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Americans, explain Everybody Loves Raymond

It's shown every morning in the UK and it has to be the worst sitcom you've ever imported over to us. Every character, apart from the father character, are whiney and horrible. The actors, especially Ray Romano, are ugly as hell. The jokes are nothing special and the acting is often questionable at best. So please explain why this show was so popular in the states?

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by Anonymousreply 209October 7, 2022 12:30 AM

I could explain it to you, but I'd have to shoot you if I did. Don't blame me-- it's in the Constitution.

by Anonymousreply 1June 18, 2022 5:52 PM

OP I never really watched it but it appealed to a particular type of suburbanite douchebro.

by Anonymousreply 2June 18, 2022 5:52 PM

Sorry to intrude, but I've never seen this show. None of those actors make me want to see it either.

by Anonymousreply 3June 18, 2022 5:58 PM

It's actually really popular overseas. Maybe not in the UK, but in cultures where family life is centered and overbearing in-laws are common, it rings true.

by Anonymousreply 4June 18, 2022 6:10 PM

Americans like to watch dumb people in miserable situations doing to stupid and annoying things. It makes them feel better about their own stupid and miserable lives.

by Anonymousreply 5June 18, 2022 6:36 PM

It's just a third-rate ripoff of Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, but with none of the humor, pathos, or character development.

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by Anonymousreply 6June 18, 2022 6:44 PM

I tried to watch it not long ago and that wife of Ray's was such a shrieking bitch I couldn't enjoy any of it. What an unpleasant actresss.

by Anonymousreply 7June 18, 2022 6:50 PM

R5 is correct. I haven’t ever watched the show, but when I complained about my partner’s mother being overbearing and having no boundaries, her response was “I’m not like that mother on Everyone loves Raymond”. Crazy people like to see someone crazier than them, so they feel normal. This goes for reality television as well.

by Anonymousreply 8June 18, 2022 6:51 PM

Sometimes it's very funny. there are certain episodes that are hilariously written. One is the episode where Marie lends the prized canister to Deborah; another is when one of the twins writes a story he reads to his class's parents called "The Angry Family." And another is when Marie makes the sculpture that looks like a gigantic vagina (but only Ray and Deborah seem to notice the resemblance).

I actually thought many of the older actors were terrific, particularly Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, and Georgia Engel. I cannot stand Brad Garrett, who mugs relentlessly. I'm ambivalent towards both Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton--they both can be terrific or awful from episode to episode. The Deborah character's constant nagging is sometimes very hard to take.

by Anonymousreply 9June 18, 2022 6:55 PM

I can't. I never watched an episode. Same with Star Trek, Star Wars.

by Anonymousreply 10June 18, 2022 6:55 PM

Pants.

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by Anonymousreply 11June 18, 2022 6:56 PM

R9. Sounds hysterical.

by Anonymousreply 12June 18, 2022 6:56 PM

Guess you had to be there.

by Anonymousreply 13June 18, 2022 6:57 PM

Well, the thing about the show is that the humor is very situational--describing the rough plot of an episode would not make it sound funny. But they were funny.

And whether you think so or not really doesn't matter to me. Why should I give a shit?

by Anonymousreply 14June 18, 2022 7:01 PM

Rethugs promoted the hell out of their favorite actress Patricia Heaton. They watched it solely to give her ratings.

by Anonymousreply 15June 18, 2022 7:01 PM

Terrible, but "King of Queens" made me laugh, except for the crossover episodes with Romano as Ray...

by Anonymousreply 16June 18, 2022 7:03 PM

R2 here. As I said above I never watched it but have seen some of it mainly lying in bed at night channel surfing. There was one episode that I thought was very funny. The older brother is dating some woman who eats a fly and it turns out she's some kind of queen of the frogs type. Her entire apartment is filled with terrariums with frogs and the brother ends up jumping out the window to get away from her. I admit I laughed my ass off.

by Anonymousreply 17June 18, 2022 7:04 PM

Fantastic show!

by Anonymousreply 18June 18, 2022 7:11 PM

It was part of a formula that was used constantly in the 1990s and 2000s of a wife who is portrayed as smarter, more organized, and devoted to marriage and family dynamics who is married to a man-child who thinks about himself more than her or his family. Or is a bumbling idiot. See Home Improvement, According to Jim, King of Queens, etc.

by Anonymousreply 19June 18, 2022 7:12 PM

The characters are miserable by design, you have to be in the mood for it. I always found Frank and Marie funniest. Loved that episode where they crash the car into Ray's house and then act as if they were the inconvenienced ones.

by Anonymousreply 20June 18, 2022 7:14 PM

Never really watched the show, but I think it boils down to a couple of things:

* Sitcom about nothing with a marquee comedian who assembled a small but talented cast who had chemistry (i.e. Frasier, Seinfeld, Titus, Martin)

* None of the actors appeared to be bigger than the show going on, nor did they wind up outgrowing the show during its run

* Sustained satire about a group of people who became loyal to the show (in this case, Italian-American families)

* Smartly sidestepped any major socio-political issues that would've proven to be divisive (looking at you Will & Grace)

* Generally sidestepped Very Special Episodes too (so they didn't give too many opportunities for their cast to do "serious acting")

by Anonymousreply 21June 18, 2022 7:18 PM

It has very little profile in the U.K. The vast majority have never heard of it. The tiny bit I have seen looked bloody awful.

by Anonymousreply 22June 18, 2022 7:18 PM

It's not that much more special than the average sitcom but I liked that it felt more authentically New York than say King of Queens. You meet a lot of Italian Americans like that family. Mama's boy, busybody in laws, etc.

by Anonymousreply 23June 18, 2022 7:23 PM

The episode where Doris Roberts' character inadvertently sculpts a vagina was funny.

by Anonymousreply 24June 18, 2022 7:25 PM

I usually don't like the 'family' American sitcoms, but this one does work really well, and is very funny at times.

Great performances and some great scripts, as you get to know the idiosyncrasies of the characters some of the latter episodes become hilarious.

by Anonymousreply 25June 18, 2022 7:28 PM

Like Roseanne, the show started out as a sitcom about a suburban family and turned into a screamfest of characters becoming more hardboiled and obstreperous as time went on. It became unpleasant, argumentative and very loud.

But at least menopausal women didn’t get pregnant in Raymond and every third person didn’t turn out to be gay. And teenagers didn’t ruin their lives by getting sexually involved with stupid partners when they were too young to develop their brains,

by Anonymousreply 26June 18, 2022 7:44 PM

Doris roberts was great. Reminds me how happy I am not to be straight.

by Anonymousreply 27June 18, 2022 7:51 PM

They were smart not to have the kids as major characters. I think Brad Garrett carried the show.

by Anonymousreply 28June 18, 2022 7:58 PM

R26 No the ELR kid just offed himself in real life but that's better than an imaginary

family having kids come out to help out real living beings prevent such suicides right?

by Anonymousreply 29June 18, 2022 8:02 PM

[quote]Doris roberts was great.

