Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 6, Part 2)

Season 6, Episode 6
Frank Goes Downstairs

Plot Summary-After lying about why Ray and Debra fell off the bed, Frank ends up in the hospital trying to fix their stairs.

Nitpick of the episode-Course, no way in real life Frank would have experienced a fall like that and come away with just a few bruised ribs.

Best Line-“I thought what they had you on was marvelous. I’m going to call Mexico to try and get some for the house”…Marie

Episode Fun Fact –

Deleted Scenes-tag was longer, Frank remember Rays story after all

Syndication Edit-

Best Character-Frank, even drugged up he’s funny. And the scene where he falls through the stairs was brilliantly staged.

Worst Character-Ray, sigh. Really? Bragging to your friends about the fact you fell onto your wife during sex and injured yourself? How old again??? And I love how after he falls off the bed, on to Debra, he wants to keep going even though she hurt herself. What is up with this guy?

Final Thoughts-A few seasons ago we saw that Ray gets uncomfortable talking about sex with his father. This is the episode that really explores that. I also like yet another misdirection, it starts out as another Ray wanting sex story but turns into a Frank episode by the end. Frank also reveals, while medicated, that he liked it when Ray moved next door so they can be pals. This is something of course Frank would never admit had he not been pumped full of drugs. This episode is ok but aside from the very clever stunt where Frank falls through the stairs there’s nothing to remarkable.

Grade-B

Underrated Trek:Riddles (VOY)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek. I am going to revise my criteria for these a bit. Since I have done all the episodes that “I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most” that I can think of, going forward I am focusing on episodes which are good but not great or awful either. Those are decent episodes which kind of always slip under people’s radar’s. Today we have one like that, you don’t hear much about it but it’s not a bad episode at all. Course this is from Voyager so that may not be that high praise. This is…

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Can a Neelix episode actually be good??? Believe it or not, yes!

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 6, Part 1)

Season six is where the series was starting to show some wear. Though not quite as good as the previous two the season was still pretty strong…Until the end, but that’s a rant we’ll get to in a couple weeks.







Season 6, Episode 1
The Angry Family

Plot Summary-The family is shocked when Michael reads his story at school, a story all about “The Angry Family”.

Nitpick of the episode-Of course, Michael could have told Ray and Debra in the kitchen scene that the story was never about them. But then we wouldn’t have had an episode!

Best Line-“I should be writing stories! My life is a gothic novel. And until you have lived in that house with all of them in there with you, day after day, week after week, year after friggin’ year, then you are in no position to judge me! ”….Debra, this is only part of one of her better rants

Episode Fun Fact –The woman standing next to Ray in the opening is Ray Romano’s real life wife; this idea came from creator Phil Rosenthal’s son who did this very thing

Deleted Scenes-none

Syndication Edit-just some added line of dialogue

Best Character-Debra, that scene where she basically explodes at the teacher is a great bit of dialogue. And what she saying is pretty accurate, for once.  I also love Ray’s reactions during it. It’s been awhile since the Dr. Nora just like in that episode we see her here putting on a show pretending to be someone she isn’t before she snaps, what is she afraid of? Is she that ashamed of her life?

Worst Character-Marie, you’ll notice when Frank points out how Marie has never gotten over Ray marrying Debra she doesn’t respond to that charge. She just launches into a speech which is basically “how dare you blame the mother -I work to keep this family happy!”.  Uh huh.

Final Thoughts-A good idea, with an ok delivery. This is actually based on an incident that happened to producer Phil Rosenthal. The problem is that nothing is really resolved, and then in the tag we find out the story was never about them making the whole thing pointless! I commented on Marie above but Robert is borderline obnoxious here making it sound like the reason Geoffrey wrote the book is all because of Ray and the way the family adores him. Um, that’s crap Robert but keep singing that song! And Debra refuses to accept any responsibility at all, it’s all Ray and his families fault. Sure. It’s always all about her. Father Hubley finally makes the valid point that the family is a little to close together, and this is true. No one ever has a chance to take a break and breath. And they won’t either. He also points out how the issue should be the kid and not themselves!

