Everybody Loves Raymond - General Discussion

[Bethany]

6 hours ago, deaja said:

But then she had to be a martyr about it and punish Ray, like ruining a night he'd been looking forward to for a long time wasn't punishment enough.

I get her being angry, the episode wouldn't have worked if she wasn't angry - but did they have to keep her with the curling iron hanging off her head?  Would any woman actually do that?

[ByTor]

33 minutes ago, andidante said:

12 hours ago, Vanderboom said:

I also hated the one in which Ray convinces Robert to screw up the wedding invites, but I'll still watch it for the line "That means maybe naked.  ON A WEDNESDAY!"

See I love that episode! LOL. How many ways Robert says" Wasn't supposed to  go out" 

I do too! My favorite line..."It's not idiotic, it's righty-otic!"

[MissT]

I hated the "Raybert" episode.   I thought both Robert and Ray were horrible.  Especially Robert - it just showed he was insecure. 

I also agree the final season had the worse episodes.

[Bethany]

4 hours ago, MissT said:

I hated the "Raybert" episode.   I thought both Robert and Ray were horrible.  Especially Robert - it just showed he was insecure. 

I didn't hate it (I loved Debra's line: "I'm just surprised my husband has time to date") but it's one of those episodes that doesn't make sense.  ELR, for the most part, is pretty good about making things plausible - but how on earth did Robert think he could ever transition Natasha from being in a relationship with "Ray" to being in one with Robert?  

[TVMovieBuff]

This says it all! 

[TVMovieBuff]

A couple of the funniest lines of the whole series were in Lateness:

Debra: You used to say I was worth waiting for.

Ray: You are, but after 13 years you should be here by now!

And

Ray: My Dad would tell us "9am, AIS!" (Ass In Seat)

Debra:  What happens during Daylight Savings Time? Do you have to set your ass back an hour?

[Bethany]

Party Dress - I'd forgotten how much I dislike this one. I did like that IMO Ray was absolutely right and that although Debra somewhat disagreed she didn't overrule him.  What I didn't like was twofold:

Allie never talked to Molly about the party and didn't know they had changed things?  Sure, Jan (as the saying goes) and,

The scene where Ray has bought the dress and Debra and Allie get so excited about getting her ready was so sweet, a really lovely scene -- and then they get to the party and Allie is the only one dressed up and it's all gone wrong.  

 

[ByTor]

I was watching one of my favorites the other day, Angry Family, and I noticed something for the first time. When the family went back to Ray & Debra's house sullen with their heads down, the kids went through the door first & ran into the house...they just turned the doorknob and ran in. Doesn't anybody in that house EVER lock up?

 

[Bethany]

3 hours ago, ByTor said:

Doesn't anybody in that house EVER lock up?

Not even at night apparently!  How often have Marie, Frank or Robert come into the house after Ray and Debra have gone to bed!  

[Gemma Violet]

I notice that a lot in sitcoms (not locking doors), going all the way back to All in the Family.  I guess the producer and/or director don't want to waste a few seconds of time having someone insert a key and turn it.  It's kind of like TV characters always hanging up a phone without saying 'Bye.' 😄

[Guest]

18 hours ago, Bethany said:

Not even at night apparently!  How often have Marie, Frank or Robert come into the house after Ray and Debra have gone to bed!  

Pretty sure Marie would have a stash of like 40 copies of their key at all times if they did lock it, so this wouldn't stop them.

[Bethany]

19 minutes ago, deaja said:

Pretty sure Marie would have a stash of like 40 copies of their key at all times if they did lock it, so this wouldn't stop them.

True!  As Allie once said "Grandma is always here."

[Bethany]

Speaking of Marie, I just saw the Ingrates episode - the one where Ray forgot to thank Debra in his speech when he got an honourary degree.  It was a very hurtful thing to do, even if unintentional, and he very sweetly made it up to her by talking about her in his column.

Of course Marie and Robert have to ruin it.  But Marie in particular just got on my last nerve.

[andidante]

2 hours ago, Bethany said:

Of course Marie and Robert have to ruin it.  But Marie in particular just got on my last nerve.

