The King Of Queens is a classic American sitcom. A modern retelling of The Honeymooners, the sitcom is an ode to the working-class couple whose marriage centers them in life. Starring Kevin James and Leah Remini as the quintessential working-class partners, the sitcom represents the highs and lows of their life, love, and work.
In earlier seasons of the show, Doug is, arguably, a caring and sensitive husband who takes care of his wife and father-in-law, Arthur. It is easy to see why Carrie would choose to marry a man like him. Regardless, in later episodes, Doug's sporadic insensitivity and selfishness would become a constant. Seeing that audiences found it humorous, the show's writers would change Doug's personality completely, turning him into a lazy caricature of insensitivity, abuse, selfishness, and spousal neglect.
When He Made Her Sell Her Hair
The Heffernans are working-class through and through. That's why many episodes deal with the couple being short of cash. To pay for a cruise in 'Sold-Y Locks', Doug convinces Carrie to sell her hair for $3,000. Once Carrie chops off her locks, Doug decides he does not like her hair short. Subsequently, he treats her really badly during the cruise, because he no longer likes her appearance.
Carrie is able to get a nice wig from Robert Goulet, causing her to attract the attention of a number of men on the ship. Jealous, Doug yanks the wig off her head and puts it on, to prevent his wife from feeling good without his consent.
When He Drove Her Friends Away
One of the greatest sources of tension between Carrie and Doug is Doug's unwillingness to improve his life. A simple man content with what he has, Doug is not a good match for Carrie who often wants more in life. In Season 6, Carrie begins to form friendships at her new job. Although she is excited, Doug does not share this excitement. He complains to his friends that Carrie's new friends would reintroduce her to art and culture, two things that he hates.
To avoid going out with Carrie and her friends, he plots to run them off one by one. Whenever Carrie leaves the living room to make coffee after a night out, Doug does incredibly embarrassing things like asking her guests to check his naked body for excessive body hair.
When He Was Worried About Her Appearance - Again
An average-looking and unhealthy man who is repeatedly complimented on his wife's beauty, Doug still acts entitled to comment on his wife's looks - looks which always fall short according to him. In Season 1, Episode 2, Doug finds out that the women in Carrie's family become overweight as they age. Worried that an already skinny Carrie would become fat, a heavily overweight Doug tells Carrie that she has gained weight since they got married. He announces that he would like her to go on a diet. Sadly, Carrie begins to feel insecure about her looks, as she tries desperately to lose weight and become as skinny as she was on her wedding day.
When He Got Carrie Drunk So He Can Tolerate Her
Doug makes fun of Carrie's temper continually on the show. In Season 4, Carrie begins to bring her work stress home with her. Like any good husband would, Doug decides that, rather than discussing the issue with his wife, he would serve her drinks when she gets home. Every night, upon Carrie's return from work, Doug serves her cocktails, ensuring that she is drunk and nice enough to tolerate, without having to be real with his wife. Of course, when Carrie's neighbor, Lou Ferrigno, tells her about Doug's plan, she is livid.
When He Had Two Wives
Carrie is often accused of not being nurturing. A woman in the 2000s, Carrie is shamed for not performing femininity in her own home. Combined with her ambition at work, Carrie soon has no time for Doug in 'Awful Bigamy'. When Holly, Arthur's person walker, moves into the basement temporarily, Doug is happy to have her around, because she cooks for him and laughs at his immature jokes. He brags to his friends about having two wives to meet his needs: a kitchen wife and a bedroom wife.
This is one of many episodes where Doug manages to hurt not just his immediate family, but the people in his social circle.
When He Was Food-Cheating On Carrie
In another episode that shames Carrie for not being a domesticated wife, Doug becomes enamored of Spencer's new girlfriend, who is studying as a culinary chef. Doug loves Becky's cooking so much, and becomes so possessive of her, that Deacon asks him if he is sleeping with her. Carrie, considering it emotional cheating, asks Doug not to see Becky again, neither eat her food. But Doug cannot stay away and is caught by Carrie stuffing the leftovers of Becky's salad in his mouth. She promises to kill Doug if she catches him eating Becky's food again.
When He Almost Blinded Carrie
To celebrate Carrie's birthday, Doug buys her laser eye surgery as recommended by her boss. Trouble ensues when, the next day, Carrie's vision is still blurred. After a few days, Doug is forced to confess to Carrie that he did not go to the laser eye surgeon recommended by Carrie's boss. Rather, to save money, he paid for her surgery at a cheaper surgeon, using coupons.
Worse still, Doug admits that Carrie's blindness makes her sexy to him, because it "softens" her up, and makes her more approachable.
When He Ignored Carrie During An Emergency
During a flight landing, the plane goes through a small bump on the ground. This causes Doug's oxygen mask to be released. Believing the plane to be in serious trouble, Doug pushes Carrie away from him to put on his mask, without care for Carrie's wellbeing. Doug's actions upset Carrie, who believes that Doug would look out only for himself during an emergency. She admits to her husband that his actions changed the way she sees him forever, especially since his actions made her see him in a negative light.
When He Blamed Carrie For Being Overweight
Worried about Doug's health, Carrie convinces him to go to an overeaters support group. Enticed by a spread of food in the group for abuse-survivors, Doug joins their group instead. He soon blames Carrie for being fat, stating that she emotionally abuses him daily. He describes to the group how Carrie's anger issues are his driving motivation for overeating. Members of the group soon begin to mistreat Carrie, until she confronts them. Frustrated with Doug, she alerts them to previously withheld facts, such as Doug being the same size before they met.
When He Emotionally Abused Carrie
Doug, upset that Carrie has been purchasing his clothes from the big and tall shop, feels unattractive. When Carrie tells him that his weight makes her less attracted to him, he vows to lose weight. In return, Doug declares that he thinks Carrie wears too much makeup. Later on, Doug is finding his efforts to lose weight very difficult. Carrie, on the other hand, has received positive comments about her makeup-free look. Jealous, Doug tells her that he still finds her unattractive. Without care for her mental health wellbeing, he makes up things about her that he doesn't find attractive, so that she remains insecure about her looks and doesn't leave him.