The first season introduced us to Lynbrook, Long Island. Ray Barone (Ray Romano) is a successful Newsday sportswriter. His wife Debra (Patricia Heaton) is a former model turned exasperated homemaker. Across the street live his parents: the overbearing Marie (Doris Roberts) and the grumpy, silent Frank (Peter Boyle).

Many fans call Season 6 the best. Why? Because Patricia Heaton demanded her character stop being a doormat. Debra becomes actively angry, not just frustrated. The episode "The Angry Family" has a school counselor asking the Barone kids to draw their family—the drawing looks like a war crime.

Season 7 is Robert’s season. After years of being the "other brother," he finally marries Amy. The multi-episode arc covering the engagement, the pre-wedding jitters, and the actual wedding ("The Canister") is some of the most satisfying television. The B-plot of the wedding involves a missing gravy boat that Marie has hidden since Ray’s wedding.