Hi, Caroline here! Many wonder how I came to be the resident pop culture expert and enthusiast that I am. The answer: I grew up sitting in front of the television. I have consumed so many hours of TV programming and movies, probably to an unhealthy level. So if I’m going to be stuck home for the rest of my senior semester, I might as well take a walk down memory lane and rewatch and rehash some episodes of my favorite childhood TV shows to distract myself from the state of the world. In this series, I will be watching the pilot episode of my favorite childhood TV shows and seeing if I still think they are great.
So today I will be watching the first episode of Disney Channel’s “That’s So Raven,” a staple of early 2000s Disney. A quick summary of the show: Raven, a teenage psychic, and her friends try to stop her visions before they happen and chaos ensues. I don’t remember the show as much as I would like, but what I do remember of it is burned into my memory. Boyz In Motion, Liz Anya, The Chill Grill, and the amazing body image episode were all pop culture moments. This show was so popular that Disney finally made a spin off called “Raven’s Home” following Raven, Chelsea, and both of their children, one of whom also has the psychic power. So let’s see if this show still lives up to the hype.
Viewing Notes:
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Disney loved using mean teachers.
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I don’t remember a lot about Raven other than her love of fashion.
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FIRST VISION
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I have a feeling this is going to blow up in her face.
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So far the comedy is pretty good.
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Raven Symone was a great child actress.
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The first vision did blow up in her face.
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The theme song slaps. Disney really knows how to pick them.
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Chelsae hasn’t shown up yet :(
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Both Raven and Eddie are in monochromatic outfits.
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COREY!
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I forgot how much I loved him and how much he was a prankster. His spinoff show was great.
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Kid’s TV shows love to use the scheming younger sibling troupe… and it really works.
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Raven was just gifted a cordless phone, how 2000s.
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2ND VISION
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I forgot about the disguises!!! Raven is trying to convince her teacher that she is her mother.
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This obviously will not go well.
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Is Chelsea not in this episode?
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These nerd characters are very stereotypically Disney with lisps, glasses, and sweater vests.
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VISION NUMBER 3
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The moral of this episode is to tell the truth to your parents and teachers.
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“Betrayed by the booty” an actual sentence said on Disney Channel.
Total vision count: 3.
So this show is still pretty good! I remember the later episodes much clearer but this episode still holds true. Weirdly, no Chelsea in the first episode which is a bummer because she was a great foil to Raven. (Sidenote: According to Disney+ the first episode of the show is “Mother’s Dearest,” which is the episode I watched. IMDB has it listed as the second episode. IDK which one is right.) I can’t believe I forgot about the whole disguise gag, that was literally in every episode and a huge part of the show. Watching back, this episode made me remember a lot of the episodes that I enjoyed as a kid and I will definitely take some time and go back and watch them (and the spin off “Corey in the House”). If you watch any episode, definitely start with “Boyz N’ Commotion,” a truly iconic television moment and a cultural reset. “We are the Boyz N’ Motion, We give you our devotion,” still gets stuck in my head to this day.