She floored me in the “Fruit of the Month” episode.

“He’s got us in some kind of a cult!”

by Anonymousreply 30June 18, 2022 8:05 PM

Very very NY/NJ. I'm from New Jersey and it hits so close to home almost a documentary. Everyone knows a Marie, Robert and Ray.

by Anonymousreply 31June 18, 2022 8:06 PM

I've never seen it.

by Anonymousreply 32June 18, 2022 8:08 PM

This show, Married with Children, Home Improvement and Malcolm in The Middle was great anti-breeder propaganda. It showed how frustrating and thankless being married with kids was. I liked how in ELR, the kids were never in the picture and it was about the adults. A lot of sitcoms have annoying cutesy little kids who aren't funny. ELR kept the focus on the adults. Marie and Robert definitely carried the show because Ray Romano isn't funny and Debra was shrill and annoying though she was just justified by married to a lazy mama's boy and having a bitchy mother-in-law. Catholics usually don't divorce.

by Anonymousreply 33June 18, 2022 8:10 PM

Really strong writing much of the time, great cast, well drawn out characters - and much more subversive than you would think from the “type” of show that it is (but a casual viewer likely wouldn’t pick up on that).

Like Seinfeld, the best/funniest actor was the only one to walk away without an Emmy. Unlike Seinfeld though, Ray Romano eventually learned how to act.

by Anonymousreply 34June 18, 2022 8:11 PM

Now, I understood the popularity of Malcolm in the Middle, it was funny, brilliantly acted and felt real. Those characters weren't nice but I could spend time with them. The town I grew up in had a lot of women very much like Lois.

by Anonymousreply 35June 18, 2022 8:13 PM

I find like King of the Hill, I found it boring when I was really young but as I got older, I appreciated it's nuance and accuracy to dull suburban life and the quirks, passive aggression and neurosis that come with it. The characters seem sociopathic but it's usually because they are bored and unimaginative and need to meddle in each others business to feel secure.

by Anonymousreply 36June 18, 2022 8:13 PM

R29 Try that again in English

by Anonymousreply 37June 18, 2022 8:18 PM

Very good writing. Marie walks into the bedroom. Frank is in bed, just staring into space. Marie says, "What are you doing, Frank?" "Just thinking." "Why, is the television broken?"

Doris Roberts is a great comic actress.

You Brits gave us Benny Hill and Are You Being Served? and you're complaining about Everybody Loves Raymond?

by Anonymousreply 38June 18, 2022 8:18 PM

R35 Also Malcolm in the Middle brilliantly found a dual audience. The kids and teens watched because of Frankie and the other kids and could relate to the "unfairness". Adults watched because they related to Lois and Hal and their constant exasperation with their kids. I see Malcolm far differently as I've aged. When I was young, I felt bad for him and felt he was mistreated and he was in many ways (the education system, the bullies and being intelligent in an anti-intellectual society). But as an adult with responsibilities, I can also see Malcolm had it easy too because his parents did favor him and were only harsh on him because they knew he was their only kid with promise. Yet Malcolm became disrespectful, difficult, rude and whined all the time. But he was a teenage boy going through puberty. I liked how Dewey even told Malcolm that Lois is only harsh on him because he always argues with her and he's lazy and never helps out around the house. You could even argue Malcolm as a kid and teen exaggerates how difficult his life is and sees Lois as much more evil than she is. He's the narrator, so he controls how we the audience sees it.

by Anonymousreply 39June 18, 2022 8:20 PM

"...just offed himself"

R29 7 years ago

by Anonymousreply 40June 18, 2022 8:21 PM

I never watched the show when it was in first run network television but I was on a plane from Europe heading home and this show was playing constantly and I found myself laughing my ass off. I then began watching the reruns and still do. It's a very good situation comedy in my opinion. It ran for 9 seasons and won 15 Emmy awards. For those of you who can't stand Brad Garrett on this show it's been said by critics that reviews named Garrett the show's "secret weapon" and responsible for "the bulk of the show's comic high points." Different strokes. Great show!

by Anonymousreply 41June 18, 2022 8:45 PM

It was like a mature version of Full House to me. Corny. I didn’t find it remotely funny.

by Anonymousreply 42June 18, 2022 8:47 PM

The appeal of this show mystifies this American. Not funny.

by Anonymousreply 43June 18, 2022 8:48 PM

If they show it every morning in the UK, then someone must be watching it.

by Anonymousreply 44June 18, 2022 8:51 PM

I wanted to blow Brad Garrett.

by Anonymousreply 45June 18, 2022 8:51 PM

I cant believe its been off the air for 17 years already. It plays somewhere on TV all the time.

by Anonymousreply 46June 18, 2022 8:57 PM

R45 Grosssss

by Anonymousreply 47June 18, 2022 9:01 PM

How I Met Your Mother has to be the worst show ever sold to the UK. It was painfully unfunny, and all the characters were unpleasant.

by Anonymousreply 48June 18, 2022 9:01 PM

Everybody Loves Raymond’s family scenario would be a living hell for me. I cant imagine having pushy in laws living across the street barging in all the time and a douchebag husband

by Anonymousreply 49June 18, 2022 9:03 PM

I don't think that's funny, Debra.

by Anonymousreply 50June 18, 2022 9:06 PM

Love this show. Very funny take on straight marriage.

by Anonymousreply 51June 18, 2022 9:08 PM

I only ever felt bad for Debra. Yeah she gets mad a lot but look at the people she's dealing with, she's like the one normal person.

by Anonymousreply 52June 18, 2022 9:08 PM

Doris Roberts was the most hilarious one. I hated Ray and Debra ,but I too did want to suck Brad garrets dick. Go figure.

by Anonymousreply 53June 18, 2022 9:28 PM

The psychology of this post is just bullshit and somehow its acceptable. Can't believe people agree with the "Americans and their entertainment are basic crap" subtext as if all shows from the UK are so amazing. Red Dwarf is so not very funny, for example. A lot of your shows fail to enthrall, OP.

by Anonymousreply 54June 18, 2022 9:33 PM

OP: We didn't "import it over" to you. You imported it over to yourselves.

by Anonymousreply 55June 18, 2022 9:39 PM

OP- 'you've ever imported over to us' Where did you learn English?

by Anonymousreply 56June 18, 2022 9:42 PM

The globally popular one I don't understand is Friends. It's just too happy and vanilla for me, also not reflective of New York. I like that Raymond has more bitter and cynical humor.

by Anonymousreply 57June 18, 2022 9:43 PM

Friends was only popular bc the cast was cute and distractingly overly coiffed

by Anonymousreply 58June 18, 2022 10:04 PM

[quote]A lot of your shows fail to enthrall, OP.

