The show revolves around the life of Raymond Barone, newspaper sportswriter fromLynbrook, Long Island, and his family. Easygoing and flippant, Ray does not take many things seriously, making jokes in nearly every situation, no matter how troubling or problematic, and constantly avoiding any sort of real responsility.
Ray lives with his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton), their daughter Ally and their identical twin sons Michael and Geoffrey. Although the kids are present throughout the series, they are not a major focus of the show. Ray's parents, Marie and Frank, and brother Robert, live across the street, and frequently make their presence known to the frustration of Ray and Debra. Debra's frequent complaints about Ray's family are a running joke. Out of the three unwanted visitors, Debra is particularly put off by Marie — a catty, controlling and manipulative woman who constantly criticizes and antagonizes Debra and coddles Ray, clearly favoring him over Robert, whose impending birth (as was established in one episode) drove her into marriage.
Ray often finds himself in the middle of all the problems and arguments and proves himself incapable of taking any sort of stand, especially if there is the chance that it will bring down the wrath of his mother on him. His biggest nemesis is his brother Robert, who is insecure andjealous of Ray for being the favorite son, as well as Ray's success in both his professional and family life. Robert and Ray are frequently seen fighting like children and picking on each other.
Ray's and Robert's father, Frank, is a very crass and obnoxious person, constantly making insulting and sarcastic remarks to everyone with whom he comes into contact. Largely an absentee father when the boys were growing up, Frank does not like to show his feelings, throughout the years several episodes were crafted to show that he actually does love his family.
Ray and Debra constantly have marital disagreements, with Debra frequently denying Ray sex and Ray preferring to watch sports televisioninstead of talking to Debra about matters important to her. Like his father, he is becoming an absentee parent, leaving the active child-rearing to Debra and has to be bullied into helping around the house. A recurring theme on the show has them having a long interaction each night while in bed, just before going to sleep.
Everybody Hates Chris
The show revolves around the everyday life of Chris, who is a 13-year-old seventh gradestudent in the series' first episode. Chris is one of the few "normal" characters on the show, surrounded by a collection of eccentric characters that, in his point of view, act as if they dislike him. Chris lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, a low-income community and attends an all-white school, where students and teachers alike pick on him. If events progress favorably for Chris throughout an episode, they will almost certainly backfire on him by the end. Likewise, if a situation isn't going Chris' way, it always manages to get even worse for him, whether or not he tries to change the course of events.
The guest characters on the show all seem to detest Chris for some unknown reason. In fact, Chris Rock, made a guest appearance as the guidance counselor, Mr. Abbott, who also disliked Chris and unhelpfully focused on how Chris was in trouble academically. Even the warmest of guest characters have some inexplicable dislike of Chris, such as one character named Kris (Richard Lewis), who was injured and in the hospital.
In the third season finale, Chris graduates from Corleone Junior High School, but his joy is cut short when his best friend Greg moves to a new school—Chris quickly hatches a plan to go to Greg's high school. Greg ends up having to go to Chris' high school due to poor grades.
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