"Pilot" is the first episode of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
television situation comedy
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
''
Everybody Loves Raymond''. The episode was directed by
Michael Lembeck and written by
Philip Rosenthal. The episode aired on September 13, 1996 on
CBS.
Plot
Debra is at home feeding the kids when
Ray
Ray may refer to:
Fish
* Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea
* Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin
Science and mathematics
* Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point
* Ray (g ...
returns from a road trip. They start to discuss Debra's
birthday plans before being interrupted by
Marie. Debra then leaves Ray in charge of the kids as she goes to the movies with Linda.
Ray leaves with Leo to get pizza and places Marie in charge. When Debra returns home, she finds the house spotless but learns that Ray's parents were there. She starts to get angry at Ray because he didn't listen to her. This results in Debra asking Ray not to invite his parents to her
birthday. Ray is reluctant, but eventually tells them that there is no
party and makes up a story that Debra and he are going to Bear Mountain. On Debra's
birthday, Ray's parents go to Ray's house to leave gifts for Debra, but find Debra and Ray there. Ray then explains why they can't come over every day. They accept it and ask Ray why is he so sensitive and Marie replies "because he's a writer", then they leave.
Ratings
''
Entertainment Weekly'' rated the episode as an 'A' calling it "No small feat, considering the fate of this season's other most promising pilots".
TV.com rated the episode 8.5 out of 10 with 92 ratings.
Pilot
''TV.com''
Trivia
* The pilot was actually filmed on another sitcom's sets. Ray and Marie's homes in the pilot differ from those used in the rest of the series. Also, parts of the set were from an earlier CBS sitcom, '' All in the Family''.
* This episode has the first mention of "The Fruit of the Month Club."
* Robert begins to use his short-term catch phrase, "Everybody loves Raymond," just as in the sitcom's name.
* Leo, Ray's friend, is never seen or mentioned again in the entire series.
* The twin boys are named Gregory and Matthew (Ray Romano's actual sons' names) and in the pilot are played by the Ferreira triplets, although only two are seen at any one time. In all other episodes of the series, the twins are named Michael and Geoffrey and are played by Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten.
References
{{Everybody Loves Raymond
1990s American television series premieres
1996 American television episodes
Everybody Loves Raymond episodes