The Mighty Boosh is only watchable if you're high.

by Anonymousreply 59June 18, 2022 10:08 PM

It was a show for New Yorkers. They loved it.

by Anonymousreply 60June 18, 2022 10:34 PM

Weirdly R41 I also binged-watched it on a long flight back from Europe years ago when I was trying to drown out the din of a fussy, crying toddler. I was surprised how hilarious I found it.

by Anonymousreply 61June 18, 2022 10:40 PM

British young people are apparently absolutely crazy about the banal Friends, so OP's implication that British taste in sitcoms is good might be a little questionable.

by Anonymousreply 62June 18, 2022 10:47 PM

I hated it at first. The old man is emotionally abusive to his wife and sons. The old woman is overbearing and obviously shows favoritism towards her older son. Ray is a whiny jerk who is always trying to escape spending time with his kids and helping around the house, but he's always begging his wife, Debra for sex. Debra is uptight and humorless and treats Ray like a child. I liked Robert and Amy, and especially Amy's father.

The writing is pretty good, though, and some of the plots are fun.

by Anonymousreply 63June 18, 2022 10:56 PM

Also appreciate that Raymond kept a consistent quality throughout. No bummer seasons like The Office US, which got too on the nose wacky after Michael left.

by Anonymousreply 64June 18, 2022 11:11 PM

As far as network sitcoms go, Everybody Loves Raymond is actually pretty great. I rewatched much of the series on TV Land last year, and it still holds up. There are some hilarious episodes. I actually think the later seasons are funnier than the first few.

by Anonymousreply 65June 18, 2022 11:30 PM

I hated Debra with every fiber of my being, but she was necessary so Marie would have someone to passive/aggressively try to destroy. The episode where Debra and Ray refuse to take the suitcase upstairs is a classic. Also where Ray accidentally tapes over their wedding video for a game. Charles Durning was great in a recurring role.

Another classic is when the parents allow Ray and Debra to do imitations of them, and turn around and do one for Ray and Debra which pisses them off. When Marie moves the big spoon off her wall showing how discolored the wall now is also makes me laugh.

by Anonymousreply 66June 18, 2022 11:35 PM

R65 Absolutely right. It's right up there in the top ranks of American sitcoms. Mary Tyler Moore was the best, in my opinion. All in the Family was right at the top, though with maybe a little too much earnest political preachiness to merit it the No. 1 slot. Bewitched was terrific, the Munsters really good. The Addams Family was good. Roseanne was good often, but spotty.

by Anonymousreply 67June 18, 2022 11:37 PM

Debra is annoying and bitchy but she's not unjustified and she is sympathetic. Ray is an idiot who is lazy, sexist and doesn't give her emotional support or help her around the house. He's a very accurate spoiled and narcissistic Italian American mama's boy who expects his wife to mother him. Debra has to deal with a passive-aggressive bully of a mother-in-law who destroys her self-esteem any chance she gets. I feel Debra didn't know fully what she was getting herself into. And having kids with him more or less forced her to stay.

I love the fan theory Debra is cheating on Ray with Robert btw.

by Anonymousreply 68June 19, 2022 12:30 AM

I want Brad Garrett just because he's such a giant.

by Anonymousreply 69June 19, 2022 12:56 AM

Brad looked hot in Til Death. I've seen him in real life. He really is a giant.

by Anonymousreply 70June 19, 2022 1:04 AM

It was my grandma’s favorite show OP.

It definitely helps if you’re an Italian-American from NYC, as we are. As other posters pointed out it does a hysterically accurate job of lampooning that particular subculture.

by Anonymousreply 71June 19, 2022 1:25 AM

The wedding invitation episode is hysterical. Season 7, episode 18.

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by Anonymousreply 72June 19, 2022 3:37 AM

I love the show. I'm not interested in converting you. Watch what you want. "Friends" sucks ass, BTW. Just so you know. What can we do if people across the pond love our shit? Deny them on principle?

If you can't stand my response, how's about just ignoring it? That's not too difficult, right?

by Anonymousreply 73June 19, 2022 4:11 AM

The early seasons weren't nearly as mean as the later ones, but they also weren't as funny. Debra didn't seem to despise Ray so much (or at all). But like all sitcoms, they started pushing harder for the humor, and the characters got broader. It was the PMS episode that won Heaton her first Emmy where they really went all in on Angry Debra and never looked back.

by Anonymousreply 74June 19, 2022 4:49 AM

Mediocrity seeks its own level.

by Anonymousreply 75June 19, 2022 5:12 AM

[quote]Another is when Marie makes the sculpture that looks like a gigantic vagina (but only Ray and Deborah seem to notice the resemblance).

"Oh my God—I'm a lesbian."

by Anonymousreply 76June 19, 2022 5:22 AM

It never interested me enough to watch.

by Anonymousreply 77June 19, 2022 5:26 AM

EBLR was popular in USA because it was more like real American families than what was shown in other sitcoms.

Doris Roberts excelled at playing pushy, bossy, nosey, over bearing (usually Jewish) women, and her "Marie Barone" was spot on. Lots of Americans know women like this; females wound up a bit too tight that took their roles as wives and mothers a bit too far (especially the latter). When their children grow up, especially the boys, they cannot handle there is another woman in their lives.

Deb came from an entirely different background than Ray, and she didn't realize what a freak show she married into until (against Ray's advice), they moved next door to the in-laws.

Episode where Ray lays down the law and tells Deb if she cannot be ready on time he's going to leave without her is priceless.

by Anonymousreply 78June 19, 2022 5:32 AM

I liked Brad Garrett, but that might have just have been my uniform fetish talking.

by Anonymousreply 79June 19, 2022 5:33 AM

Loved Robert Culp as Deb's father.

Frank Barone says " you've got all your teeth, and then some...."

Actually bumped into Robert Culp at WF in Union Square many years ago now, and that quip is correct. The guy had a brilliant smile!

by Anonymousreply 80June 19, 2022 5:34 AM

[quote] Friends. It's just too happy and vanilla for me

Vanilla? The entire show is about sex. The entire plot of every episode is someone seeking sex, often with several different people and particularly having sex with one another within this incestuous group of 6 people. To me it was like Gilligan’s Island with sex. The same people every week with the same goal. In GI, the goal was getting rescued. In Friends the goal was getting fucked. Every single episode. Then the writers discovered that pregnancy results from sex, so making babies became the goal.

