Sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond made us laugh for 9 seasons with the antics of the Barone family. These are the best episodes of this Ray Romano show.
Everybody Loves Raymond had a total of 210 episodes during its nine-season run. While many of them were hilarious and memorable, there were definitely some episodes that stood out more than others, and that’s what we’re looking at today.
Using the star ratings on IMDb, we’ll be compiling the top-rated episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond into one list. These scores are given to episodes based on the votes of registered users on a scale of 1 to 10.
Before we get started, we’re shouting it out to the other episodes with an 8.5-star rating that won’t be making the cut, including “Raybert,” “The Wallpaper,” and “The Bird.” Though all of these were hilarious, “Italy: Part 1” got more votes, and therefore it’s nabbing spot No. 10.
With that said, here are the highest-rated episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond on IMDb.
Italy: Part 1 (8.5)
The first part of the Season 5 premiere had the family traveling to Rome for Marie’s birthday. However, the event isn’t fun for Raymond, who gets sick and doesn’t want to be there in the first place, or Robert, who meets his dream woman but has to deal with her father.
The new location helped start the season off fresh, while the narratives ran somewhere between funny and sentimental. This helped “Italy: Part 1” and its following episode bring in an 8.5-star rating.
Debra Makes Something Good (8.6)
Debra is notorious for being a horrible cook, so when she makes something tasty for once in her life, Marie is driven insane. This mother-in-law wants to be the only one who captivates the men in the family with cooking, and so she puts out her best effort to take Debra down.
The premise of this episode was funny and had been building up for a long time. Critics loved to see the series play off of such an established concept, earning this episode an 8.6-star rating.
The Angry Family (8.6)
The Season 6 premiere had Michael telling a story to his class about an angry family. The problem is, the tale he wrote seems to be about Ray, Debra, and the rest of the Barones, which has them all questioning what went wrong. A school counselor and local clergyman are also asking this as they become concerned about Michael’s home life.
This setup was perfect, considering all the trouble viewers had already seen play out over the previous five seasons. It started the show back on a solid and laugh-worthy note. This had the episode earning an 8.6 on IMDb.
Marie’s Sculpture (8.6)
Marie shows Debra and Ray a sculpture she made in art class. They’re shocked by how similar it looks to female human anatomy, though Marie and Frank are completely oblivious. Funny enough, Frank also thinks the sculpture looks amazing.
The moment Marie shows her masterpiece to Ray and Debra is unforgettable, and the story that follows is equally entertaining. With Everybody Loves Raymond humor being overall family-friendly and reserved, this slight edginess was well-received, earning the episode an 8.6.
Pat’s Secret (8.6)
Amy’s parents seem like good, conservative, quiet, religious people. That’s why it shocks Robert so much when over Easter, he discovers his mother-in-law is secretly a smoker.
The stakes continually build throughout the episode and the subtle absurdity of it all makes this one comedy gold. It’s always great to see such a strong episode so late in a series, with this one airing toward the end of Season 9. The 8.6 IMDb rating was well-deserved.
Baggage (8.7)
In this Season 7 episode, Ray and Debra both know they have to put the suitcase on the stairs away. However, rather than taking initiative, they wait to see who will do it first as their fight ensues.
As simple as this premise is, it created a lot of comedic moments. It proved that the show had strongly-written characters because even with not much to do, their solid personalities and quirks took over, causing fans to fall in love with the humor. This earned “Baggage” an 8.7-star rating on IMDb.
Robert’s Wedding (8.7)
This Season 7 episode sees Robert and Amy finally tying the knot. However, this doesn’t go as smoothly as planned.
Robert becomes concerned that Amy’s brother, Peter, will wreak havoc on the ceremony. This idea only distracts him from all the other family shenanigans that soon ensue.
This episode was both funny and endearing, finally giving Robert the happy ending he’d been waiting on for so long. This had it ranking high in critics’ books and on IMDb with an 8.7-star rating.
The Canister (8.9)
Debra has borrowed a canister from Marie, but unfortunately for her, she forgot about it. This leads to a big argument between Debra and her mother-in-law that ends in Marie apologizing. This makes things really uncomfortable when Debra realizes she was in the wrong. Debra then spends much of the rest of the episode scheming on how to sneak the canister back into Marie’s house.
This hilarious scenario gave the episode a natural progression. Combined with all the funny jokes thrown in, “The Canister” earned itself an 8.9 on IMDb.
Lucky Suit (8.9)
Robert gets the chance to interview for a job with the FBI. He’s super excited about it, but Marie is not quite as thrilled, as she is concerned for his safety. To make matters worse, she “accidentally” burns Robert’s suit with an iron and actually faxes an apology letter to the person he is meeting with. This makes Robert furious, and the stressed events continue to unfold.
This Season 6 episode, in combination with another, actually won Doris Roberts (Marie) an award at the Emmys. The cast really played into their characters, earning the episode an 8.9 on IMDb.
She’s The One (9.1)
The highest-rated episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, with a 9.1-star rating, has Robert dating a girl with a secret — she eats flies. Though this concerns Ray greatly, it takes a lot of work to convince Robert this is true.
Robert eventually realizes that Ray wasn’t joking after he is brought back to this women’s apartment, which he finds is filled with frog decorations. This leads him to climb out the window and head to the bar where he ends up spilling a drink on Amy.
The premise gave this episode lots of one-liners while also expertly setting up Robert’s future.
