Top 20 Greatest Everybody Loves Raymond Scenes.
Everybody Loves Raymond is one of the greatest and funniest sitcoms ever made as well as one of the greatest tv series period. The show ran a super successful 9 season run on CBS and continues to make us laugh through DVDs, streaming services and reruns on Tv Land, TBS, IFC etc.
The show gave us so many iconic moments both hilarious and deeply heartfelt that I wanted to share what I thought were the twenty best scenes of the whole series.
Hereeeee we go!
20.The Fruit of The Month Club. “Pilot”. Season 1, episode 1.
This iconic scene set up the show perfectly and is to this day one of the most memorable and funny scenes in the series. When Ray comes to his parents’ house to discuss Debra’s birthday, he ends up getting hit with a whole lotta crazy when his two parents freak out about him signing them up for the Fruit of The Month Club.
19. Ray and Robert’s photoshoot. “The Model”. Season 8, episode 21.
A modelling agent tells Robert he has a unique look and convinces him to pose for head shots with their `in-house’ photographer, but when Robert and Ray return for the pictures, they are surprised to find the modelling agency has mysteriously disappeared. This episode gave us the hilarious and classic scene of Ray and Robert doing a photoshoot to fool the rest of the family.
18. Robert propose to Amy. “Just a Formality.” Season 7, episode 14.
We all remember when Robert FINALLY proposed to his long time (and suffering) girlfriend Amy MacDoogal played by the super talented Monica Horan. It had been a long and crazy journey but this moment was a big pay off for both characters.
17. Robert thwarts a hold up at Nemo’s. “The Ride Along”. Season 2, episode 17.
When Robert and his partner Judy take Ray on a ride along, Robert intercepts a robbery at local Pizza place Nemo’s and shows just how badass and heroic he really is. We the audience share Ray’s amazement as we see a totally different side to the lovably insecure Robert.
16. Debra drops the turkey. “Fighting In-Laws.” Season 5, episode 9.
One of the longest laughs in the show’s history is when after unloading on Ray about her parents’ marriage, Debra ends up dropping the slippery turkey and struggles to pick it up a few times before she’s finally able to throw it in the oven in frustration. Patricia Heaton is truly in full Lucille Ball\Carol Burnett mode of physical comedy here and is hilarious, as is the kicker line by Ray “I always wondered where the flavor came from”.
15. Ray and Debra’s first date. “How They Met.” Season 3, episode 25.
This episode is in both Phil Rosenthal’s and Ray Romano’s top five favorite episodes of the series, and it’s at least in my top 10 list. The classic scene of Ray and Debra’s first date was funny, sweet and romantic.
14. Frank reveals his abusive childhood to Ray and Robert. “Boys Therapy”. Season 9, episode 6.
The women pressure Ray and Frank to accompany Robert to one of his therapy sessions. Instead, they head to the racetrack. The scene with the guys at the racetrack where they end up having the therapy session they were faking and Frank talks about his abusive father is one of the most poignant scenes in the whole series, and certainly a scene that shows the more vulnerable side of Frank Barone. The acting of Ray, Brad and Peter was exquisite.
13. Robert’s done trying to find the one. “She’s The One.” Season 7, episode 9.
Poor Robert had the worst luck when it came to his love life. By season 7 he had broken up with his steady girlfriend Amy, (for the third or fourth time) and was once again on the prowl for “the one”. After discovering how off the wall his date really is, Robert decides that he’s done trying to find love. This scene gave us one of the show’s most poignant dramatic moments and for the first time ever ended the scene without a joke.
12. Marie speaks her piece at Robert’s Wedding. “Robert’s Wedding.” Season 7, episode 24.
Marie Barone has never been one to keep quiet when she felt she needed to speak her mind and Robert’s wedding was no exception. The facial expressions by Brad Garrett and Monica Horan as well as the classic one liners by Peter Boyle, Patricia Heaton and Ray Romano, and Doris Robert’s great performance makes this scene one of the most memorable and funniest wedding scenes in tv history.
11. Ray cries and dances with joy. “Alone Time.” Season 4, episode 20.
One of Ray’s funniest and surprising moments in the whole series. This classic scene is so funny because it’s so relatable. We all know that this is the kinda stuff we do in our own houses when nobody else is around.
10. Marie’s special Thanksgiving “Tofurkey” leaves a sour taste. “No Fat.” Season 3, episode 10.
Thanksgiving with the Barones was always a treat, but the classic season 3 Thanksgiving episode was perhaps the funniest and most insane Thanksgiving episode of them all. After getting checked for High Blood Pressure, Marie decides to go on a diet and makes a Tofu Turkey for Thanksgiving, much to the dismay of Ray, Robert and Frank. The classic dinner scene with the tofu turkey all gussied up is one of the top 10 laugh out loud moments in ELR history.
