History YMMV / EverybodyLovesRaymond

*** This was part of the original genius of the show. It was a groundbreaking idea at the time not to designate a hero, but rather to leave it up for interpretation and let the fans choose whose side they were on. This in turn generated a wide fanbase of all different kinds of people who liked different characters for different reasons. Most [[DomCom Dom Coms]] and sitcoms in general have followed in this path since, making it [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny harder to realize now]] why ELR was so wildly popular back in the day.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The idea of having a sitcom that focused largely on the parents instead of the kids was a revolutionary idea at the time, which helped this show stand out. Nowadays, a lot more sitcoms focus on the adults than the kids.

** The show made a big deal out of Robert living with his parents into his forties. Thanks to the Great Recession, which we're still feeling to an extent today, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of someone living with their parents to save money doesn't seem so odd. (And indeed, it never was in the Barones' ancestral Italy.)
** Frank's sexism and homophobia were generally PlayedForLaughs and shrugged off as the harmless musings of an ignorant old man. These scenes can be somewhat cringe-inducing to watch today, notably the episode where he implied that he would disown Robert if Robert turned out to be gay.
** Debra not taking Ally's bullying of another classmate seriously, and even saying she shouldn't be ashamed of her daughter's "confidence", can be ''very'' cringey given how serious bullying is being taken in this current age.
** In the episode "Fairies", Ray feels uncomfortable after hearing about Michael and Geoffrey being cast as the eponymous fairies in a school play but changes his tune when the twins chose to play fairies, Ray's initial attitude would be perceived as insensitive towards unconventional gender roles by today's standards.
** As time goes and as psychology concepts involving the importance of healthy boundaries with relatives and friends have evolved, the family's enabling of Marie's manipulative tactics and how she would invite herself over to Ray's and Debra's home uninvited to make unwelcome comments and undermine Debra would be considered a huge red flag today.

* HilariousInHindsight: A running joke in the series is how Debra is a bad cook. Debra's actress, Patricia Heaton, would later go on to host a cooking show, which would win an Emmy award for Outstanding Culinary Program.

** For young couples raising kids in the 2020s, it may seem difficult to grasp Debra's annoyance with the elder Barones in their lives. As intrusive and obstreperous as Marie and Frank may be, most people in today's day and age would be more than happy to have built-in babysitters, assistance with housekeeping, and a constant flow of free food.

--> '''Marie:''' "This is a good husband! Anytime you wanna trade places just say the word. I mean, if I was forty years younger and he wasn't my son-"
--> '''Ray:''' "Okay ma!"

** InUniverse example: Spencer in "The Annoying Kid". As Robert said: "Kid's weird."
%%% ** Michael and Geoffrey.%%%Administrivia/ZeroContextExample: What is so weird about those two?

* DiagnosedByTheAudience: Marie can be seen as having a narcissistic UsefulNotes/{{personality disorder|s}} and Robert is emotionally scarred from life as TheUnfavorite.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Spencer in "The Annoying Kid". As Robert said: "Kid's weird."
** Michael and Geoffrey.

** In the episodes where Debra hustles for "political office" with the school PTA, she dresses in a stern business suit and has her hair restyled in a very formal sort of way. This would have gone under the radar at the time. But especially in ''Getting Even'', when Debra presides over a school charity auction, Patricia Heaton has an un-nerving resemblence to a dark-haired UsefulNotes/HillaryClinton.

** ''Left Back'' deals with the issue of Michael being held back a year and being separated from Geoffrey. In 2015, the actor who played Geoffrey killed himself, leaving his twin brother and co-star alone and grieving.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Spencer in "The Annoying Kid". As Robert said: "Kid's weird."

* MemeticMutation: The title is one of the most famously easy ones to do comical variations on. Among the more famous examples include the similarly-named ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' and [[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond a trope]] on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.

** In one episode, there is a rather unpleasant scene where Ray tells Debra that he found out that their daughter Ally has been bullying a classmate on the school bus. Debra shrugs it off, saying she doesn't think it's a big deal and that it's just kids being kids. When Ray asserts that bullying is indeed a big deal and notes that he and Robert are still scarred from their own experiences, Debra smirks and calls him a wuss, and then starts calling Ray names while the studio audience laughs, this scene is considerably less funny today due to the rash of bullying-related suicides and murders over the past few years.

** In the episode "Fairies", Ray feels uncomfortable after hearing about Michael and Geoffrey being cast as the eponymous fairies in a school play but changes his tune when the twins chose to play fairies, Ray's initial attitude would be perceived as insensitive towards unconventional gender roles by today's standards.

** Also, when Robert and Amy are about to have sex for the first time in "Robert Moves Back," Robert tells his pet dog Shamsky to "beat it." In real life, the bulldog who played Shamsky died [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim so the character was]] [[KilledOffForReal written out of the series]].

** Also, when Robert and Amy are about to have sex for the first time in "Robert Moves Back," Robert tells his pet dog Shamsky to "beat it." The dog is then [[ActorExistenceFailure never seen again after this scene]].

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In one episode, there is a rather unpleasant scene where Ray tells Debra that he found out that their daughter Ally has been bullying a classmate on the school bus. Debra shrugs it off, saying she doesn't think it's a big deal and that it's just kids being kids. When Ray asserts that bullying is indeed a big deal and notes that he and Robert are still scarred from their own experiences, Debra smirks and calls him a wuss, and then starts calling Ray names while the studio audience laughs, this scene is considerably less funny today due to the rash of bullying-related suicides and murders over the past few years.
** One episode revealed that Debra (and Marie) would tell their kids to think less of their fathers and covertly try to make themselves as the more adored and likeable parent. The episode treats this as a sneaky but wacky act on Debra's part (she pokes fun at Ray's inability to tell when she's gotten a new haircut, or how he's not always zipped up), but more serious on Marie's part (she derided Frank and told her young son how she couldn't understand how anyone can live with him). In real life, this is called Parental Alienation Syndrome, and is found in many mean-spirited and bitter divorces.
** Jokes about Ray's big nose or nasally voice don't seem quite so funny when you see the finale and find out Ray's adenoids need to be removed.
** In the episode "Fairies", Ray feels uncomfortable after hearing about Michael and Geoffrey being cast as the eponymous fairies in a school play but changes his tune when the twins chose to play fairies, Ray's initial attitude would be perceived as insensitive towards unconventional gender roles by today's standards.

** The show made a big deal out of Robert living with his parents into his forties. Thanks to the Great Recession, which we're still feeling to an extent today, the idea of someone living with their parents to save money doesn't seem so odd. (And indeed, it never was in the Barones' ancestral Italy.)

* GrowingTheBeard: The early episodes of the show weren't bad, but the characters hadn't been fully realized yet, which meant the show was originally kind of generic, and even kind of slowly paced. However, once the show and characters found its footing (around the end of season 1, beginning of season 2) the show became memorable, relatable and pretty consistently well written.