Season 3, Episode 7
Moving Out
Plot Summary-Robert moves out and into a house with a couple who act a lot like Marie and Frank
Nitpick of the episode-Kind of hard to believe Robert didn’t see how close a resemblance Rita & Harry had to his parents before Ray pointed out.
Best Line-“I don’t really want him to go. If he goes, it’s just me and her!”…Frank (this is one of my favorite lines of the whole series)
Episode Fun Fact –
Deleted Scenes-none
Syndication Edit-Robert and Amy at the top of the teaser
Best Character-Ray, he did a good thing encouraging his brother to move (even if his mother didn’t think so)
Worst Character-Marie, classic Marie who makes it all about her when Robert moves out.
Final Thoughts-If you can accept the absurd premise, this is a funny episode. Seeing Rita and Harry act like Marie and Frank is funny, it’s good to know that there are other couples out there like that. I guess I can see how Robert was so used to his parents he couldn’t even see that this couple were the same. I gave worst character to Marie but Debra deserves an honorable mention. Of course when Marie spends more time at their house as a result of Robert moving guess who Debra blames? She even makes Ray get Robert to move back, screw what’s good for Robert if it inconveniences Debra!
Grade-C+
Season 3, Episode 8
The Article
Plot Summary-Ray becomes jealous when a friend’s article makes Sports Illustrated
Nitpick of the episode-This episode has a b story which has always bugged me. Marie is totally out of character telling frank not to read the paper at the table (why not? He’s done it before and he’ll do it again) and then her whole thing about English muffins, from someone who makes everything homemade? It all leads to that last joke where marie wrecks Franks paper as some sort revenge for….hell if I know. It’s stupid. Id blame the writers except the writer for this one wrote lots of these (though some were bad episodes)
Best Line-“it’s much harder to watch the person In pain than it is to be the person In pain”…Ray
Episode Fun Fact –This is probably the last of the Ray at work crap, and to be fair it is directly involved in he plot. So happy the creators finally realized we don’t care about Ray at work! Also you can tell Patricia Heaton was pregnant by the real tight shots on her face.
Deleted Scenes-None
Syndication Edit-
Best Character-Ally, she steals the scene she’s in when she interrupts Ray to tell her she had a thousand pennies
Worst Character-Ray, he makes other husbands that don’t listen to their wives look like they do the way he acts in this episode. For once Im on Debra’s side.
Final Thoughts-There’s not much to say about this one. It’s basically about how self centered Ray is. I already discussed the stupid B story. And while I usually give the family grief for giving Ray a hard time but in this episode it’s ok. Ray could have been happy for Andy. By the way, why did Andy ask ray for his help if he was going to reject his notes?
Grade-C
Season 3, Episode 9
The Lone Barone
Plot Summary-Ray has everyone mad at him when Robert and Amy break up
Nitpick of the episode- I could never understand why Ray doesn’t explain that what he said to Robert was just him letting off steam because he was aggravated. Instead he sticks with the “advice” nonsense. Why? Oh that’s right, everyone couldn’t blame him if he did that.
Best Line-“It is sometimes nice every once in awhile for a wife to hear her husband wants to spank a supermodel”…Debra
Episode Fun Fact – Kevin James appears as Doug Heffernan, his character on King of Queens, and not Kevin, the character he had been playing on the show. Wrap your head around that one!
Deleted Scenes-Ray asking Debra about shaving
Syndication Edit- The teaser which was Debra asking Ray to wait for the curtains. On the one hand this is ok since Ray explains it later, but on the other hand the opening scene is used as the teaser, and is way to long for a standard teaser.
Best Character-Robert, I get his reasoning here that he wanted to live alone for the time being. Of course the family doesn’t support it. Shocking. God forbid a guy not want the same thing the girl wants.
Worst Character-Amy, she gets a little carried away redecorating the way she does without even asking first and assuming Robert was on the same page as she; and then breaking up with Robert because he wasn’t ready to commit was duchy. They’d been together two years! It’s no wonder she’ll be back by season’s end.
Final Thoughts-Yeah not a fan of this episode. Not because Robert and Amy break up, but the way the family swarms all over Ray. It doesn’t even make sense, Robert says that Ray had nothing to do with the breakup. Then why did he repeat the stuff Ray had been saying in the earlier scene? The episode can’t even decide if Ray’s rant was that same day or the other day! It is cool to see Ray aggravated, you don’t see that often. This isn’t fair to say I know but this episode is tedious in hindsight because we’ll hear a lot of this again the next couple times the two break up. The only good scene is seeing Doug Heffernan’s cameo. While one could make a case that Ray did somehow encourage Robert to break up with Amy, why after Robert makes it clear it had nothing to do with Ray does everyone still blame him? Why did it have to be Ray’s fault at all?
