I’m always in the mood for a good sitcom, a good background television program, and of course I came across Everybody Loves Raymond. I friggen love shows that have a similar premise to this. Small knit families, everyday household dynamics with underlying romance. Every character brings something to the show, the comedy is gold, and of course the interpersonal relationships are explored plenty.

At first when I started I thought we were going to learn about Raymond and he was going to be the main character. Nope everyone in this show is a main character. We got introduced to Debra and it was chaos to watch their relationship play out. Good, bad, ugly all of it. The relationship that Debra had with with Ray’s parents was so realistic yet laced with humour as not to make it too dark.

Raymond has an overbearing mom, daddy issues, and a creepy awkward older brother. They all bring something to the show. We see how Debra and Marie struggle to find a balance in their relationship, and eventually we see that they are going through similar situations. Marie is the way she is because her husband is a man child, and let’s not kid ourselves. So is Raymond.

Robert is probably my favorite character. He’s awkward and has no idea how to behave with women. But he has a stable job, and he’s passionate about life in general. He’s an afterthought to his parents yet he keeps his head up. It would be easy for Robert to be the cooler brother out of the two, but he owned who he was unapologetically – eventually. Of course he made his fair share of mistakes, he regressed, and he grew. He was flawed but realistic.

We get a glimpse into the relationship that Debra and Raymond share. It’s far from perfect which is so refreshing to see. Yeah of course they had the typical honeymoon period when they first met, but eventually enough time passes and we are shown how much work a marriage is. They have their ups and downs but they eventually learn to meet each other halfway. They kind of remind me of Claire and Phil from Modern Family except way more chaotic.

If you’re looking for a low engaging sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond is the way to go. With immense rematch value and something to look out with each watch. The characters are all flawed, I don’t think it’s easy to develop a favorite, but it’s nice to see the realism of everyone. Nothing is perfect, there isn’t a happy ending, it’s just life trying to play out its course.

Give it a go, if nothing else you’ll definitely last.

television