he Disney Channel jump-starts its new live-action, half-hour situation comedy by airing four episodes in a row. The series features Raven (formerly Raven-Symone on The Cosby Show), a perfectly normal teenage girl who just happens to occasionally get glimpses from the future. This talent and her
habit of wanting to change the outcome of her visions manages to get Raven and her buddies Chelsea (van der Pol) and Eddie (Brown) in plenty of hot water.
In the series opener, "Mother Dearest," Raven feels that one of her teachers is unfairly calling on the students when they don't have the answer and refusing to call on others who do. She has a vision in which the others in the class applaud her for telling the teacher how she feels, so she decides to take
action. Raven tells the teacher off, only to get trouble when the teacher demands to talk to her parents. Sure enough, her vision comes true, not that it will help get her out of trouble when she has to tell her parents what happened. But as Raven is just about to tell her parents the terrible truth,
they give her her own phone for being "the new Raven." Suddenly, "the new Raven" doesn't feel so new, and facing up to her parents is the last thing she wants to do.
In the next episode, "Wake Up Victor," Raven's father (Sheridan), a professional chef, gets an opportunity to cook on television. He's nervous about it, but Raven tells him she has a vision that he does just great on the show. Unfortunately, Raven lied about seeing the vision so her dad would feel confident about the show, and then when she really has one, it's bad. Meanwhile, her annoying little brother Cory (Kyle Orlando Massey) and his new friend have decided to try their hands at hypnotism. When Victor accidentally gets hypnotized just as the TV people are about to arrive, it's up to the whole family to figure out a way to save the day, and Victor's reputation.
The final two episodes of the night are "Party Animal" and "Test of Friendship." In "Party Animal," when Raven has a vision of her brother telling her that she's the worst sister in the world, there's only one thing to do—give the birthday boy the best birthday party ever. In "Test of Friendship," Raven must decide whether or not to use her psychic knowledge to help Eddie cheat on his Spanish test.
That's so funny
That's So Raven is an energetic new offering from the Disney Channel featuring talented actors, vibrantly colorful sets and the kind of broad physical comedy you don't see pulled off successfully too often these days. But most of all, it's a funny show about family and friends that works on several levels for both kids and adults.
In Raven's world, her friends and family know about her psychic powers and it's no big deal. In a lesser show, the attempt at comedy might have come out of trying to keep Raven's ability secret. However, That's So Raven has let everyone in on the secret right from the beginning, and the focus is kept on Raven's relationships.
The smart scripts keep the spotlight on the lighter side of things without losing the emotion behind the characters. And for That's So Raven, the characters are what the series is all about. The parents are good people who love their kids, and the kids are good kids who are just trying to do the right thing, even if they don't always succeed. The series splits into two parts, with home and school often crossing over into the other's arena. The home stories are smoother and more natural, but the school episodes work too, even if the comedy is more forced.
However, the reason That's So Raven works is because of the cast, especially the gifted Raven, who handles verbal and physical comedy with ease. She has plenty of backup from T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh and Rondell Sheridan as her parents and the other kids in the cast. Together, they make That's So Raven the genuinely funny show it is.
