Everybody Loves Raymond
| Everybody Loves Raymond | |
|---|---|
| File:Everybodylovesray.jpg | |
| Created by | Philip Rosenthal |
| Starring | Ray Romano Patricia Heaton Brad Garrett Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle |
| Country of origin | USA |
| No. of episodes | 210 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 Minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 13, 1996 – May 16, 2005 |
Everybody Loves Raymond, sometimes referred to in the abbreviated form Raymond, (1996–2005) was a long-running CBS sitcom. The show revolved around the family of Ray Barone, a Lynbrook, Long Island native.
Cast
Main characters
- Raymond "Ray" Barone (Ray Romano), the main character. Ray is a sportswriter for Newsday.
- Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton), Ray's wife. Much of the show's humor is derived from Debra's constant attempts to deal with the many quirks of her "in-laws," her husband's family.
- Robert Barone (Brad Garrett), Ray's brother, is an NYPD police officer. Though Robert is four years older than Ray, he constantly feels as if he's stuck in Ray's shadow, and lets his feelings be known.
- Marie Barone (Doris Roberts), the matriarch of the family. She is obsessed with cooking and with having a clean house.
- Frank Barone (Peter Boyle), Marie's husband and the father of Ray and Robert. A boorish slob, he constantly complains about his relationship with his wife, yet in many episodes, a sort of love between Frank and Marie is evident.
Supporting cast
- Amy MacDougall Barone (Monica Horan), Robert's wife since the 2002 season.
- Alexandra (Ally) Barone (Madylin Sweeten), Ray and Debra's eldest daughter.
- Geoffrey and Michael Barone (Sawyer Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten, respectively), Ray and Debra's identical twin sons.
- Hank MacDougall (Fred Willard), Amy's father, is an austere, religious family man.
- Pat MacDougall (Georgia Engel), Amy's mother, a polite, soft-spoken woman who enjoys jigsaw puzzles.
- Peter MacDougall (Chris Elliott), Amy's brother, is an eccentric comic book-obsessed geek.
Show background
Based on the real life experiences of Ray Romano, Everybody Loves Raymond premiered on September 13, 1996, on CBS. It originally held the Friday night time slot, a time period traditionally known for its poor ratings. Everybody Loves Raymond was no different. CBS executives, however, saw a promising series, and moved the show to a better slot on Monday nights, where it outshone its competition. It continued to hold that time slot until the end of its run. For a few years in a row in the late 1990s, the show consistently held Top 5 ratings. The series finale was broadcast on May 16, 2005, though old episodes are still rerun in syndication.
Robert and Amy's wedding
It could be reasonably argued that the biggest moment on the show, while not necessarily the highest rated, was the May 19, 2003 episode in which Robert married his long-time on-again, off-again love, Amy McDougal. With the marriage came a slew of new recurring characters, including Amy's parents and brother.
With the new characters in place, rumors circulated that the show might spin-off a series starring Robert and Amy[citation needed], showcasing their life and the conflicts between the two and between Amy's extended family. No spin-off has been announced.
The charm of Raymond
One of the things that makes Raymond unique is that the writers have kept track of key moments and quirks in the lives of the characters and regularly make reference to them. Debra is forever borrowing Marie's "big spoon"; she frequently reminds Ray of his insensitivity in taping over their wedding video with a football game; he often praises her for her lemon chicken (the first meal she prepared for him in a flashback episode chronicling their first meeting); several times Marie has referred to the Birthday that Raymond enrolled her and Frank in a Fruit-of-the-Month "cult" (a scene in the show's pilot episode). Even wardrobe is reworn; Marie is frequently seen in the same blouses, easily recognized by their vibrant colors and patterns. (In fact, their renaming of Amy's brother seems odd in light of the writers' usual attention to detail.)
Just as I Love Lucy provided a legacy of "classic" episodes, Raymond has contributed several that will go down in sitcom history as being among the funniest moments in television. Ray dealing with Debra's PMS mood swings; Marie and Frank attempting to retrieve from Bloomingdale's an inscribed toaster—which they had returned unopened—that Ray had given them as a Christmas gift; Marie's interference with Robert's interview with the FBI after ruining his "lucky suit", or even the episode of Amy's birthday and Robert catches Amy's mom Pat smoking—even after repeated viewings, these episodes are freshly funny. And like Lucy, Raymond may be seen in perpetual reruns—at present it airs not only in syndication on local broadcast stations but on the cable network, TBS, as well. Recently, TBS signed a contract with the distributor of Raymond, King World Productions, to keep the show on the network through 2016.
