Never saw him acting as if he was supposed to be a sports writer.

Time to call on a family witness: My stepson....

"I don't see how he's a sports writer and he has so much time with his family," says the stepson, as stepdad winces. "It's backward."

BURN!

Physical and emotional separation from one's children is painful, of course. But all that sadness becomes worth it, one special day a year, when you get to not vote for Roger Clemens.

I always knew Raymond wasn't a realistic sportswriter, because I never saw him act like Oscar Madison.

This is going to be the case for just about any profession portrayed in a sitcom. There have been sitcoms about magazine editors, which is a job I used to have, but they never showed people staring into computer screens all day long, or reading paper manuscripts once in a while to break up the monotony. Then in a moment of real drama, we'd go yell at the art department for giving us space for only 650 words on a feature that had been assigned at 2000. Now those were some highjinks.

The only episode I saw of Raymond, he was interviewing Kristi Yamaguchi. So, aside from that, he never worked? That seemed like such an awful show, I am really baffled by its popularity.

Did we rewind back to Bush II's first term and I just didn't notice? Hasn't this show been off the air for like a decade?

I always thought he was supposed to be more of a columnist than a beat reporter. It always seemed to me that he was too young for that job.

Did we rewind back to Bush II's first term and I just didn't notice? Hasn't this show been off the air for like a decade?

The average cable subscriber could see Raymond at least six times a day, so it's exposure may be bigger now than when it was in first run.

Did we rewind back to Bush II's first term and I just didn't notice? Hasn't this show been off the air for like a decade?

I thought the headline was a dated pun about some player named Raymond who's underrated by the media. I didn't think there was any way the article was actually about the show. I can't wait for the follow-ups "NBA Players not Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" or "Who's the Boss? Not Tony Micelli, baseball players say."

Mike Brady was definitely a serious architect, though, because of that time Jan mixed up his blueprints with a Yogi Bear poster at the amusement park.

. I can't wait for the follow-ups "NBA Players not Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" or "Who's the Boss? Not Tony Micelli, baseball players say."

"Minor league ballplayers don't always Blossom into Joey Lawrence-type prospects."

The only episode I saw of Raymond, he was interviewing Kristi Yamaguchi. So, aside from that, he never worked? That seemed like such an awful show, I am really baffled by its popularity.

I think it was significantly overrated, but the supporting cast -- one note ponies though they were -- was good at what they were to supposed to be (namely, be the cranky Ralph Kramden-as-a-senior father, the doofus younger brother with insecurity issues, and the overbearing mother).

I don't think I ever watched a first-run episode, but I'll admit to occasionally not minding it on as background noise in syndication.

My take is that not only is Ray not much of a working sportswriter -- it's also a got a bit of a "Friends"-vibe in that HTF does a guy on a sportswriter's salary support 3(?) kids and a stayhome mom on Long Island?

Other than that, like most sitcoms of its particular type, all the background is really just scenery for the standup comic lead to do his act -- and from that perspective, it's not half-bad.... Seinfeld was better, but then I think Jerry Seinfeld's act is just funnier.

Raymond, ostensibly employed by Newsday, rumored to be covering the Yankees, is suitably flippant to be a sports hack. His arrested development rings true, too. Not so his life of apparent leisure. Sports writers actually work. Raymond doesn’t work.

There you have it.

Yes, obviously nobody on the set knew what the life of a sportswriter and his family is like. They were clearly unaware of the inaccuracies being portrayed.

I do remember a couple other instances on the show that suggested Raymond might be a sportswriter besides the one with the Yamaguchi interview:

--an episode where he's trying to get free time to interview Terry Bradshaw about ghostwriting something for him, but has problems getting the chance to do so from home because of distractions.

--an episode where he's sent to cover the Iditarod and calls home from a snowy Alaska.

--an episode where he's going to cover the Super Bowl but has problems deciding which from a limited number of friends/relatives to pick to go along.

