Does everybody love 'Raymond'?

[Central Perk]

Does everybody love 'Raymond'?
By Donna Freydkin, Special for USA TODAY

What's not to love about Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS' Monday night marvel?


Apparently, quite a bit, despite its critical kudos and resoundingly high ratings. The Emmy-winning show, now in its seventh season, seems to continuously inspire either love or loathing. There's not much of a gray area, as Raymond's star and executive producer Ray Romano freely concedes.

"No matter what you do, someone likes it and someone doesn't," says Romano. "I wouldn't call it a cult following, but we do have dedicated fans. They take it seriously, watching it and being devoted to it. This is one of those shows. I guess it just strikes a nerve with people, but you can't question it too much or then you'll lose it."

Many viewers, says Romano, do find Raymond's fraught family ties relatable. Sparring spouses Ray and Debra (Patricia Heaton) miss having sex, bicker constantly, bore each other, and clash with Ray's busybody parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Emmy winner Doris Roberts), who live right across the street. And if that, along with raising three kids, isn't nerve-wracking enough — they also deal with Ray's brother, Robert (Emmy winner Brad Garrett), a lonely cop.

"People identify with something in it," says Romano, a married father of four. "That's me, that's my family, that's my husband. In comedy, that's a lot when people can see themselves in it."

So far, Romano and his co-stars seem to have 20/20 vision. The Dec. 1 episode of Raymond (Mondays, 9 p.m. ET/PT), for example, averaged nearly 21 million viewers, according to Nielsen. And there's a Raymond wedding in the works, in an already shot episode slated to air during the February sweeps. The likely suspects are Robert and Amy (Monica Horan), who rekindle their romance. But the actual wedding, says Romano, won't be as harmonious or heartwarming as the Friends nuptials of Monica and Chandler.

And last week, Romano, who won his first lead-actor Emmy this year, and two-time Emmy winner Heaton both landed People's Choice nominations for favorite television performers. (The winners will be announced Jan. 12.)

"People come up to me and say they relate to the relationships that Ray and Debra have," says Heaton. "Either people really like it or they haven't seen it. Most people, I've found, really like it. However, I don't know how many people would come up to me and tell me they don't like my show."

One such fan is Michele Shapiro, a New York-based married mother of one who says she connects with Raymond, while her husband finds the squabbling stars irritating. "I started watching the show in syndication about a year ago, and I often find myself laughing out loud at Ray's jokes. He's just so clueless when it comes to things around the house and pleasing his wife — in every respect," says Shapiro, 36. "I also love his mother. She's such a butt-in-ski and is always showing Debra up. The writing is top-notch and really touches upon issues that affect most families."

But the imperfect, average-looking characters and their everyday antics also can be the turnoff. In the episode airing tonight, for example, Ray buys his mother a thoughtful birthday present, forcing the ever-sardonic Debra to wonder why he doesn't ever buy anything equally as nice for her. Ray lies and says he's already bought her a great gift — then scrambles to get one she likes.

"Must every single Raymond plot revolve around Ray's co-dependence on his overly intrusive parents? We get it!" says Camille Chatterjee, 27, of Baltimore. "I don't know anyone who would purchase a home on the same block as their parents. I just can't suspend my disbelief that far. I happened to catch the pilot in syndication the other night, and guess what the plot was? Debra is incensed because Ray's parents pop in all the time. Six seasons later, we're still seeing the same plot being replayed over and over! Ray, quit your whining, or move already!"

There's little chance of that. Love it or hate it, Romano and Co. have found a winning, wryly wisecracking formula, and they're sticking to it.

"We always battle it not being hip enough — not that anyone ever tried to make it hip," says Heaton. "It's not about clothes or sex. It's actually about not having sex. The show is just much more realistic, because real women are not running around having Cosmopolitans in their Manolo Blahniks."

Raymond, of course, is edgy in its own way. With its downright nasty dialogue and often-downbeat plot lines, it eschews the uplifting family-friendly fantasies of a 7th Heaven or Full House.

"It's the reality of what marriage is like, the ups and downs of being with the same person 24/7 and throwing in the families that go along with it," says Heaton. "And it's not as situational as it is character-driven, so we're not relying on jokes and punch lines every three lines."

The characters are often nasty to each other. In the episode, "She's the One," Marie verbally attacks Robert for still being single. "You're torturing me!" she screams. "You're into your 40s—and you still can't settle down! For God's sake, do you want to die alone?" — echoing the fears of boomers who haven't found their mates.

It's that prickly realism that can be so polarizing. "I shudder when I watch the show, because the mother-in-law is just too real for my taste," says Maura Miller, 27, of Newark, N.J "She reminds me of my boyfriend's mom to a T — critical, overprotective and a total pain in the butt."

[Brian Damage]

I can't speak for "Everyone," but I love it!

[Central Perk]

Originally posted by briandamage
I can't speak for "Everyone," but I love it!

Me too, I found the article online and thought why not post it..

[Chocoholic]

I love it too, although I do think that it's starting to get old. Like someone says in the article, the plot never really changes much. It's the same old stuff all the time.

[MTM1Fan]

Well, it's true the plots are usually the same, but would it really be ELR if it wasn't? I mean, the "frog lady" plot from a few weeks ago just wasn't ELR.

[Maybaby]

OK, so maybe it's the same old thing over and over, but it's just hilarious, their delivery of the one liners is perfect, the way they can tie it all up at the end, like the episode where Numos gets the new waitress, Ray gets in all kinds of trouble over here then the end they show Robert sitting there with the new waitress shredding parmasean cheese for him, screen goes black and you hear Roberts deep bass voice "when". That is probably my most favorite line of any sitcom i've ever watched!! LOL C'mon who else can make one word make you just laugh out loud?

"Must every single Raymond plot revolve around Ray's co-dependence on his overly intrusive parents? We get it!"

ER - OMG Patients and doctors in love (or divorce)! We get it!
NYPD Blue - Perps and cops in love (or divorce)! We get it!
Gilligan's Island - Bunch of folks trapped on Island (almost get off each time)! We get it!

The point is that every show revolves around a theme, this one just happens to be that the parents live next door and Ray is an idiot. It just so happens that I used to live a block from my mother (but then again she is the perfect mother and would never drop by unexpectedly).

[mister bluster]

I still love it. The frog lady episode was weird, but it was still funny, and it led to Amy coming back. That closing scene in the bar was a great way of bringing her back, but the ones I loved most so far were when Frank fell through the stairs and Marie drove into the house.

[TJL]

At the risk of incurring the wrath of so many nice people here...

I do like the show, but I personally do not enjoy it as much as others do.
Sometimes I think the characters can be a little mean spirited towards one another. And I do agree with the article that the plots tend to be redundant- How many times are they going to do a "Debra is pissed at something Ray did" episode?

I do have to admit their writing is top notch, and as ensemble casts go, they really can't be beat.

I don't Love Raymond, but I like him as a friend.

[mister bluster]

That's true, they do get mean spirited sometimes and that bothers me a little, but there's usually something funny in it that I wouldn't want to have missed.