Admit it, you pretentious assholes: You kind of like "Everybody Loves Raymond," don't you?

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Yeah, sitcoms are passe. Yea, "Everybody Loves Raymond" is old fashioned. It's also an American sitcom, which makes it even more odious.

But the show's overall standards of quality (i.e., amusing, diverting, true to the characters) have been more consistent than any other long-running show (sitcom or otherwise) that i'm aware of. Plus, it has doris roberts and patricia heaton. yeah, they're playing housewives ... but they're the smartest and funniest women playing housewives that i'm aware of.

disagree and i swear to god i'll hunt you down like a dog. you're either with me or you're against me, and you goddamn well better be with me.

― jewelly (jewelly), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Mmm, fudgy.

― luna (luna.c), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:26 (twenty-one years ago)

What decade do you think it's set in? Not v relevant but it puts me off

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:26 (twenty-one years ago)

wtf is this thread even about?

― Jimmybommy JimmyK'KANG (Nick Southall), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:26 (twenty-one years ago)

i think we did this already, and most came out against it but i came out for

― cinniblount (James Blount), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:29 (twenty-one years ago)

What decade do you think it's set in? Not v relevant but it puts me off

Well, the '50s I guess .... since we all know there's no such thing as housewives anymore, anywhere, right?

― jewelly (jewelly), Friday, 27 August 2004 06:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Uh no, just by decor and stuff, which decade? Is it meant to be indeterminate? Wasn't meaning any boring political whinging at all, sorry it looked that way.

― Andrew Blood Thames (Andrew Thames), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:04 (twenty-one years ago)

I haven't seen much of the show but the episode where their relative comes to visit from Italy and they all start acting stereotypically Italian all of a sudden was OTM in scary ways

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:30 (twenty-one years ago)

that show gives me the shits, i don't find it funny at all

― gem (trisk), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:42 (twenty-one years ago)

fuck no, its shit

― lukey (Lukey G), Friday, 27 August 2004 07:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I could care less about ELV, but then again I've been watching the Friends DVDs with a friend, determined to get to the final season. I consider this kosher because there are no commerial breaks involved, and because I saw the Dune dvds as well (last year), thus making me immune from at least half the criticism from the ILX superior geek quarter.

PS I got the license to cast magic in Amn by beating all the motherfucking wizards so just try to bring it you you corny indie d'n'd motherfuckers....I'll nerd +1 your ass.

― Slim Pickens (Slim Pickens), Friday, 27 August 2004 08:30 (twenty-one years ago)

gem and lukey otm

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 27 August 2004 09:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Between Ray Romano and that Brad guy who plays his brother, it's like a 30-minute monotone contest. And that's hardly the only problem.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 27 August 2004 09:47 (twenty-one years ago)

The show would be better without Raymond, as the rest of the cast is pretty good.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:17 (twenty-one years ago)

I have seen it a few times. Yeah, I liked it. Ray Romano was maybe better in Ice Age though.

― Archel (Archel), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:20 (twenty-one years ago)

KICK SOME ASS, JEWELLY! (I hate this show though)

― VengaDan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:20 (twenty-one years ago)

I hate this show, but Patty Heaton im down with. From behind.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Everybody Loves Hypnotoad is better.
http://www.mingchao.net/hypnotoad.gif

(I've never seen Everybody Loves Raymond BTW)

― robster (robster), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:52 (twenty-one years ago)

there is a thread where i talk a lot about raymond. i can't remember which one though.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:53 (twenty-one years ago)

duh, it was this one:

Everybody Loves Raymond - c/d?

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i must be crazy cuz i love raymond AND the king of queens. i love the episodes that are just total psycho-dramas. like eugene o'neill but
funny. plus, it helps if yer stoned. or so i've heard. there was an episode where ray and his wife were fighting on the floor and it was
some of the best slapstick i've seen in years. plus, chris elliot as the weirdo brother-in-law is priceless.

-- scott seward (skotro...), March 4th, 2004.

I think it's such a well-written show. and well-acted. i can't imagine the effort that goes into an episode. at it's best, they are great one-act
plays. i love when they do an episode all in one room. but, i can certainly understand people not liking it. especially if you hate
screaming family stuff. a lot of people didn't like all in the family for that reason. and that's what it reminds me of the most. same with
king of queens. both generic sitcom ideas with great performances and above-average writing.

-- scott seward (skotro...), March 4th, 2004.

i really can't think of many sitcoms in recent years that can match the writing of raymond or king of queens except for maybe friends
and will and grace at their best. but raymond is really popular and on reruns like 50 times a day and their is a lot of yelling and i can see
why that might turn people off.

