It’s a tried and true formula, but one that’s not always that exciting.
The Barones were crazy, from the grandparents on down, but we loved them.
The characters ofEverybody Loves Raymondare over-the-top.
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Then there’s Ray’s parents, Frank and Marie, who live across the street.
Frank is a grump who never wants to talk about feelings.
Everything is a joke to him.
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He’d rather just watch TV.
Ray, the baby, is the apple of his mother’s eye.
It makes Robert understandably jealous to be ignored.
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The title of the show comes from a frustrated Robert mumbling “Everybody loves Raymond” in early episodes.
It drives him crazy to be in Ray’s shadow.
I go to work, people shoot at me.
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Ray goes to work and people do the wave.
I’m a cop and live with my parents.
I’m on a constant diet of human suffering.
That suffering is not just from how he feels, but how he is overtly treated.
It’s not just from being ignored or being second best.
He’s teased, a lot.
Yeah, it’s a funny visual gag.
Only Debra is always kind to him.
He’s still teased, but he’s stronger.
The kindest, best, and bravest person inEverybody Loves Raymondis so often treated the worst.
Frank Barone Treats Everyone Horribly, Especially His Wife
No one is more cruel than Frank Barone.
A gregarious person he is not.
“There’s only some people I hate,” he says, “the rest I tolerate.”
He flies off the handle easily.
He barely even tolerates his own wife, Marie, the mother of his children.
He teases her often, but we laugh, because, hey, that’s who he is.
Plus, maybe Marie deserves it.
It’s brutal, even for him.
you could see where Robert’s neurosis comes from.
you might also see how it’s affected Ray in his own marriage.
We laugh because he’s being a lovable idiot, but he’s not all that lovable to Deb.
These moments makeEverybody Loves Raymondhard to watch, but it doesn’t make it unwatchable.
Ray might keep messing up with his wife, but he always apologizes.
As for Frank, one episode explains that he comes from a long history of emotional and physical abuse.
He might yell, but he would never think about raising a hand at his wife or kids.
He later feels horrible and tells Marie he loves her.
“You don’t need glasses to see that.”
Everybody Loves Raymondcan be hard to watch in 2023 with how we look at emotional and verbal abuse.
You don’t need glasses to see that.
