Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete Fourth Season

Series star and co-creator Ray Romano once told Entertainment Weekly that Raymond's best episodes start with "a small relatable concept and go somewhere bigger and deeper." Among the season's most memorable episodes that follow this formula are "The Can Opener," in which the entire Barone family becomes embroiled in Raymond and Debra's senseless argument; the Emmy-nominated "The Christmas Picture," in which Marie threatens to sit out a family photograph once she learns that Debra's parents are to be included; and the one in which Raymond discovers that Debra enjoys a good cry during her "Alone Time." ("Do you cry because I'm stupid?" he asks. "No," she replies, "I eat ice cream because you're stupid."). And all parents whose children came of age during the Pokemon craze will identify with Raymond's desperate attempts to scrounge up a valuable card for his daughter in the episode, "Hackidu." To quote the old comedy maxim: It's funny because it's true. And it's the universal truths and minutiae about family and married life that are at the heart of Raymond's enduring success. --Donald Liebenson