Grade-A-

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5, Part 5)

Season 5, Episode 21
Let’s Fix Robert

Plot Summary-Marie gets Robert’s old girlfriends together to discuss what’s wrong with him

Nitpick of the episode-Why wasn’t Debra invited by Marie to attend that little get together with Amy. Stefania and Judy?

Best Line-“I’m Roberts other ex-girlfriend. Or as I’ll be known from now on, the plain one”…Amy

Episode Fun Fact –“I just wanted us to have a nice candid conversation about life and romance and what’s wrong with you”. ..Marie

Deleted Scenes-none

Syndication Edit-ray coming in with the pizza, the tag where Marie talks some more to Robert

Best Character-Robert, his reactions are perfect here

Worst Character-Amy, I love how Amy blames Robert for their break ups when she was the one who broke up with him each time. Amy seems to forget they actually dated for quite awhile.

Final Thoughts-The implied attraction that Robert has for Debra comes out into the light here, but at least it works. Unlike a much later episode where it’s so not subtle that it stops being funny. But that’s another topic, as for this episode it is kind of funny to see Amy finally meet Stefania and the scenes where they grill Robert are pretty funny. It is a lot like Marie to do what she does here, get involved! Though the meeting gets a little mean spirited at moments. Most of the gripes are nitpicking, but Amy does bring up Robert’s fair of commitment which is the one thing that really does seem like he has to work on. Then Debra gets her speech, again, about how Robert wants to be alone because of his low self-esteem. This dialogue started to get so repetitive that it’s no surprise these kind of “Why can’t Robert find someone” episodes eventually stopped in Season 7.

Grade-B

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5, Part 4)

Ok folks gotta start with an awkward one, so here we go…



Season 5, Episode 16
Fairies

Plot Summary-Ray is upset that Debra volunteered the twins to play fairies in the school play

Nitpick of the episode-Maybe if the script had made it more clear Debra pushed the boys into being fairies I would agree with Ray, but if the kids were up for it (even if Debra did sign them) then what’s the problem?

Best Line-“So what if they’re gay, you think that would be the worst thing? Turning like you would be the worst thing”…Marie (to Frank)

Episode Fun Fact –The prince and the kid in the lion suit that Ray yells at is Ray Romano’s real son

Deleted Scenes-Ray being told the twins are playing fairies. The scene makes it clear Ray is not happy about it from the start.

Syndication Edit-Teaser, Debra reminds ray to pick up the kids

Best Character-Ray, Yeah he’s a jerk through a large part of the episode but at least he shows he’s capable of being open minded in the end. In fact that scene at the end where he is trying to work with the boys is one of his best scenes with the kids in any episode.

Worst Character-Frank, I can respect that he is from the old school and came from a time when gay people were not thought of in the same way they are today. Before this becomes a political discussion, let’s just say the LGB community has come a long way. But why can’t he accept things are different now? The boys being gay would mean…the boys were gay, so what?? He acts exactly like my father would about this subject.

Final Thoughts-Ok gotta talk about something serious here. I almost did a whole article on this but scrapped it when I realized I could offend people here. But here it is, I watched this episode with my wife once and at the end when the boys act out and trash the play I wondered, could they be autistic? I mean they don’t seem to follow any directions and as we’ve seen before (and will again) they have serious trouble in different areas. It could have been bad writing or directing, but that final scene doesn’t strike me as funny at all. As for the rest pf the episode, it’s pretty typical as we see Frank’s homophobia trotted out once more. Then the rest is Ray just being a douche. And the rock idea was one of his dumbest yet! Maybe it would have been better if the boys had more to say. I don’t know maybe they weren’t great actors or something but the kids are like four or five at this point and they barely utter a line! They do in other episodes so not sure why all they do here is laugh and smile.

