Everybody Loves Raymondis a classic sitcom of the 1990s, but there are some harsh realities you have to face when going back to it. Premiering in 1996 on CBS,Everybody Loves Raymondcenters on the Barone family, a tight-knit Italian-American family on Long Island who get on each other’s nerves in just about every way possible, but still come together when the chips are down. Ray Ramano stars as the titular Raymond, leadingan impressive cast of characterswho helped the series earn 69 Emmy nominations with 15 wins.
It’s a classic sitcomthat still holds up to this day, even better than some sitcoms that came after it.Everybody Loves Raymondpulls no punches when it comes to how exhausting being a parent, wife, husband, brother, and adult child can be.The jokes inEverybody Loves Raymondare still funnytwo decades after the finale aired, and the series' refusal to engage in too much pop culture commentary ages it better than most shows. However,there are still some harsh realities fans have to admitwhen they go back and rewatch it.
10The Intro Theme Song Is Terrible
The Staging Is Awkward As Well
It’s hard to even call the intro a theme song inEverybody Loves Raymond.It’s a light piano tune that doesn’t leave much of an impression, a far cry fromthe catchy theme songsthat announced other sitcoms of the era. The song plays over Ray dryly introducing all the members of his family who awkwardly float behind him on a conveyor belt.
It’s a very weird conceit as everyone, save for Robert (Brad Garrett), doesn’t seem to understand they’re appearing on-screen. They’re doing some other task, as if transposed from somewhere else. Ray also makes jokes throughout, and it feels like there’s space for a laugh track, yet there’s no sound. It’s odd.
9Ray Romano’s Career Should Have Been Bigger
It’s Only Recently That Romano Has Been Appearing In Notable Shows And Movies
As big asEverybody Loves Raymondwas, it’s a wonder that Ray Romano did not go on to have a bigger career. There are plenty of hilarious characters in the show, but Ray holds it all together. It felt like he could have gone on to whatever he wanted. Instead, his biggest role post-Everybody Loves Raymondis probably voicing Manny in theIce Agemovies.
Going back to the series, Romano feels like a star, and there’s a weird sense that maybe somehow being on the show for so long took away some of the years that he could have used to build up his brand a bit more. He still has a strong career, particularly in recent years, butEverybody Loves Raymondshould have launched him into the stratosphere.
8Having Your In-Laws Next Door When You Have Kids Is A Dream
Debra And Ray Did Not Know What They Had
One of the consistent gags, and basically the theme ofEverybody Loves Raymond, is how annoying it is to have your in-laws live next door. Yes, it can be a pain to have your partner’s parents insert themselves into your life day after day, particularly when they arepeople like Marie (Doris Roberts) and Frank (Peter Boyle), but looking back at it,Debra (Patricia Heaton) and Ray had every child-rearing millennial’s dream.
Taking care of a child, much less three children like the Barones, is a difficult task, and any parent who has tried to get a babysitter for even a few hours can testify to how helpful it would be to have involved grandparents right next door. Even one night a week to yourself is worth all the snide comments and rants about society.
7Robert Yelled Too Much In The Final Season
The Character Was Much Funnier When He Was Passive And Brooding
Robert Barone is arguably the funniest character inEverybody Loves Raymond. His hangdog expression, inability to ever succeed, and refusal to ever look on the bright side of life are hilarious, absurd, and also semi-relatable. Despite being a towering figure and a police officer, Robert is mild-mannered and gentle, pushed around by his family for everything.
Brad Garrett was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won three times in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category forEverybody Loves Raymond, with one of the wins coming in season 9, so someone appreciated the performance.
For whatever reason, in the last few episodes of the final season, Robert began yelling. A lot. He shouted the same lines (humorously) that he once would have quietly mumbled. The mumbling was so much funnier, and the yelling just feels out of character. It’s a strange choice by Garrett and a failure by the director not to tell him to knock it off.
6Everybody Loves Raymond Is Pure ’90s Sitcom For Better And For Worse
The Series Is Filled With Some Now Outdated Tropes
In some way,Everybody Loves Raymondwas a response to the sitcoms that came before it, where everyone was happy, and their relationships were perfect. In other ways,Everybody Loves Raymondis the quintessential sitcom, with all the eye-rolling, poorly aged aspects. The theme song is loud and plays constantly, the laugh track is obnoxious, and many supporting characters are complete stereotypes.