Region 1 DVD releases
Season releases
| DVD Name | Release Date |
|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 14 September 2004 |
| The Complete Second Season | 14 December 2004 |
| The Complete Third Season | 3 May2005 |
| Seasons 1-3 | 30 May2005 |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 13 September2005 |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 6 December2005 |
Individual episodes
| DVD Name | Release Date |
|---|---|
| The Series Finale | 24 May2005 |
Trivia
- The name of the show was originally an inside joke intended to be ironic, that is, implying that not everybody loves Raymond. Romano wasn't keen on the name because he felt the irony would be missed. The rumored spin-off featuring Robert and Amy's family has sometimes been referred to as Everybody Likes Robert.
- Jokes about Ray's large nose and "whiny" nasal voice, Robert's height, and Frank's baldness—all real-life traits of the actors portraying them—are often incorporated into the show's humor.
- Amy's brother was originally introduced as "Russell", owner of a comic book shop, and played by comedian Paul Reubens in a one-time appearance. When the character reappeared, his name was Peter and was played by Chris Elliott. This was a rare lapse in the show's continuity, sometimes referred to as the "Chuck Cunningham syndrome".
- A noticeable change from most family sitcoms is that the show's three children (who are real-life siblings) usually have extremely small parts, although at times each has been at the center of a particular plot line.
- Each of the major adult actors and actresses, with the exception of Boyle, have received Emmy Awards for their performances, and the series has been honored as Best Comedy. Although he never won, Boyle was nominated for the Emmy repeatedly (losing to co-star Garrett on multiple occasions).
- In Raymond's early seasons, fellow stand-up comic (and friend) Kevin James frequently appeared as one of Ray's buddies. Kevin James would later have a spin-off series, The King of Queens, and Romano and Heaton guest-starred as the Barones.
- Although Raymond is set in Lynbrook, the houses seen as those belonging to Ray and his parents in establishing shots are actually located in the town of Merrick, though they actually are across the street from each other in real life.
- Eagle-eyed viewers know that the Barone living room differs from the one seen in the show's pilot.
- A box of Flutie Flakes is visible on top of the fridge in Ray and Debra's home.
- Although on the show Robert is supposed to be four years older than Raymond, in real life, Ray Romano is three years older than Brad Garrett.
- The title sequence changed during the first five seasons:
- During the first season, Ray gives a speech about who he is, etc. while putting together a playhouse for his children. Eventually, he locks himself into the playhouse. Later in the season, Ray gives a similar speech while raking the leaves, as his family passes behind him on a conveyor belt.
- For the second season, the same speech was given, this time with Ray sitting in a lawn chair, and the family flying around past him. Ray swats his parents with a fly swatter, and Robert is the only person who walks by, and Ray remarks to him "Hey you didn't...", while flapping his arms in a flying way.
- For the third and fourth seasons, a more elaborate opening was used. Considered by many to be the best of the opening sequences, it shows Raymond and Debra attempting to hide from Frank, Marie, and Robert, who are approaching from across the street. In slow motion, we see Ray and Debra trying to stop a blasting stereo and locking the doors while the credits play over the footage. Staged to the strains of "Ode to Joy", this sequence (complete with the credits zooming into the screen) also spoofs an infamous teaser trailer for the feature film Die Hard). Sitting against the door, Ray thinks he has succeeded in hiding, but then his mother puts her hand through the mail slot and feels his hair.
- The sixth season started with the announcement "It's another season of Everyone Loves Raymond!" in a booming voice with the family playing football, resulting in Marie losing a tooth and smiling with the "hole" in her teeth.
- The seventh season featured a sequence of past clips, while playing to the Steve Miller tune, Jungle Love. The assortment of clips are mostly of Ray and his family dancing.
- The eighth and ninth seasons did not include any special features. The opening credits simply flashed over the first extended scene.
- Ray Barone's brother Robert is a police officer for the NYPD. In real life, Ray Romano does have a brother who is a police officer for the NYPD.
- Monica Horan, who plays Amy on the show, is married to Philip Rosenthal, the show's executive producer and creator.
- Chris Rock spoofed the already in-joke title for his own show Everybody Hates Chris.
See also
- List of Everybody Loves Raymond episodes (Seasons 1-4)
- List of Everybody Loves Raymond episodes (Seasons 5-9)
- The Finale - the final episode of Raymond.
External links
