Review: 'Everybody Loves Raymond' - 05/08/2000

As a card-carrying member of the male species, I'm the first to admit that we don't have all the answers. Actually, a lot of times we're pretty clueless about the questions. But that still doesn't mean I think all guys are immature idiots. Which leaves me in a bit of quandary with many of the sitcoms on the air right now.

Shows like "Ladies Man" and "Two Guys and A Girl" seem to be built around the premise that most guys couldn't find a clue if you gave them a map and a six hour head start. A philosophy which I find not only annoying, but boring.

Which is one of the reasons I've always been drawn to "Everybody Loves Raymond."

At it's heart, the show is about the marriage of Ray (Ray Romano) and Debra Barone (Patricia Heaton). Despite Ray's job as a sportswriter, these are definitely middle-class people, and they have those middle class problems. Not enough time alone, too many distractions, and the looming presence of Ray's parents Frank and Marie (Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts) who live right across the street.

And the way these two characters interact is what sells the show. Sure, Boyle and Roberts are often magnificent, and Brad Garrett (who plays Ray's brother Robert) is an vastly underrated actor. But Romano and Heaton are the two who provide the magic.

That's evident in nearly every episode, including this week's show, which revolves around Ray's ongoing struggle with Debra's PMS. And she has it, mind you. Big time. She yells, she cries, she has mood swings worthy of Bette Midler. Despite his best intentions, Ray can't seem to stay out of the line of fire.

As it turns out, his Dad is his biggest supporter, warning Ray that those three day swings will turn into five, then seven and then "every day I just pray a comet will hurtle towards Earth and end this misery."

As in most episodes, Ray comes up with a couple of hapless "guy" solutions, which inevitably only make things worse. He suggests medicine, even buying some at the store. When that idea only increases the yelling (and rewards him with a slap from his Mom), he turns to recording his wife in mid-rant and playing it back to her later. Yeah, I know, this guy is doomed.

But that's what makes "Raymond" such a consistently fine show. No one here is making a political statement or chewing up the scenery. The actors never wink at the audience or make hip pop-culture references. And unlike the increasingly troubled "Ally McBeal," the scripts aren't quirky merely to dazzle viewers with the cleverness of the writing staff. Raymond and crew simply find humor in the banal goings on of everyday life.

And when every episode ends, you're left with the sense that here are two people who not only love each other, but respect one another. And respect the viewers enough to know that's enough to keep us coming back.