--an episode where he's giving love advice to his nerdy sportswriter friend on how to get women interested in him. They're sitting in what looks like some sort of area set aside for the press to gather that looks like it overlooks a stadium.

But yeah, there wasn't much else in this long-running series that I remember that gave much impression he was a sportswriter.

I think it was significantly overrated, but the supporting cast -- one note ponies though they were -- was good at what they were to supposed to be (namely, be the cranky Ralph Kramden-as-a-senior father, the doofus younger brother with insecurity issues, and the overbearing mother).

I guess. It just always seemed so depressing to me, like everyone in this family hated each other. And insular. Every time I saw it one, they were in that damn kitchen. Did they ever leave the house?

I guess. It just always seemed so depressing to me, like everyone in this family hated each other. And insular. Every time I saw it one, they were in that damn kitchen.

Heh... well, that was pretty much Arrested Development's schtick, too -- and I will brook no ill words against it. Of course, Michael Bluth was quite often seen 'working', so maybe that rescued it.

And insular. Every time I saw it one, they were in that damn kitchen. Did they ever leave the house?

Sometimes they went to Cheers. Wait, that's not right.

I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be a columnist, in part because he wrote about the Yankees and Kristi Yamaguchi and Terry Bradshaw.

But I find it hard to think his life as a sportswriter was the unbelievable aspect someone would focus on. That he was a father of three young kids that were visible only once every six episodes was a bit more noticable.

What, the nail polish fan post wasn't bad enough, we needed another fan post at a major outlet?

But yeah, there wasn't much else in this long-running series that I remember that gave much impression he was a sportswriter.

There were some episodes where they shot scenes at "work", which was usually either a stadium or a newsroom of some sort. Also, a couple of episodes where he won or was nominated for awards for sportswriting.

He was a columnist, so YMMV as to how much time he actually needed to spend at the park/office. I would say he was seeing writing about as much as Harry Anderson was seen writing on Dave's World, which is to say, not much. Watching someone write doesn't necessarily make for good TV, I guess unless you're Dick van Dyke.

That he was a father of three young kids that were visible only once every six episodes was a bit more noticable.

I think the earlier episodes were more focused on the kids, but they were such bad actors, and Boyle/Roberts/Garrett were so good, that the focus of the show understandably shifted quickly.

This is a lot of verbiage to spill over something like Everyone Loves Raymond.

The children being either hardly seen or background was one of the aspects I appreciated about the series. I got more worn down by his wife being such a miserable person. I know it's common to have married sitcom couples sort of play each other's foil, but there were so many instances where I thought, "My god, how does this tolerate this angry woman?" At least with King of Queens, you understood the wife's disposition, since Kevin James' character was constantly doing #### that would endanger a lot of a real marriages.

I thought this was going to be about RDP.

since Kevin James' character was constantly doing #### that would endanger a lot of a real marriages.

Which is pretty standard sitcom stuff since the days of the Honeymooners. Big doofus of a husband married to a beautiful woman who has to put up with all his stupidity.

Sounds like my house.

The children being either hardly seen or background was one of the aspects I appreciated about the series. I got more worn down by his wife being such a miserable person. I know it's common to have married sitcom couples sort of play each other's foil, but there were so many instances where I thought, "My god, how does this tolerate this angry woman?" At least with King of Queens, you understood the wife's disposition, since Kevin James' character was constantly doing #### that would endanger a lot of a real marriages.

That whole era of sitcoms, followed that same script(yes I saw McCoy's point) I like sitcoms, I think they are perfectly cromulent background material, and once in a while actually interesting enough to focus attention on, and at the same time, not so engrossing, that if I have to do something, I feel like I'm missing out on something. But that time frame (where you had King of Queens, Frasier, According to Jim etc) was a poor time for sitcoms. It's like they wanted to combine the crappy human beings from Seinfeld/Frasier and mix it into a sitcom that evokes Roseanne, and it ended up producing bland sitcoms, where you as the viewer couldn't fathom how in the heck was this couple still together, at least Married with Children had the absurdist aspect of the show, that pretty much made it easy for you to suspend your disbelief. Roseanne worked, because all the main characters were ultimately decent people that you somewhat rooted for.

