I know it’s no All in the Family, but I don’t understand why it seems so fashionable 'round these parts to bash Raymond.
I consider it a funny, (generally) well-acted and very well-written sitcom. I suspect it is because Ray Romano is merely playing his whiny self, and you can ‘see’ him acting from a mile away. All right, I will grant you that. But Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, and Peter Freakin’ Boyle?? All outstanding.
Throw in Katherine Helmond, Georgia Engel, Fred Willard, Robert Culp, and Chris Elliot…those are some big comedy names (Elliot is admittedly an acquired taste).
So, why do you hate it? Or, is anyone brave enough to agree with me?
mmm
It’s no better or worse than any other sitcom in the Manchild/Hot Wife genre.
But one of the writers grew up in the same neighborhood with my ex-husband. I am firmly convinced that Ray’s parents are based on my ex-in laws. As in, someone was spying outside their home and wrote down their ridiculous arguments and now it’s on TV.
It’s funnier on TV, but still makes me grit my teeth.
I watched it quite a bit, but grew to hate Deborah. She was just SO over-the-top sexually uptight. All of that rubbing the lotion on her hands every night just drove me crazy. I was always rooting for Ray. Also, the kids really bugged me. The less I saw of them, the better. King of Queens does it much better for me.
Patricia Heaton is a terrible actress, and her character was entirely unlikeable. And after Heaton got a boob job, she somehow got even more annoying. The plot was also roughly the exact same script every week. It was a terrible, terrible show.
I don’t like the show because of character that Doris Roberts plays. My father’s wife could step into the role, would not have to act, and people would not know the difference.
I do not care for my father’s wife. They got married when they were in their late 70’s and I refuse to call her my “step-mother”.
This was a show we didn’t like when it first came out, but grew to like a lot in reruns.
Yes, the family was over-the-top, but there are some genuinely funny lines and scenes, and the more you get to know the characters, the funnier it gets. It is not the greatest sitcom in the past few years, but it is better than most.
Slightly off-topic, but I never understood the popularity of Home Improvement…tried several times to watch (even had a friend who guest starred on the show) but never found it to be even slightly funny. Thus, I guess I can understand the hate for Raymond - if you don’t get it, you don’t find it funny.
Considering its longevity and ratings I’d say your reference to “round these parts” is the key to your answer. It’s just one of those things that people here feel the need to pile on. Not saying that a person can’t legitamately dislike the show but I’ve never met anyone IRL with quite so much vitriol. It’s hip to hate Raymond apparently.
I found / find it funny as hell for the most part. I’ll agree that Patricia Heaton was detestable at first but I think she gained a tremendous amount of comic timing over the years. I could definitely have done without the whiney kids and their storylines, though.
I don’t hate it. I just got bored. The episodes rarely seemed to be about anything, or at least about anything I remember. Every other sitcom I can think of had something special about it. You need a quirk.
I agree that the kids were the weakest link on the show (although one of my favorite episodes is when they befriend that bratty ‘gifted’ kid).
Patricia Heaton, I never thought of as horrible, but I’ll admit the hand lotion routine gets annoying. Brad Garrett, can be funny, but he sometimes goes way over the top in his reactions (and he was horrible in whatever that show was that he followed Raymond with).
I’ve always been mystified by the hate, too. Granted, it wasn’t brilliant, but I watched it often during the early years, and was amused by the premise of the favorite son who’s a bit of a doofus, and his poor wife who had to deal with having her in-laws not only right across the street but right in her business all the time. The kids (when I watched it) were practically invisible…I stopped watching before their storylines got prominent, and apparently before Patricia Heaton (who is a hometown girl and a favorite of my Mom’s) started rubbing lotion. I’ve never understood why some people thought her character was so mean, when to my eye she was pretty put-upon and had to deal with more than her share of stress.
It’s probably irrational that I have a TV show so much, but I do.
I tried to avoid it but my wife liked it, so I had to put up with it until it ended.
Ray was lazy, whiny, and inconsiderate.
I did not it funny that Ray was scared of Deborah. She seemed borderline abusive. Hell, in one episode she punched ray in the nuts to shut him up. And he had to ask her permission for things like spending time with his brother.
Robert’s constant “Whoa is me” didn’t bother me too much; Although it wore a little thin.
Ray’s parents were horrible. Especially Marie. Passive-aggressive, using secrets to blackmail family members. And they could do whatever they want, but when one of their kids or an in-laws stands up to them it’s, “You don’t turn against the family.” Frank and Marie bickering didn’t bother me that much for some reason.
I’ve seen it about five times for about fifteen minutes the first time and one minute the second - it comes on after something else I watch, so I tried it, really disliked it, and will now immediately switch over if I go to the loo in the ad break and it’s on when I come back. But it was never a big thing advertised a lot or watched by a lot of my friends, so I don’t hate it.
That’s pretty much my take on it (except I would have spelled “woe is me” right ). Deborah and Marie made the show unwatchable for me. Is there a parody on Youtube where Ray grows a pair of balls and shuts both of them up? I’d watch that.
). Deborah and Marie made the show unwatchable for me. Is there a parody on Youtube where Ray grows a pair of balls and shuts both of them up? I’d watch that.