Mine too! She could not let Debra have her moment. UGH

[Bethany]

I follow Phil Rosenthal on FB and the idea of the Everybody Loves Raymond Spinoff that Never Happened was briefly mentioned.  I googled and according to the article I found the premise would have been Amy and Robert going to live with her parents in Pennsylvania and Robert working as a coach or gym teacher or some such, presumably at the same school where Hank is the vice principal.

The writer of the article was mourning what might have been and saying this would have been an awesome show.

I have my doubts. I didn't dislike Amy's family but a little went a long way.  And  I have to say I don't like the idea that pushing 50 Robert is still living with a set of parents, even if not his own!

[Gemma Violet]

I couldn't take a whole show with Amy, as she was the only one I didn't like on the show.  It wasn't so much the character as it was the actress, Monica Horan.  She's a good actress, but I think she was miscast.  She only got the job because she's Phil Rosenthal's wife. 

On the other hand, I would have enjoyed having Georgia Engel on my TV screen each week.    

[Bethany]

2 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

On the other hand, I would have enjoyed having Georgia Engel on my TV screen each week.    

That would have been the highlight for me!   I didn't mind Amy but by the end of the series Robert was getting pretty obnoxious.  Maybe in a new setting they would have rejigged his character somewhat though.  I would have liked an occasional visit from one of the Barones but if I were setting up a spinoff I don't think this would have been the premise I'd have gone with.

[Fellaway]

I know he's not Raymond, but I have a hard time believing Marie would let Robert go.

Robert is my favorite character on this show, but I'm glad the spin-off didn't happen. I loved the life goes on as it's always gone on feel of the finale, but, admittedly, I'm not a fan of upheaval, just for the sake of upheaval, in sitcom finales. It always seems inauthentic. Same for after the fact upheaval, just for the sake of a spin-off.

[Bethany]

10 hours ago, Fellaway said:

I loved the life goes on as it's always gone on feel of the finale, but, admittedly, I'm not a fan of upheaval, just for the sake of upheaval, in sitcom finales. It always seems inauthentic. Same for after the fact upheaval, just for the sake of a spin-off.

Same.  I really liked the finale.  They had had a little health scare - happens in most families - and then life went on.  It was perfect as it was.  

I would have liked a reunion show at some point, certainly many other shows have done that, but given the deaths of so many of the cast (including, sadly, one of the twins) I can see why they may have chosen not to do that.

[Bethany]

On 4/18/2023 at 11:14 AM, Bethany said:

Those two in the office were a great example of the way ELR casted even relatively minor roles.  They were only onscreen for a few minutes but it was classic comedy gold.

Quoting myself here - I just saw the episode where Frank, Ray and Robert pretend to go to therapy.  At the end "Cousin Bella" has arrived and she is seated at the kitchen table with Frank and Marie and in a a minute or two of dialogue she just steals the show!  

[Guest]

On 5/25/2023 at 10:18 PM, Bethany said:

Quoting myself here - I just saw the episode where Frank, Ray and Robert pretend to go to therapy.  At the end "Cousin Bella" has arrived and she is seated at the kitchen table with Frank and Marie and in a a minute or two of dialogue she just steals the show!  

One of my favorite episodes!

"This horse is a sure thing. This horse is unstoppable."  Marie's mouth....

[Bethany]

I just saw The Angry Sex episode, it's funny (mostly) but I really have to ask did Ray NEVER notice in all the years leading up to this episode that getting Debra angry was a guarantee for sex?  Especially if the person she was angry at was Marie, and of course, not him?  Never?  Because Debra got angry at Marie a lot!

[Ohiopirate02]

On 5/31/2023 at 4:35 PM, deaja said:

One of my favorite episodes!

"This horse is a sure thing. This horse is unstoppable."  Marie's mouth....

And later on in the episode, "we owe it all to Marie's Mouth."

[Guest]

16 hours ago, chambers said:

Most old shows didn't bother to do what Ray did.

Murphy Brown has been crippled as a syndication prospect as a result of its topicality and it doesn't help that the big news stories we think were important in the past were not actually that important at the time without the benefit of hindsight that we have.