And yes, I see you there elephant in the room! I should point out that one of those boys, Sawyer Sweeten, sadly committed suicide a few years ago. That is a tragedy of course and please don’t take anything I say as a slam on the actor or his trouble. I am commenting on characters in this episode, and maybe the weird directing, and that is all.


Grade-B+

Man that was awkward. Anyway…..

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5, Part 3)

Season 5, Episode 11
Christmas Present

Plot Summary-Ray gets Debra a great present Christmas to butter her up to let him go on a golf trip.

Nitpick of the episode-Robert really thought that tie was what Debra got Ray for Christmas?

Best Line-“What is a DVD player? Is it for pornography?”…Marie

Episode Fun Fact –

Deleted Scenes-The very end of the second act got trimmed, we see frank broke Rays new DVD player (stupid glad it was deleted)

Syndication Edit-never seen the re-run

Best Character-Debra, it’s nice to get a little deconstruction of her character. And Ray’s right, why the hell did she get him a DVD player of all things? More on this below.

Worst Character-Robert, I don’t like his attitude here he seems to care more about golfing than Ray giving Debra something nice for Christmas.

Final Thoughts-I love the tag where Frank gives Marie a really nice gift. He does it quietly and tells her not to tell anyone. That’s how you handle a character like Frank, yeah gruff and tough but knows when to be nice. Unlike a lot of other episode which make a jerk, end of story. Anyway, the episode is really just Ray and Debra having a conversation which turns into “why does Debra like always complaining”. Because she likes to, she loves being a martyr. And it’s true considering how often she whines about how awful it is to deal with Ray’s family. What’s stopping her from locking the door or speaking up..no, she makes Ray do it because she knows he won’t. Then she can keep complaining!

Grade-A-, possibly my favorite Christmas episode

Top 10 Favorite Space Vessels From TV and Movies

You would think that this idea would be a breeze. But truth is, I don’t watch as much sci fi as you’d think. But after reading Les’s  great articles on this subject, it got me thinking that there were some spaceships I really loved and it was time to finally acknowledged them. So how do I go about this then? One way is to open up the criteria a bit, to cover things I only have a vague awareness of. Not be afraid to pick more than one from each franchise (which I notice is common as I look at other articles) and finally, open it up to more than just “ships”. Though since I have discussed cars already, no cars.



So here are my ten favorite Sci Fi space vessels, and my apologies for all the wonderful shows (and movies) I’ll be leaving off here like Buck Rogers, Red Dwarf, Babylon 5, and Firefly. I’m sorry Serenity, you look cool and all I just know nothing about you! And that pic of Red Dwarf is kind of badass, why is it red?

Anyway….


10.Commicron One

Does this count? The heck with it, it’s my list. If you’re not aware, Atop the Fourth Wall is a web series with an going story line. A part of that story line was when Lord Vyce attacked, and after Linkara defeated him he kept the ship, re dubbed Comicron One. The ship is really cool and has become a character all its own. This is largely helped by the AI that runs it, named Nimue. I know some may disagree but that scene in To Bodly Flee where Comicron One suddenly appears to save the day is one of favorite moments ever!

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5, Part 2)

Season 5, Episode 6
The Author

Plot Summary-Robert comes in with great news the same time Ray gets bad news.

Nitpick of the episode-Another character wants to write a book? This is the third time! Granted the episode isn’t really about that, but still!

Best Line-“you 2idiots. Now I have to eat funions!”

Episode Fun Fact –

Deleted Scenes-Robert searches for a thrown out note (good scene that establishes Rays book, this was obviously the teaser and is a good scene it’s to bad it was deleted)

Syndication Edit-Top of the teaser with the kids interrupted Ray

Best Character-Robert, given all the times Ray’s news has squashed Robert’s this is a nice change of pace.

