that Fishel nails the flowing lacy dress and black stockings. We also think she deserves a special Emmy for fully committing to drawing lipstick all over her face again. Plus, she gets the moves down 100%.
It comes from the episode that introduces Topanga to the series, which ran from 1993-2000. The scene is this: Fishel's character and Ben Savage's Cory have been paired on a school report for Mr. Feeny. Cory wants something quick and safe for their presentation, but his partner goes full Topanga with an over-the-top demonstration instead. Leaving Cory to read her poem aloud, she turns on some music and begins doing interpretive dance, culminating with the face-drawing.
The poem goes like this: "Sun/ The only/ The one/ Donut in the sky/ Space/ Big gaping place/ Without/ Within/ Our skin/ Donut in the sky/ Freon/ Fluorocarbon/ Humpback whale/ So pale/ Exhaust/ Is all lost?/ Donut in the sky."
"We could do that in front of the class," Cory says after she finishes with a small bow. "But before we do, will you just take a huge baseball bat and hit me over the head?"
It's also amazing to go all the way back to the start of the series, knowing that these two crazy kids eventually get married during college in 1999. You can see some of that starting here; the pair smooch at the end of the episode. There's lots about that in the latest "Pod Meets World" podcast, which recaps the episode.