There have been sitcoms about magazine editors, which is a job I used to have, but they never showed people staring into computer screens all day long, or reading paper manuscripts once in a while to break up the monotony. Then in a moment of real drama, we'd go yell at the art department for giving us space for only 650 words on a feature that had been assigned at 2000. Now those were some highjinks.

Yes, I would love to be able to show up in court or at a deposition, with no preparation work (reading through hundreds if not thousands of pages of documents, legal research, witness interviews etc), just completely wing it- and yet still elicit that Perry Mason type moment every single time...

WRT that Raymond show- the supporting cast- Mother, Father, Younger Brother, were very good- I wouldn't want them to be my family- but entertaining, basically they carried Romano who is an unfunny one trick pony, his wife, played by Heaton- well that was a terrible character, I'm not sure anyone could play her as written, in an entertaining or sympathetic fashion - I assume her character was written to generate sympathy for Ray's character...

Plus Romano is an absolutely awful actor- Seinfeld is a "stiff," but he makes it work- in the show within a show episodes they even made fun of that fact- Romano can't seem to come across as anything other than a whiny moper- ever see Welcome to Mooseport? It's interesting in a slo mo trainwreck kind of way- Gene Hackman is actually pretty decent - but Ray Romano- who "acts" in a fashion that indistinguishable to his ELR character, just sucks the life out of every single scene he's in

He's a columnist. He proposes to Debra right after he finds out he got the job. Sure he spends less time at work than Rob Petry but he does work more than all the cast of Friends combined.

Which is pretty standard sitcom stuff since the days of the Honeymooners. Big doofus of a husband married to a beautiful woman who has to put up with all his stupidity.

I think this demonstrates the power of sit-coms. Pretty much all my relationships have followed that pattern, (including the abrupt series cancellations!) mostly because I have difficulty imaging any other way to operate. Similarly, all of my friendships are fairly closely modeled on those of "Seinfeld".

Chef's first season was pretty good. They stuck to restaurant and in-the-kitchen jokes and gags for almost the entire first season. After that they ran out of material and suddenly the show became a "relationship" comedy.

Party Down is another unheralded little sit-com that stuck pretty closely to the working life of the characters.

Chef, the British sitcom?

They really work with a low bar over there. You consider the show to be good despite having run out of material after its first season, which consisted of 7 episodes.

Every time I watch 'Seinfeld', I yell at the TV: "Is this guy a working comic or what? Shouldn't he be out on the road somewhere at some point? Where's the episode where he's eating a burrito in a comedy condo with Todd Glass?!?!"

I used to watch "Raymond" every once in a while and always assumed he was a sports writer. Not that it mattered as I never saw him write anything. Getting back to the cast, I wonder if there is a sabermetric formula that could measure what the co-stars add or subtract to a show?

You consider the show to be good despite having run out of material after its first season, which consisted of 7 episodes.


I said Chef's first season was pretty good. I did not say the whole show over its entire run was pretty good.

Then in a moment of real drama, we'd go plead with the art department to come up with a photo or illustration or anything because we only wrote 650 words on a feature that had been assigned at 2000. Now those were some highjinks.

ftfy

Every time I watch 'Seinfeld', I yell at the TV: "Is this guy a working comic or what?

In the early days they would open with Seinfeld on stage and I believe close with him on stage as well. I can't recall how long they stuck with that setup.

Plus they had several shows where he is going to a show or coming back from a show or is at the place he was going to do the show.

Plus they had several shows where he is going to a show or coming back from a show or is at the place he was going to do the show.

Or on the Tonight Show or doing a benefit telethon...

