Monday evenings on Star World are full of funny shows and each one is better than the other because each show is different than the rest. Everybody Loves Raymond is a funny show which also has the saas-bahu issue but with a difference !!!
Picture this : A man is enjoying a quiet evening with his wife and kids. There is nice music playing in the background and he is actually dancing to it. Suddenly he [and you too] look outside the window to see an elderly couple alongwith a huge guy coming towards his house. Immediately there is chaos in the room as he rushes to close the door & switch off the radio. Now picture this man with his back on the main door trying to take a breather after his run through the house :) As soon as you see him you can also see a hand patting his head from the letter box !!!! This is the most amazing show starter scene of any serial ever seen :) Each time we see this it appears to be as amusing as the last time, especially the expression on this poor man’s face :)
This poor guy is Mr. Raymond Barone the main character of Everybody Loves Raymond. A happy go lucky guy, he makes his living writing about sports & he is crazy about golf & his wife Debra :) Obviously many a times he has to make a choice between the two and such episodes are hilarious. Raymond is a pretty simple guy who wants to please everyone but at the same time wants to keep himself happy too. This is rather difficult for him [as it would be for anyone of us too :)] and hence they have made a whole show of our dear Ray’s life :) What makes his task more difficult is the fact that its his family [read : his Mom, Dad & Brother] who live just opposite Ray’s home are the ones who contribute the most to his miseries.
Wife Debra : is a typical wife who cooks, cleans, looks after the kids and house and loves Raymond, inspite of his being so partial with his parents. I have often wondered what it could that drew Debra to Ray? Till date couldn’t figure it out :) But the couple is truly a match made in heaven. On the other side poor Debra is always trying to make peace with her in-laws, which would be a impossible task for any daughter-in-law. She does stick to her guns sometimes but its no use because in the end she has to give in to Raymond & Marie. Debra is no match for both of them :)
Daugher Ally : a cute 8year old, who is a brilliant girl, sometimes even smarter than her dad !.
Twin sons- Geoffrey & Michael : around 4 years old. One is smart while the other one is little slow. The slow one Geoffrey is termed as ’’he is gonna be a gay when he grows up’’ by Ray’s father [this is the bad part of the story].
Mother Marie : She is the one who devours every other character in the show & is surely the scene stealer ! Amazingly enacted by Doris Roberts. Short pudgy motherly figure who is sweet only to Raymond and sometimes to her elder son Robert. She adores her grankids and is forever cooking mouth watering dishes :) Naturally, she doesnt like Debra who she thinks is not fit enough to be married to her dear son Ray. Even after so many years Marie has not taken to liking Debra and is always criticizing her in everything debra does, especially her cooking, giving Debra unwanted cooking advice. Marie’s fridge is never empty of good stuff and her remedy for every problem is to offer something delicious she cooked.
Father Frank : is an ultimate terror in the family. His favorite dialogue [hindi mein kahe to Takiya Kalaam] is ’’Holy Crap’’ !! Each reaction from him seems to end or begin with Holy Crap :) I really dont like this character and would be terrified if my father-in-law had any resemblance to Frank !!! he has nothing good to say to anyone and is always eating, making fun of his grown up sons and the worse is the he calls one of his gransons a gay !! Enough said about Frank :)
Elder Brother Robert : is a policeman. Robert is a divorcee and his lives with his parents. Each time his parents drop over to Ray’s home, Robert is sure to follow. My other siblings feel that Robert is jealous of Raymond but I dont see it that way. Robert is shown as a elder brother who feels that Raymond gets everything. This is certainly true as its obvious during the parts where Marie & Frank reminisce their kids childhood times. Robert is the sweetest character of the show. The opposite of Raymond, he is well mannered, gentle and often shy :) He is actually more intelligent than any of the guys on the show but is often ridiculed by Ray & his father. In the last few episodes he moved in his own apartment but had to come back to his parents home after he was hit by a bull !!! Those parts were really funny & they brought the best of Robert’s character :)
As is obvious from my review........... Everybody loves Raymond but I love his brother Robert !! lol ;)
Ofcourse, there are times when one wonders a lot about why Ray is so partial to his family to the extent of ridiculing his wife in front of his mom or why he never makes any effort to make things better between the two. Why isnt Ray shown to be more involved in the house or with the kids? Why doesnt Marie tell what exactly is wrong with debra that makes her not good enough for Ray? But then again one realises that its just a comedy show lets leave all that for the soddy ekta kapoor shows ;)