Grade-C-
Season 3, Episode 10
No Fat
Plot Summary-Marie decides to start eating healthy, starting with Thanksgiving dinner.
Nitpick of the episode-Marie deciding to stop cooking is so preposterous even the episode realizes it. She cooks for a reason!
Best Line- “It starts out with an aftertaste, doesn’t it”…Ray
Episode Fun Fact –
Deleted Scenes-Frank and Marie at the health fair (easy edit since this is all explained later)
Syndication Edit-teaser, Ray and Debra are going to Marie’s for thanksgiving (though losing this you don’t realize it’s a thanksgiving episode right away)
Best Character-Frank, he’s funny in this one
Worst Character-Ray, what was he thinking ordering that food?
Final Thoughts-I love the tag in this episode, where the family gathers to eat the re-heated restaurant food after Marie gives in to hunger. It’s one of my favorite moments in the whole series. Too bad the rest of the episode is only meh. It’s just so out there, Marie cooking health food? And then taking cooking advice from Debra?? This the same woman who will have a freak out when Debra makes something good next season? Yeah the reactions to the tofu Turkey are funny, but Ray ordering food from a restaurant is the definition of forced in my opinion. It wasn’t even foreshadowed, it’s a plot point right out of left field.
Grade-B+
Season 3, Episode 11
The Apartment
Plot Summary-Ray loves hanging at Robert’s apartment because of the beautiful women
Nitpick of the episode-Ray has real trouble lying to Debra, which makes me wonder why he bothers. And why is there an abundance of beautiful women at Roberts place? And why are they all so needy? I’ve lived in a few apartments a and that isn’t typical!
Best Line-“That’s right, vicariously. Vicariously, just looking. Not thinking, not moving, just thanking God for the blessing that is my beautiful wife while I hang pictures. Vicariously.”…Ray
Episode Fun Fact –
Deleted Scenes-none
Syndication Edit-teaser, Ray helping ally with her shoes (by this point ally was actually getting a few lines per episode)
Best Character-Robert, I’m glad that they gave Robert his own apartment it really made his character stronger
Worst Character-Ray, c’mom dude!
Final Thoughts-I said it before but Ray has such trouble lying to Debra you wonder why he bothers! This is basically “Look, Don’t Touch” all over again! The only difference is that this one time when Ray is jealous of Robert, which Robert takes full notice of. Except for that all this episode is really here for is to establish Robert’s new apartment. Which we’ve already seen anyway, so what the hell?
Grade-B
Season 3, Episode 12
The Toaster
Plot Summary-Ray is upset when his parents return he monogrammed toaster he bought them
Nitpick of the episode-Sigh, really Ray? It didn’t occur to you that maybe you should actually be present when you give you parents their gift? That way you make sure they actually look at it since it was something unique? I mean why even bother if you’re not going to see their reaction to it?
Best Line-“You’re a trophy wife? What contest in hell did I win?”…Frank, one of his best lines.
Episode Fun Fact –Ray’s real brother appears again, as a security guard this time.
Deleted Scenes-None
Syndication Edit-Some lines of dialogue between Ray and Robert
Best Character-Frank and Marie, one of the best exchanges between these two is in this episode
Worst Character-Debra, First she’s callous about not seeing Marie or Frank at Christmas. Then while Ray is upset that Marie and Frank returned the gift without even looking at it, Debra makes a comment wondering why their approval is so important to him. Really Debra? Who doesn’t want the approval of their parents? You know, the way you did when your mother visited a few weeks ago!!!! Even when Ray has a reason to be upset she can’t give the guy a break! The worst thing is Robert chimes in agreeing with her, even though his whole goal as a character is getting their approval!
Final Thoughts-Ray really brings this one on to himself. I already mention how he handled giving the gift to his parents. Of course we have no idea how or when he came up with this brilliant idea but Debra should have talked him out of it. It’s hard when you take a risk with a present, which I’m sure was the genesis for this episode (actually according to the commentary it was as creator Phil Rosenthall went through this exact scenario with his folks!). But the scene with Frank and Marie at the store is a classic, one of their best. The funny thing is that Frank and Marie don’t appear until act 2. And yet they are the best part of the episode. The first part is Ray worrying incessantly about his gift. You know, on Christmas Eve it’s kind of pointless to worry any more (which Debra actually says). And why was he worried anyway who wouldn’t like that gift? Even Frank and Marie would have liked it but they never opened the box just returned it as soon as they saw it was a toaster.
Grade-B, Frank and Marie’s scenes are classic the rest is only Ok
I’ll be back with …some less than stellar episodes next time.
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