9. Ray doesn’t wake up and his family doesn’t know what to do. “Finale.” Season 9, episode 16.
The series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond is one of tv’s all time greatest final episodes, and this very memorable and hauntingly real scene hits home with all of us. After going through surgery to have his adenoids removed, Ray doesn’t respond right away for thirty seconds is one of many great moments from the episode. We’ve all been in this situation before with loved ones, and they didn’t always turn out as lucky as this one did, so we can all relate to and empathize with the Barones as they go through thirty seconds of terror. Great dramatic performances from this amazing ensemble made this scene that much more powerful.
8. Ray catches Robert’s date eat a fly. “She’s The One.” Season 7, episode 9.
One of the funniest scenes in any sitcom ever is when Ray catches Robert’s seemingly perfect date eat a fly. Ray Romano was at his absolute best in this entire sequence. His facial expressions and then later screaming of “SHE ATTTTE ITTTT!” all make this scene comedy gold. It’s a masterclass comedy performance.
7. Robert and Amy’s wedding dance. “Robert’s Wedding part 2.” Season 7, episode 25 .
Robert and Amy’s wedding dance to Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” is a pure classic. Funny, sweet and oddly romantic, a perfect ending to a great two part wedding episode. Brad and Monica had such great chemistry and you can easily tell how much fun the two had killing it on that dance floor.
6. Marie reveals her true feelings about Robert’s job to Agent Garfield. “Lucky Suit”. Season 6, episode 16.
It took a stranger to force Marie to drop the facade and her usual antics, and get real. Marie confessing to Agent Garfield why she subconsciously ruined Robert’s lucky suit and how she really feels about his job is a truly touching scene, but also had a lot of great laughs from Roberts who could make you laugh then cry and laugh again without breaking a sweat. It’s no wonder Doris Roberts won her second Emmy out of four for this episode. (Skip to 3:09 for the scene)
5. Robert goes comatose at FBI Interview. “Lucky Suit.” Season 6, episode 16.
From the same episode, Robert’s interview with the FBI doesn’t exactly go as well as he had hoped when his mother sends the FBI a totally embarrassing letter explaining about the burn mark on his lucky suit. Brad Garrett also won an Emmy for this episode and you can see why as we are treated to two of the funniest moments ever as Robert goes completely comatose out of humiliation at the interview and then when she shows up at Ray and Debra’s house with a terrifying death stare at Marie.
4. Robert gets down at the club. “Robert’s Date.” Season 3, episode 15.
One of my personal favorite moments out of the entire series as well as a fan favorite. When Robert goes out with his black partner Judy to the club where she and her friends hang out. After initially feeling a bit out of place, Robert starts to fit in when he busts a move out on the dance floor as Judy and her friends chant “Go, Robert! Go, Robert!” A truly hilarious scene that makes you feel good for Robert who finally finds a group he feels he belongs to as well as show us all just how adept a dancer Brad Garrett is.
3. Debra freaks out. “The Angry Family.” Season 6, episode 1.
The Barones get a little surprise when Michael reads a story in school called “The Angry Family”. In this scene Ray and Debra attend a parent\teacher meeting to have a discussion with his teacher and when the finger is pointed at Debra on where the anger in the family comes from, she unloads about her “Gothic Novel” life. Patty Heaton gives a tour de force performance as she hilariously breaks down Debra’s hard life. This is perhaps the funniest Debra scene of all time.
2. Frank and Marie get kicked out of the retirement community. “Not So Fast.” Season 9, episode 2.
Without a doubt, the season opener and following episode of season 9 gave us two of the all time greatest scenes in the show’s entire run. In this scene Marie and Frank get kicked out of their retirement community for being… well, Marie and Frank. Amazing comic performances from all four actors make this scene comedy gold. At this point in the show, we all knew the characters so well that we can just visualize everything being described about Marie and Frank’s antics at the home.
1.Ray, Debra, Robert and Amy celebrate Marie and Frank’s big move. “The Home.” Season 9, episode 1.
After Marie and Frank announce that they’re planning to move to a retirement village eighty five minutes away, Ray, Debra, Robert and Amy celebrate in the kitchen and give us over a minute of pure hilarity. The funniest part is when Ray attempts to place Debra on top of the refrigerator like Robert did Amy, but of course just ends up slamming her up against it. The cast’s pure joy and the non stop laughter from the audience puts this scene at the very top. Everybody Loves Raymond at its very best.
I could name several more hilarious, heartfelt, dramatic etc. scenes from this iconic sitcom, but we’d be here all day. These are the top 20 that immediately came to my head and all of them are personal favorites of mine. A great comedy that blends relatable humor with poignant and grounded moments is hard to find, but the writers, directors, producers and cast of ELR managed to catch that lightening in a bottle and milked it for all its worth. ’Til next time, folks!