Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jinju]

if everybody loved raymond wouldnt that show be pulling 100% of the audience in its time slot week in and week out? As far as I see it, maybe something like 20% of the people who watch TV really like Raymond. I dont know what their ratings were like when the show was at its best and most widely watched but I dont think Im way off. So, shouldnt the show's name be changed to "A fifth of the people Love Raymond"?

Discuss.

[tiger fancini]

I don't love Raymond, I think he's a *beep*. An unfunny *beep*, too.

[HapKi]

I don't love Raymond. He does not own a pair of balls and is a disgrace to all manhood, and his ogre brother with the annoying voice is reason enough to change the channel, if I was foolish enough to start watching in the first place. Don't even get me started on over-bearing, annoying Mother. The whole show's premise is stupid to begin with. Why don't they just move away?

[VanIslander]

It is awful and I don't understand how it's survived.

Is it the New York demographic?

*shrug*

[Sina qua non]

It's pretty good, wholesome entertainment. It's about a family and the relationships in a family and it makes fun of how most people act towards different people in their families at some points in their lives.

There's no morbid obsession with death and the processes of death and methods of killing that are the focus of the CSI franchises (the most popular series in the U.S.). But, then, this point might ultimately just boil down to a comedy vs. tragedy comparison.

The subject appeals to a wide demographic due to the age ranges of the characters, as opposed to a narrowly focused demographic of a show like Friends. Friends is intensely popular to a narrow audience (20-30 year olds), while Everbody Loves Raymond is enjoyed by a much, much larger audience (families with children, grandparents, etc.).

It is a relaxing show to watch; no one will die if the hero doesn't solve some mystery. This show is a cathartic change from such high-intensity entertainment as 24 or Lost.

It's pure escapism. It deals with everyday life issues, and not then currently popular issues, such as political current events or problems in reality, again, like a show such as 24.

And, lastly, it reminds the audience that the individual audience member the he or she is not the sole, most important person in the world. Part of the tension of the show is that everybody loves Raymond, but Raymond also has a tendency to get an inflated sense of self. Jokes are made to bring him back in line with the rest of the family.

This is something the current generation of people (20s-30s) need a healthy dose of humility regarding. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, quoting Kilgore Trout's short story character, Dr. Schadenfreude: "'When will you ever learn that nobody cares anything about you, you, you, you boring, insignificant poop? Your whole problem is you think you matter!'"

O.K., maybe that overstates it a bit, but it does seem to put the ball in the right section of the court. And this summarizes the crux of the issue between Raymond Barrone and his brother Robert Barrone.

Everybody Loves Raymond ran for nine years and won a lot of awards, so it's seemed to have done some things right.

[Qinella]

[jinju]

[gang ah jee]

gang ah jee Wishes Raymond No Specific Harm.

[formerflautist]

Formerflautist does wish Raymond harm. She imagines ways to kill him because she hates him and his mother and his brother sooooo much.

[The Chewbacca Defense]

Yes but what begs the question now then is "Does everybody hate Chris?"

[Smee]

I enjoy the program. This in spite of my disdain for New York. As someone else said, it's a stress-free half hour. Oh my god, the kids are acting up for the babysitter?!? Raymond shook up the Cola in the fridge?!? Mom's cookies taste funny?!? And it's in English.

[Lizara]

Every so often, a show comes along that I watch and I swear I can actually hear the brain cells dying, screaming for mercy as they're relentlessly bashed to death by the "comedy" or "suspense" or melodrama of the show. Everybody Loves Raymond is one such show. It beats out reality TV and WWF, but not by much.

[Rteacher]

I think it has all the ingredients of a classic sitcom. All my relatives (in Massachusetts and Long Island...) love it.

The show's name is Everybody Loves Raymond, not Everybody Loves "Everybody Loves Raymond"..

Overated comic Chris Rock tried to spoof the great title by naming his sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris...

Because the show is largely based on the stand-up humor of veteran comedian, Ray Ramano, which draws mainly from his personal and family relationships, he is naturally the central character that everyone relates to - in funny ways. His wife and his mother (who lives across the street...) naturally compete to see who can most affectionately serve Ray. There's also fatherly and brotherly and otherly love going on that's centered on him.

The supporting cast , while not as great as Seinfeld's or All In the Family's, is very talented and funny. Patricia Heaton (wife), Doris Roberts (mother), Peter Boyle (father), and Brad Garett (brother) are all excellent in their roles. What's not to like?


http://www.cbs.com/primetime/everybody_loves_raymond/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everybody_Loves_Raymond#Trivia

[gang ah jee]

Does Krishna love Raymond? Is Raymond mentioned in the Mahabharata?

[Smee]

I wonder if Raymond prefers Korean or Chinese women.

His father talks a lot about being stationed in Korea . . . maybe he's posted about a Korean thigh or two.