Who knew sex could be so boring until one watched Friends? W

by Anonymousreply 81June 19, 2022 4:01 PM

I found Deborah bitchy too but like someone said above she was justified. Ray was an overgrown child.

by Anonymousreply 82June 19, 2022 4:12 PM

I actually preferred Raymond to Seinfeld. Seinfeld had great creative punchlines but the characters had no personality other than being snarky and self-serving. Whereas the family on Ray all have their own psychological problems and love-hate relationships which drive the plot.

by Anonymousreply 83June 19, 2022 4:37 PM

The episode where Ray and Deborah come home from a long weekend and leave a suitcase at the bottom of the stairs. 3 weeks later the suitcase is still sitting there, and it will be a cold day in hell before either one of them moves it.

Such passive aggressiveness, but so typical in all long-term relationships, straight or gay.

by Anonymousreply 84June 19, 2022 4:45 PM

OP .... "imported over to us."

Oh, dear. What a moron.

by Anonymousreply 85June 19, 2022 4:48 PM

I liked the episode where Marie gravitated towards the widows. She wanted so badly to be one.

by Anonymousreply 86June 19, 2022 5:01 PM

Those bastards Patricia and Doris kept winning Emmys for their shitty performances, stopping Kim Cattrall, Jane Kazmarek and many other talented actresses from winning.

by Anonymousreply 87June 19, 2022 5:13 PM

I’m Canadian and my best friend had similar complaints. When we were in high school his family watched it all the time.

by Anonymousreply 88June 19, 2022 5:16 PM

My mother, who had Alzheimers, would scream for someone to change the channel when ELR came on. She couldn't stand the screaming.

by Anonymousreply 89June 19, 2022 6:10 PM

Sometimes the ignorant commentary on posts, by individuals who fancy themselves more enlightened than everyone else, is so nauseating. I imagine a lot of you are single and some “friends” have started distancing themselves as you’re all getting older. Those of you who dismiss topics with a waive of the hand by saying it’s “an American thing”, you have no idea about the world. You’re so disgusting and stupid. When you realize it you’ll either have some kind of a born-again (non-religious or religious or both) or you’ll commit suicide. You’re exhausting.

OP, the sitcom you’re talking about used the traditional elements of family sitcoms that were successful for many decades. This family was based in Long Island, right outside NY City. Raymond’s family was of Italian-American heritage, 2nd or 3rd generation. His wife, Deborah, I think was likely the traditional German-Irish heritage of many from that region of the U. S. Her upbringing was more the traditional upper-middle class upbringing of those who moved to the suburbs of Connecticut. Some of the conflict that exists between Raymond (Ray) and Deborah is cultural. (Ethnic) Italian-American culture is known or said to produce “momma’s boys” like Ray. Marie, the more traditional and possessive Italian-American mother-in-law is often passive-aggressively critical of Deborah. Deborah oftentimes takes it or responds in the more subdued and polite upper-middle class suburban manner. However, years of living in this environment, have changed Deborah as is most evident when her parents visit. The sitcom ran from 1996 to 2006. U.S. culture has evolved into something else since the arrival of smartphones that followed that period. OP, it may be hard for you to understand the appeal of this show without being more familiar with the intricacies and nuances of U.S. culture. We have different regions and cultures that have evolved in those different regions. We’re not homogeneous like the U.K.

by Anonymousreply 90June 19, 2022 11:20 PM

I wasn't a huge fan, but it had its moments. I loved the episode where Pat comes out as a smoker.

by Anonymousreply 91June 19, 2022 11:24 PM

It was mass market pablum for older white people. Every old white person I know loved this show. At a time when traditional 4 camera sitcoms were declining while reality TV was on the rise, it was a dying gasp for the sitcom genre targeting people soon to die. They liked it because it felt familiar and "normal," while avoid any challenge their world view.

by Anonymousreply 92June 19, 2022 11:40 PM

The one where Marie makes an abstract sculpture that looks remarkably like a vagina.

by Anonymousreply 93June 19, 2022 11:47 PM

Everybody Loves Raymond was outstanding, though Robert was a bit annoying. I like the episode where Marie discovers she might be a lesbian and another where Ray witnesses Robert's new girlfriend eat a fly.

by Anonymousreply 94June 20, 2022 11:12 AM

It was because of the parents. They really made the show funny. I hated Ray's wife and annoying kids. But the parents!

by Anonymousreply 95June 20, 2022 11:23 AM

The character of Ray was homophobic. There was one completely unnecessary scene where he was alone and struggled to eat a banana, presumably because he thought it made him look gay to touch his lips to something that was phallus-shaped. It was so weird.

by Anonymousreply 96June 20, 2022 12:25 PM

Yea, the character Ray was uncomfortable talking about gays, but he was uncomfortable talking about or sharing his feelings, and uncomfortable talking about intimacy. But Ray didn't hate gays, that's for sure.

There was an episode where Ray admitted to his brother that all guys check out other guys in the locker room and wonder themselves if they might be gay. But then Ray saw some girl with big tits which caused him to walk into a wall, and that answered that.

by Anonymousreply 97June 20, 2022 1:02 PM

I liked it better than Seinfeld or Friends. Those were two shows that I could not identify with.

by Anonymousreply 98June 20, 2022 1:09 PM

Datalounge worships this show because the mother (forgot name) reminds them of Betty White.

by Anonymousreply 99June 20, 2022 1:14 PM

[QUOTE] This family was based in Long Island, right outside NY City.

Fank you for the geography lesson R90. We learned a lot from your post.

by Anonymousreply 100June 20, 2022 1:17 PM

I wasn't a regular viewer, but it was an above-average show. It had an "original"-enough premise: favoured son vs. less favoured son along with favoured son's wife vs. mother-in-law, all living within close proximity of each other. Mad About You covered the latter, but Raymond made it a more pervasive dynamic, as the mother-in-law was a series regular. And Doris Roberts was just delightfully passive-aggressive. Brad Garrett was great as well. The entire ensemble was strong, and the writing was decent enough. But, I was in my 20s at the time, and didn't really have an appreciation for it. And its special dynamic felt a bit repetitive.

by Anonymousreply 101June 20, 2022 1:19 PM

in R90's post, the second paragraph was a good analysis. The first paragraph is some bullying bullshit designed to try to humiliate anyone with a different opinion. Why not just post about the show instead of first insulting people who don't agree with you.

Holy Crap!

by Anonymousreply 102June 20, 2022 1:23 PM

OP, you're absolutely spot on.

