The Toaster (Everybody Loves Raymond)

"The Toaster"
Everybody Loves Raymond episode
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 12
Directed by	Steve Zuckerman
Written by	Philip Rosenthal
Cinematography by	Mike Berlin
Editing by	Patricia Barnett
Production code	9812
Original air date	December 14, 1998 (1998-12-14)
Running time	22 minutes
Guest appearances
Robert Culp as Warren Whelan Katherine Helmond as Lois Whelan Patricia Bethune as Exchange Lady Peggy Doyle as Elderly Woman Drenda Spohnholtz as Leann Phil Abrams as Sales Clerk
Episode chronology

"The Toaster" is the 12th episode of the third season of the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005). The episode aired on December 14, 1998 on CBS. The series follows the life of Newsday sportswriter Ray Barone as he tries to cope with being with his neurotic family, consisting of wife Debra (Patricia Heaton), parents Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), brother Robert (Brad Garrett), daughter Ally (Madylin Sweeten), and twin sons Michael (Sullivan Sweeten) and Geoffrey (Sawyer Sweeten).

Reception

According to Nielsen Media Research, "The Toaster" tied with the CBS television film Christmas in My Hometown for the 12th most-viewed program of the week of December 16, 1998, garnering 10.8% of 97 million American homes.^[1] Reviewing season three of Raymond, Jeffrey Robinson of DVD Talk called the episode "quite funny" and filled with "some classic moments."^[2] It has been named the eighth best episode of Raymond by The Oregonian^[3] and is a series favorite for Rosenthal.^[4]

"The Toaster" has been placed on several retrospective list of best Christmas episodes.^[5] Screen Rant ranked it the second best Christmas episode from a 1990s sitcom,^[6] and The New York Observer placed it at number ten on its list of all-time Christmas episodes.^[7] The Herald-Dispatch ranked it number two on its list,^[8] and Channel 24 number nine.^[9] Both lists highlighted the episode's lines "You’re a trophy wife? What contest in hell did I win?"^[8] which also topped Screen Rant's list of best Frank Barone quotes.^[10] Channel 28 also named it one of the top ten best Raymond one-liners.^[11] People put Marie and Frank's argument about the toaster as one of Roberts' best moments in the show, elaborating that it showcased "some of the finest acting Peter Boyle and Roberts would ever do together."^[12]

Home media

On May 3, 2005, all of the third season of Everybody Loves Raymond was released to DVD; the set not only features "The Toaster," but also an audio commentary track of the episode by Romano and Rosenthal.^[2] It was also released to Amazon Prime on November 8, 2013 alongside the other season three episodes.^[13] It, along with the whole series, was also available on Netflix until September 1, 2016.^[14]

References

1. "NBC, CBS Tie for 1st – and ABC Isn't Far Behind". Orlando Sentinel (Metro ed.). December 16, 1998. p. A2.
2. Robinson, Jeffrey (April 26, 2005). "Everybody Loves Raymond – The Complete Third Season". DVDTalk. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
3. Hunt, Chris (May 16, 2005). "Television Review: 10 for the Road". The Oregonian. p. B01.
4. Weintraub, Joanne (May 15, 2005). "Everybody loves a favorite episode". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Final ed.). p. 10.
5. Gay, Danielle (December 18, 2019). "The ultimate list of the best Christmas episodes from your favourite TV shows". Vogue Australia. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
6. Daley, Katerina (November 27, 2019). "The 10 Best Christmas Episodes From 90s Sitcoms, Ranked". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
7. Easton, Anne (December 25, 2014). "tvDownload's 2014 Rewind: The Ten Best Holiday Episodes EVER". The New York Observer. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
8. Henderson-Bentley, Angela (December 19, 2019). "These TV episodes enhance Christmas season". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
9. "The 12 episodes of Christmas". Channel 24. December 27, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
10. Daley, Katerina (October 27, 2019). "Everybody Loves Raymond: 10 Best Frank Barone Quotes". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
11. "The 10 best one-liners from Everybody Loves Raymond". Channel 24. November 17, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
12. Heigl, Alex (April 19, 2016). "7 of Doris Roberts' Best Everybody Loves Raymond Moments". People. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
13. "Everybody Loves Raymond Season 3 Prime". Blu-ray.com. November 8, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
14. Rosen, Christopher (August 26, 2016). "What's leaving Netflix in September". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 21, 2020.