Some of the guest stars do feel dated, but I think that was only in the first season (maybe 2) and I think they cut them out of syndication.

[Bethany]

4 hours ago, deaja said:

Some of the guest stars do feel dated, but I think that was only in the first season (maybe 2) and I think they cut them out of syndication.

I think it was only the first season that it seemed to happen in almost every episode.  The good thing was most of the time it was the opening of the show and since they always have to cut something it means they cut the random sports person and leave (mostly!) the rest of the show intact!

[Laura Holt]

The episode where Ray has taped over their wedding is on tonight.  So, no one else in the family got  a copy of the wedding tape?  I may have to stop watching sitcoms, it's not just with ELR that I am starting to get super nitpicky about plot points that just don't make sense.

[ByTor]

Oh yeah I get it. Like that one where they got Marie the figurines for her birthday. Robert has a hissy fit over Ray being a "glory hog" because he chipped in the most money. Except nobody knew that until ROBERT opened his big mouth!!

[ByTor]

On 6/1/2023 at 9:41 PM, Bethany said:

I just saw The Angry Sex episode, it's funny (mostly) but I really have to ask did Ray NEVER notice in all the years leading up to this episode that getting Debra angry was a guarantee for sex?  Especially if the person she was angry at was Marie, and of course, not him?  Never?  Because Debra got angry at Marie a lot!

The raising of the pan, Thanksgiving is officially over 🤣

[Gemma Violet]

15 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

 plot points that just don't make sense.

Or the one where they take a Christmas family photo and Marie doesn't want Debra's parents in the photo.  All they had to do was take two separate photos--one with Debra's parents and one without.  Most photographers wouldn't just take one photo anyway--they'd take a few and let you pick which one you want.  

15 hours ago, ByTor said:

Oh yeah I get it. Like that one where they got Marie the figurines for her birthday. Robert has a hissy fit over Ray being a "glory hog" because he chipped in the most money. Except nobody knew that until ROBERT opened his big mouth!!

I never understood why Robert was so angry about that.  Ray was trying to be considerate, knowing Robert couldn't afford as much as he could.  If anything, he should have been grateful that Ray picked up the slack on an expensive gift.

[Laura Holt]

5 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

Ray was trying to be considerate, knowing Robert couldn't afford as much as he could.

And it's not like Ray made an issue of it, if Robert hadn't seen the receipt he never would have known, so if anything Ray was whatever the opposite of a glory hog is!

 

[Laura Holt]

The Debra can't cook mantra was played for laughs on this show for years but last night I noticed they seemed to forget to make most of Debra's meals actual meals - by that I mean where are the vegetables?  Almost every time she is serving up dinner the only thing on the plate is the meat.  The too tough meat loaf, the lemon chicken even her awesome braciole, whatever, no potatoes, no carrots, nada. 

Debra, Debra, Debra....

[ByTor]

I do remember, though, when Debra's sister came for a visit & Debra was re-heating dinner for her, she was putting corn on the plate with the meatloaf, so there's that at least LOL

Also...obviously there's always talk about what a great cook Marie is. Like in Snow Day, Marie made all those sandwiches, salads, and desserts (two pickles away from opening a deli). Amy takes a bite of a sandwich and says "you gotta get in on some of this," and I always think "some of what??" That was one of the skimpiest sandwiches I've ever seen!

[Laura Holt]

Tonight I saw the episode from the first season where Marie and Frank can't behave in a nice restaurant.  I hadn't seen it in years and I remember why now.  It was not good.  If this had been my introduction to ELR I'd probably have never watched another episode.

[TVMovieBuff]

12 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

Tonight I saw the episode from the first season where Marie and Frank can't behave in a nice restaurant.  I hadn't seen it in years and I remember why now.  It was not good.  If this had been my introduction to ELR I'd probably have never watched another episode.

Season 1 was full of possibilities, which materialized in later seasons. ELR did not hit the ground running, as a lot of good sitcoms did. The cast says they didn't hit their stride until Good Girls, in season 2. 