It's an abortion of creativity with a few talented actors (the parents) stuck in the world of the whining sons and their cunt wives. This is what passes for humor in most of flyover America.

by Anonymousreply 103June 20, 2022 1:25 PM

Heaton is so shrill and unlikable in ELR. Her other show, The Middle, is vastly superior.

by Anonymousreply 104June 20, 2022 1:58 PM

The Middle is a much better show for sure. And those kids are crazy-talented comic actors.

by Anonymousreply 105June 20, 2022 2:00 PM

Kaye Ballard was originally contacted to be in the show but refused to audition stating that her work was already out there for them to see. The role went to Doris Roberts. I think the formidable Kaye Ballard would really have been a force to be reckoned with on the show.

by Anonymousreply 106June 20, 2022 2:15 PM

Marie always cracked me up. She was a monster.

by Anonymousreply 107June 20, 2022 2:16 PM

[quote] OP, it may be hard for you to understand the appeal of this show without being more familiar with the intricacies and nuances of U.S. culture. We have different regions and cultures that have evolved in those different regions. We’re not homogeneous like the U.K.

I'm an American, but if you watch British tv or know anything about UK culture they have strong regional variation in culture, as well. They are not homogeneous.

That being said, the top rated UK comedy of recent years has been Mrs. Brown's Boys. I enjoy it, but next to it EBL looks like Noel Coward.

by Anonymousreply 108June 20, 2022 2:55 PM

There was an episode when Ray had to share a bed with Robert and realized his brother slept in the nude. I'm not a huge Brad Garrett fan but it left an impression.

by Anonymousreply 109June 20, 2022 2:58 PM
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by Anonymousreply 110June 20, 2022 3:06 PM
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by Anonymousreply 111June 20, 2022 3:06 PM
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by Anonymousreply 112June 20, 2022 3:07 PM

There's a quite wonderful documentary called, "Exporting Raymond," which is about creating a version of the show for Russia.

by Anonymousreply 113June 20, 2022 3:12 PM

It's peopular here in Balkans. Everyone watches it for Ray's dad and mom, they are the only funny part of the show. No one is watching it for Ray, his wife or his brother. Same with King of Queens. You only watch it for the dad (Jerry Stiller, who pretty much plays the same character he played in Seinfeld, but who cares, he's hilarious). The main characters, the fat guy and his wife are unbearable.

by Anonymousreply 114June 20, 2022 3:18 PM

[quote]Everybody Loves Raymond’s family scenario would be a living hell for me. I cant imagine having pushy in laws living across the street barging in all the time

An ex-bf of mine had clingy parents who lived just ten minutes away. They had the extremely annoying habit of stopping by his house unannounced. The worst was one Sunday afternoon - he and I were both half-drunk on wine, buck naked and fucking in the living room when all of a sudden I look out the window and see a car pull into the driveway. His parents. We hurriedly dressed and tried to act sober. Those two fuckers stayed for the rest of the afternoon.

The relationship didn't last.

by Anonymousreply 115June 20, 2022 4:28 PM

[quote] Those of you who dismiss topics with a waive of the hand by saying it’s “an American thing”, you have no idea about the world. You’re so disgusting and stupid.

Ironic coming from someone who doesn’t know how to spell ‘wave.’

by Anonymousreply 116June 20, 2022 4:42 PM

[quote] It's shown every morning in the UK and it has to be the worst sitcom you've ever imported over to us.

Let me explain something to you: we don’t import it over to you. You import it over from us.

[quote]so popular in the states?

You mean it’s not as popular in the kingdom?

by Anonymousreply 117June 20, 2022 4:46 PM

“I don’t like that, Debra.”

Only Doris Robert’s could make that line hysterical, and she succeeded.

by Anonymousreply 118June 20, 2022 4:46 PM

I think "Everybody Loves Raymond" is a brilliant, subversive sitcom.

I don't understand how anyone doesn't think it's funny. I think it is nearly as good as "Roseanne" at its best.

by Anonymousreply 119June 20, 2022 5:07 PM

There was one episode where Deborah finds out Marie gave her a recipe but changed the spices up so hers would always still be better which was pretty funny.

I thought Amy's brother was kind of funny too.

by Anonymousreply 120June 20, 2022 5:39 PM

Doris Roberts just had to look at a character and I'd laugh. No wonder she won so many Emmys.

by Anonymousreply 121June 20, 2022 5:43 PM

I liked the episode that was a flashback to the birth of Ray and Debra's first child. Debra thought she was in labor, so Robert drives her and Raymond to the hospital in his police car. Debra thinks the baby's coming RIGHT NOW, and Robert has some police training in emergency child delivery, so he pulls over, they all rearrange themselves, and Robert and Ray take a look at Debra's nether regions. Then Debra realizes it was a false alarm, while Ray and Robert are staring at her lady parts. Ray yells at Robert to stop looking.

Later, when it really is time, they plan to sneak off to the hospital without Marie knowing. Ray's dad realizes what they're up to, and as a favor to them, he helps hide the truth from Marie, so that she won't try to be present at the birth. Eventually Marie figures out what's going on, and she arrives at Debra's hospital room door to find Debra and Ray holding the newborn baby. She's holding a bit of a grudge. When Ray and Debra ask her to come see the baby, she says cold, "I see her. Very nice."

by Anonymousreply 122June 20, 2022 10:01 PM

R92. It was a TV show! Of course it was mass market pablum. What else would it be--discourses on the philosophy of Wittgenstein? And the idea that it was targeted exclusively at the elderly is ridiculous. And your condescending snark is distasteful.

by Anonymousreply 123June 20, 2022 11:37 PM

R72 "People will be naked in church!" "On a Wednesday!"

by Anonymousreply 124June 21, 2022 4:05 AM

It's all about Americans' obsession with mediocrity..

by Anonymousreply 125June 21, 2022 4:15 AM

I'd rather watch Everybody Does Raymond.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 126June 21, 2022 5:31 AM

The one where Aunt Zorina arrives from Italy, then turns not to be their relative is very funny.

by Anonymousreply 127June 21, 2022 6:24 AM

R100 we learned nothing from your post, bitch.

by Anonymousreply 128June 21, 2022 6:31 AM

R6, sure .... even though Everybody Loves Raymond was created 10 years earlier.

by Anonymousreply 129June 21, 2022 6:35 AM

R21 admits to never having really watched it, then provides a lame assessment of the show. What a nut.

by Anonymousreply 130June 21, 2022 6:37 AM

Good god why would a UK network broadcast this crap?

by Anonymousreply 131June 21, 2022 6:39 AM

R29 Don't confuse a television character with an actor's personal life.

by Anonymousreply 132June 21, 2022 6:41 AM

r132, tell that to Gregory and Shmegory...

by Anonymousreply 133June 21, 2022 12:06 PM

I think Doris Roberts and that Heaton woman deserved their Emmy awards. As much as I like Kim Cattrall R87, she’s a hack compared to Roberts. By the time Romano won his acting Emmy he deserved it as well. He turned into a good comedic actor. I’d do Romano in a heartbeat.

by Anonymousreply 134June 21, 2022 12:57 PM

I e-hat my Mom!

by Anonymousreply 135June 21, 2022 1:27 PM

[quote]Good god why would a UK network broadcast this crap?