I think by midway through the show the deal was supposed to be that he was already pretty successful (bought dad the Cadillac and all).

You may find this hard to believe, but the Yankees' Assistant to the Travelling Secretary did not sleep under his desk as often as you might think.

In the early days they would open with Seinfeld on stage and I believe close with him on stage as well. I can't recall how long they stuck with that setup.

Plus they had several shows where he is going to a show or coming back from a show or is at the place he was going to do the show.

First four or so seasons before they abandoned it in favor of the cold open. It seemed like they made fewer references to Jerry's stand-up w/r/t him actually working in later seasons, but I thought they skirted it believably by acknowledging that he was a pretty successful stand-up (within the realm of the show) that he was compensated very well when he did perform. You'll recall that episode where he buys his dad the Cadillac with the money he made from a weekend gig. Granted, that was implied to be an anomaly of a pay-off, but the ensuing storyline with Elaine showing gold-digging tendencies toward Jerry hinted that he made good money. I always kind of took that to mean he didn't need to be out there every night, grinding away his act in front of a bunch of drunks.

Coke to Benji.

Raymond spent so much time at home, the only sports work I could have seen him doing for Newsday was being its high school sports editor. However, I doubt most viewers would have been particularly interested in his coverage of a prep football region semifinal between Northport and Massapequa Park.

"Raymond" was a well-done series, but, like "Friends," it simply never appealed to me. "Seinfeld" at least had some bite to it, and as sitcoms go, "Frasier" was charming and erudite. (When "Hot In Cleveland" returns, watch Jane Leeves portray the sexy antithesis of her demure "Frasier" character; like the rest of that show's ensemble, she's terrific.)

There's an episode where Jerry's performing two gigs in different parts of town and seems to need them enough to reschedule one for later after missing it. That might have been early in the show, though.

The show was a guilty pleasure of mine. It seemed like the kind of show I should hate (I loathed "Friends") but for whatever reason every episode made me laugh. The one where his parents crash their car into his house was hysterical.

I know, I suck.

Eh, Jerry was always traveling and returning after soemthing. I just assumed they didn't show the parts when he was on the road.

"Raymond" was a well-done series, but, like "Friends," it simply never appealed to me. "Seinfeld" at least had some bite to it

I would say Raymond had some bite to it. The family members were legitimately pretty awful, and they didn't feel the need to tack "but we all still love each other" feel-good crap at the end of each episode.

I thought they skirted it believably by acknowledging that he was a pretty successful stand-up

I seem to remember them saying he was on Letterman or whatever the NBC late night show at the time was as an indicator of his popularity.

He had a TV pilot and many meetings with the president of NBC. That's a good indication of his stature (at the very least as an up and coming comic) and I believe those are pretty lucrative.

I seem to remember them saying he was on Letterman or whatever the NBC late night show at the time was as an indicator of his popularity.

they did regular bits about him being ont he tonight show. His parents came and visited him in the dressing room, etc

Sarcasm doesn't read well in text, I suppose. 'Seinfeld' mentioned Jerry being a stand-up when it was relevant to the episode's plot and here and there in throwaway lines. Similarly, there are plenty of 'Raymond' episodes where he wins an award for "Sportswriter of the Year", makes an appearance on a TV show talking about steroids, uses his status as a sportswriter to try to get autographs to impress his friends or family and previous things already mentioned, etc. Their jobs aren't really what the shows are about. It's silly to compare them to something like 'Party Down', which is essentially a workplace comedy.

Police/DA dramas are so effective, in part, because they're one of the few places where work really sits front and center. People like to watch work relationships because they're complex. It's just hard to make work itself actually look interesting unless there's a dead body to chase. I'm not a huge Mad Men fan but I give them big credit for trying to make advertising itself part of the meat of the show.

England has a some politics workplace shows that we don't really have, where the interaction between civil servants and political appointees provides the backdrop of the show.