Season 7, Episode 16
Sweet Charity
Plot Summary-Debra forces Ray into doing volunteer work, which he enjoys-until Robert starts to hog the attention
Nitpick of the episode-Why is Ray so insecure when Robert is the center of attention? Is it so hard to come back another day? Granted it would have been nice if Robert told Ray he was going but since it was Debra’s idea I guess we know who to blame
Best Line-“I was doing charity work and because it wasn’t convenient for you you wanted me to stop”..Ray
Episode Fun Fact –We see Timmy again, for some reason.
Deleted Scenes-none
Syndication Edit-top of teaser, Ray yelling at the cable company
Best Character-Ray, nice to see him enjoying charity work
Worst Character-Debra, do I need to explain why? This is one time when it’s not me being nitpicky, she’s awful here. Ray is enjoying his charity work but when it became inconvenient she tries to trick him into quitting. By lying to Robert which is even worst. Ugh. At least she gets called out on it. Oh and did I mention she signed him up without asking him and then guilted him into it?
Final Thoughts-First of all, the thing with Ray and him fainting at the blood is stupid. He’s an adult for crying out loud! The episode itself is ok but what is up with that twist in the end where we find out Debra sent Robert in to discourage Ray form doing any more charity work? Is she really that awful that she makes Ray feel bad for not doing more charity and then tries to get him to quite when it’s not convenient for her anymore? Obviously it was another case of her making him do something because she didn’t want to, not expecting him to enjoy it!
Grade-B-
Season 7, Episode 17
Meeting the Parents
Plot Summary-Frank and Marie meet Hank and Pat for the first time…and hijinks ensue.
Nitpick of the episode-Hank says he has never tried a muffin, any kind of muffin, ever. I agree with Frank that’s crap, with all the varieties of muffin’s out there he’s never even tried one??
Best Line-“Dear God, please keep this crazy in-law family the hell away from me!”…Frank
Episode Fun Fact -for whatever reason this episode and the previous are in the wrong order on the DVD
Deleted Scenes-Peter yelling at everyone after Amy locks herself in her room
Syndication Edit-hank asking Amy if she went to church, which makes the later bit when pat mentions it make sense. In the rerun how did she know that Amy didn’t go?
Best Character-Frank, you gotta how in your face he is. I mean he doesn’t even try to be subtle! And honorable mention to ray for the speech at the end about how all that matters is love.
Worst Character-Marie, at times I think she just likes pestering Frank for the heck of it. That scene where she refuses to give him his muffin (because it would be rude to eat in front of people who aren’t) is stupid and it’s no wonder Frank has to take matters into his own hands. Just give him a damn muffin!
Final Thoughts-There is something about this episode that whenever I hit it during the re-runs, I realize the show has gotten to the point where the end is near. Some of it may be Peter Boyle who from here on in looks like he is sick. The episode isn’t bad but it’s very claustrophobic, never leaving Amy’s apartment. But we see Marie and frank meeting Amy’s parents and it goes about as well as you’d expect. And we have the added subplot of Amy’s parents being against the marriage and wanting Amy to go home with them. It’s Rays speech at the end which solves the problem. What is up with Amy’s parents, can they not accept that not everyone is like them? The barones go to church and share similar values (like appreciating family and praying as the episode shows) so why are they so stuck up? By the end of the series they will learn to relax a bit. And Peter is even stranger, he explains here why he is against the wedding and I still don’t get it.
Grade-C+
Season 7, Episode 18
The Plan
Plot Summary-Ray encourages Robert to intentionally screw up the wedding invitations to get out of doing them at all. It doesn’t end well.
Nitpick of the episode-There is a small retcon here when we learn Ray was in charge of a wedding band and finally picked one especially awful on purpose so Debra would take over the responsibility. Again it’s small so we can overlook but at the same time, how did Debra not see through that??? And to be fair, why didn’t Amy want to do the invitations with Robert? Also,did the wedding planner look at those at all before sending them out? you’d think she would have figured out there was a problem and called Amy first.
