Everybody Loves Raymond is perhaps one of the most renowned sitcoms of the 2000s. With its cast of funny, (mostly) likable characters, the show has enticed audiences with its zany moments and witty zingers. This is balanced by whimsical and endearing family moments that many can relate to in one way or another.
While it took some time to really come into its own, many were hooked on this silly sitcom as soon as its distinct pilot aired in 1996. The episode is a great microcosm of the series as a whole, featuring the first of many clashes between Debra and Ray's overbearing parents, who live across the street. Though many TV shows and sitcoms have their share of interesting trivia and behind-the-scenes facts, Raymond's pilot alone has quite a few interesting details surrounding it.
Establishes Many Running Gags
Everybody Loves Raymond has a particularly vast array of humorous running gags. As it happens, many of them are established right off the bat in this pilot episode. One of the big ones is Marie's tendency to snoop around in Debra's fridge while reacting to smelling "something questionable." It's also the beginning of Frank's wacky, if not outright odd, habit of jokingly sniffing the twins' heads and say "the fountain of youth. I'm sucking in that youth!"
It also features the beginning of Robert's curious chin-touching habit when eating, along with the "Fruit of the Month Club" gift, which Marie isn't too fond of.
Ray And Debra's Twin Sons Are Played By Triplets
While Michael and Geoffrey are Ray and Debra's twin children for the vast majority of the series, the boys were actually played a different set of kids in the pilot episodes. In fact, it was a trio of toddlers who took on the rather passive roles of the kids, the Ferreira triplets. Not only this, but they also were given different names in the show of Matthew and Gregory.
Still, given how young they were at the time, the differences in their appearance aren't quite as apparent as they would've been for older characters.
Audio Issues
Though the quality of television production wasn't exactly up to modern standards in the mid-90s, the pilot episode of Raymond can come across as a tad crude, at least on the audio front. In fact, the audio for the show, produced by HBO Independent Productions, turned out to be somewhat glitchy in the pilot.
Funny enough, this studio wasn't mentioned in this episode. In fact, they weren't mentioned at all throughout season one. Though this is completely unfounded speculation, one can't help but wonder if these audio woes had something to do with this exclusion.
Was Filmed In A Different Studio Than The Rest Of The Series
Regular viewers of Everybody Loves Raymond are likely to notice that the environments and visuals as a whole take on a different look than the majority series. There's a reason for this which goes beyond simply being the result of a pilot episode whose production value isn't as high.
In fact, the pilot was filmed at Universal City Studios and was the only episode to be filmed there. The rest of the show was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios along with a production staff that was largely different than those who worked on the pilot.
Some Recycled Set Pieces
Being a brand new show at the time of its filming with far fewer resources at its disposal, it makes sense that corners would have to be cut in some areas. Frequent viewers of another sitcom by the name of All in the Family may recognize some familiar set pieces in this pilot.
In fact, parts of the set were cobbled together using recycled sets from this earlier CBS program. This is why Ray and Marie's homes look quite a bit different than those used for the rest of the show.
Particularly High Reviews For A Pilot
TV shows often take some time for the chemistry to gel and for the characters to sort of "come into their own." This can even be sensed in Raymond to a degree. The typically eccentric, wacky cast seems a degree more toned-down and "typical" in this pilot. Regardless of the slightly more tame nature of this debut episode, though, it managed to earn at least a couple of high ratings from prominent outlets.
Entertainment Weekly gave the episode an 'A,' adding that this was "no small feat, considering the fate of this season's other most promising pilots." It was also given a very respectable 8.5 out of 10 on TV.com with well over 100 ratings.
Features The Only Appearance By One Of Ray's Friends
Various episodes feature a handful of Ray's friends, a few of whom see regular appearances. Examples include Andy and Gianni, amusingly played by Andy Kindler and Jon Manfrellotti, respectively. Yet, there's seemingly at least one good friend of Ray's who apparently drifted apart from the sportswriter directly after the events of the first episode...
A man named Leo (Stephen Lee), who Ray leaves to get pizza with, is fairly prominently featured. Yet, he never sees another minute of screentime on the show. For the largely unknown Leo and his Raymond appearance, it was "one-and-done," as they say.
A Very Rare Utterance Of The Show's Title In This Episode
Given that the name of this series is a spoken phrase, it's rather odd that this is very rarely uttered by anyone on the show. Fittingly, though, it was actually spoken aloud in the very first episode by a man who's both a supportive brother and bitter rival to him, Robert.
He says exclaims in a bitter tone that "everybody loves Raymond..." after looking at an award Ray had received for his sports column. As it happens, this supposedly famous line is only spoken one other time in the entire nine-year run of the show, and, in the second scenario, it's only said by Debra as she's imitating Robert in the season one episode, "Fascinatin' Debra."
A Much Smaller Production Staff
Between being filmed at Universal City Studios and the restraints often coming from a brand new show, it shouldn't be too surprising that Everybody Loves Raymond's pilot was run by smaller crew than usual.
But, few realize just how much smaller the production crew was compared to the much larger staff waiting in Hollywood Center Studios for the rest of the series. In fact, only a handful of people were responsible for the bulk of this episode's production.
A Rarely-Used Intro
Most will remember the first season's opening theme consisting of Ray's family coasting by on a conveyor belt while Ray introduces them. Yet, the pilot episode turns out to be different in this area, as well.
In it, Raymond is assembling a playground for his kids, and, Ray being Ray, he ends up getting stuck inside at the end. It has a funny charm to it, but, apparently, the producers didn't feel the same way, as it was quickly replaced by the conveyor belt intro. Oddly enough, though, episode 12 of the first season, "The Ball," actually does give this intro one more day in the sun before again shifting back to the conveyor belt in future episodes.