Everybody Loves Raymond

Debra is upset with Ray’s family’s invasive behavior. The 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 wants to have a party, he tries to come up with a plan to make everyone happy, but ends up making a mess of it all.

During dinner with their friends, Bernie and Linda, they witness public display of affection. Later Debra is dying to know why Ray can’t do the same for her as he doesn’t even say, "I Love You" anymore. Ray involves his parents and gets everyone upset.

When a family member on Ray’s side dies it becomes Ray’s job to give the eulogy at the funeral ceremony. Marie is shocked to discover her alienated sister, Alda, is coming to the funeral. Marie and Alda have a huge fight during the funeral about Ray’s wedding and it’s up to Ray to patch them up.

Robert wants Ray and Debra to take an 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 is attracted to a waitress at Nemo’s 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 the Reader’s Digest publishes one of his funny stories in the "Humor in Uniform" section. He writes his own column and asks Ray to give it to his editor.

Ray is babied again when his mother 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 visit for a weekend. The Barones and the Whelans are complete opposites in everything and when they try to have dinner together in a fancy restaurant, it turns into a complete disaster.

As soon as Debra finds out that Ray lost $2300 to his father while playing poker at Nemo’s with Frank’s lodge buddies, she and Marie team up to get the money returned.

Debra wants to start her own Thanksgiving tradition by serving fish instead of turkey. Marie is upset 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. 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 them.

When Ray confronts Frank 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.

Debra, Ally and Michael are sick, and Ray has to take to 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. Marie drops in to take care of Debra, but instead gets on her nerves. Frank and Robert follows her and make it worse for Debra. But in the end, she appreciates all the help.

When Debra’s friend Amy 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. When Marie agrees with Debra, Ray gets a spray-on tan and a new hairstyle.

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’s the car in which he first got "lucky".

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. Amy gets Robert a tie with guns for Valentine’s Day and he gets her a unique Valentine’s Day gift, a Iguana because her favorite color is green.

When the cable goes out, Frank, Marie and Robert come barging into Ray and Debra’s house, but their TV service is dead too. The guys all freak out and decide to rent a movie. The women suggest a game and pick up Scruples. Marie gets upset over an "adult diaper" question from Debra’s card. Robert challenges Ray’s answer about not stealing an umbrella and mentions a childhood story when Ray took his shoes.

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 doesn’t 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.

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 very attached to the bulldog and calls him Shamsky II. When the owner comes looking for her pet, Robert is shattered. When the owner sees that Shamsky II has been fixed, she forces Ray to buy it for $2000.

Ray presents Frank with a big book of hobbies to keep him from disturbing them, but it backfires. Frank 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 get very upset and Ray feels guilty.

Dr. Nora, a phone shrink, comes to interview Debra for a book she’s writing. Debra tries hard to make a good impression when the Barone family interrupts and, to her dismay, Dr. Nora finds them more interesting. When she confides in Ray that she feels left out, Debra realizes that she is boring and normal with no weird quirks.

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.