A great example of how a talented supporting cast can elevate a nothing show.

okay whose idea was it to add this tv show

Do the Emmys really expect me to believe that shit lord Jim Parsons is funnier than the great Peter Boyle. The Big Bang Theory is just the worst. How does he have so many comedy Emmys?

Holds up better than other mass-produced sitcoms because of its family dynamics.

similar to how friends ends up rated higher than the episodes, much funnier and makes friends seem like it had a laugh track or gassing audience, but mainly cuz this is my family

This is a great show. This is what happens when you live with your in laws. Pretty much like everyone on this show.

stays very safe, family dramacomedy shouldn't be quite so run of the mill for so long

Does everyone really love Raymond? This was a run of the mill sitcom that never really clicked most of the time. Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle were funny the odd time. This show lacked the big laugh and in comedy thats how you keep them coming back.

Very good.

I didn't like this show when it first aired, but on repeats I found a charm in its simplicity. Almost every episode is a bottle episode, which from a writing standpoint is fairly impressive, and the cast could make the most throwaway line, the most unfunny sentiment, a riot. That's right -- a riot! I laugh at this show now, and I'm probably as surprised as you. I say give it another chance. Watch one of its best-rated episodes. Don't judge offhand, just enjoy the dynamic of the characters.

Seems very content to be wholly unremarkable

This show was a bit of a minefield for enjoyability because sometimes the awkward factor went up too high past the humor. Debra was a little too angry, Ray's father was a little too much a jerk. But what a piece of work Ray's mother was, and you could feel the manipulation throughout.

No they don't

I was REEEAAALLLY annoyed by this show during its run on TV, and its consistently colossal ratings. I often used "Everybody Loves Raymond" as just a generic stand-in term for all that was safe and generic and crappy and lowest common denominator on TV. Now, many years later, I've softened up a bit. I mean, I still don't like it. But I've blearily half-watched a few reruns in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, and you know what? I've seen LOTS of worse TV.

Come on, it wasn't good, but it wasn't that bad either.

I want to hate it, but I don't and I'm not sure why?

Just another sitcom.

not just unfunny but really annoying in some way too, skip the channel real quick when I come across it.

The definition of a standard by the numbers sitcom. Oh my inlaws! - I stole Kermit's voice.