Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005)
Everybody Loves Raymond was a sitcom that originally aired on CBS and can now be seen in syndication. It stars Ray Romano as Ray Barone, Patricia Heaton as Debra Barone, Brad Garrett as Robert Barone, Doris Roberts as Marie Barone, and Peter Boyle as Frank Barone. The show was created by Philip Rosenthal.
The story centers around a middle-aged sports writer who lives on Long Island with his wife and children. His older brother Robert lives right across the street with their parents, Frank and Marie.
Unlike Seinfeld, the title character had a huge part in making the show a success. Ray Romano portrays a very slow-to-comprehend man who often didn't know what to do in the often unusual situations his family put him in. Instead of reacting immediately, Ray would just stand there with his mouth hanging open. For instance, in one episode Frank and Marie back their car into Ray and Debra's living room. Instead of being furious with them, he just says "Hey" as if nothing was wrong. Ray just stood there while Debra shouted at Frank and Marie.
The most interesting couple in the show was, without a doubt, Frank and Marie. Frank is a retired bookkeeper and Korean vet. He's always bickering with his wife Marie, who is always unintentionally offending people, especially Debra. One particular episode comes to mind. Ray and his family had gotten Frank and Marie a toaster with a special note carved on it. Marie returns the toaster without noticing the note. After realizing what they had done, they go back to the store to retrieve it. As they do this, they have a quite notable exchange. Marie says, "I'm not just some trophy wife!" Frank replies by saying, "You're a trophy wife? What contest in Hell did I win?"
To wrap, Everybody Loves Raymond is a classic that still makes us laugh to this day.