Everybody Loves Raymond: Season 1

Debra Barone is upset with her husband Ray's family's invasive behavior, especially Ray's mother Marie. The elder Barones live across the street and have the habit of bursting in unannounced. When Debra wants to be alone on her birthday, and Ray's family are adamant on attending the party, he tries to make everyone happy by telling his family there will not be a party, but it ends up in a mess.

During dinner with their friends, Bernie and Linda, they witness public display of affection. Later Debra is dying to know why Ray cannot do the same for her as he does not even say, "I love you" anymore. Ray involves his parents and gets everyone upset.

When Ray's uncle Gus dies, his will makes it Ray's job to give the eulogy at the funeral ceremony, as Uncle Gus’s last hope of getting his wish of Ray overcoming his fear of public speaking. Things get no better for Ray when his aunt Alda (Jean Stapleton), Marie’s long-estranged sister, also comes to the funeral. Marie and Alda have a huge fight during the funeral about Ray's wedding and it is up to Ray to patch them up.

Robert wants Ray and Debra to take an intelligence quotient (IQ) test as part of a police assignment. Ray becomes neurotic when he discovers Debra is smarter than he is. But Ray and Debra's moods change when they discover that Ray was the one who scored the highest. Later Robert reveals that he was just playing with their self-image for a class of his.

Ray finds himself attracted to a new waitress at Nemo's named Angelina (Tina Arning) and Debra finds out about the so-called "attraction" after Ray accidentally leaves his wallet at the restaurant. She then drags the whole family to Nemo's to meet the waitress.

Frank begins to consider himself a writer after Reader's Digest publishes one of his humorous stories in the "Humor in Uniform" section. He then writes his own column and asks Ray to give it to his editor. Ray must now risk either jeopardizing his career or crushing his father’s newfound happiness.

Ray is babied again when Marie moves in with them after a fight with Frank. Debra, however, upset about the idea of Marie moving in, decides to spend time with Frank.

Debra's parents, Warren (Robert Culp) and Lois Whelan (Katherine Helmond) visit for a weekend. The Barones and Whelans are polar opposites in everything and when they try to have dinner together in a fancy restaurant, it turns into a complete disaster that pushes Ray to his breaking point due to his in-laws’ bragging and his own parents acting up as usual.

As soon as Debra finds out that Ray lost $2,300 to his father while playing poker at Nemo's with Frank's lodge buddies, she and Marie try to get the money returned.

Debra wants to start her own Thanksgiving tradition by serving fish instead of turkey, but Marie is complaining that she is doing this on her year. Debra tries her best to make sure that the meal is a huge success when she discovers that Marie is rooting for her failure, and inviting more guests to witness it. When Ray puts the fish in the dishwasher and Marie brings her own turkey, Debra loses her cool.

When Nemo's basketball team performs badly in the Pizza League, the other players elect Robert as their captain. When Robert leaves him out of the second half, Ray is disappointed and jealous of his brother. Debra suggests giving up the team and spending time with the family, and Ray agrees. Robert bosses the team around and they kick him out. Ray becomes their new captain and misses a day out with Debra and the kids. Eventually, Ray quits and Robert joins the opposing team and wins the game for

When Ray confronts Frank at Christmas about a baseball signed by Mickey Mantle, Frank admits that it is a fake and that he signed it himself. Ray is very hurt and decides never to lie to his kids. His resolution is put to test when Ally asks about Santa Claus. Ray starts to question his beliefs and talks to Frank about it, and is shockingly touched when Frank reveals his true motives for the deception.

Debra, Ally and Michael are all sick, and Ray has to take the kids to the doctor. He has a meeting with Terry Bradshaw that he cannot avoid, so he tries to do the interview at the pediatrician's office. There he discovers that he brought Geoffrey to the doctor instead of Michael, forcing Robert to sort out the confusion. Marie drops in to interfere in Debra's life, and gets on her nerves. Frank and Robert follow her and make it worse.

When Debra's friend Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan) contributes to Robert's Police Welfare Fund, she and Robert hit it off. When Robert is unsure about going on a date, Debra mentions that he is the most handsome Barone she has met. Ray becomes very insecure about this comment and becomes obsessed with his appearance. Robert begins dating Amy. Ray gets a spray-on tan and a new hairstyle. Debra gets upset with Ray for his obsession with besting his brother. Note: First appearance of Monica Horan as

After buying the Plymouth Valiant from his father for $462.25, Ray gives the car to Debra. She complains about all the problems with the car and asks him to return it. Later she discovers that Ray wants to keep the car because it is the car in which he first fooled around with a girl in high school - an experience ruined by Robert.

Ray is shocked to learn that the engagement ring he bought for Debra, with Frank's help, is fake. He comes up with schemes to exchange the ring with a new one. He succeeds and throws out the fake ring. But the tables are turned when Debra announces she had already changed it when she realized it was cheap, replacing the stone with a $15,000.00 gem from one of her ancestors. The couple are forced to go hunting for the ring in the trash. Amy gets Robert a tie with guns for Valentine's Day and he g

When the cable goes out, Frank, Marie and Robert come barging into Ray and Debra's house, but their television service is dead as well. The guys all freak out and decide to rent a movie. The women suggest a game and pick up Scruples. Naturally, all hell breaks loose, and tempers only boil over when the cable comes back on and Ray and Debra are subsequently fined because the cable only went out due to an illegal splitter installed by Frank. Note: Jon Manfrellotti appears as the cable guy from Lyn

Robert wins a Perfect Attendance Medal, but Ray's Sports Writer of the Year nomination overshadows it. Ray refuses to enjoy it because he is scared of losing and does not want to raise his expectations. Ray wins, but is still sad. Debra then points out that Ray is a pessimist and proves it. He promises to be more optimistic. He tries to enjoy the promotion that came from the award, but his parents are not helpful. The promotion leads to coverage of a dog-sledge ride in Alaska in extreme temperat

A bulldog follows Ray home and he decides to keep it. After Debra's objection he gives it to Robert, because Robert had a bulldog named Shamsky when they were young and Robert had to give him up because of Ray's allergies. Robert gets quite attached to the bulldog and calls him Shamsky II. When the owner comes looking for her pet, Robert is shattered. However, the owner is upset when she sees that Shamsky II has been neutered, and she forces Ray to buy it for $2,000, and he returns it to a delig

Ray presents Frank with a book of hobbies to keep him from disturbing them, but it backfires. Frank then starts disturbing the entire neighborhood with the buzz saw, car alarm, etc. The neighbors come to Ray and Debra's house to discuss the issues and Marie walks into it. They then get upset and Ray feels guilty. Frank and Marie have a small party for the neighbors and patch things up.

Dr. Nora Sarrazin (Mary Kay Adams), a radio psychologist comes to interview Debra for a book, but she winds up being more interested in Raymond and his family — which makes Debra falsely believe she is too boring.

Debra and Ray think about the time when Debra was pregnant with the twins. The flashback shows them in their old apartment and looking for a new house. Although Ray warns her about his parents, Debra wants to buy a house near Frank and Marie. In the present, Debra is regretting not listening to Ray.