[Laura Holt]

11 minutes ago, TVMovieBuff said:

The cast says they didn't hit their stride until Good Girls, in season 2. 

I  can see that.  I do like the first season overall but mostly because I love the show, not because I love the episodes.  I do really like the finale for that year when we learn why Debra and Ray move in across the street from his parents.

[TVMovieBuff]

Yet, one of ELR's classic bits was in the first episode, first season!

Marie's rant on the Fruit of the Month was gold 

[Gemma Violet]

13 hours ago, TVMovieBuff said:

Marie's rant on the Fruit of the Month was gold

Lol, one of my favorites because that scene reminds me so much of my mother when I once gifted her a CD player boombox with CDs of her favorite artists, Perry Como and the Statler Brothers.  Total Marie meltdown.  There was a lot of "I don't know how to operate that!" and "I can't learn that!" and "Why'd you waste money on that?," etc.  Despite my assurances that I would teach her to operate it (which consisted of simply turning it on and pressing play), she would not let up.  Even when I told her I'd operate it for her whenever she wanted and she wouldn't have to ever touch it, there was no let-up.  And so I sold it to a neighbor kid for half of what I paid and I threw away the CDs.

I read that the pears scene was based on Phil Rosenthal and his own mother.  So I guess my mom and Phil's mom have something in common, lol.

eta:  Now that I think about it, my experience also parallels (maybe more closely) the episode of Raymond buying CDs for Frank and the commotion that followed, except my mom wasn't worried about the sound of the CDs.  She just didn't want to operate that newfangled machine.

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by Gemma Violet

[TVMovieBuff]

10 hours ago, Gemma Violet said:

Lol, one of my favorites because that scene reminds me so much of my mother when I once gifted her a CD player boombox with CDs of her favorite artists, Perry Como and the Statler Brothers.  Total Marie meltdown.  There was a lot of "I don't know how to operate that!" and "I can't learn that!" and "Why'd you waste money on that?," etc.  Despite my assurances that I would teach her to operate it (which consisted of simply turning it on and pressing play), she would not let up.  Even when I told her I'd operate it for her whenever she wanted and she wouldn't have to ever touch it, there was no let-up.  And so I sold it to a neighbor kid for half of what I paid and I threw away the CDs.

I read that the pears scene was based on Phil Rosenthal and his own mother.  So I guess my mom and Phil's mom have something in common, lol.

eta:  Now that I think about it, my experience also parallels (maybe more closely) the episode of Raymond buying CDs for Frank and the commotion that followed, except my mom wasn't worried about the sound of the CDs.  She just didn't want to operate that newfangled machine.

 

I went through something similar with my mom, and a cassette player. She said the only music she liked was classical, so I set up my cassete player and 2 classical tapes. Much eye-rolling & huffing. I taught her to turn over the tape and switch to the other one. She didn't like it either and I never tried it again. 

[Guest]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:20 AM, TVMovieBuff said:

Marie's rant on the Fruit of the Month was gold 

One thing I love about ELR is that it carries little moments through - like the Fruit of the Month club is referenced, directly or indirectly, multiple times. Like when they move and Marie says "There's always too much fruit in this house!"

[Laura Holt]

1 hour ago, TVMovieBuff said:

I went through something similar with my mom, and a cassette player. She said the only music she liked was classical, so I set up my cassete player and 2 classical tapes. Much eye-rolling & huffing.

This reminds me of the episode where Ray tries to open a CD with an electric knife.  His parents have what Frank calls "Mount Crapmore" in their basement piled with gifts they've been given over the years and never used - microwaves, DVD players, that electric knife and so on.

[TVMovieBuff]

47 minutes ago, Laura Holt said:

This reminds me of the episode where Ray tries to open a CD with an electric knife.  His parents have what Frank calls "Mount Crapmore" in their basement piled with gifts they've been given over the years and never used - microwaves, DVD players, that electric knife and so on.

That is Jazz Records, and it is one of my top 5 favorite episodes. 

[Laura Holt]

Just now, TVMovieBuff said:

That is Jazz Records, and it is one of my top 5 favorite episodes. 

