Everybody Loves Raymond
The beloved sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond would be as brutal as a Strindberg drama if it didn't make familial bitterness so genuinely funny. Stand-up comedian Ray Romano (Ice Age) plays Ray Barone, a sportswriter married to Debra (the sharp and sexy Patricia Heaton) who has the misfortune to live just across the street from his invasive, bickering parents Frank and Marie (Peter Boyle, Young Frankenstein, and Doris Roberts, Remington Steele). Rounding out the cast is Ray's neglected older brother Robert (Brad Garrett, Gleason), whose every accomplishment has been ignored because his parents prefer to dote on the younger, cuter Ray. Robert, whose gloomy mug and huge size makes him loom over Ray like some malevolent alter-ego, is actually more honest and sensitive to the needs of others than is Ray, who's both self-centered and too eager to please--an impossible balance that Romano spins to great comic effect.
The fifth season presents the show at the peak of its strength. The season opener, a two-part story about a trip to Italy, degenerates into schmaltz, but immediately afterward Everyone Loves Raymond regains its bearings and launches into series of deftly played and skillfully written domestic skirmishes between husband and wife or parent and child. Episodes range from an explosive fight over wallpaper (a fan favorite) to anxiety over Ray's twin sons playing fairies in a school performance to the separation of Debra's seemingly perfect parents (Katherine Helmond, Brazil, and Robert Culp, I Spy). It's hard to imagine that any other show could get away with such a morbid view of marriage. In one episode, Ray and Debra panic when they realize they're running out of things to talk about; but after they witness Ray's parents having a meal without speaking a single word (a hypnotic pas de deux between Boyle and Roberts), Debra persuades herself that being quiet with each other is true intimacy...but the show never tells you whether she's discovered marital zen or if she's just rationalizing the inevitable emotional heat-death of a life-long commitment. Robert's romantic troubles recur throughout the season, culminating in the nightmare of having his ex-girlfriends meet to hash out everything that's wrong with him. Just a slight adjustment in tone would make Everyone Loves Raymond a bleak indictment of how people can be cruelest to those closest to them; instead, it's a cunningly comic celebration of how people can be cruelest to those closest to them. --Bret Fetzer
For Marie's birthday, the family goes to Italy. But Ray gets a cold and becomes miserable and Robert finds the woman of his dreams. But first he has to get past her father.
The show continues in Italy. Ray starts to appreciate Italy and Robert must avoid Stefania's father if he wishes to see tomorrow.
Marie and Frank crash their car into Ray's house.
Robert tells Amy about Stefania because he thinks they're meant to be. Another breakup.
With the untimely accidental murder of Ally's hamster Pumpernickel, she and the family decide to give the pet a proper funeral.
Ray tries to write a book but gets rejected. Robert makes lieutenant.
At a wedding, Ray reunites with the first woman he dated. He tells the family about the time he didn't walk her to the door.
The 43-year-old Robert is dating a 22-year-old named Erica, and Marie and Debra find his new girlfriend way too young for his age. Frank invites her to his birthday party, which becomes a disaster.
Debra's parents visit for Thanksgiving and confess that they're going to marriage counseling.
A man accidentally sneezes on Ray and he think's he's caught the man's germs.
Ray gets Debra a really great present for Christmas so she'll agree to let him go golfing.
Ray starts to have second thoughts about himself after he didn't help Debra when she was choking.
Ray decides to take Gianni to the Super Bowl with him. But the rest of the family wants to go.
When Marie finds the diary that Ray kept as a boy, he is embarrassed about much of the sexual content, but she is only upset over a single mean comment about her.
Ray and Debra can't think of anything to talk about. Debra thinks they need to spend more time together.
The twins want to be fairies in the school play.
Marie doesn't want Robert to end up alone, so she invites Stefania to America. But she comes with her father.
When Ray buys a new top-of-the-line vacuum, Debra takes it to Marie's home in search of dirt.
Marie thinks that Debra has her canister, but Debra says she doesn't. When Debra finds it in Ally's room, she gets Ray and Robert to help her sneak it back into Marie's house.
Ray invests money in a go-cart venture without telling Deborah. He says it is his money, so Deborah bills him for the job she does with the children and the house. Robert compares it to a wrongful death lawsuit - the value of life.
Marie thinks something's wrong with Robert. So she gathers all of the girls in Robert's life to come up with ways to help him.
Ray thinks his kids like Robert better than him.
Debra finds it hard to handle her parents' divorce.
Frank, Ray, and Robert paint Ray's house. And Robert and Ray find out something new about their father.
Flashback to when Ally was born.
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Brad Garrett | Robert Barone |
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Peter Boyle | Frank Barone |
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Ray Romano | Ray Barone |
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Doris Roberts | Marie Barone |
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Patricia Heaton | Debra Barone |
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Madylin Sweeten | Ally Barone |
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Sawyer Sweeten | Geoffrey Barone |
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Sullivan Sweeten | Michael Barone |
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David Proval | Marco Fogagnolo |
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Alex Meneses | Stefánia Fogagnolo |
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Susan Varon | Suzy |
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Jon Manfrellotti | Gianni |
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Katherine Helmond | Lois Whelan |
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Robert Culp | Warren |
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Pierrino Mascarino | Giorgio |
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Bob Ruth | Nemo |
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Andy Kindler | Andy |
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Monica Horan | Amy MacDougall |
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Silvana De Santis | Aunt Colletta |
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Bob Odenkirk | Scott Preman |
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Brian Posehn | Walter |
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Sherri Shepherd | Sergeant Judy |
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Bob Joles | Guy |
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Suzie Plakson | Joanne Glotz |
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Diana-Maria Riva | Sarah |
| Packaging | Keep Case |
|---|---|
| Nr Discs | 5 |
| Screen Ratios | Fullscreen (4:3, Letterboxed) Widescreen (16:9) |
| Audio Tracks | Dolby Digital Stereo [English] |
| Subtitles | English | French | Spanish |
| Distributor | Hbo Home Video |
| Layers | Single side, Single layer |
| Edition Release Date | Dec 06, 2005 |
| Regions | Region 1 |
| Purchased | For $ 44.98 |
|---|---|
| Index | 977 |
| Added Date | Dec 12, 2012 01:15:23 |
| Modified Date | Mar 26, 2019 21:52:19 |