Anthony Tyler Quinn, who played Mr. Turner on Boy Meets World, fully explains why his character left the show. In the role of Jonathan Turner, a teacher at John Addams High, Quinn left an indelible mark on Boy Meets World despite his relatively short time with the family sitcom. The actor only appeared in 51 episodes, stretching from season 2 to season 4, but he'd impacted the lives of the leading trio during that period. In particular, Mr. Turner develops a fatherly bond with Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), providing the series with some of its most memorable scenes.
As a result, it surprised many fans when Mr. Turner exited Boy Meets World in the middle of season 4. Quinn's character would continue to be mentioned, as the writers snuck in meta references to his absence and included him in archival footage, but he never appeared again after getting into a motorcycle accident in the episode "Cult Fiction." During an interview on Pod Meets World, Quinn sheds light on his departure from the hit comedy and reveals it was the result of an abrupt change in the focus of the show. Quinn's quote, via CinemaBlend, is below:
I saw [series creator] Michael Jacobs across the stage, and I want to say congratulations and [ask] what do you think about how my character’s developing and how he’s interacting with everybody? He goes ‘Great. We think it’s all great. We’re very excited and can’t wait for Season 4. He shared a little bit with me about what he wanted to do with me for Season 4. They wanted to dive a little deeper into our relationship, Rider… So, I was very excited for Season 4.
So that was the end of March in ’96. Remember that conversation ’cause in June of ’96 I get a phone call from Michael Jacobs and he’s like ‘Okay. I got some bad news.’ And I was ‘Okay. Uh-oh.’ He’s like ‘so, you’re not coming back for Season 4. Maybe sparingly like five or four episodes. But definitely not Season 5. You’re not coming back.’ Now, I get the concept that in show business there’s no such thing as job security, but this just seemed like a radical reversal. Cause we just had a conversation two months ago that everything was great. So, I just go, ‘What happened?’ and he goes, ‘So the network and the studio came at us last minute with some change. They said the kids are going into high school now and we wanna explore that whole dynamic, so we’re going to change it up. It was kind of unexpected [and] last minute, so there was nothing we could do to save it. He goes, ‘It is what it is,’ and that was it.
This is where the story gets interesting. This is in June of ’96. Now, you fast forward to February of ’97 I was gearing toward pilot season in ’97 because I had to get a job… So I was getting really close to landing this pilot I had auditioned for Fox. I jumped through all the hoops and wanted to bring me to [the] studio and meet everybody there at the network. And I was thinking ‘This is great.’… So they’re going to bring me to network. I get a phone call from my manager, and he goes, ‘We have a huge problem.’ And I’m like, ‘Of course, there’s a huge problem. Why wouldn’t there be a huge problem.’ I’m like, ‘What’s the problem?’ He’s like, ‘Disney’s not letting you out of your contract.’ I was honestly confused because it’s been nine months since I got that phone call from Michael… I’m like ‘You mean, Boys Meet World,’ and he’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I told him, ‘You know as well as I do that they called me and told me I was being dismissed.’ He said ‘Well, they say your contract is still active, and they’re not letting you out of it.’
How Mr. Turner Returned In Girl Meets World
After a bit of back-and-forth, Quinn says he was released from his Boy Meets World contract and allowed to work on other projects. He'd reprise his role as Mr. Turner for the spinoff Girl Meets World. It's revealed that Mr. Turner works as a superintendent in New York, having married the nurse who helped him in the aftermath of his motorcycle accident. The character appears in three episodes of Girl Meets World, interacting heavily with Ben Savage's Cory. And, in a nod to the bond that was so central to the original series, Mr. Turner says he still views Shawn as a son.
The spinoff did a lot to address the issues Boy Meets World had with its disappearing characters. Mr. Turner may be the most prominent example, but there was also Stuart Minkus (Lee Norris). Stuart was famously part of the early seasons before vanishing and later reemerging in a winking cameo. He's another actor that would pop up for Girl Meets World. Jason Marsden, who played Eric's friend on Boy Meets World, likewise recently opened up about being abruptly written off.
It's not unusual for teen-centric comedies and dramas to retool their priorities and themes as they move along, as that is very much a reflection of the protagonists themselves. But what is unusual, and a bit more unlikely presently, as social media and fan forums dissect series and their continuity, is for important characters to simply vanish. The fact that the Boy Meets World cast are still asked about their disappearing co-stars is proof that the writers mishandled how they retooled the show.
Source: Pod Meets World (via CinemaBlend)