My favourite moment is when Robert reveals why he was the one who moved the records:

Robert: Later that day, after Raymond was tired of playing with his new hot wheels for a total of four minutes, I pulled off my clunky, corrective shoes and slipped down stairs, and now it was my turn. Raymond of course, had the track set up all wrong, an oval. Oh what a visionary you are! I wanted to set it up like that kid on the box, that happy, brother-less boy. And, in doing so, your records may have been moved.

[Fellaway]

Ray: You moved his records.

Robert: Excuse me. May I finish my story, please?

Amy: Go ahead, Robert.

Robert: Thank you very much, sweetie.

Robert: I hated you.

That transition from speaking to Amy to speaking to Ray... BG was phenomenal in that scene. One of my top 5 eps, too.

[Gemma Violet]

I've posted a few of this woman's videos in various threads.  She has a Youtube channel where she does video home tours of TV/movie homes.  Today she did Everybody Loves Raymond:

 

[ByTor]

On 8/27/2023 at 9:17 PM, Laura Holt said:

Tonight I saw the episode from the first season where Marie and Frank can't behave in a nice restaurant.  I hadn't seen it in years and I remember why now.  It was not good.  If this had been my introduction to ELR I'd probably have never watched another episode.

And then they say that RAY is the one who embarrassed THEM??? Ugh I hate that episode soooo much!!

I have to say...I think I'm the only ELR fan who doesn't think the fruit of the month thing was funny *ducks*

[Laura Holt]

Tonight saw the Tissues episode where Ray wants to make more decisions and ends up starting a fire in the kitchen.  It's a standout episode but the ending makes me laugh,  probably not for the reasons the writers may have wanted.  

They show Ray and Debra consulting with someone about fixing the damage done by the fire and he gives them curtain and wallpaper samples which Debra starts going through as if she's actually going to choose something.  But we all know that in the next episode the kitchen looks exactly the same. 

  Too bad as I agreed with Ray that the flowered curtains did not match the kitchen 😀

Edited September 5, 2023 by Laura Holt

[TVMovieBuff]

13 hours ago, Laura Holt said:

Tonight saw the Tissues episode where Ray wants to make more decisions and ends up starting a fire in the kitchen.  It's a standout episode but the ending makes me laugh,  probably not for the reasons the writers may have wanted.  

They show Ray and Debra consulting with someone about fixing the damage done by the fire and he gives them curtain and wallpaper samples which Debra starts going through as if she's actually going to choose something.  But we all know that in the next episode the kitchen looks exactly the same. 

  Too bad as I agreed with Ray that the flowered curtains did not match the kitchen 😀

Those curtains totally clashed with the wallpaper! It must have been done as an inside joke. 

[ljenkins782]

On 8/30/2023 at 3:55 PM, Fellaway said:

Ray: You moved his records.

Robert: Excuse me. May I finish my story, please?

Amy: Go ahead, Robert.

Robert: Thank you very much, sweetie.

Robert: I hated you.

That transition from speaking to Amy to speaking to Ray... BG was phenomenal in that scene. One of my top 5 eps, too.

I don't think I've ever seen this one, I'll have to go look for it. 

I saw the toaster episode today and I still think that engraved toaster was a silly gift. Engrave that message on a picture frame with a nice family pic (with or without Debra's parents, lol) or something, but it was an odd idea for an appliance. Especially since most people have toasters already. I couldn't really blame Frank and Marie for seeing the box, thinking it was just a toaster and exchanging it for something they actually wanted/needed. And for me personally, the engraving on it wouldn't change the fact that it was a second toaster that I didn't ask for/didn't need.

[Laura Holt]

Tonight was The Break-Up Tape (Ray Romano got an Emmy for this one) and I love his poem:

Debra's Ears.

One on each side, like a dainty cup, so gently they hold thine sunglasses up, so round and nice, with a subtle ridge, there's no bone in there, it's cartilage.

[Clawdette]

In one of the season one episodes I watched today, Ray was eating ice cream out of the container. It was Breyers but they had altered the carton to read Preylps. 

It's the little things I love.