"Escape Claus" is the nineteenth episode of the Disney Channel show That's So Raven and aired on December 5, 2003. It was written by Carla Banks Waddles and directed by Matthew Diamond.
Plot
In this special Christmas episode, Raven opens her beautiful Christmas present early, but after wearing it at school, she breaks it. She must sacrifice all her favorite Christmas traditions to mend the trouble she caused, even if it Reeks Of Scrooge.
Summary
A few days before Christmas, the Baxters are getting ready to go out caroling. Tanya enters with the last of the wrapped Christmas presents, saying that Raven will be especially happy about hers. Raven then has a vision: She is pulling a beautiful necklace from a gift box. Raven wants to see it for real, so she suddenly fakes being sick. She lies on the couch and asks her family to go on without her. Tanya and Victor are disappointed, but leave Raven to rest. Once they and Cory are out the door, Raven goes to the Christmas tree to open her gift.
The next day at school, Raven is wearing the necklace. She talks to Eddie and Chelsea, admitting that opening her present early was wrong, but she couldn't help herself with something so pretty. She plans to stealthily put the necklace back in its box before her parents realize it's gone. Chelsea asks to try it on, and Raven reluctantly agrees. While she takes her necklace off, the three of them see Mr. Petrocelli. They all voice their distaste for him and his loud neck cracking. Later in Petrocelli's class, he tells the students that he will be absent the following day, but to be on their best behavior because he is always watching. The bell rings and Raven demands her necklace back from Chelsea. The clasp is stuck, and Chelsea can't remove it. Raven and Eddie both try removing the necklace, but they pull it off, and send it flying out the window. Before they can head downstairs to get it, a groundskeeper runs over it with his lawnmower.
Raven, Eddie, and Chelsea try calling various stores around town to see if they have a replacement. Chelsea finds a department store that has one, but if they do not pick it up by 1:00pm, they will sell it to someone else. Since school will still be in session at that time, Raven gets an idea. She proposes that the three of them ditch Petrocelli's class and go to the store to pick up the necklace. Since the intended substitute teacher never takes attendance, Raven feels this is foolproof. But, Eddie and Chelsea do not want to ditch class. Raven then guilt trips her friends into helping, saying that her only other option is to tell her parents and potentially ruin their Christmas.
Meanwhile, Cory confronts Victor over the elf costume that he is being forced to wear for his visit with Santa. He doesn't want to wear it, so Victor bribes him with $10. Cory enters the living room with the costume and notices Tanya. He complains about how dorky the costume is. Tanya bribes him with $10 as well. Cory happily accepts. Victor goes upstairs to Raven's room, where she and her friends are studying. He asks if Raven wants to help out with the gingerbread house, but she declines, citing all the studying she must do. Victor is disappointed, and goes to ask Cory to help. Once Victor leaves, Raven pulls out a large map of the school. The trio go over their plan to escape the campus and make it to the mall in under an hour. Raven asks Eddie if he secured any transportation, but he tells the girls they will be walking.
The following day, the trio puts their plan into action. Once the bell rings to start class, Raven, Eddie, and Chelsea all duck and dash through the empty hallways. Eventually, Raven points out that there is no one in the halls to notice them leaving, and they walk to the mall undetected. Raven and Eddie go to get the necklace while Chelsea keeps watch nearby. Raven gets the new necklace with time to spare. She decides she would like to get a picture with Santa and her friends as a souvenir of their successful mission. They approach the Santa photo-op, and Santa welcomes them. He then starts cracking his neck. The trio claim that it's familiar, then realize that Santa looks a lot like Mr. Petrocelli. The photographer snaps a photo of their horrified faces. "Santa" says goodbye, and the trio quickly start leaving, but Eddie blurts out, "Right back at ya, Mr. Petrocelli." "Santa" gets suspicious, and the teens run away. Petrocelli, angry at the class-cutters, chases them around the mall.
They manage to evade him, and Raven makes it back home in time to slip the necklace under the tree undetected. The rest of the Baxters are getting ready for some last minute shopping at the mall. Tanya asks if Raven will be joining, and Raven declines, saying that she had a long day. Tanya is disappointed and goes to leave. Raven has a vision: Petrocelli has gotten his hands on the photo Raven and her friends took with him. Raven quickly tells Tanya that she changed her mind, and will be joining them. Tanya is happy and goes to get her coat. Raven quickly calls Eddie and Chelsea to tell them what she foresaw, and they agree to meet up at the mall to get the photo.
Later, at the Santa photo-op, the Baxters are waiting in line for Cory to get his picture. Raven sees the previous day's pictures on the wall behind Petrocelli. Eddie and Chelsea arrive, and Raven tells her family that she is going to shop with her friends. Victor and Tanya are disappointed again. Eddie notices that Petrocelli is going on a break, so Raven can steal the photo. Chelsea asks how she will get up there without her parents noticing. Raven looks at a nearby mannequin with Santa clothes and gets an idea. A few minutes later, she has put on the Santa costume and approaches the waiting people with some "ho ho ho"s. She says that she isn't back from break yet, and needs to check the pictures to see if any of the kids have been naughty. She takes the photo of her and her friends, then quickly tries to leave. But, she gets cornered by Petrocelli. Just like in her vision, he snatches the photo from her hands and demands an explanation. Raven explains that she cut class to replace the broken necklace so as not to disappoint her parents. Petrocelli considers her explanation, and decides to let her off the hook. Raven asks why, saying that she ruined everyone's Christmas. Because she opened her gift early, she was unable to do any of the Baxter family traditions like putting the angel on the tree or decorating the gingerbread house, which she loved doing in the past. Raven then realizes that the only Christmas she ruined was her own. Petrocelli comments that being a psychic can make life difficult sometimes. Raven asks how he knows about her powers, and the man answers that he is not really Petrocelli, pointing to the real Petrocelli nearby. Raven asks who the Santa-looking man really is. He simply says that he is going to give her the gift of changing her past, then hands her the gift box with the necklace inside.
When she touches the box, she is transported to her living room, several nights earlier. Tanya and Victor enter and ask her if she really does not want to go caroling with them. Raven says she will be right out. Her parents smile and head back outside. Raven grabs her coat and hurries out the door. Some time later, Raven plays the piano and sings "Silent Night" for her family. Raven breaks the fourth wall and wishes the viewers "Happy Holidays."
Cast
Starring
- Raven-Symoné as Raven Baxter
- Orlando Brown as Eddie Thomas
- Kyle Massey as Cory Baxter
- Anneliese van der Pol as Chelsea Daniels
- T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh as Tanya Baxter
- Rondell Sheridan as Victor Baxter
Guest Starring
- Ernie Sabella as Mr. Petrocelli and Santa Claus
Trivia
- This is currently the only Christmas episode in the entire That's So Raven franchise altogether.
See Also
