Everybody Loves Raymond
Everybody Loves Raymond logo
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Philip Rosenthal
Starring	Ray Romano Patricia Heaton Brad Garrett Monica Horan Madylin Sweeten with Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	210 (List of episodes)
Production
Location(s)	Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California
Running time	22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	CBS
Original run	September 13, 1996 – May 16, 2005
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Everybody Loves Raymond is an Emmy Award-winning American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005.

Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of Ray Romano (who is represented by the Ray Barone character he plays) and the writing staff. The main characters on the show are also loosely based on Romano's family members.

It is one of the most critically acclaimed American sitcoms of its time. Everybody Loves Raymond was nominated for and won many awards.

The show reruns in syndication on different cable channels such as TBS and in most TV markets on local stations.^[1] From 2000-2007 King World Productions distributed the show for off-network syndication. In 2008 CBS Television Distribution took over KingWorld's distribution although its logo is retained on TBS.

[edit] Show background

The show revolves around the life of Italian-American Ray Barone, newspaper sportswriter from Lynbrook, Long Island. Very flippant, Ray doesn't take many things seriously, making corny jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or problematic.

Ray lives with his oftentimes resentful wife, Debra Barone, their daughter, Ally, and their identical twin sons, Michael and Geoffrey. Ray's parents and brother Robert, who live across the street, frequently make their presence known to the frustration of Ray and especially Debra. Unfortunately for Ray, he always has to hear about it from Debra. Out of their three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly put off by Ray's mother, Marie — a catty woman who constantly antagonizes Debra, coddles Ray, and obviously favors Ray over Robert.

Ray often finds himself in the middle of all the problems and arguments. His biggest nemesis is his brother Robert, who is insecure and jealous about Ray being the favorite son. Although Robert and Ray are frequently seen fighting like children and picking on each other, the brothers are very devoted to each other. Robert frequently calls Ray "Cubby" and stands up for him, while Ray has a great admiration for Robert, who is a police officer.

Their father, Frank, is very insulting and does not like to show his feelings, but through the years several episodes were crafted to show how much he loves his family.

Ray and Debra have their share of marital disagreements, with Debra frequently denying Ray sex, and Ray prefers watching sports television to talking to his wife. A recurring theme on the show has them having a long interaction each night while in bed, just before going to sleep, and sometimes there is a sweetness between them.

[edit] Cast

Main article: List of Everybody Loves Raymond characters

• Raymond Albert Barone (Ray Romano) is a sportswriter for Newsday. He lives in Lynbrook, Long Island with his wife, Debra, and their children Geoffrey (Sawyer Sweeten), Michael (Sullivan Sweeten) and Alexandra "Ally" (Madylin Sweeten). Other members of his family, who live across the street, include his brother Robert, and his parents Frank and Marie. Ray's character is loosely based on the real-life Romano; both are the father of twin boys and a girl.

• Debra Louise Whalen Barone (Patricia Heaton) is Ray's wife, and the mother of Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey. As a housewife, Debra is frequently resentful and stressed out; major reasons for this are not only because she has to deal with all the housework and her three rambunctious children without much assistance from Ray, but also because she must constantly put up with Ray's obnoxious, intrusive family members. Debra tends to hold back her feelings and usually only after Ray does something she lets loose by having tantrums and completely losing control of herself.

• Robert Charles Barone (Brad Garrett) is Ray's brother and the son of Frank and Marie, conceived out of wedlock. Standing at 6' 8.5", he is the tallest Barone, and has several quirks, the biggest being a nervous habit of touching food to his chin before eating it, commonly known as the "Crazy Chin". Robert is a caring uncle and still deeply cares for little brother Raymond. Robert has been a New York City Police Department Officer for 27 years, and attains the rank of Lieutenant by the end of the series. He is often jealous of the attention that his brother Ray receives from their mother. His height, appearance and demeanor are the source of much humor, but despite his huge size, Robert is a very skilled dancer.

• Marie Janella Barone (Doris Roberts) is Ray's mother, the wife of Frank, and the matriarch of the Barone family. Intrusive and over-nurturing, she is a housewife who excels in cooking, cleaning, and other things dealing with keeping a good home and bringing up a nurturing and caring family. Marie and Frank live across the street from Ray and Debra in Lynbrook, Long Island, New York which often irritates the latter couple.

