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STUDIO: Disney
MSRP: $19.99
RATED: G
RUNNING TIME: 100 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• Never-Before-Seen Episode
• Bloopers & Outtakes featuring the stars from the show
• Trivia Quiz
The Pitch
The youngest Cosby Kid has grown up to star in her very own cutesy, vomit-inducing sitcom.
The "Tribute to Grace Slick" episode was a little weird to say the least…
The Humans
Raven, Orlando Brown, Kyle Massey, Anneliese van der Pol, T’Keyah Crystal Keymah, Rondell Sheridan, and overall more black people than to be found on the WB.
Somewhere, Bill Cosby – hater of black people – approves.
The Nutshell
Raven plays the titular character, a wise-cracking youngster who has visions of the future and gets into a bunch of squeaky clean, silly situations with her squeaky clean, silly family and squeaky clean, silly friends in their squeaky clean, silly high school. (Reviewer has to pause to hurl).
The Package
1.33:1 TV full screen in 5.1 Dolby Digital, with extras including a trivia quiz that any teenage girl could ace in her sleep, three minutes of bloopers and guffaws and a never-before seen episode (why they wouldn’t show it is beyond me). That makes a grand total of five episodes from the show. That equates into roughly $4 an episode or 37 cents per barf bag.
Not sure, but considering the age of these kids, it’s likely that it’s a felony to have this picture on your computer.
The Lowdown
This may very well be a good show for kids, but it sure as shit doesn’t translate for the older crowd. That’s So Raven is about 2 ½ steps above Sesame Street, and that’s being generous. It’s harmless fun and I’m sure that as long as you’re not old enough to remember seeing House Party in the theatres, you’ll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, bring Pepto Bismol. Back during the Cosby Show days, I couldn’t stand Raven’s character of Olivia because she was just so cuuuute, and things like that made me contemplate the straight razor to the wrists even in my adolescence. She was brought onto the show in the final years in a calculated move to up the cuteness factor when Keisha Knight Pulliam caught GCD (Gary Coleman Disease) and grew up, thus getting the cuteness gold kryptonite. Now that she’s all grown up (and out) not much has changed.
Puberty was definitely not kind to poor Raven…
I will give the show props in one area, and that’s giving something for kids of color (e.g. black) to have a show to relate to, which wasn’t all that prevalent back in the Saved by the Bell days from what I remember. Raven also does have a good comedic presence, but even so, for a non-teenage, non-female human who abhors cutesy sitcoms and laugh tracks, this is show is death incarnate.
(prepubescent girls)
1.9 out of 10
(everybody else)