SPINOFF CITY: A NEW "RAVEN" HAVEN

'That's So Raven', the most successful series on the Disney Channel, will spin off 'Cory in the House', which will feature characters Cory and Victor Baxter. They plan to debut the show in November.

Kyle Massey and Rondell Sheridan will reprise their roles as Cory and his father Victor. And the plotline will thrust not only 'Cory In The House' out of Earth Prime-Time, but 'That's So Raven as well for having spawned it.

In the series, Victor will be chosen to be the personal chef for the newly-elected President of the United States. (So that makes for a nice tie-in with the November launch of the show.) And the show will follow Cory's attempts to adjust to life in Foggy Bottom. This includes his attempts to fit in at an exclusive Washington school, as well as dealing with the president's 8 year old daughter.

(Having never seen 'That's So Raven', I have no clue as to how old the character of Cory is supposed to be.)

Right there you can see why both shows now have to be banished to another TV dimension - on Earth Prime-Time, the main Toobworld, the POTUS is George W. Bush, and he doesn't have an 8 year old daughter.

Just two daughters who sometimes act like 8 year olds.

Ba dum DUM.

The POTUS for this dimension has already been named - Richard Martinez, the first Hispanic President for his dimension; the second for all of Toobworld. (Luis Santiago, the President in 'Babylon 5' was the President for all of Earth.)

The role of President Richard Martinez has yet to be cast, but it's a shame he has to show up at all. First off, he could have been kept out of the program altogether, and just mentioned as being "The President". And that way we could assume Victor was the personal chef for W.

Of course, this would mean wiping out the character of the 8 year old as well. And this being a Disney Channel show, that would have been unlikely since it's all aimed at the kids. More than likely this concept has a built-in spinoff of its own for that daughter.

But had they never named the President, and we knew that he was of Hispanic background by virtue of his 8 year old daughter, we could have assumed we were once more back in the dimension of 'The West Wing'. And the daughter could be assumed to be the daughter of Matthew and Helen Santos. (The difference in her looks due to casting could have been splained away somehow. And the loss of her brother's presence? He was still going to the public school first chosen by their parents.)

It would not have been difficult to carry off the show without ever learning the 8 year old's last name, and thus the last name of the President. For a "decade" (the 70s) we never learned the true full name of Fez on 'That 70s Show', nor the country from which he came. And as with that sitcom, 'Cory In The House' could have utilized that idea as a running gag.

The timing would have been perfect to align both shows in the same dimension, as this November Matt Santos will also be elected to the Presidency.

But noooooooo, it's to be President Richard Martinez and so 'Cory In The House' must be assigned to its own dimension; or at least to one in which it doesn't matter who the President of the United States is. For the moment, I can't think of a dimension already occupied by other TV shows which needs a different President from that of George W. Bush. (There are other reasons for alternate TV dimensions besides a difference in the Commander in Chief.)

But as I said, 'Cory In The House' won't be lonely over in that new TV dimension. Because it's a spinoff from 'That's So Raven', Raven herself must be deemed an occupant of it as well. And that's even with the fact that the original series has wrapped production after 100 episodes.

I suppose the argument could be made that the original series remains in the main Toobworld, and that it's an alt. dimensional version of Raven whose friend heads off to a different Washington, DC, but it seems all too busy. Best to stick with the Occam's Razor splainin.

BCnU!
Tele-Toby