The main characters of the show. (Background, from left) Ray, Robert and Debra (foreground, from left) Frank and Marie

• Francis "Frank" Oscar Barone (Peter Boyle) is Ray's father and Marie's husband, a retired bookkeeper with a stubborn masculine personality. A war veteran, Frank served in the Korean War, which he frequently brings up, to the annoyance of his sons. He is a member of the Elks, and was named Man of the Year by his Lodge. In season 8 however, Frank asks Debra to work at the Caribou Lodge. Peter Boyle died on December 12, 2006.

• Amy Louise MacDougall-Barone (Monica Horan) is Robert Barone's wife, and the best friend of Debra, who introduced Amy to Robert. Although Amy marries Robert in the seventh season, she also appears in the previous seasons. Many issues have caused Amy and Robert to break up in the first six seasons, with one being caused by Raymond. Quite often, Amy apologizes to someone even if she didn't do anything wrong. In real life, Horan is the wife of creator/executive producer Philip Rosenthal.

[edit] Main crew

Executive Producers: Philip Rosenthal (Head Writer), Stu Smiley, Rory Rosegarten, Ray Romano, Lew Schneider, Tucker Cawley, Steve Skrovan, Jeremy Stevens, Aaron Shure and Mike Royce.

Co-Executive Producers: Lisa Helfrich Jackson, Tom Caltabiano and Leslie Caveny. Producer: Holli Gailen.

[edit] Events

• Robert and Amy's wedding: The episode that may be 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 MacDougall. With the marriage came several new recurring characters, including Amy's parents and brother. A rumored spin-off featuring Robert and Amy never materialized.
• Mother's Day Fight: One event in the series that could be the most dramatic was the month-long feud between Debra and Marie. The argument lasted four consecutive episodes, between the 6th and 7th seasons.
• The Finale had Ray getting his adenoids removed and he had trouble coming out of anesthesia. The final shot of the show referenced the Last Supper.
• Seasons 1 through 6 all ended with flashback episodes.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Everybody Loves Raymond episodes

[edit] DVD releases

HBO Home Video has released the Complete Series of Everybody Loves Raymond on DVD in Regions 1, 2 and 4. Region 4 Complete Box Set was released on 13 August 2008.

[edit] International broadcasters

• In Australia, the Seven Network originally aired the program as summer filler, Network Ten later began airing the series which in the meantime became popular. Re-runs now air on Network Ten and on cable network TV1 (previously on FOX Classics).
• Repeats of the show are frequently screened in New Zealand. It is currently broadcast on the free-to-air television channel, TV3.
• In Norway TV3 is currently airing the show. The show was also aired on TV2 when the episodes were new.
• In Poland it is aired by Comedy Central Polska channel.
• In Serbia TV Avala is currently airing the show. The show was also aired on RTV BK Telecom.
• In Turkey it is aired on the subscription based channel ComedyMax.
• In the United Kingdom, the Show appears daily on Channel 4 and Paramount Comedy 1. The latter often devotes Sundays to entire seasons of the show.
• In Spain the show airs on La Sexta where it has been run various times and in different time slots. At present (Autumn 2008), La Sexta airs double episodes every weekday morning from 645am.

[edit] Reception

[edit] U.S. television ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Everybody Loves Raymond on CBS.

Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. All times mentioned in this section were Eastern & Pacific

With the exception of the 2004-2005 season, the ratings data seen in this table is from Nielsen Media Research which was published in a May 15, 2005 USA Today article.^[2]

The series-finale scored a 20.2 household rating, 32.94 million viewers (29% of all viewers at the time) and an 11.2 rating among adults 18-49. At 8pm, Everybody Loves Raymond: The Last Laugh averaged a 15.3 household rating, 24.52 million viewers and a 7.5 among adults 18-49.

[edit] Awards

Main article: List of Everybody Loves Raymond awards and nominations

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (2003, 2005) 2 wins
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2002)
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2000-2001) 2 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2002-2003, 2005) 3 wins
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2001-2003, 2005) 4 wins
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Baggage" Tucker Cawley (2003)

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2003)

Writers Guild of America:

• Episodic Comedy Phil Rosenthal for: "Italy", parts I and II (2002)

[edit] Nominations

Emmy Awards:

