Don't Have a Cow (That's So Raven)
| "Don't Have a Cow" | |
|---|---|
| That's So Raven episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Rich Correll |
| Written by | Michael Carrington |
| Production code | 204 |
| Original air date | October 17, 2003 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Don't Have a Cow" is the second episode and Halloween Special in the second season of the Disney Channel television series That's So Raven, which aired on October 17, 2003. It was written by Michael Carrington and directed by Rich Correll.
In the episode, Raven and Chelsea attempt to use magic to attend the Halloween party of Raven's nemesis, Alana. While the plan works, a mistake in their spell-casting causes them to start turning into cows. In the subplot, Cory tries to convince his Victor that he's too old to be trick or treating with him.
Plot
At Bayside High, Eddie shows off his invitation to Alana's Halloween party to Raven and Chelsea, who weren't invited due to Raven's bad history with Alana. The two go to the Chill Grill after school, where Victor serves them their respective burgers and reveals that Alana's having the party at the restaurant, which Raven knows Alana did to spite her. Chelsea panics after realizing Victor accidentally switched their orders and she's been eating a hamburger rather than a veggie burger, breaking her vegetarian commitments.
At the Baxter home, Victor, dressed up as Victor Frankenstein, prepares to go trick-or-treating with Cory, who's wearing a body builder costume. Cory tells Victor that he wants to trick-or-treat with his friends rather than his father. The disappointed Victor allows Cory to go with his friend William, whose costume is a remote control that causes nearby electrical products to malfunction. Tanya, dressed as Igor, cheers Victor up by offering to trick-or-treat with him in Cory's place.
In Raven's room, Chelsea starts wearing a button with a cow on it out of guilt for eating the burger. She and Raven browse through a trunk containing paranormal artifacts belonging to Raven's grandmother, Viv, and discover a magical book with instructions on a wishing spell. They place the necessary ingredients in a cauldron and cast the spell to get invited to Alana's party. After a hypnotized Alana confirms their invitation, the two then wish to be the most popular girls at the party and win the costume contest. They fail to notice Chelsea's button fall into the concoction during their incantation and run upstairs to prepare their costumes.
While looking for outfits, they find to their horror that their bodies possess cow ears and tails. Eddie arrives to take them to the party, but the two force him to leave with the spell book as they start mooing sporadically. Raven and Chelsea discover that they are turning into cows due to the button's interference with the spell and cannot stop changing without Viv's book. Raven suggests that they go to the party and get the book back to undo the spell, figuring that the students won't question their appearances on Halloween.
Cory and William return to the house empty-handed due to William's costume setting off multiple alarms in the neighborhood. Victor and Tanya arrive back with a bag full of candy and allow the boys to take some of theirs. Cory tells Victor that he misses trick-or-treating with his father and wants to do it with him next year, but Victor takes the two boys out to get some more candy.
At the party, Raven and Chelsea continue to develop bovine traits while looking for Eddie. They gain snouts, hooves, and larger tongues as they also exhibit cattle-like behavior, culminating in Chelsea eating the book page with the reversal spell. As a result, the two completely transform into Holstein cows and decide to "milk it" after beating Alana in the costume contest. It is revealed that the whole night was all a vision that Raven had right before Chelsea ate the burger, allowing her to stop Chelsea from eating meat and prevent her vision from happening.
Back at the house, Victor and Tanya spend their alone time eating their Halloween candy.
Reception
Even a decade after its release, "Don't Have a Cow" is considered a Halloween classic, with a number of publications praising the main plot revolving around Raven and Chelsea's cow transformations. MTV named it #1 in their "9 most iconic Disney Channel Halloween episodes" and called it one of the scariest Disney Channel Halloween experiences, stating "When the spin-off series debuts, I seriously hope they remake this episode, because what's more traumatizing than becoming a cow? NOTHING."[1][2] Glamour listed it in their "9 Disney Channel Halloween Episodes to Watch," saying, "All you need to know about the Halloween episode of That's So Raven is that it ends with Raven and Chelsea turning into real-life cows. Like, they grow snouts, moo excessively, and chew cud. If that doesn't explain the high school experience, then what does?"[3]
References
- ^ Grant, Stacy. "THE 9 MOST ICONIC DISNEY CHANNEL HALLOWEEN EPISODES – RANKED". mtv.com.
- ^ Grant, Stacy. "8 TIMES DISNEY CHANNEL'S HALLOWEEN EPISODES FREAKED YOU THE HELL OUT". mtv.com.
- ^ Rosa, Christopher. "9 Disney Channel Halloween Episodes to Watch If Horror Movies Freak You Out". glamour.com.