The conflicts, episode arcs, and even production values are so in-your-face “sitcom” style that, if you’re not used to it, you’ll think the series is much older than it actually is. Being a quintessential sitcom is not necessarily a bad thing, butEverybody Loves Raymondis steeped hard in that tone and flavor.
5Ray’s Job Was Too Cool For His Character
Being A Sports Writer Is A Dream Job For Some People
Ray Romano was a sports columnist for the paperNewsday, and the only joy he ever seemed to take out of that job was that he had a legitimate reason to watch sports and ignore his family. Back in the 1990s, sports writing maybe was just another job. In the 2020s, when job titles and roles are more nebulous than ever, “sports writer” sounds incredible.
Hearing Ray complain about his work in any way now just seems absurd.
Maybe it’s just that I’m in a writing job, but a full-time role at a newspaper covering sports seems like a dream. Hearing Ray complain about his work in any way now just seems absurd. He should have been the greatest father and husband ever with a fulfilling job like that.
4There’s No Dining Room Table
The Layout Of The Barone House Is Odd
Simply put, where is the Barone’s dining room table? The layout of their house is very weird and hard to ignore once you see it. Their first floor seems to consist of a living room and then a kitchen in the back, but there’s no dining room table; they eat all their meals crammed around the small kitchen table.
Maybe having a dining room table is a luxury, but Ray does pretty well for himself. What’s more, the living room and kitchen are huge. There is plenty of room in either area to put something in that could actually fit everyone around it. Every time I see them eating in that kitchen, I wonder why Debra doesn’t move a couple of chairs in the living room and place something there.
3Debra Has Almost No Friends
It’s An Underwritten Part Of Debra’s Storyline
Ray has a bunch of friends inEverybody Loves Raymond. Everybody loves him after all. But the show isn’t calledEverybody Loves Raymond and is Lukewarm about Debra. That’s what you would think, though, considering how few friends she has in the show. I could only come up with two: Amy Louise MacDougall (Monica Horan) and Gayle (Kristen Trucksess).
Amy does become a main character, but by then, she’s more Robert’s girlfriend/wife than she is Debra’s friend, and Gayle is rarely seen.Philip Rosenthal did an excellent job writing Debra, and she is a fantastic female characterin a period where female characters weren’t always fairly written. Her lack of friends is a glaring omission, though, and is a weak point looking back.
2The Modern Internet Discourse About The Show Is Painful
The Characters In Everybody Loves Raymond Are Supposed To Be Full Of Flaws
If you’re like me, after you go back and watch an older show, you hop right on the internetto see what everyone is saying about the series. I want to know how everyone feels about it many years later. Does it still hold up? Is it still relevant? Are there any Easter eggs I missed? The whole nine yards. Do yourself a favor and don’t do this forEverybody Loves Raymond.
The discourse is almost entirely about Ray being a terrible husband, Debra being a horrible wife, Frank and Marie being awful in-laws, etc, etc, etc. That is completely missing the point ofEverybody Loves Raymond. Everyone is an outlandish version of people at their worst. Everyone has been a lazy Ray, an angry Debra, or a nosy Marie. The show reminds us that you can still love one another and see past these flaws, even when they’re constantly present.
1However, The Obnoxious Characterizations Can Get Grating
Binge-Watching The Series Makes The Characters' Worst Traits Even Worse
However, I will admit that binge-watchingEverybody Loves Raymondcan be a problem. The show was meant to be watched on a weekly basis, sowhen you watch one episode after another, the bad behaviors of the characters can start to get on your nerves. Deep down, I know what the show is trying to say, but that doesn’t make me any less frustrated with Marie constantly barging in.
Everybody Loves Raymondis in no way trying to make a statement one way or another about who is right or wrong in a relationship, but you can’t always help yourself from drawing your own conclusions when one character has been a nuisance for too many successive episodes. It’s just a harsh reality you have to live with when you go back and watchEverybody Loves Raymond.
