The seventh season of the hit series Everybody Loves Raymond opens where the cliffhanger of season six left off -- with Ray's wife and mother no longer speaking to each other. The months of silence between them has finally gotten to Robert (Brad Garrett, Til Death), whose emotional state leaves him ripe pickings for a cultish happiness group, "The Path". But "The Path" is more interested in Robert because of his famous brother, sportswriter Ray. Which brings Robert back to his natural state of feeling inferior to his brother -- because, "Everybody loves Raymond." Fortunately, Ray and Robert's involvement with "The Path" leads them to a solution to the Debra/Marie war of the wills.
Anyone who's watched the series understands that Ray is just a big kid who lets his mother, Marie (Doris Roberts) dote on him at every opportunity, much to the chagrin of Debra (Patricia Heaton). But it's never become more obvious than when Debra decides that she and Ray need counseling, having seen the wonders it's worked for their friends. But in front of the counselor (played by Married to the Kellys' Nancy Lenehan), Ray's personality is completely different, completely cooperative, which leaves the impression that Debra is the one who needs to change. When they fight at home about it later, in front of the entire family, Ray explains what he thinks a wife's duties are. Debra counters that those aren't the responsibilities of a wife, but of a mother, resulting in Ray's outburst, "Maybe that's what I want!" -- leaving Debra flabbergasted, Marie warm, and Robert finally feeling giddy at his brother's Oedipal admission.
Robert and Amy are ready to swap "I do"s -- until Marie decides
to speak now in lieu of forever holding her peace.
L-R: Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Chelcie Ross, Monica Horan,
Patricia Heaton
But the true highlight of the season is the shift focus on Ray's brother Robert (Brad Garrett, Til Death). Having finally been single long enough, he's decided to brave the choppy waters of marriage once more, proposing to Amy (played by series creator Phil Rosenthal's wife, Monica Horan.) Given Robert's natural state of anxiety, the pressure of a proposal, and meeting Amy's family (played by Fred Willard, Georgia Engel, and Chris Elliot) who are just as off the wall as his own, Robert's lucky to survive the season. But survive it he does, and the season culiminates in a special two-part wedding episode.
The set is nicely packaged, like the sets before it, featuring the fanfold design to house the five discs, and an episode guide printed on the interior page. Each disc includes some combination of deleted scenes and/or commentary, always with Ray Romano and series co-creator Phil Rosenthal and joined by various guests (including, at one point, their wives.) The fifth disc of the set also includes a blooper reel featuring parts that -- while funny -- were a bit too edgy and ad-libbed to leave the network censors feeling comfortable. Thank God for DVD!
The audio can be set to English 2.0, French 2.0 or Spanish 2.0, with optional subtitles available in each language.
Everybody Loves Raymond The Complete Seventh Season
Disc 1
Disc 2
01. The Cult (includes deleted scenes)
02. Counseling (includes audio commentary with Ray Romano, Phil Rosenthal, and Mike Royce)
03. Homework
04. Pet the Bunny
05. Who Am I?
06. Robert Needs Money (includes deleted scenes)
07. The Sign
08. The Annoying Kid
09. She's The One
10. Marie's Vision (includes deleted scene)
Disc 3
Disc 4
11. The Thought That Counts
12. Grandpa Steals
13. Somebody Hates Raymond (includes deleted scene)
14. Just a Formality (includes audio commentary with Ray Romano, Phil Rosenthal, Monica Horan and Anna Romano)
15. The Disciplinarian
16. Meeting the Parents (includes deleted scene and audio commentary with Ray Romano, Phil Rosenthal, Chris Elliot and Fred Willard)
17. Sweet Charity
18. The Plan
19. Sleepover at Peggy's
20. Who's Next? (includes deleted scene)
Disc 5
21. The Shower (includes deleted scenes)
22. Baggage (includes audio commentary with Ray Romano, Phil Rosenthal and Tucker Cawley)
23. The Bachelor Party
24. Robert's Wedding, Part I
25. Robert's Wedding, Part II
Bloopers (6:58)
