http://www.manic-expression.com/apps/blog/show/18404352-top-5-worst-everybody-loves-raymond-episodes

#5. “The Christmas Picture”. This is a bad episode disguised as a good episode. Everyone has had the experience of trying to get a family photo done, and this episode does a good job of showing the aggravation involved. The problem is with the way the conflict comes about. Ray decides to do famly portrait as his present to his mother. When Marie shoots down Debra’s idea regarding Christmas morning, she gets revenge by inviting her parents to sabotage the shoot. It bothers me that she would do something so mean, it’s downright evil. She is using her parents to get back at Ray’s, and then throws a fit because “Marie just has to get her way as always”. While there is no question Marie is a nuisance, I think she deserves the sympathy here. The gift was for her, and why in the world would she want Debra’s parents in a picture of her family? And Debra doesn’t even mention it to Ray, and tries to make it seem like it was perfectly understandable. Debra is just way out of line, and of course it’s Ray who suffers for it.

#4. “A Date for Peter”. Sometimes it was Ray who would get carried away and this episode is a prime example. Finally, an episode where Ray is the one who is way out of line. Peter is Robert’s brother in law, and apparently in an attempt to bring some old characters back this episode brings a few recurring characters in as possible dates for Peter. One is Peggy, who Ray had the fight with in “Cookies”. It’s hard to describe you really have to see it, but Ray goes out of his way to try and prevent Peter and Peggy from hooking up, even though they get along great and no one is talking commitment or anything. They throw out every series cliche like Ray accuding Debra of wanting a soldier in her battle with Marie (which just sounds ridiculous). Ray is just dumb in this episode, the one bright side is the end where Ray apologizes and we see Peter and Peggy hooked up anyway. Funny, we never saw Debra apologize for anything.

#3. “Cruising with Marie”. This episode is a bad episode just because it's a bad episode, simple as that. In Season 3 Patricia Heaton had given birth and needed to be written out for a few episodes. We were stuck with a couple of episodes with Ray and his family, and little or no Debra. Most of them were ok, although without Debra it didn’t feel like the same show. I complain about Debra but she was an integral part of the show's dynamic. This episode was the worst, having no Debra, and we see Ray and Marie on a cruise where Marie is popular to Ray’s chagrin. At home Robert is forced to look after Frank who's hurt himself. This episode is just boring and it feels like each character is out of character for the whole half hour.

#2. “The Bigger Person.” At the end of season six, they did a three episode arc about Debra getting into a fight with Marie and they wind up not even speaking to each other. This just seemed wrong, I know this isn’t The Brady Bunch but it’s still a sitcom and to not have the problem resolved was just unsettling. This episode is the worst of the three, as the husbands try to take advantage of their wives feud and Robert gets in the middle. Debra and Marie are both unlikable. Marie even tells Ray to shut up, which seems so out of character it's incredible! At the end of the episode Ray tries to sneak off to golf, and Debra acts like she is going to beat the crap out of him. Not funny, if I want anger and tension I will just visit my own parent’s thank you very much.

#1. “Thank You Notes.” It’s amazing how an episode so relatable can also be so aggravating. I know what it’s like to have a relative be irritatingly insistent you get thank you notes out, but even though I relate to the situation I can’t forgive this episode for the way it goes. The first half isn’t so bad, but when Amy and Robert don’t seem to care about sending the note out to Marie’s friend, Marie does her guilt crap. Then Debra gets all excited about the chance to finally overthrow Marie and as she and Amy discuss strategy, Ray sneaks off to warn his mother. This episode is Marie at her worst, and Debra at her nuttiest. Deba acts like a crazy person, and we find out in the end Marie was a pain about the notes because she had suggested the gift to her friend and was desperate to get the credit for being so brilliant.I don't know how Frank and Ray could tolerate Marie or Debra for a second. Actually I think that's why we buy Frank';s character, who wouldn't be like him if after being stuck with Marie for so long?

The had some pretty bad episodesz in the later seasons. The absolute worst, to me, was the one where RAY supposedly insulted the kid's father, who turend out to be a janitor. Totally labored...worst of the series. Another stinker was the one where Frank had supposedly mentored a guy many years ago, and he showed up. Come on...Frank mentoring somebody. Also kind of inconsistent was the one where Amy's mother put a little bird out of its misery. Again, come on...Frank Barone cares about a bird? In another episode he had a line, something like, "I killed a squirrel once." Another baddie is the one with the bratty kid...hey, guys, this has been done by EVERY sitcom.

The five worst episodes are the five that had Amy's family in them the most.

ELR was horrible in its final years.

To me, the worst episode is when Raymond blows off the super bowl for Debra after picking his best friend to be the one who got to go to the game with him. I wouldn't have blamed that man if he had washed his hands of Raymond after all of that went down.

God bless you always!!! :) :) :)

Holly

i DO NOT BELIEVE Debra did that to sabotage the picture.
Everybody keeps saying that.
I think Debra REALLY FELT her parents should be in it.

I think Cruising with Marie was a great episode.

The Christmas Picture would have been easily solved by Ray had he been a smarter person...two pictures! One with her family and one with his - simple now isn't it? And I DO think Debra was being the same 8itch she always is. She totally invited her parents on purpose. However, I don't defend Debra, but because Ray is a lazy wuss, they couldn't spend Christmas Eve with her parents....GMAFB!!

The one episode I refuse to watch is the one about Debra's PMS - way overboard! This is one time I wish someone would have smacked the hell out of her - talk about wanting to reach through the TV!

Frank paints the house - It's funny, BUT I hate how Frank thinks he should be in charge of painting Ray's house and decides what color it should be, etc. He's more of a pain in this episode - at least for me. I would have NEVER allowed that crap - dad or no dad.

You could be right, she might have did it on purpose,
I always felt (like l said) that she just really thought they should have been in it.
Don't know if Marie has be brainwashed, but I didn't thing her parents should have been in it either.

I don't know if this episode belongs in the 5 worst, but I have a hard time with The Tenth Anniversary. It's excruciating to watch Ray improvising a list of vows he hadn't written, saying "Love is in the air" and reciting Lou Gehrig's famous retirement speech at Yankee Stadium from the 1930s. Between the botched vows and then finding out that there won't be a videotape for the replacement wedding either, I don't see why Debra would let Ray off so easily just because he remembered to order her favorite flower.

It's too bad, because the beginning of the episode, where Ray and Deb see the walk down the aisle morph into the Super Bowl kickoff, and the end of the episode, where the guys watch the game-deciding field goal attempt turn into Father Hubley saying "you may kiss the bride," are absolutely hilarious.