Worst Character-Ray, not only does he act like a baby but he just overreacts. Is this really a big thing? And you gotta love how he ran off to play golf after promising Debra he wouldn’t. If Rays news hadn’t distracted from that I’m pretty sure I would have been on Debra’s side with that argument. It does seem like he actively tries to avoid spending ANY time with his kids!

Final Thoughts-It’s obvious through the series how immature Ray and Robert are. This may be the episode that exemplifies it. I’m not sure how to feel about the fight they end up having. But truth is they will have an been more ridiculous fight later on so I guess I can let it go. I do love Marie when she stops the two from fighting. She really sounds like a mother, Doris Roberts was awesome.

Grade-B-

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 5, Part 1)

Welcome to Season 5! So after the excellence of the last season, how does season 5 measure up? Really good actually! Let’s start with the season opening two parter:

Season 5, Episode 1-2
Italy

Plot Summary-Marie announces that she is paying for the entire family to go to Italy. The whole family is excited…except Ray.

Best Line-“Don’t fight here. This is the Colosseum.”…Marie with a great line which was delivered kind of poorly

Nitpick of the episode-I will save my spiel on Ray and instead ask a different question. Who thought it was funny to have Debra get hurt by Ray in the end montage? This is after Ray has had a change of heart and he and Debra take in the sites…with him injuring her every step of the way. Was this supposed to be funny???? I love how she has a sling in the montage but it’s gone when they say goodbye at the end. Like the creators wanted to forget that too.

Syndication Edit-The start of the episode with frank and Marie coming to make an announcement (and Debra yelling at Robert about taking Joanne’s card). Also in reruns part 2 begins with a recap.

Episode Fun Fact- Yes this was filmed on location in Italy. The first appearance of Stefania and her father.

Best Character- Robert’s story works good, it feels natural and believable. As I said it is nice to see Robert get some good luck. Two episodes later this is undone, but that’s par for the course with Robert.

Worst Character-Ray

Final Thoughts-Why???? Why did they have to make Ray the jerk of the universe here? Here’s the thing-in the course of the series Ray is not a bad person. He’s a lazy idiot who makes mistakes, but overall he is a happy person. On the commentary for the episode the creators refer to Ray in this story as “evil Ray”. I think that makes sense. If you have to change the character to make the story work, you have failed!!! Ray being a jackass for the trip just feels forced. He says he caught a cold from the air conditioner in the van. Sigh, really?? Even Debra is pleasant because she has decided that seeing Italy is worth being stuck with Ray’s parents. In fact, none of the characters feel right especially Ray and Debra who almost switch places. The creators tried too hard with their plot which ruined an otherwise nice little episode. They should have just done the Ray is clumsy stuff they crammed into the last five minutes, rather than give him a story arc which made no sense. Or since this show is about a dysfunctional family who is always fighting, why not show them fighting like many families often do on long vacations (mine included!) By the time he starts to be happy and enjoy where he is, he’s already done so much whining he just can’t be redeemed. While the first half is ok the episode gets kind of draggy in the second half, with nothing really happening.

Grade=B-, beautiful scenery but the episode is an example of how trying to hard to force a story can kill that episode

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 4, Part 4)

Since the 5th season 4 DVD only had four episodes I decided rather than do an abbreviated article next time to wrap up the season I would do a longer article this time to cover all the remaining episode. So with that said, let’s dig right in!







Season 4, Episode 16
The Tenth Anniversary

Plot Summary-Debra is angry when she finds out Ray recorded over their wedding video with football

Nitpick of the episode-You know it’s bad when Marie takes Debra’s side!

Best Line-“ten years, that’s enough”…Ray

Episode Fun Fact –

Deleted Scenes-Ray and the invitations

Syndication Edit-Top of the scene at frank and Marie’s

Best Character-Debra, Man does she get angry! However, for once I can’t fault her for getting upset. If I had something special on video and someone carelessly recoded over it I’d be a little peeved to. I might have said that she overreacted except the next day she has calmed down and admits she’ll get over it. So a pretty natural reaction here.