-- scott seward (skotro...), March 4th, 2004.

yeah, if you can't get past the genre conceits, and if you are annoyed by the characters, then you won't get what is so smart about it. and
it is really smart. but i won't beat a dead horse. all you have to do is watch any of the other sad family sitcoms on t.v. and you should
notice a big difference. but i wouldn't advise watching any of the other ones cuz they are really depressing. I think i'm such a fan of
comedy writing that i often overlook the tired devices that get trotted out year after year. and may in fact be somewhat comforted by the
age-old schtick.

-- scott seward (skotro...), March 4th, 2004.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 11:59 (twenty-one years ago)

see how passionate i am? other people can worry about the environment.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:00 (twenty-one years ago)

mmm Patty Heaton wrestling.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:01 (twenty-one years ago)

I have to admit it's funny, but sometimes the old-fashioned gender stereotypes are maddening. Especially when that sexist paradigm rubs off on Scott and he starts talking about how men and women are (which is always surprising since we have such reversed roles in our relationship, him home with the baby and all). It's almost a parody of an old sit-com like All in the Family, but there's no irony about the actual format. The writing is good, actually.

― Maria D. (Maria D.), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:08 (twenty-one years ago)

But men DO drive like this, and women DO drive like that! (heehee)

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Draw and scan stick figures demonstrating same.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:14 (twenty-one years ago)

can we talk more about patty heaton.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:27 (twenty-one years ago)

the difference between what she looked like in the first season to what she looks like now is pretty staggering. it's funny when someone gets rich in real life and still has to play the same character in the same economic bracket.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

first season of roseanne to the last? wow!

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

i saw in a tabloid or someone told me offhand or i made up that the cast of this show absolutely hates each other. like searing blistering hatred. makes the show more interesting.

patty heaton is no allison janney, but yeah, mama i'm comin home.

― g--ff (gcannon), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't watch sitcoms in general. I've watched maybe one episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond" and I feel like that was enough.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:33 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, one is plenty if you don't watch sitcoms. you've met your quota.

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

I just don't enjoy them as much as I used to. I don't know why. There's not a single sitcom I would take pains to not miss. I think the last sitcom that I really liked was the Simpsons, but either it's gone way downhill or my tastes have changed a lot, because now when I watch it, it's like I might chuckle a couple of times, but that's not enough to justify watching a half hour show. I mostly watch political talk shows, news, documentaries, and sports now.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 27 August 2004 12:46 (twenty-one years ago)

I kind of like it but I wouldn't intentionally watch it.

― 57 7th (calstars), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Speaking of Patricia Heaton did anyone see that shit sandwhich video she was in for Hootie and the Blowfish? Can't remember the name but it was the theme song to some movie that came out earlier this year.

― 57 7th (calstars), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:13 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw that, but she wasn't really IN the video, right? I mean, didn't they just use clips from the TV movie or whatever in the video?

― n.a. (Nick A.), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:14 (twenty-one years ago)

No, she was IN it, as in, there was a special shoot where she was drenched with water, there was a large fan involved, etc. As far as I can remember. Ahh maybe you're right. But there was water involved. It was also raining on Hootie and co., and the guitar player was soloing...looked dangerous.

― 57 7th (calstars), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:17 (twenty-one years ago)

http://images.meredith.com/lhj/images/02/l_PHFINAL.jpg

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Peter Boyle

― Huck, Friday, 27 August 2004 20:19 (twenty-one years ago)

she's 46, damn

― Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 27 August 2004 20:20 (twenty-one years ago)

face lift/breast lift will keep you lookin good at 46..

I think I brought this up on the other thread, but this show annoys me to no end, solely due to the presence of their inexplicably aryan children.

― bill stevens (bscrubbins), Friday, 27 August 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

[spyware spam link removed]

― johnny fitz (johnny fitz), Friday, 27 August 2004 22:14 (twenty-one years ago)

thank you johnny, please die

patricia heaton disappointed me after I found out she was a big anti-abortion advocate. i still think the show is the funniest sitcom about families on tv.

― kyle (akmonday), Friday, 27 August 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw a bit of this show, it has the same living room as Happy Days. I prefer Grounded For Life.

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 28 August 2004 11:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Why is the front door on the right on EVERY single sitcom? The only ones that I can think of that weren't were "Good Times", "One Day at a Time", and Mary Richard's second apartment.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 28 August 2004 15:36 (twenty-one years ago)

And "What's Happening?" Still, it's very out of proportion.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 28 August 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Friends... Monica and Chandlers door is on the left!

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 28 August 2004 15:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I only saw one episode on ELR recent years, and it was cancerous. One of the daughters had a reasonable spiritual question and the five adults did excruciating backflips trying to deal with it (the brother, the only one who acknowledged having any questions about religion himself, was portrayed as a fool for, like, thinking). Peter whatever (the grandpa) just yelled unfunny shit at his wife. Finally the parents go up to the daughters room (with little idea of what to say) and see the kids playing. And smile.