• Outstanding Comedy Series (1999-2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (1999-2003, 2005) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (1999-2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2000, 2002-2005) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (1999-2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (1999-2005) 7 nominations
• Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, 3 nominations: Will Mackenzie "Robert's Date" (1999), Will Mackenzie "The Christmas Picture" (2000), Gary Halvorson "Finale" (2005)
• Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, 6 nominations: Philip Rosenthal and Ray Romano "Bad Moon Rising" (2000), Philip Rosenthal "The Angry Family" (2002), Jennifer Crittenden "Marie's Sculpture" (2002), Tucker Cawley "Baggage" (2003), Mike Royce "Counselling" (2003), Philip Rosenthal, Ray Romano, Lew Schneider, Steve Skrovan, Jeremy Stevens, Aaron Shure, Mike Royce, Leslie Caveny, Tom Caltabiano "Finale" (2005)

Golden Globe Awards:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Comedy Ray Romano (2000-01) 2 nominations

Screen Actors Guild:

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (1999-2000, 2002-2006) 6 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Ray Romano (2000, 2002-2005) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Brad Garrett (2004)
• Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series Peter Boyle (2002, 2004) 2 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Patricia Heaton (2002-2006) 5 nominations
• Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Doris Roberts (2004-2005) 2 nominations

[edit] Cultural references

• When Romano hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live, Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts appeared during his monologue, with Roberts in character and Boyle reminding Romano of his own SNL hosting stint in the 1970s.

• The title of Everybody Loves Raymond has been spoofed by many shows. Chris Rock spoofed the show's title for his own show called Everybody Hates Chris. The ABC drama Lost also spoofed the show's title for the second-season episode "Everybody Hates Hugo." A Law & Order episode has a parody title "Everybody Loves Raimondo's."

• On the show Futurama, they frequently make references to a parody of "Raymond", "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad". And the Futurama movie "Bender's Big Score" DVD contains an extra feature of an entire episode of "Everybody Loves Hypnotoad."

• In the Judd Apatow movies The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, characters played by Paul Rudd have referred directly to the show. Lines include "That's just a good show, I tape it sometimes..." (when lending the main character a box of pornography, accidentally containing the Everybody Loves Raymond VHS) and "Marriage is like an unfunny version of Everybody Loves Raymond, but it doesn't just last 20 minutes... it lasts forever."

• In Brad Garrett's Show, 'Til Death, Ray Romano appears as an extra, (The episode "The Italian Affair" where Brad's wife on the show are fighting over how he slapped her while going on a trip to Italy) After Ray shouts at Brad's wife, (Geeze Lady! What more do ya want! - Said because Brad is saying he's sorry and everything) Brad's wife asks who that was, and Brad replies with "It looks like someone I used to work with."

• On the show, South Park, in the episode "Gnomes", Cartman suggests writing a report on "that Raymond guy from TV. Everybody loves Raymond,".

• On the second episode of Coronation Street shown on 5th Jan 2009, Becky Granger refers to Steve McDonald and Michelle Connor's realtionship as being like that of Ray and Debora.

[edit] Notes

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (December 2007)

• There were 5 different intros to the series.

• Philip Rosenthal, Monica Horan and Tom McGowan are all graduates of Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. The show makes frequent mentions/visuals regarding the university, including Ray's Hofstra tee-shirt (he usually wore in bed scenes), a Hofstra magnet on the Barone's refrigerator, and a stein with the University seal on the table behind Ray's couch. The university was also featured in season 6, episode 11 ("The Kicker"), when Frank and Robert attend a football game with Hofstra playing Northeastern and in season 8, episode 17 ("The Ingrate') where Ray receives an honorary doctorate degree in which Ray is wearing an actual Hofstra PhD candidate cap and gown and holding a Hofstra Honorary degree.

• Phil Rosenthal and his wife continuously give back to their alma-mater. On October 2005, Phil and his wife (Monica Horan) hosted a live (sold out) performance of Everybody Loves Raymond: Inside the Writers Room at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse at Hofstra University.

• The show's score, including the opening and closing themes, was composed by longtime session drummer Rick Marotta and includes pieces of Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'^[4]

• In early seasons, Kevin James frequently appeared as one of Raymond's friends, called Kevin. Kevin James later assumed the title role in his own sitcom, The King of Queens, and was from then on Ray's friend Doug. Ray, Robert, Debra, Marie and Frank also guest-starred as the Barones on The King of Queens in several episodes.

• As well as appearing on The King of Queens, Ray and Frank appeared in an episode of the sitcom Cosby, and Ray appeared on The Nanny and Becker.

• Some of the returning characters, as well as many walk-on roles, have been played by various cast members' families.

• Even though Robert was older than Ray in the show in real life Brad Garret who plays Robert is younger than Ray Romano

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• CBS's Everybody Loves Raymond official site
• Official syndication site
• Outtakes from the show