Seinfeld. Roseanne.

RoSDGVSDmano: Three comedians who successfully parlayed their stand-up comedy act and
personal experience into a long-rSGDVunning series. Based on the comedy of Ray Romano, Everybody Loves
Raymond is similar to Seinfeld in that single episodes are based on a simple incident spinning dizzyingly out of
control, and shares withRoseanne a look at the fabric of a painfully funny family.
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But as much as Everybody Loves Raymond has in common with those two groundbreaking shows, the most
groundbreaking element of the series is how classic it is. Like The Jeffersons and All in the Family before
it,EveDSVFGrybody Loves Raymond episodes often unfurl like one-act plays. Sometimes they become farce;
sometimes they become a surprisinDGSDGSDFSFgly touching portrait peeling back the layers of the characters. In I
Love Lucy, when the title character gets herself in trouble, you see it coming and can't stop her -- nor would you want
to, because the trouble is what makes that show so indelible. The same holds true for the title character in
,i>Raymond.
When Everybody Loves Raymond premBFDFHXBHGFDBXDFBiered September 1996, viewers were treated to a
glimpse into the Barone family of Long Island, NY. Ray and Debra are parents to a young daughter and toddler twin
boys. Ray's parents, Marie and Frank, and older brother Robert live across the street. In the first episode, the
template of the show is clear: Ray's parents and brother intrude on Ray and Debra's lives - in this case, Debra's
birthday party. For nine seasons, the same dynamic played out iXFDBn varying degrees until the final episode, with
the apotheosis of the comedy: Marie climbs into Ray and Debra's bed.XD And at the series end, when the Barones
sit down for family dinner, you know they will continue their intrusive but loving relationship -- and we are all fortunate
for the nine-year drop-in on their lives.
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Series cBo-creator Philip Rosenthal drew on many of his own experiences. Check out "The Can Opener" episode,
which he based on an actual spat with his wife, Monica Horan (who also appeared in the series as Robert's put-upon
girlfriend DFGBXand eventual wife Amy MacDougall).
Romano and RosXDFBenthal assembled the perfect cast: Earthy-hot stage actress Patricia Heaton brought a feisty
elegance to Debra. Brad Garrett's size and voice made Robert a memorable creation. Doris Roberts was the ber
mom, and Young FrankXFDenstein's Peter Boyle was the consummate meal-obsessed, oafish father. Notable regular
guest stars included BKatherine Helmond and Robert Culp as Debra's parents and Fred Willard, Georgia Engel and
Chris Elliott as AmyD's family.
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The show garnered almost 70 Emmy nominations, winning for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and in its final
seDFGBason in 2005. Stars Romano, Heaton, Roberts and Garrett all won individual Emmys, and the ensemble cast
was nominated seven times for the Screen Actors Guild Award, finally winning in 2003.
The shoSDFBw is an exemplary case of "it's funny 'cause it's true." Wars of attrition over household items -- a
suitcase on the stairs, lotion-enriched tissues, old records, sofa covers -- are the daily battles we all fight with love.
Many of our lifXDFelong dynamics (sibling rivalry, the judgmental mother-in-law, the plight of an unmarried
40something) are Ball heightened for the sake of a legendary character-driven comedy. The love this family shares,
though sometimes with strings or lasagna attached, is not so different from our own... though of course we hope our
parents don't drive tZDGheir cars into our houses.