It's the final season of Everybody Loves Raymond. The final season. Ray Romano's family comedy has been reliably funny over the years. The ensemble cast has developed the comedic rhythm that marks all the best comedies. Mixing repartee and slapstick, each actor knows his character and hits the right notes at the right time.
It looks like the last season may fail the viewer and go for meaningful moments. Teasers promised a bombshell for the premiere. A baby was a possibility but not a likely one considering that the three children already on the show spend quite a bit of time quietly upstairs.
The actual twist is as unlikely as a new unseen child. Marie, the doting grandmother and interfering mother-in-law, and husband Frank move away to a retirement village in New Jersey after one weekend visit. "Allie's old enough to babysit" does not adequately explain the sudden loss of devotion to her family.
At first, the beleaguered brothers and their wives celebrate but, at the moment of departure, they all sit mournfully, staring at the floor. The show ends in silence, hitting us over the head with the fact that everyone really did love the parents, who are not dead but moving 85 minutes away.
Comedies should be funny and there was no laughter at the end of this show. Instead, we had grief over something not particularly sad. Previews show us the parents back. So why did we need to be hit over the head to understand that underneath the bickering, the boys love their parents? No one could figure out a funnier way to do this?
Article comments
1 - danie
hey enjoyed your review, i thought this was season 9 of "elr", see http://epguides.com/EverybodyLovesRaymond/