Post by rayfan on May 26, 2004 16:20:23 GMT -5
From Akron Beacon Journal.
Last-season `Loves' conditional
`Raymond' back, but for fewer episodes. Let's hope they are better than this year's ender
By R.D. Heldenfels
CBS has eased a lot of viewers' minds by finally making a deal for one last season of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Well, part of a season.
The network has announced that there will be 16 episodes of Raymond in 2004-05, fewer than the traditional 22 episodes made by most full-season series.
That's about as many episodes as Friends made in its last season. So I'm already bracing for a Best of Raymond festival leading up to the series finale in 2005. Not to mention an hourlong clip show and a behind-the-scenes tribute on 60 Minutes.
It will also give the producers time to come up with a better way to say goodbye than Golf for It, the episode that will end the current season on May 24.
That one consists in large measure of Ray (Ray Romano) and his brother Robert (Brad Garrett) in an extended argument over who will someday have to take care of their mother, Marie (Doris Roberts).
There's very little of former Clevelander Patricia Heaton, who plays Ray's wife Debra, although she does get to remind people how well she seethes. And while there's some good business with Ray, Robert, Marie and Marie's husband Frank (Peter Boyle), the show could have done much more with them.
So it's not a great send-off for a show that was often very funny -- and really angry. Still, the production team promises that it has some goodies in the works for those last 16 episodes.
``Our decision had nothing to do with money for Ray or me,'' series creator Phil Rosenthal said in a statement announcing the show's renewal.
``We all came to the conclusion that, after eight years, we still had some stories to tell,'' Romano said. ``The decision about coming back was always about maintaining the quality, and not feeling like we've overstayed our welcome.''
More than 17.4 million viewers have welcomed the series into their homes this season. While that's about a million fewer viewers than a year ago, Raymond is the 10th-most watched show this season and the second most-watched comedy (behind Friends).
And by lasting one more year, the series will probably get more attention for its farewell tour than it would have if things ended this season, when viewers were already saying goodbye to Friends, Frasier and other shows.
CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves said he promised the Raymond gang that ``you'll be the big story of next season. We'll give you awards. We'll give you dinners. We'll do the whole nine yards. We'll supersize you.''
And by March 2005, we'll probably be sick of it.
Last-season `Loves' conditional
`Raymond' back, but for fewer episodes. Let's hope they are better than this year's ender
By R.D. Heldenfels
CBS has eased a lot of viewers' minds by finally making a deal for one last season of Everybody Loves Raymond.
Well, part of a season.
The network has announced that there will be 16 episodes of Raymond in 2004-05, fewer than the traditional 22 episodes made by most full-season series.
That's about as many episodes as Friends made in its last season. So I'm already bracing for a Best of Raymond festival leading up to the series finale in 2005. Not to mention an hourlong clip show and a behind-the-scenes tribute on 60 Minutes.
It will also give the producers time to come up with a better way to say goodbye than Golf for It, the episode that will end the current season on May 24.
That one consists in large measure of Ray (Ray Romano) and his brother Robert (Brad Garrett) in an extended argument over who will someday have to take care of their mother, Marie (Doris Roberts).
There's very little of former Clevelander Patricia Heaton, who plays Ray's wife Debra, although she does get to remind people how well she seethes. And while there's some good business with Ray, Robert, Marie and Marie's husband Frank (Peter Boyle), the show could have done much more with them.
So it's not a great send-off for a show that was often very funny -- and really angry. Still, the production team promises that it has some goodies in the works for those last 16 episodes.
``Our decision had nothing to do with money for Ray or me,'' series creator Phil Rosenthal said in a statement announcing the show's renewal.
``We all came to the conclusion that, after eight years, we still had some stories to tell,'' Romano said. ``The decision about coming back was always about maintaining the quality, and not feeling like we've overstayed our welcome.''
More than 17.4 million viewers have welcomed the series into their homes this season. While that's about a million fewer viewers than a year ago, Raymond is the 10th-most watched show this season and the second most-watched comedy (behind Friends).
And by lasting one more year, the series will probably get more attention for its farewell tour than it would have if things ended this season, when viewers were already saying goodbye to Friends, Frasier and other shows.
CBS Chairman Leslie Moonves said he promised the Raymond gang that ``you'll be the big story of next season. We'll give you awards. We'll give you dinners. We'll do the whole nine yards. We'll supersize you.''
And by March 2005, we'll probably be sick of it.