Best Line-“There’s going to be nude people! At a Church! On a Wednesday!”…Amy
Episode Fun Fact –
Deleted Scenes-none for this episode
Syndication Edit-Robert Amy vetoed Roberts wedding idea giving credence to Rays “she really wants to it” crap. We also get hank and pats reaction in the tag (which is dumb no wonder it was removed
Best Character-Amy, that scene of her freaking out about the invitations was one of her best moments of the series. Laugh out loud funny when I first saw it.
Worst Character-You need to ask? Ray should never have made Robert do that. At least with his wedding it was a wedding singer, something which was private and easily changed. This is wedding invitations which everyone could see. I know they “weren’t supposed to go out” but what if they did?? They also over did it no one would have believed those mistakes were “accidental”, even Amy calls them obvious. I think the worst part is how he spins it, he says he did because Amy really wants to and by him doing it’s taking something away from her. What??
Final Thoughts-Ray Ray Ray..what the hell were you thinking? Would it really have been so hard to help Robert with the invitations, you could have spent he same amount of time that you spent doing them wrong! Course the real meaning of this episode is the question, do husbands screw things up on purpose to get out of doing them at all? I like how in the end they do turn the tables to point out women do it too. The big problem with this episode is the second half just kind of peters out, as if the writers didn’t know what else to do. The first half is great especially the scene where Amy reads the botched invitations. And Rays reaction to them also. I can even give Debra a pass when she yells at Ray, there’s good cause for once.
Grade-B-
Season 7, Episode 19
Sleepover at Peggy’s
Plot Summary-Ray is forced to bring Ally over to Peggy’s house, where he receives an unusual thanks from her after putting up a tent
Nitpick of the episode-This episode establishes that Peggy isn’t such a bad person at all. Too bad Ray forgets this two seasons later.
Best Line-”A woman doesn’t get a man into a tent unless she’s going in after him!”…Marie
Episode Fun Fact –Peter Boyle is absent (I think Gianni is there in place of Frank)
Deleted Scenes-none
Syndication Edit-top of the teaser establishes Debra is sick
Best Character-Peggy, yeah I know it’s weird to have her here but I like they made her into a normal person without altering her whole character
Worst Character-Debra, Ray comes home with medicine for her cold and of course she is stunned.
Final Thoughts-I like this episode because it takes a character who was portrayed as horrible and shows that she really isn’t. Peggy isn’t all bad and she does have a reason for her crankiness. She was married to a louse husband until she threw him out, and as she tells the story Ray realizes the striking parallel between him and Debra. The dumb part is the padding. After setting up a tent Peggy gives a Ray a pat on the butt. And he obsesses over whether she was hitting on him or not including the lame bit where he tries to demonstrate to Robert how she did.
Grade-B-
Season 7, Episode 20
Who’s Next?
Plot Summary-When a neighbor dies, Marie announces she had been her choice to replace her if she died. Which gets Debra and Ray discussing who each other would pick to replace them if they died.
Nitpick of the episode-I love in sitcoms (and I’m sure it happens in real life) when a wife asks a question almost to provoke an argument. When Debra asks who he’d pick to replace her, what answer wouldn’t have resulted in a fight?? Why even go there?
Best Line-“How about I replace you with somebody nice”…Ray
Episode Fun Fact –We finally meet the much talked about Harriet Lichmann
Deleted Scenes-after the family leaves in embarrassment Robert offers ray and Debra a ride home
Syndication Edit-top of the teaser, Ray tells frank to turn off the tv
Best Character-Frank, love his reaction when Harriet appears at the funeral
Worst Character-Debra, why does she get sooo jealous when Ray seems pleased at the idea of Linda taking her place?
Final Thoughts-Is it wrong to say that The Cosby Show did this better? I don’t even get it this a real conversation people have? The whole subject is morbid and why does Debra even bring it up, doesn’t she know it will likely end in a fight? Then we get the scene at the funeral home which is borderline offensive. Not much to say here.
Grade-C+
One more season 7 article to come next time as we diveinto the Robert’s wedding episodes
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