Moral of the story: "ignore your kids' deep questions, cuz they'll forget about 'em in a few hours anyhow. spiritual matters are a joke anyhow (going to church cuz yer s'poseta is good though)"

Lesson learned: I have no interest in revisiting this show again. Fuck TV.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 15:42 (twenty-one years ago)

I thought I liked the show back when it came out, but this random night of CBS horseshit I saw in a laundromat back in the Summer of '02 was traumatic.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 15:45 (twenty-one years ago)

But Joey's apartment door was on the right, Ross' door was on the right, Seinfeld's door is on the right, Will & Grace's door is on the right...

For every door on the left, I bet that I could come up with three more on the right.

On ELR, it's even bothered me (well, maybe not bothered) that when they show the parents' house across the street, the door is still on the right. Seems like if it's across the street, they should show the door being on the left.

But really. i do have more important things on my mind that keep me up at night.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 28 August 2004 16:15 (twenty-one years ago)

patricia heaton's no cheryl hines but she's kinda cute. the show--it's ok but why bother.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 28 August 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

I dont get it at all. It always wins emmys and everybody watches it, but it's really not that good. I guess when Seinfeld left it kind of was just there, so people watched it.

― David Allen (David Allen), Saturday, 28 August 2004 18:45 (twenty-one years ago)

sucks! overbearing mother-in-law, blundering husband, crumudgeon father-in-law, blah, blah, blah! sickeningly trite.

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Saturday, 28 August 2004 18:51 (twenty-one years ago)

roseanne's door was on the left. lots of family sitcoms have roseanne's housing plan too. bewitched was on the left. these are all just stage lefts and stage rights, right? i mean, they are all front doors, but they can't have the door in the middle of your screen. otherwise you would be staring at people's backs when they answer the door. there are lots of lefts though. One Day At A Time was on the left. Same with Growing Pains. You know what though! Alex P.Keaton's show had a door in the middle!!! Very rare. Frasier is on the left. And ray's parents live next door to him, i think. not across the street.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:00 (twenty-one years ago)

If you are 25 or under you should probably hate Everyone Loves Raymond with every fibre of your being. Cuz you should still be rebelling against your parents and family life and the suburbs and everything that those things stand for.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

My mom doesn't watch that crap either

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

she likes Dawson's Creek

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

It's just a fantasy world she can retreat to where all the children are smart and good looking.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

hahahahahaha!!!!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

The reality is probably more disturbing

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:33 (twenty-one years ago)

One time she mentioned that Dawson's idol is Pauline Kael too. I demanded she never tell me about that show again.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

That show was boring. And I LOVE crap like that.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I'll take the gilmore girlz anyday over Dawson. Last week Lane's band (featuring sebastian bach) did a cover of rancid's "timebomb"!

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

TV sucks. Everything's gonna be on DVD anyway (if you HAVE to see it). Fucks sake, Who's The Boss is on DVD.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't watch that much anymore. we don't watch it during the day cuzza the little rufus. (i never thought i would be one of THOSE parents, but what the fuck, i'll give it a shot.) I've been watching the Olympics. Weekly, i only watch The Amazing Race & Gilmore Girls. It's my big tuesday night lately!! woo-hoo! And Maria has to watch Big Brother, god help her, so I watch that. That's it, pretty much. And some sunday HBO. Entourage, Ali G, 6 Feet Under.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 19:51 (twenty-one years ago)

I've been trying to figure out that "Becker" thing lately too, watching it in reruns. Really something wrong and grating about that show, so naturally I'm fascinated.

― eddie hurt (ddduncan), Saturday, 28 August 2004 20:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Becker's got opinions and he's not afraid to spout off at any moment and just watch out, something he says might be a little offensive and politically incorrect, but dammit, that's just who he is. Becker!

― Gear! (Gear!), Saturday, 28 August 2004 20:58 (twenty-one years ago)

I can't watch Becker, and I can ALMOST watch ANYTHING that they put on t.v. That's gotta say something.

― scott seward (scott seward), Saturday, 28 August 2004 21:00 (twenty-one years ago)

Why is the front door on the right on EVERY single sitcom? The only ones that I can think of that weren't were "Good Times", "One Day at a Time", and Mary Richard's second apartment.
-- Pleasant Plains (acewhiske...), August 28th, 2004.

"Full House", "Family Matters"....

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 28 August 2004 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Drew Carey!

but there's a kitchen door on the right...

― Gear! (Gear!), Saturday, 28 August 2004 22:35 (twenty-one years ago)

the door is the left in doctor who.

― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Saturday, 28 August 2004 23:55 (twenty-one years ago)

For every one on the left, I'll give you three on the right:

One Day At A Time - Already mentioned, but "All in the Family", "Seinfeld", and "Will and Grace"

Growing Pains - Yes, show me that smile again except this time, do it on the right. "I Love Lucy", "the Brady Bunch", "the Odd Couple"

Frasier - "Mary Tyler Moore Show" (in 1st Apt.), "Happy Days", "Ellen"

Full House - "The Jeffersons", "Mad About You", "The Cosby Show"

Family Matters - "Gimme A Break", "Married With Children", "Diff'rent Strokes"

Roseanne - "Murphy Brown", "That 70's Show", "Alf"

Bewitched - "I Dream of Jeannie", "Caroline in the City", "Martin"

After doing this, I think that we should all just forget that I brought this up. Just thinking about "3rd Rock From the Sun", "Mork & Mindy", and "Home Improvement" makes my head hurt.

(And "Doctor Who" isn't even a sitcom!)

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 28 August 2004 23:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Pleasant Plains, I can't believe you were able to pull that off. Dude. But then again, I don't really watch fictional television all that much, so... yeah.

Half a dozen members of my family, including my mother and my closest aunt, ADORE "Everybody Loves Raymond". Mom watches two ELR eps a day. I suppose you have to be a married woman with a rather dysfunctional relationship with the in-laws in order to really "get" the show, but I find it interesting that that's one trait my mother and my aunt both share and how part of the show's dynamic is this very same sort of thing.

Shamefully, I found myself laughing at one bit on one of the eps of this program. Most of the time, however, it irritates me. But I guess that's one of its goals -- to irritate and annoy. I guess it succeeds, then.

― Many Coloured Halo (Dee the Lurker), Sunday, 29 August 2004 04:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I think one of the reasons for its continued success, particularly at the Emmys, is that it's one of the last "traditional" sitcoms left. It's subconsciously reassuring in its familarity in the same way that Matlock was to an earlier generation.

Also on the left, Cheers.

― Huck, Sunday, 29 August 2004 07:01 (twenty-one years ago)

("Cheers" - workplaces also like Mary Tyler Moore's newsroom, the Facts of Life's dorm room, and and the Young Ones' first episode. Really, I bit off more than I could chew. Leave me be.)

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Sunday, 29 August 2004 07:26 (twenty-one years ago)

jesus, i wasn't saying it was great literature or anything. it's just tv. and as "just tv" it's a lot more entertaing than you would expect.

classic episode was one where the pee-wee-herman guy had a cameo as a comic book store owner.

― jewelly (jewelly), Sunday, 29 August 2004 08:33 (twenty-one years ago)

I suppose you have to be a married woman with a rather dysfunctional relationship with the in-laws in order to really "get" the show

Er. No. I fulfil the above, but I still hate ELR. Nah, not so much get, just don't find funny. Which is a bit of a failing for a sitcom.

In Frasier, Niles & Daphne's apartment also has a door on the left, yet Roz' apartment has a door on the right.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 29 August 2004 08:51 (twenty-one years ago)

re: original question...

― EComplex (EComplex), Monday, 30 August 2004 00:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Paramount Comedy is killing me at the moment. They have ELR followed by TWO episodes of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, followed by Seinfeld, starting at 10.30 at night when I have to be up at 6am and don't have TiVo or Sky Plus or anything else. Gah bah.

I am a sitcom addict. I will freely admit to it. I can watch almost anything. I'm a secret Two and a Half Men viewer, hell, I'll even watch an episode of The Nanny rather than do something useful, but even I don't like Becker. It's just not funny.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Monday, 30 August 2004 09:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Patricia Heaton has strong legs and looks like she would boss you around so I find her very attractive. Only the wife on "Grounded for Life" surpasses her in my affections.

― Jarvis Twornell, Monday, 30 August 2004 09:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Wife on Oliver Beene >>>>>> Patricia Heaton

As for ELR, it can be funny at times, but the whole wife vs. mother-in-law dynamic is extremely grating and way overdone, i don't know why the writers think Marie telling Deborah her cooking sucks and she can't clean house 10x an episode is gonna be comedy gold.

King of Queens is way way funnier, there's definitely an absurdist element to it that I really like in Doug and Carrie's banter. Jesus christ, it sounds much more pitiful when you use the characters' names rather than the actors' real names. Basically, the 6pm-8pm block of syndicated sitcoms is mostly all the TV I watch besides sports, I still can't be bothered with 95% of reality crap, though the gf and I did develop an inexplicable and unhealthy attachment to Outback Jack this summer.

― Josh Love (screamapillar), Monday, 30 August 2004 11:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Wow. I don't think KoQ is funny at all and I can't stand Everybody Loves Raymond.

― EComplex (EComplex), Wednesday, 8 September 2004 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

two years pass...

Patricia Heaton's character is the only woman ever that deserves some good ol' domestic violence. I hate ball busting wives on sitcoms just as much as I hate the Archie Bunker's of the world.

― Spinspin Sugah, Sunday, 10 June 2007 22:58 (nineteen years ago)

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