Everyone Tolerates Raymond -- why is this so popular? (1 Viewer)

[Steve K.H.]

At the risk of being flamed, I think this is more of a "Chick Show"... one that the husband and wife will watch together.

It's on parallel with Mad About You.

Not my cup of tea. The situations they find themselves in are similar to day to day life, but the solutions are borderline funny.

To me, it's all or none. Fawlty Towers did it right. Make the solution(s) so absolutely ridiculous that you'll soil yourself laughing.

These formats simply leave me pitying the stupidity of the male.

 

[DaveF]

I'd forgotten about this thread
I've watched some more reruns of "Raymond" and I see a bit more of what people like about it. But at the risk of over-generalizing, I'd say this is not a "single guy's" comedy. I just don't connect with the marital situations and humor.

 

[Brad_V]

I'm single and love the show. I never gave it a chance until about six months ago because the commercials for it never did it justice, but luckily it airs twice a day in syndication here so I could catch up.

The storylines are throw-away similar to Seinfeld, but it's the comedic timing and presentation that make the jokes and stories work. The opening credits used to have Raymond introducing the characters, and then he'd introduce the kids but then whisper, "the show isn't really about them." So it's more of an adult "family" show in that regard because not much time is spent on the kids.

Anyone who doesn't like the show must see the vacuum cleaner episode, the car driven through the living room episode, or the Debra-on-her-period episode. There are plenty of other excellent ones, but those three are right up there. Little Ally picking on a kid on the bus had its moments, too, particularly Ray and Debra fighting in the bedroom when Ray calls her a bully and she does the "Raymond Gaymond go-away'mond" taunt at him.

Man, I almost forgot the episode where Debra finally cooks one type of food great which steps on the toes of the mother-in-law's cooking. "Oh... you got it from a recipe. Now all of a sudden you think you're a cook...." And then she walks in the door while Frank (the father) is eating her cooking. The audience helps out in sitations like that by going, "OOoooooooo...." by seeing the mom so pissed.

The audience does help the show, like many of the Married with Children episodes. The audience is having a good time, so that helps the home viewer have a good time. (Unlike the canned laughter on something like Suddenly Susan.) And they know the characters, so they can predict the behavior and react to it. Like when Al Bundy would walk one of Kelly's dates to the door, you knew he was going to walk the guy's face into it, and on ELR when the brother mouths off at Debra with Ray in the middle, the audience gets ready for Debra to get mad, while Ray takes two steps backwards over the couch to get out of the way for the big fight and tells the brother to play dead.

I'm a big fan of the show, but thinking about it, it really is a bit hard to put a finger on why it's so good. It usually pains me to watch something like Yes, Dear or Suddenly Snoozin', er, Susan because they are so predictable.

I think it must be the actors and the presentation of the show (as well as the writing, of course). Only something like Seinfeld could make as funny an episode out of a trivial thing like buying a vacuum cleaner as ELR can, and did.

 

[Jefferson]

I never dug this either, until the reruns. I caught an episode about writing a generic Christmas letter, and it really was funny. But, my married friends identify with this more strongly.

 

[Larry Geller]

I've been married for a year. When does this show become funny?

 

[David WS]

I didnt' care much for this show until the last year or two. I think the "married a few years" idea is on the money. I've been married five years now and the situations in ELR have much more meaning to me now that they did 3 or 4 years ago when I first saw an episode or two. I really like the show now, but still think the King of Queens is the best show on Monday nights.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

DaveF wrote:

I admit to never having seen more than a snippet or two of the show and finding the "insult humor" decidedly unfunny, but your question begs the associated question in return:
Why was Tim Allen's Home Improvement popular at all, let alone for as long as it was? I'm sure Raymond is significantly better than that program---which was totally brain-dead, as far as I could tell---but the two seem to be constructed in the same vein. They must respond to some need in a portion of the U.S. tv-viewing demographic. That's the best I can tell.

 

[DaveF]

Why was Tim Allen's Home Improvement popular at all, let alone for as long as it was? I'm sure Raymond

While they are similar in broad strokes -- sitcom, family-oriented, guy does dumb things and catches flak for it -- in the details, they are very different to me.
Home Improvement had a very "guy" attitude. Tim "The Toolman" Taylor, crazy projects, power tools, and hot rods. I loved it when it came out, and many of my (engineering) friends loved it as well.
In contrast, Ray is just non-descript to me. He doesn't appeal to my inner power-tool-loving-hairy-man

 

[Zen Butler]

I'm single also, and find the show hilarious. I think it's well written. As someone else mentioned they seem to really inhabit the charachters. Raymond is a whiner, but thats his character. The supporting cast is great. I've never really over analyzed the show, I just find myself laughing every time.

Bless

 

[Jason_H]

I fall in line with a lot of the other previous posts, in the reasons I think this show is borrrrrrrrrrrrrrring. I, too, thought it was funny for about a week until I realized that it was the same situation every single show. IMO, the show is completely formulaic, and what REALLY bothered me is what a few others hit on...the humor is completely mean-spirited. All of my friends and I rag on each other all the time, but NEVER with that kind of tone.

 

[Brad_V]

I admit to never having seen more than a snippet or two of the show and finding the "insult humor" decidedly unfunny,

From seeing the commercials, I never had an inclination to watch the show at all. Then I happened to catch the car-through-the-living-room episode and have been hooked ever since.

 

[David WS]

Jason_H wrote

I, too, thought it was funny for about a week until I realized that it was the same situation every single show. IMO, the show is completely formulaic...

I totally agree. But then again, what show doesn't have this problem? Every sitcom is formulaic, the trick in making a show special is having the characters deal with the same ole situations in different (hopefully) funny ways. I think Raymond is able to do this. It is mean spirited often but for some people, that uncomfortable feeling is what make the show entertaining. IMHO.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Well I'm Married, and you're on Target, it's the standard Men are Idiots to be ridiculed by theri wife , sitcom, substitute Jim Belushi and you get another show. It has a decent cast but I don't get it either, My Wife and Friends all thinkI hate Sitcoms, but nothing could be more from the truth. I hate current Sitcoms. But sit me ina room with "The Odd Couple", Barney Miller, Mash, Green Acres, Honeymooners, and other 60-70's classics and I'm laughing my ass off.