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That's So Raven

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That's So Raven
File:TSR-Logo.png
That's So Raven logo with Raven-Symoné as Raven Baxter.
Created byMichael Poryes
Susan Sherman
StarringRaven-Symoné
Orlando Brown
Kyle Massey
Anneliese van der Pol
Rondell Sheridan
T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh
(seasons 1-3)
Opening theme"That's So Raven (Theme Song)" by Raven-Symoné, Orlando Brown and Anneliese van der Pol
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes100 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMichael Poryes
Susan Sherman
(season 1)
Sean McNamara
David Brookwell
(seasons 1-3)
Marc Warren
Dennis Rinsler
(season 2+)
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
(with commercials)
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
ReleaseJanuary 17, 2003 –
Fall 2007

That's So Raven is an American sitcom television series broadcast on the Disney Channel. The plot revolves around teenager Raven Baxter and her schemes to get herself, her friends, Eddie and Chelsea, and family members such as her brother Cory, out of various situations, usually by using her psychic powers and her skills as a master of disguise. Seasons 1-3 were produced by Brookwell McNamara Entertainment. The fourth and final season was produced by Raven's Production Company Thats So Productions. Raven was reportely paid 20,000 to 40,000 dollars

Episodes

Main article: List of That's So Raven episodes

That's So Raven was the first Disney Channel Original Series to extend its contract to 100 episodes.

"Where There's Smoke" is the 100th and final episode of That's So Raven. As of August 2007, the episode has not aired in the United States. In Latin America, Asia, Australia, the UK and Canada the episode has already aired. During this time period however, Raven has guest starred on Cory in the House.

Disney Channel is in talks as to when to air the episode. The episode might not air due to the fact that it has to deal with smoking, as well as interfering with Cory in the House.

In August 2007, TV Guide announced that new episodes of That's So Raven, Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and Cory in the House would air this fall. Since only one episode of That's So Raven remains unaired, it is likely that it will air in this time. [1]

Season Ep # First Airdate Last Airdate
Season 1 21 January 17, 2003 March 19, 2003
Season 2 22 October 3, 2003 September 24, 2004
Season 3 35 October 1, 2004 January 16, 2006
Season 4 21 February 20, 2006 Fall 2007

Cast and characters

Main article: List of characters from That's So Raven

The Chill Grill

The Chill Grill is a restaurant owned by Victor Baxter. It was introduced during the second season of That's So Raven. In the episode "If I Only Had a Job", Raven has a vision of her dad opening his own restaurant called "Baxter's Place." In the beginning of the second season it finally opened as "The Chill Grill." The introduction of "The Chill Grill" was during the episode "Out Of Control". The restaurant is also a popular hangout for the kids that go to daughter Raven Baxter's school. It was revealed in the episode The Four Aces that the Chill Grill was formerly a swinging thirties restaurant by day, and nightclub in the evening called The Four Aces. The Chill Grill almost went out of business when in the episode The Grill Next Door, the restaurant faced stiff competition from a knock-off restaurant called "The Hill Grill," which was owned by Victor's college cooking rival Leonard Stevenson. As of now the Chill Grill is still owned by Victor Baxter, but a manager is running it until Victor and his son come back from Washigton D.C.

Running gags

  • Raven would often refer to little children as "little nasties" when they misbehaved.
  • Raven used "Oh, snap!" periodically.
  • Throughout the seasons, Raven would say "I'm okay" whenever she fell hard to the ground, which is very often (though done by a stunt double). On the rare occasion, she would say "I am not okay".
  • The recurring character, Stanley, would often request cheese sandwiches if he ever won a game or competition or if someone wanted him to do something.
  • Whenever Raven would be caught in an awkward situation, she would mutter "How y'all doin'?"
  • Stanley would often refer to people as "my brotha" (mostly Eddie and Cory).
  • Eddie occasionally would say "You blowin' my mind!" in season 4.
  • Very rarely in the series, Victor Baxter would have pain inflicted on him in some way and say "Here come the pain."

