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.
[Everybody Loves Raymond: Make Mine a Double Paramount Comedy.] 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.
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 and has a tendency to make light 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. Debra particularly finds herself at odds with Ray's mother,
Marie — a
catty woman.
Ray often finds himself in the middle of all the problems and arguments. His biggest nemesis is his brother Robert, who is insecure 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.
Cast
- 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.
- Francis Oscar "Frank" 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 Elk, and was named Man of the Year by his 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.
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.
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.
Episodes
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.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates
|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4
|
| The Complete 1st Season | 22 | September 14 2004 | January 17 2005 | December 16 2004
|
| The Complete 2nd Season | 25 | December 14, 2004 | July 4, 2005 | April 27, 2005
|
| The Complete 3rd Season | 26 | May 3, 2005 | January 16, 2006 | July 12, 2005
|
| The Complete 4th Season | 24 | September 13, 2005 | May 1, 2006 | April 5, 2006
|
| The Complete 5th Season | 25 | December 6, 2005 | July 3, 2006 | July 5, 2006
|
| The Complete 6th Season | 24 | May 9, 2006 | October 2, 2006 | October 4, 2006
|
| The Complete 7th Season | 25 | September 19, 2006 | January 15, 2007 | April 4, 2007
|
| The Complete 8th Season | 23 | May 8, 2007 | July 16, 2007 | October 3, 2007
|
| The Complete 9th Season | 16 | September 18, 2007 | November 12, 2007 | October 3, 2007
|
| The Complete Series | 210 | October 30, 2007 | TBA | August 13, 2008
|
International broadcasters
Reception
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.
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.
| Season
| Timeslot
| Season Premiere
| Season Finale
| TV Season
| Rank
| Viewers
(in millions)
|
| 1
| Friday 8:30 p.m.
(September 13, 1996 to
February 28, 1997)
Monday 8:30 p.m.
(March 3, 1997 to
April 7, 1997)
| September 13, 1996
| April 7, 1997
| 1996-1997
| #82
| 10.6
|
| 2
| Monday 8:30 p.m.
| September 22, 1997
| May 18, 1998
| 1997-1998
| #30
| 13.3
|
| 3
| Monday 9:00 p.m.
| September 21, 1998
| May 24, 1999
| 1998-1999
| #11
| 15.5
|
| 4
| September 20, 1999
| May 22, 2000
| 1999-2000
| #12
| 17.1
|
| 5
| October 2, 2000
| May 21, 2001
| 2000-2001
| #5
| 19.1
|
| 6
| September 24, 2001
| May 13, 2002
| 2001-2002
| #4
| 20.0
|
| 7
| September 23, 2002
| May 19, 2003
| 2002-2003
| #7
| 18.6
|
| 8
| September 22, 2003
| May 24, 2004
| 2003-2004
| #10
| 17.4
|
| 9
| September 20, 2004
| May 16, 2005
| 2004-2005
| #10 | 17.4 |
Awards
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:
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
Cultural references
- 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,".
Notes
- 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'
[yamaha.com honored by ASCAP]
- 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.
- Romano also voiced a character named 'Ray Magini' on an episode of the Simpsons, who was a handyman Homer met in a bar and tried to get to help him fix a hole in the roof. Due to a number of plot devices, no one ever actually saw Ray until the end of the episode and thought he was Homer's imaginary friend, therefore also making it a parody of A Beautiful Mind.
- 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
