TMC
08-01-2022, 08:47 PM
https://www.looper.com/940630/the-everybody-loves-raymond-character-fans-cant-help-but-love/
Pat MacDougall was a fan favorite
While "Everybody Loves Raymond" primarily looks at the marriage between Raymond and Debra (Patricia Heaton), the series is also invested in Robert's love life, particularly his on-again-off-again relationship with the bubbly Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan). In Season 7, viewers were introduced to Amy's conservative Presbyterian parents Hank and Pat MacDougall, respectively played by Fred Willard and Georgia Engel.
On the r/EverybodyLovesRaymond subreddit, u/NewShinyThings (https://www.reddit.com/r/EverybodyLovesRaymond/comments/qizyh7/who_else_loved_pat_she_wasnt_afraid_to_stand_up/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) confessed their love of Pat, who made a strong impression over her 13 episodes on the series. "Who else loved Pat? She wasn't afraid to stand up to Marie and she was actually quite funny!" The soft-spoken Pat was a welcome foil to Marie Barone's nosy, brash personality, as well as a character capable of delivering unlikely jabs. Adding to the hilarity was Engel's high-pitched delivery, once described as "sound[ing] like an angel has just sniffed some helium, per The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/obituaries/georgia-engel-dead.html).
Another user added that Pat and her husband were a much-needed addition towards the end of the series' run. "Amy's family gave the show a much needed boost in the later seasons," wrote u/NoonTimeHoopsMVP (https://www.reddit.com/r/EverybodyLovesRaymond/comments/qizyh7/comment/hls2hu4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). "They were great. The contrast between both families was hilarious."
Apparently, the network thought the MacDougalls were nearly funny enough to warrant their own series. "When I finished doing 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' there was very serious talk about there being a spinoff of Brad and Amy's parents, and they would have used Fred Willard and me as Amy's parents," Engel said on a panel at the 2018 Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour (via TV Insider (https://www.tvinsider.com/768761/remembering-georgia-engel-mary-tyler-moore-show-everybody-loves-raymond/)). "The disappointment was so great when that didn't happen," she admitted. Luckily, the missed opportunity freed the actress up for a late-career resurgence on Broadway.
Pat MacDougall was a fan favorite
While "Everybody Loves Raymond" primarily looks at the marriage between Raymond and Debra (Patricia Heaton), the series is also invested in Robert's love life, particularly his on-again-off-again relationship with the bubbly Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan). In Season 7, viewers were introduced to Amy's conservative Presbyterian parents Hank and Pat MacDougall, respectively played by Fred Willard and Georgia Engel.
On the r/EverybodyLovesRaymond subreddit, u/NewShinyThings (https://www.reddit.com/r/EverybodyLovesRaymond/comments/qizyh7/who_else_loved_pat_she_wasnt_afraid_to_stand_up/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) confessed their love of Pat, who made a strong impression over her 13 episodes on the series. "Who else loved Pat? She wasn't afraid to stand up to Marie and she was actually quite funny!" The soft-spoken Pat was a welcome foil to Marie Barone's nosy, brash personality, as well as a character capable of delivering unlikely jabs. Adding to the hilarity was Engel's high-pitched delivery, once described as "sound[ing] like an angel has just sniffed some helium, per The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/obituaries/georgia-engel-dead.html).
Another user added that Pat and her husband were a much-needed addition towards the end of the series' run. "Amy's family gave the show a much needed boost in the later seasons," wrote u/NoonTimeHoopsMVP (https://www.reddit.com/r/EverybodyLovesRaymond/comments/qizyh7/comment/hls2hu4/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3). "They were great. The contrast between both families was hilarious."
Apparently, the network thought the MacDougalls were nearly funny enough to warrant their own series. "When I finished doing 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' there was very serious talk about there being a spinoff of Brad and Amy's parents, and they would have used Fred Willard and me as Amy's parents," Engel said on a panel at the 2018 Television Critics Association's Summer Press Tour (via TV Insider (https://www.tvinsider.com/768761/remembering-georgia-engel-mary-tyler-moore-show-everybody-loves-raymond/)). "The disappointment was so great when that didn't happen," she admitted. Luckily, the missed opportunity freed the actress up for a late-career resurgence on Broadway.