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Zach Moser is a Philadelphia native who loves films, television, books, and any and all media he can get his hands on. Zach has had articles published on satirical sites such as Points In Case, Slackjaw, and McSweeney's.
Everybody Loves Raymond broke a frustrating network television trope over 21 years ago, and it's one of the reasons the series stays so watchable. One of the best network sitcoms ever, Everybody Loves Raymond follows Long Island native, Ray Barone (Ray Ramano), and his loving, but often frustrating family.
Between Ray, his wife Debra (Patrica Heaton), his parents, Frank and Marie, played by the fantastic duo of Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts, and his older brother Robert (Brad Garrett), the Barones are more typical than most "typical" sitcom families, particularly when it comes to Ray and Debra's honestly-depicted marriage.
Everybody Loves Raymond Featured A Realistic Marriage
Not everything has aged perfectly in Everybody Loves Raymond, but the important parts are as relatable today as they were in the early 2000s. One of the best aspects of the show is the relationship between Ray and Debra. The husband and wife with three children are better matched than most TV couples.
Ray and Debra's marriage always felt honest and realistic. They often fought, but their arguments were always rooted in real frustrations, or at least frustrations that we could all relate to at one point or another. In a lot of network sitcoms, even modern ones, you can't begin to imagine how a couple ended up together.
In Everybody Loves Raymond, it's clear. Ray can be immature and lazy, and Debra can be overzealous and reactionary. Ray needs someone strong to have his back when he's too afraid or too lazy to stand up for what he wants or should do, and Debra could use someone who mellows her out and brings her back down to Earth.
Debra Had As Many Flaws As Raymond, Which Made Her A Richer Character
The relationship is so well written, in part because Debra is very well written. There's an eye-rolling number of female characters in sitcoms (though that's improved over the last few years) who just aren't written very well. A lot of shows, like Home Improvement and According to Jim, suffer from this issue.
Debra feels like a fully written character. She seems like someone who could lead her own show. Debra gets angry with Ray frequently, but Ray also constantly brings it upon himself. At the same time, Debra makes plenty of mistakes in the series, and Everybody Loves Raymond doesn't just let her off the hook.
Debra isn't a prop in the series for Ray to react to and to leap frog between storylines. She's as well written any character and that's thanks to her flaws. When you have two characters developed independently of one another, like in Everybody Loves Raymond, bringing them together creates a sum greater than the parts.
Release Date 1996 - 2005
Showrunner Phil Rosenthal
Directors Gary Halvorson, Will Mackenzie, Jerry Zaks, Kenneth Shapiro, Steve Zuckerman, Jeff Meyer, Michael Lembeck, Brian K. Roberts, John Fortenberry, Michael Zinberg, Jeff Melman, Ken Levine, Alan Kirschenbaum, Andy Ackerman, Asaad Kelada, Michael Lessac, Paul Lazarus, David Clark Lee, Rod Daniel, Wil Shriner
Writers Jason Gelles, Bruce Kirschbaum, Eric Cohen, Jay Kogen, Kevin James, Scott Buck
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Patricia Heaton
Debra Barone
English (US) ·