Maybe it will surprise you, but I am only a recent convert to one of the best television comedies of all time. I know you guys find that hard to believe, but, yes, my wife and I started watching Everybody Loves Raymond just this year, long after the much-honored series had left the air in fact. Once we started though, we were hooked, and fortunately for us, you can catch the show at least four times each evening in central Arkansas.

 "Raymond" may well feature the best ensemble cast ever to play the small screen. In fact, every member of the family is perfectly capable of carrying an episode, and in actuality I guess they all did.

Some of my favorites may not be considered the "heavyweight members" of the cast, depending on how you look at it. Brad Garrett as Robert is one of the funnier people working today, and Chris Elliott as his brother-in-law Peter steals almost every episode he appeared in. But then you could say the same thing about Fred Willard and Georgia Engel who play Robert's in-laws. While both of those veterans have been in numerous sit-coms over the years, their roles in "Raymond" may be their shining moments. Willard as a self-righteous assisant junior high school principal, and Engel as his wife who appears to be almost scared of her shadow at times had their share of hilarious moments in the series. 

Coming to mind immediately are Robert's asking for their daughter's hand in marriage (and getting a quick reply of "no") and Engel being "caught" smoking by Robert. Both episodes are memorable television.

Veteran character actors Doris Roberts and Peter Boyle had some of the best moments in the series as Ray's parents, Marie and Frank. They played their roles mostly for laughs throughout  the run of the show, but there was a time or two where their amazing versatility really shined through, yielding "serious" moments that caused a lump in our throats. Not many times mind you since this was mostly comedy, but they could be serious when the script called for them to be.

And certainly one can't talk about Everybody Loves Raymond without saluting the two leads, Ray Romano and Patricia Heatson. Both are multi-Emmy winners, and it doesn't take watching many episodes to see why they were so honored.

It was a great show that years from now, I can see audiences enjoying in a manner to how we still love Andy and Barney after almost 50 years. I am just glad I got on board, even though I am a "bit" late.

(Tommy Jackson is a former Arkansas newspaper editor who now writes a weekly entertainment column. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )