It’s not a perfect rating system, but according to IMDB, these are the best and worst episodes of the ’90s sitcom.
Everybody Loves Raymond is a show that has been off the year for 15 years, but it’s still being talked about. The series ran for nearly 10 years and was extremely popular at the time. Now, when people talk about this show, they often talk about some of the aspects of it that feel outdated or troubling. However, there are still many people who enjoy the show even if it’s not perfect. The characters in the Barone family were definitely hilarious, but there are some episodes that are better than others.
We’ve put together a list of the five best and five worst episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond based on ratings from IMDb.
WORST: “CAPTAIN NEMO”
This is the worst-rated episode of the entire series and only has a rating of 6.9. The episode happens early on in the show and is the eleventh episode in season one. In this one, Robert becomes captain of the Nemo’s basketball team which makes Raymond jealous. But, the power goes to Robert’s head and leads to him quitting the team. This episode is probably ranked so low because it’s mostly just a ridiculous premise and doesn’t focus on the other dynamic characters as much.
WORST: “THE CHILDREN’S BOOK”
This is another episode from fairly early in the series that has a low rating of 6.9. “The Children’s Book” takes place in season two and is episode eight. This episode deals with a small rivalry between Ray and Debra as they decide to both write a children’s book and see which one Ally likes better.
Of course, things don’t go according to plan for either of them. Overall, this episode just isn’t memorable and doesn’t stand out in any way, which is probably why it doesn’t have a higher rating.
WORST: “FRANK, THE WRITER”
Fans of Everybody Loves Raymond know that Ray makes his money by being a sports writer. This is definitely a dream job that many wish they had, and it turns out in this episode Frank decides he has writing chops, too. This is the sixth episode of season one and has a rating of 7.0. During this episode, Frank decides he should be a professional writer after a joke he sends to Reader’s Digest gets published. Of course, this doesn’t make Ray very happy and clearly Frank isn’t really capable of being a professional writer.
WORST: “THE ARTICLE”
Everybody Loves Raymond cast
Many of the worst-rated episodes from the series are from some of the earlier seasons. This makes sense as the show was still getting into its stride at the time. “The Article” is the eighth episode of season three and has a rating of 7.0. This is another episode that focuses more on writing and Ray’s job, which isn’t really the most exciting part of the show. The entire episode is about Ray’s jealousy when his coworker and friend Andy gets one of his articles published in Sports Illustrated. The fact that the episode didn’t deal with family dynamics is probably why it’s not one of the best.
WORST: “ODD MAN OUT”
This is kind of a strange episode, but it does occur later on in the series. “Odd Man Out” has a 7.1 rating and is the third episode of season six. The episode is about Frank’s friend Marco getting piano lessons from Marie.
This leads to a friendship between Marco and Marie that Frank is jealous of. Overall, this was just a one-time side plot with a guest character that fans didn’t have a lot of attachment to, so it wasn’t a very strong episode.
BEST: “ROBERT’S WEDDING”
Getting into the best episodes based on IMDb ratings, many of them are actually from the seventh season. This episode has a rating of 8.8 and is the 24th episode of the seventh season. The episode is all about Robert and Amy’s wedding.
After many seasons of these two being on again and off again, it’s no wonder that many fans were excited to see this wedding finally happen. While, of course, not everything goes to plan, it’s a hilarious episode with a lot of heart.
BEST: “BAGGAGE”
This is another episode from the seventh season and also has a rating of 8.8. “Baggage” is the 22nd episode from that season. This episode is one that might not seem like it would be so highly-rated as it deals with similar storylines to many other episodes. This one is all about Debra and Ray having a weeks-long fight over the fact that neither of them has put away their suitcase from vacation. While the premise might be simple, it’s the execution of the jokes in this episode that makes it great.