Worst Character-Ray, can’t forgive that one. Though you gotta admire how he desperately tries to blame it on someone else when Debra is fuming. He even tries to blame the kids none of whom were born yet! The fact that he forget the vows at the renewal makes even dumber. Thank goodness he managed to remember Debra’s favorite flower!

Final Thoughts-A lot of times this series will have a great idea, and have no idea what to do with it. This is a prime example! The set-up is great, Ray taped over his wedding video. Cool, so what do they do? Ray is coaxed into renewing his vows with Debra. How does that fix the problem? It’s boring and I wish they had gone another way. It’s more about Ray planning the stupid shower than it is Ray recording over the wedding video. Even in the commentary for the episode the creator Phil Rosenthal suggests this very thing when he hears what happened to the writer whose experience this episode is based on. And Father Hubley’s clear disdain for Ray starts to get kind of annoying here. You do have to admire how the friends at the renewal are characters we’ve already seen before on the show.

Grade-B-

Underrated Trek:Hide And Q (TNG)

Welcome back to Underrated Trek, where I take a special look at Star Trek episodes that I love…which may not be the most popular or even liked by most. Sometimes an episode will have some really great ideas in it…none of which go anywhere! We go back to Season One TNG to look at a perfect example of this. This is :

Gonna tweak my format a tad for this one. So can even John De Lancie save this one?

Analytical Episode Guide:Everybody Loves Raymond (Season 4, Part 3)

 Season 4, Episode 11
The Christmas Picture

Plot Summary-Ray decides to get his mother a family portrait for Christmas

Nitpick of the episode-Lots to talk about with this one, see below. One question though, why didn’t Ray just do a picture with Warren and Lois and then without? Seems like a simple solution though Marie probably wouldn’t have seen it that way.

Best Line-“Don’t you see I thought she would like this gift, because she told me she would!”…Ray

Episode Fun Fact –

Deleted Scenes-none

Syndication Edit-not sure never saw the rerun

Best Character-Ray, you gotta feel for this guy. For once the problem isn’t his own fault.

Worst Character-Debra, see below (you can tell we’re getting further into the series she seems to pop up here every episode)

Final Thoughts-One of my first articles ever was my top 5 worst Everybody Loves Raymond episodes. This was #5. But that was unfair, there are worst episodes. I really just wanted to rant about this episode. The truth is I only have one major problem with it, and her name is Debra. Where do I begin? First her commend that the only reason she agreed to alternate between her and Rays family at Christmas was because she was drunk on egg nog. Because of course. Then there is her idea about Christmas morning which was awful (it involved going to see her family Chroistmas Eve and drive back to Marie and Frank’s first thing Christmas morning). Do Ray and Debra no have gifts for their kids? And  I’m sure the kids would’ve loved to spend Christmas morning locked in a car for two hours instead of opening presents or playing with their new toys. And I even agree with Ray when he says that sounds like a lot of driving. So the idea doesn’t land, so we have her revenge since they are seeing Ray’s family Debra can’t see her’s. And how does she get her revenge? She invites her parents to the family photo knowing full well how it will hurt Marie. She didn’t even tell Ray (course not he would have stopped it). That is just evil! Then after this is revealed she pouts and whines about how Marie has to always have things her way and how she doesn’t get to say who is in or out of the family. Deb, the gift is for MARIE I mean, why in the world would Marie want Warren and Lois in her picture? Top it off with everyone else bothering Ray with every little problem at the shoot and it’s no wonder Ray finally snaps. Course when he does he is mocked, though the revenge on Robert in the final line is funny. I can’t help but wonder what that drive home was like for Ray and Debra, or if they actually went through with giving Marie the picture.

Grade-C-, Not the worst but man does this one aggravate me! I can relate to the horror of doing a family photo, it sucks.