Spoofs and pop culture references

  • In Cory In The House Meena says she likes a show called That's So Pooshnik, a show-within-a-show that is a "Bahavian" version of That's So Raven.
  • That's So Raven has become a target for shows such as MADtv:
    • In another spoof, a family has dinner at a restaurant, during which the pedophelic uncle says to the daughter, "Hey, want to go back to my place and watch a little That's So Raven on TV?"
    • In another spoof, a limo driver refuses to give his limo to two men visiting Hollywood, because he says "It's for a guest appearing on That's So Raven."
  • The show was spoofed in a promotional TV commercial for the 76th Academy Awards during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Alias in 2004. The commercial features Raven dressing up in luxurious and elegant clothing similar to the way actresses do when attending the ceremony and ends with Raven entering her living room watching the ceremony while eating popcorn.
  • On the show Dog Bites Man on Comedy Central, a character is watching That's So Raven on the television. Another character walks in and asks, "Are you watching That's So Raven"? And he replies, "Yeah, it's the one with the picnic." They laugh and say, "That is so Raven!"
  • Neil Gaiman's comic book mini-series The Eternals features a TV show (on "the Tweenie Channel") called It's Just So Sprite!
  • Penny Arcade invented a show called That's So Locust.[1]
  • On Comedy Central's animated show Drawn Together in the episode "Wooldoor Sockbat's Giggle-Wiggle Funny Tickle Non-Traditional Progressive Multicultural Roundtable!", during a parody of The Terminator, when all the heterosexual people are underground, some kids change the channel on the broken TV to That's So Raven.
  • On The Emperor's New School, Kuzco said he needs a new title like, "That's So Kuzco" like "That's So Raven".
  • In one episode of American Dad, it cuts to Stan as he's watching TV and he bursts into laughter saying "That IS so Raven".
  • The comedian Nick Kroll has developed a character named Fabrice Fabrice, the craft services coordinator for That's So Raven. However, it appears Fabrice Fabrice might now be working exclusively for the MTV series, Human Giant.[2]
  • In British satire show, Dead Ringers, a TV announcer declares the next progamme to be "Thats So Raven, a show in which a Raven behaves typically", referring to her character's exaggerated manners.

Merchandise

The That's So Raven franchise has been modeled after fellow Disney Channel hit Lizzie McGuire. Raven has a clothing line, DVD releases, novels, bedroom sets, a perfume, a GirlTalk board game,[3] three video games[4][5] and two soundtracks, That's So Raven: Songs from and inspired by the hit TV show and That's So Raven Too!.

In February 2005, That's So Raven toys were featured in the McDonald's Happy meal. In April 2005, a doll based on Raven Baxter was released[6] and another was released the following year.

In September 2005, the show also spawned a fragrance and an MP3 player. That same month, the clothing line was shipped to Macy's stores. As of 2006, the That's So Raven merchandise has made $400 million.[7] The show released its fourth DVD in July 2006, entitled Raven's Makeover Madness. Sales were expected to approach nearly half a billion dollars by January 2007.

Soundtrack albums

DVDs

  • Supernaturally Stylish
Episodes:
    • "If I Only Had a Job"
    • "He's Got the Power"
    • "That's So Not Raven"
    • "Boyz 'N Commotion"
Special Features:
    • "Supernatural" music video - Performed by Raven
    • "That's So Raven" music video - Performed by Raven, Orlando Brown, and Anneliese van der Pol.
  • Disguise the Limit
Episodes:
    • "Art Breaker"
    • "Country Cousins" Part 1 & 2
    • "The Grill Next Door"
Special Features:
    • "Master of Disguises" - Raven and the Show's Makeup Artists reveal how many faces of Raven are created.
  • Selected Scenes Visual Commentary - Take a walk with Raven as she shares some of her favorite "Raven" moments.
  • Raven's House Party
Episodes:
    • "Opportunity Shocks"
    • "Too Much Pressure"
    • "Double Vision"
    • "Four Aces"
Special Features:
    • "Vision Impossible"
    • That's So Raven Radio Trivia Game
    • Bloopers and outtakes (with an introduction by Raven)
  • Raven's Makeover Madness
Episodes:
    • "Pin Pals"
    • "Dues and Don'ts"
    • "Adventures in Boss-Sitting"
    • "Hook Up My Space"
Special Features:
  • Disney Channel Holiday
Episodes:
    • "Escape Claus" (That's So Raven episode)
Episodes:
    • "Checkin' Out" (That's So Raven episode)
Special Features:
    • "So You Think You Know Raven, Volume 2" trivia game (That's So Raven Bonus)

Video games

That's So Raven has spawned three video games:

  • That's So Raven
  • That's So Raven 2
  • That's So Raven: Psychic on the Scene (published by Buena Vista Games)
  • That's So Raven: Makeover Mishaps!
  • Cory In The House

The first 2 are available on the Game Boy Advance system by Nintendo. The third one on the Nintendo DS. The fourth game, That's So Raven: Makeover Mishaps! is scheduled to be released in November of 2007.