Have you watched their sitcoms? Just as crappy as ours.

by Anonymousreply 136June 21, 2022 6:51 PM

Are you being served, r136?

by Anonymousreply 137June 21, 2022 7:58 PM

I fucking hated the stupid ass "awful mother in law" crap on this show. Americans need to fucking drop that dumb ass trope.

by Anonymousreply 138June 21, 2022 8:07 PM

I really hated any of the episodes I watched, and hope to never see it again.

Awful awful awful.

by Anonymousreply 139June 21, 2022 8:30 PM

I remember in one episode Raymond was mocking gays by using the word "fairies" in their place. It was kind of twisted and that Patricia Heaton turned out to be an evangelical. The outer fringes of homophobia and a creepy feeling were on that show.

by Anonymousreply 140June 21, 2022 8:42 PM

R140 I remember Raymond rehearsing with his little boys about how to be fairies in an upcoming school play, until Ray'd Dad stepped in and mocked those efforts. Debra convinced Ray that being fairies in the play doesn't define them, and he was fine. What other episode are you recalling where Ray was mocking gays?

Patricia Heaton said she left the Catholic Church after the child abuse era but didn't she become Episcopalian? If so, that's not evangelical.

by Anonymousreply 141June 21, 2022 9:01 PM

R141 Actually it depends on the parish. The Episcopal and wider Anglican community have high-church congregations that look almost Catholic and they have low-church ones that look almost Baptist* and plenty that fall in between.

* Some would quibble and say isn't a low-church Episcopalian congregation basically Methodist, but I went to at least one Episcopal church for a service that was so low-church, it made Sunday at First Baptist look like a Papal Mass in St. Peters.

by Anonymousreply 142June 22, 2022 12:02 AM

It’s a garbage show, and Heaton is so stopped and hunched over, she looks 85.

by Anonymousreply 143June 22, 2022 12:15 AM

To the posters incapable of appreciating how good Doris Roberts was--Jean Stapleton (Edith Bunker) came out of retirement to be on the show, as Marie's estranged sister. To my knowledge it was her only post-All in the Family TV appearance. It was her way of paying homage to Roberts.

by Anonymousreply 144June 22, 2022 12:22 AM

Jean Stapleton had dozens of TV appearances after AITF, including her own Sitcom (Bagdad Cafe with Whoopi). Check her IMDB. ELR was hardly her only TV appearance.

by Anonymousreply 145June 22, 2022 12:29 AM

Thank goodness most of you agree with me that this was the most god awful show ever. I was actually newly married and we were living at my mother in law's house when this was on (husband was fixing up our house before we moved in). They watched it all the time. It SUCKED. My mother in law was actually Italian American but not as crazy as Doris Roberts. My MIL is really reserved, but a big time republican. I do actually like Doris Roberts, because she was the secretary on Remington Steele. Remember that one?

I want to use another paragraph to say that Everybody Loves Raymond SUCKED. Just terrible. My husband mocked me for hating it "everybody loves Raymond except _____ (insert my name). I later found out what an asshole Patricia Heaton is. Her other show sucked too. I couldn't tell if the kids were supposed to have birth defects or what. Fucking awful. There was nobody likable on Raymond though. Sucky suckitude.

I also want to say that although ELR is one of the worst American sitcoms you could be forced to watch, I have known from an early age that British sitcoms are stupid as hell. There's a reason that the Austin Powers movies are so funny. That's what a lot of British TV is really like.

by Anonymousreply 146June 22, 2022 12:49 AM

Jesus Christ, R123, get a grip. It's a tv show.

by Anonymousreply 147June 22, 2022 12:51 AM

Part two (I am the one who said this show SUCKED) is that All in the Family was misunderstood by a lot of people. I used to go to this trashy babysitter's house when I was a kid. She was a real redneck, hair in curlers all the time. In hindsight I'm almost positive that her husband was molesting her daughter, but I didn't figure that out until we were long done with them. (Daughter was older than us and read us really explicit stuff from books and played dirty with Barbies. It was super interesting to an eight year old, but not okay.) Anyway, the babysitter had All in the Family on (when Days of Our Lives wasn't on). These people were total white trash, and racist as hell. The daughter would say things like black people look more like monkeys than white people. My older sister repeated that at our house once and got in big trouble. I just took everything in. But anyway, my point is that these people enjoyed All in the Family. They saw it as a model of how to act. I was too young to understand that it was satire, but because of this family I am convinced that a lot of adults also didn't understand that it was satire.

by Anonymousreply 148June 22, 2022 12:56 AM

[quote] They saw it as a model of how to act.

R148 It wasn't so much that people like that saw it as a model to emulate as much as it just being the nearest television, at the time, had gotten to showing what working class white people are really like, pretty much regardless of region. Most poor whites I've known loved all the Norman Lear shows because they seemed so real, and even if you didn't agree with the message you still got to laugh.

by Anonymousreply 149June 22, 2022 1:02 AM

Debra was such a bitch. This show never fully worked for me because it never seemed like Debra loved or even liked Ray. On Roseanne, they may fight and use sarcasm, but you still believed Dan and Roseanne loved each other. Debra was just a black hole of negativity.

by Anonymousreply 150June 22, 2022 1:09 AM

One thing I've noticed is Jewish actors have been playing Italian forever. Doris Roberts and Brad Garrett are Jewish. Bea Arthur and Estelle Getty are Jewish. Henry Winkler is Jewish. Jason Alexander is Jewish. But it goes both ways. Jennifer Aniston is Greek and Italian and played Jewish. Joy Behar is Italian but practically is Jewish because of her husband. A lot of cultural overlap thanks to NYC. The stereotype of Italian and Jewish moms are both bossy and controlling.

by Anonymousreply 151June 22, 2022 1:09 AM

R149, I will try to believe you. That makes some sense. As I said, I was a kid, trying to piece all this together in my mind.

