by Michael Lyons
The tension, the anxiety, the unspoken words that might as well be spoken. Thanksgiving dinner with family. It has all the traits of a well-crafted reality show.
Family can drive us crazy...but they're family. Every moment of frustration is followed by a moment of love.
And this all seems to culminate at Thanksgiving dinner. No show has captured the love/hate and hate/love dynamic of a family like Everybody Loves Raymond, particularly in their impressive eight different Thanksgiving episodes:
"Turkey or Fish" (Season 1, Episode 10)
In this funny first-season outing, Debra (Patricia Heaton) has Thanksgiving at her and Ray's (Ray Romano). She decides to start a new tradition of having fish instead of turkey, which has disastrous results.
Fish and turkey are served, Frank (Peter Boyle) winds up choking, and Robert (Brad Garrett) has to administer the Heimlich. They discover that the fish is what flies out of his mouth (Ray walks over to the food on the floor and says, "Let's go to the field for the play").
This episode solidifies the family dynamic, including the hilariously tense relationship between Marie (Doris Roberts) and Debra.
"No Fat" (Season 3, Episode 10)
In this episode, it's back to Marie and Frank's house for Thanksgiving. After attending a senior health fair, Marie decides to make a healthier Thanksgiving dinner and decides to make tofu turkey, which doesn't come out as planned in its unappetizing, gelatinous state.
Behind everyone's back, Ray orders a Thanksgiving dinner to be delivered, which arrives at the most inopportune time, hurting Marie's feelings.
The pinnacle of humor in this episode is the perfect physical comedy by each cast member as they attempt to eat Marie's tofu turkey, choking it down with every hysterical bite.
"No Thanks" (Season 4, Episode 9)
Debra attempts to strengthen her relationship with Marie by cooking Thanksgiving dinner with her mother-in-law and letting Marie's snide little comments roll off of her back. It's tough, however, when Marie is devastatingly critical, slipping her comments subtly, sometimes with a smile.
This is one of Doris Roberts' best episodes, and her performance as Marie has never been more cutting than it is here, as evidenced by lines like: "Debra, I don't know why your rolls are left. I liked them. The burnt part gave them some flavor."
"Fighting In-Laws" (Season 5, Episode 9)
In what would be a three-part "Thanksgiving saga," that would continue over multiple Thanksgivings over the next several years, came this Everybody Loves Raymond episode, where Debra's seemingly perfect parents, Warren and Lois (Robert Culp and Katherine Helmond), stay at the house for the holiday.
On Thanksgiving day, they reveal that they are going to marriage counseling, which becomes the topic of conversation for the dinner.
With a focus on another family, this episode is entertaining because Marie, Frank, and the other Barones are interested in others as dysfunctional as they are.
Culp and Helmond also fire off some well-crafted lines, such as when she writes in a notebook, "Warren is very, very good at being controlling," Warren replies: "Controlling has two L's."
There's also Patricia Heaton's brilliant scene, where Debra drops the turkey and it proceeds to slide all over the floor before being flung back into the oven.
"Older Woman" (Season 6, Episode 9)
Part two of the story from last season's Thanksgiving show. Debra's parents are now divorced this holiday, and they are both coming for Thanksgiving. Her father, Warren, is bringing his girlfriend to make matters more awkward.
Everyone assumes it's a younger woman, but in a twist, it turns out it's an older woman, and the reactions and quips from everyone else are some of the series funniest moments. One includes when Warren has to slowly walk his date upstairs so she can take a nap. After they take their time climbing the stairs, Frank looks at his watch and announces, "Happy New Year!"
"Marie's Vision" (Season 7, Episode 10)
In this episode, Thanksgiving happens in the background, while concerns over Marie's vision take the forefront. She decides to go out and get glasses, but her newfound sight allows her to be even more critical in her observations, leading everyone to make changes. Robert even gets Botox injections, and Brad Garrett does terrific physical comedy with his face so rigid that he can't speak.
"The Bird" (Season 8, Episode 9)
This episode's a clash of families, as the Barones go to Robert’s in-laws, Amy's (Monica Horan) parents Hank and Pat (Fred Willard and Georgia Engel) for Thanksgiving. They are welcomed warmly, even by Amy's offbeat brother, Peter (Chris Elliot) but after a bird is injured by hitting the house, Pat puts the bird out of its misery, and the Barones are shocked.
The tension bubbles over, culminating in both families having to participate in a Thanksgiving play for the kids, with its hysterical parallels about two other groups who eventually had to get along.
"Debra's Parents" (Season 9, Episode 7)
The series saved the best for last in this final installment, focusing on the ongoing divorce of Debra's parents. They are once again invited over for Thanksgiving, and it turns out they aren't reconciling, but they are sleeping together.
When Debra catches them in the act, the two run downstairs, wearing nothing, but blankets, trying to explain. Just then, the conservative Hank and Pat walk in, see what's happening, and immediately turn around and walk out in one of Everybody Loves Raymond's funniest, quicker cameos.
Each of these episodes reveals in it’s cleverist way, what makes families and Thanksgiving go so well together, or as Ray himself said to Debra in their very first Thanksgiving episode, “Turkey or Fish”:
“You cook, and I'll watch football with my pants open all day.”
For more of my articles, podcasts and to learn more about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website: Words From Lyons !
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