Books

  1. "What You See Is What You Get"
  2. "Rescue Me"
  3. "In Raven We Trust"
  4. "Step Up"
  5. "Family Affair"
  6. "2 Good 2 B True"
  7. "Tell It Like It Is"
  8. "Dueling Divas"
  9. "Showtime"
  10. "Psyched"
  11. "Boyfriend Blues"
  12. "Be Mine"
  13. "The Real Deal"
  14. "Over The Top"
  15. "Rebel Raven"
  16. "Superstar"
  17. "House Party"
  18. "Queen Of Hearts"
  19. "Raven Rocks"

Theme song and opening sequence

The show's title theme song was written by John Coda, who also composes the music cues to signify scene changes and commercial breaks for this series and Even Stevens, was co-produced by Def Jef and Christopher B. Pearman (Raven-Symoné's real-life father) and was performed by Raven-Symoné, Anneliese van der Pol and Orlando Brown.

Raven performs most of the theme while Brown performs a rap near the end of the theme and some scattered vocals in the beginning of the theme and Van der Pol only sings the show's title in the chorus.

A full-length version of this theme was heard in a music video which aired a few months before the show's U.S. premiere and also can be heard on the show's first soundtrack, released in 2004.

Like all Disney Channel shows, the show's opening credit sequence was modified but not replaced with a new sequence as the series went on. The show's opening credit sequence begins with the show's title with each segment of the title on a different card, before switching to full screen episode clips from the show, which before certain clips included the CGI effect regularly seen when Raven Baxter has a vision. The sequence was modified three times: first, during the first and second seasons featuring newer episode clips, effectively, Raven's starring credit was moved back a few seconds. The second time was in season four which gave new clips again. The third time featured newer clips and replaced the cast-on-the-living room couch portion of the credits with a shot of the cast standing on the living room stairs and did not show T'Keyah Crystal Keymah. The names of the creators and executive producers alternated each episode. In addition, the fourth season's theme offered a brief audio clip of Raven exclaiming, "Oh, snap!" before concluding with "Yep, that's me". The change for the second season does not air on Disney Channel anymore; it only airs on ABC on Saturday mornings. The sequence was modified each season.

In Disney Channel Asia, an Asian version of the show's theme song was made just like High School Musical's "Breaking Free" in which Disney Channel Asia also made its Asian version. The music video debuted on January 1, 2007 back-to-back with the 100th episode of That's So Raven.

Spin-offs

Cory in the House

Main article: Cory in the House

Cory in the House is the first Disney Channel spinoff and is of That's So Raven. The show premiered on January 12, 2007.

The storyline involves Cory and his father Victor adjusting to life in Washington D.C.; Victor has received a job as the personal chef to the President. The show is also rumored to take place while Tanya is still at law school in England, with Raven attending college with Eddie and Chelsea.

The series is similar to its sister show, That's So Raven. Cory has two best friends, one a boy, Newt Livingston IV (Jason Dolley), and one a girl, Meena Paroom (Maiara Walsh). Cory is, of course, attending a middle school in Washington DC. Also, in the series, the president's daughter, Sophie, constantly pesters Cory, as did Stanley to Raven in That's So Raven. Cory also participates in crazy situations in which he learns a moral lesson and will most likely get punished.

That's So in the House

That's So in the House is an episode of Cory in the House where Raven visits Cory in the White House and tackles the President to prevent a vision from coming true. Meanwhile Cory impersonates Raven while everybody looks for the person who tackled the President. It aired on Disney Channel July 8, 2007.

That's So Pooshnik

In That's So in the House, Meena mentions that in her home country, there was a show called That's So Pooshnik. The opening sequence for this show was played at the end of the episode. This is a fictional parody of That's So Raven. Pooshnik is also played by Raven-Symoné.

Movie speculation

A movie was supposedly planned. A novelization of the film was available for pre-order on some sites. The film's existence is questioned by many fans. The August 2005 issue of Disney Adventures gave Raven's address with a fun fact that said a That's So Raven movie would be released in 2006, however, as of mid-2007, no movie has yet to be released or even hinted at by the creators or Disney Channel spokespersons. The chances for the film are becoming increasingly unlikely as the show finished production in January 2006.

References

  1. ^ http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/11/08 Penny-arcade.com
  2. ^ http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1560033&vid=150024 MTV.com
  3. ^ http://z.about.com/d/boardgames/1/0/f/G/tf06-raven_girl_talk.jpg Z.about.com
  4. ^ http://www.kidzworld.com/site/p5105.htm Kidzworld.com
  5. ^ http://videogames.yahoo.com/gamemain?cid=1951020519&tab=&page+0&eid=-1 Videogames.yahoo.com
  6. ^ http://www.barbiecollector.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=J0872 Barbiedollcollector.co
  7. ^ http://blackvoices.aol.com/black_news/black_history_month/articlecanvas/_a/bhm-star-raven-symone/20060221023209990001 Blackvoices.aol.com
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