by Anonymousreply 152June 22, 2022 1:10 AM

My parents have been watching this show every day for at least 3 hours for the past 12 years. They are fucking obsessed with it and they reference and quote it all the time. It's an American Boomer thing, I guess. My mom literally says she can't wait to see her best friend (Ray Barone) when we are driving home from a store or restaurant. I get PTSD everytime I hear the theme music and I either leave or go into another room.

by Anonymousreply 153June 22, 2022 1:25 AM

I will say I absolutely loved Georgia Engel's guest appearances on Everybody... I think she should've won at least one of her nominations.

by Anonymousreply 154June 22, 2022 1:32 AM

R154 I loved the episode where Robert discovers her filthy secret. 🚬

by Anonymousreply 155June 22, 2022 8:05 AM

I fucking loathe that show with the heat of 10 billion galaxies.

by Anonymousreply 156June 22, 2022 1:38 PM

Hehe. Georgia's smoking aftermath was one of the funniest scenes on the show. When she and Robert go back into the house, Amy smells smoke on Robert, and asks if he's been smoking. His parents catch wind of the conversation. Marie approaches, smells the cigarette smoke and slaps him on the face. She asks him why he did it. Pressed to come up with an excuse so as not to out his mother-in-law, he says, "There's this new guy at work who's really cool..." After the slapping, the yelling, and embarrassment, his mother-in-law looks at him and says, "I'm very disappointed in you, Robert."

by Anonymousreply 157June 22, 2022 3:54 PM

R144, is that episode available anywhere, like on YouTube?

What episode was it? I haven’t seen it.

by Anonymousreply 158June 22, 2022 4:51 PM

R158 Jean Stapleton appears in the third episode of the first season, "I Wish I Was Gus."

by Anonymousreply 159June 22, 2022 5:10 PM

Thanks, r159!

by Anonymousreply 160June 22, 2022 5:18 PM

I loathed Estelle Getty's character on GG because she sound too Jewish and not Italian in the slightest.

by Anonymousreply 161June 22, 2022 5:28 PM

R161 Oh puh-leeze. The accents of Jewish New Yorkers and Italian New Yorkers are basically indistinguishable, esp. to people in the Midwest, on the West Coast, etc.

by Anonymousreply 162June 22, 2022 9:23 PM

R146 Just hysterically repeating your opinion doesn't make it more convincing.

by Anonymousreply 163June 22, 2022 9:25 PM

R162 I agree they're similar enough to the untrained ears. I'm from NJ so I can tell an Italian, Jewish, Irish and Hispanic NY area accent apart by the nuances. But most Americans outside the Northeast cannot. Just like how most Americans outside the South or Appalachia cannot tell Southern accents apart.

by Anonymousreply 164June 23, 2022 3:43 AM

R156 is a huge drama queen. It's a tv show, turn the channel, bitch.

by Anonymousreply 165June 23, 2022 7:39 AM

R151 - Jewish mothers tend to control via passive guilt while Italian mothers more often go for aggressive guilt.

by Anonymousreply 166June 26, 2022 7:45 PM

I watch this show endlessly- I love it. I'm Italian and Irish, and I live with my elderly widowed Italian Mother so I do relate to it even though I am gay.

Ray is the one I want to blow, especially since he is supposed to be very well-hung in real life. The episode with Sherri Shepard taking Robert out just to cheer him up was hysterically funny and quite subversive.

The looks on the faces of the parents when they meet her at the door was beyond spectacular and spoke volumes without saying a word. Oh how preachy that episode would have been had it been made today.

by Anonymousreply 167October 3, 2022 1:32 AM

I only watched it a couple of times and Peter Boyle made me laugh.

by Anonymousreply 168October 3, 2022 1:36 AM

I haven't seen much of it - just by chance. I wasn't actively avoiding it. I've seen episodes here and there. It seemed like a standard family sitcom. Not great, but not awful for the most part.

by Anonymousreply 169October 3, 2022 1:43 AM

The parents! You have to.understand American cultural stereotypes to get it. The parents really are what makes the show.

by Anonymousreply 170October 3, 2022 1:44 AM

I don't like Debra. She was very unlikable. I don't care that Ray was a goober. Debra was just awful. The rest of them could be funny, but never Debra. She just existed to yell at Ray for messing up.

by Anonymousreply 171October 3, 2022 1:53 AM

R144, Doris Roberts may have been a fine actress, but the scripts she was given portrayed her character as manipulative and willing to use guilt to get her way.

by Anonymousreply 172October 3, 2022 2:01 AM

Horrible family dynamics. I watched three episodes when first aired and then gave up. No redeeming qualities at all.

by Anonymousreply 173October 3, 2022 2:04 AM

All of the performers from ELR who portrayed the parents have died: Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Katherine Helmond, Robert Culp, Georgia Engel and Fred Willard.

Sawyer Sweeten, one of the twin boys, died by suicide in 2015, he was 19.

by Anonymousreply 174October 3, 2022 2:16 AM

Yeah it's a Yankee thing. Lots of people in the south don't like whiny Raymond.

by Anonymousreply 175October 3, 2022 2:18 AM

Lowest common denominator of American family life. A connected dot all the war back to The life of Riley, through Ralph Kramden to Ray Romano. The consecutive deaths of the American Dream.

by Anonymousreply 176October 3, 2022 2:22 AM

OP, is a real winner.

by Anonymousreply 177October 3, 2022 2:29 AM

I from the UK and I like it.

by Anonymousreply 178October 3, 2022 2:30 AM

It's a great show. What's not to get?

by Anonymousreply 179October 3, 2022 2:32 AM

The show is taking lives.

by Anonymousreply 180October 3, 2022 2:32 AM

Not sure why someone like Debra would have ever connected with a jerk like Ray in the first place. WTF did she see in him?

Debra's background was completely different, she had worked in PR, lived alone and he was some awkward goofy guy delivering her futon. That's how they met. Ray and Robert were still living at home with their parents. This is very typical of those types of Italian-Americans. The men and women live at home until they get married. The adult children are coddled and treated as if they are toddlers.

Debra came from an upper middle class background, her parents were well-read, sophisticated and traveled the world. Ray's parents came across as a typical working class Italian-American couple, the type who fled Brooklyn to move to some Long Guyland suburb. The father worked, but the wife didn't. The father was crass and the mother was invasive, manipulative, judgmental and obsessed with cooking and cleaning.

I can understand why Debra was always screaming, she must have really hated her life. She was surround by always screaming argumentative lunatics, lol

As the poster above described, you have understand the premise and basically understand these types of people do exist, only then, can viewers see how real these people are. Sure, they are exaggerated, but they do exist.

by Anonymousreply 181October 3, 2022 2:45 AM

Next, we're going to have to explain Sesame Street.

by Anonymousreply 182October 3, 2022 2:47 AM

R182, do explain Sesame Street, me no understand.

by Anonymousreply 183October 3, 2022 2:49 AM

Years ago, I read that this series was a composite of Ray's and the producer Phil Rosenthal's real lives. I condole them.

Phil's wife played Robert's wife, Amy.

by Anonymousreply 184October 3, 2022 2:54 AM

Everybody Loves Raymond is subversive and brilliant.

I think it is one of the last truly funny American sitcoms and ranks just under Roseanne. I find it very funny and exceptionally well-acted. I don't understand anyone not enjoying it.

by Anonymousreply 185October 3, 2022 2:55 AM

Brad got most of the best lines, his character Robert was always trying to be the voice of reason.

The incident with the bull really happened, in Queens NY. IIRC, the illegal rodeo was in Sunnyside. In the show, the bull survived, in real life, the bull was shot by a cop..

by Anonymousreply 186October 3, 2022 3:03 AM

Sitcom with ugly actors? You'd think the UK viewers were used to that.

by Anonymousreply 187October 3, 2022 3:09 AM

People watch sitcoms to see sexy, accomplished attractive people? Seinfeld sure wouldn't have been a success, none of the male leads were 'hot'.

If that was the case, 90% of these sitcoms wouldn't get past the talking stage.

by Anonymousreply 188October 3, 2022 12:09 PM

The episode with Robert's date eating the fly is on right now. It's hilarious!

by Anonymousreply 189October 4, 2022 2:05 AM

Thank you so much r189! I love this episode!

by Anonymousreply 190October 4, 2022 2:25 AM

I like the one where Raymond's fake nose catches on fire.

by Anonymousreply 191October 4, 2022 3:06 AM

I don't have to justify what I like, not to anyone about anything. Why do you love beer so damn much? Cause I'd rather drink cow's milk than beer, despite my lactose intolerance. Go on explain yourself. At least Everybody Loves Raymond isn't responsible for violence at home or driving that kills or vomiting. Why do people, especially Europeans worship at the altar of Beer?!

by Anonymousreply 192October 4, 2022 4:05 AM

I'm sorry, OP. I can't. Don't hate me.

by Anonymousreply 193October 4, 2022 4:29 AM

I can't explain it, because I've not seen one episode.

by Anonymousreply 194October 5, 2022 11:27 AM

I would rather OP explained to me how he thinks channels in the UK have shows on that no one likes?

Trust me there are plenty of shows that I don't like on TV but even I can figure out channels don't have shows that no one likes for very long. Just because you or I don't like it doesn't mean it isn't popular.

by Anonymousreply 195October 5, 2022 11:39 AM

[quote]do explain Sesame Street

It’s brought to you by the letters F and U—

by Anonymousreply 196October 5, 2022 12:20 PM

The episode where Marie teaches Debra how to make her meatballs and then sabotages her is pretty hilarious. I've seen it many times and it still makes me laugh.

by Anonymousreply 197October 5, 2022 8:24 PM

It was so popular in the states because so many people saw their own families in those characters. You Brits are a different lot, until you look deep enough into yourselves and see that you are very little different than us. Plus, the British sense of humor is probably not conducive to that type of comedy.

by Anonymousreply 198October 5, 2022 9:36 PM

Marie is an Italian American mother who is emotional, guarded and protective. Change her accent and she becomes Nan. But in order to be emotional, guarded and protective, Nan is a British type of cunt. But rest assured, Marie is a cunt, too.

by Anonymousreply 199October 5, 2022 9:46 PM

[quote]It’s brought to you by the letters F and U—

Great comeback, zzzzzz. How lame, as most DL 'comedians' seem to be.

by Anonymousreply 200October 6, 2022 12:44 AM

[quote]It was so popular in the states because so many people saw their own families in those characters. You Brits are a different lot, until you look deep enough into yourselves and see that you are very little different than us. Plus, the British sense of humor is probably not conducive to that type of comedy.

Eastenders, while a soap, is about a specific demographic in the UK, Everybody Loves Raymond is not much different, it's about a certain demo of Italian-Americans, especially from New Yawk and Long Guyland.

There are tons of British comedy shows about working class people, not every Brit comedy series is To The Manor Born. How about Keeping Up Appearances? Lots of Americans loved that series.

You didn't have to be British to understand the premise of Keeping Up Appearances. For those who don't know the premise this Brit sitcom, it was about a social climbing British woman and the various members of her extended family who embarrassed her: a slovenly sister, her beer guzzling TV obsessed husband and the man crazy sister who lived with the messy couple.

This series was hilarious. The Bucket's son was gay, but 'the Bucket Woman' was oblivious, the husband sure knew. Mrs. Bucket was as annoying, as controlling and as invasive as Marie Barone.

by Anonymousreply 201October 6, 2022 12:59 AM

Hyacinth Bucket was mentally ill. Richard should have had her locked away where they could have administered shock treatments and probably a pre frontal lobotomy. In the real world he would have ended up a wife beater.

by Anonymousreply 202October 6, 2022 1:36 AM

[quote]Hyacinth Bucket was mentally ill. Richard should have had her locked away where they could have administered shock treatments and probably a pre frontal lobotomy. In the real world he would have ended up a wife beater.

Yet you appear to have watched this series? You know the names of the two main characters and how crazy Hyacinth's behaviour was? Hmmmm

by Anonymousreply 203October 6, 2022 2:19 AM

I love the show, watch then reruns sometimes, still laugh.

by Anonymousreply 204October 6, 2022 6:46 AM

I never really watched it. Ray Romano is a good-looking man.

by Anonymousreply 205October 6, 2022 6:54 AM

“ … and that wife of Ray's was such a shrieking bitch … “

She is just playing herself.

by Anonymousreply 206October 6, 2022 9:47 AM

I wouldn't want to be married to Debra but I liked her character. Yes, she was a bitch at times, but that's because Ray was such a passive husband who did very little to help her around the house. But she was also funny.

by Anonymousreply 207October 6, 2022 11:23 AM

Back in the day when the show was being produced Ray Romano was a sexy Italian American DILF. There are a lot of them on Long Island. I bet he's well hung.

The show was moderately funny. I have Long Island connections and know that they loved it out there.

by Anonymousreply 208October 6, 2022 11:40 AM

[quote] Yet you appear to have watched this series? You know the names of the two main characters and how crazy Hyacinth's behaviour was? Hmmmm

Exactly where did I say or infer that I didn't watch the show? I watched (watch) it regularly. I enjoy the show. Are you on the pipe?

by Anonymousreply 209October 7, 2022 12:30 AM
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