Published Apr 23, 2026, 5:30 PM EDT
Zach Moser is a Philadelphia native who writes about film and television news. Zach has been published in Points In Case, Business Insider, Slackjaw, ROCA Travel, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency.
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It's been just over 14 years since the best episode of Everybody Loves Raymond aired, but it's held up as one of the great half-hours of television. Everybody Loves Raymond has aged incredibly well over the three decades since it first aired on CBS and remains one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Everybody Loves Raymond is unique among sitcoms, even modern ones. While on the surface, it seems like a typical sitcom, what with the bickering couple, Ray (Ray Romano) and Debra (Patricia Heaton), the overbearing in-laws, Marie (Doris Roberts) and Frank (Peter Boyle), the sad-sack brother, Robert (Brad Garrett), and the sweet girlfriend who becomes Robert's wife, Amy (Monica Horan).
However, Everybody Loves Raymond is more than the sum of its parts. It's a sophisticated sitcom about adults dealing with adult problems. Unlike family shows like Full House or Modern Family, where children are major parts of the show, and storylines can seemingly go anywhere, Everybody Loves Raymond keeps things grounded and mature.
It's a show about adults facing life's adult problems. Those adults just so happen to have kids. The situations the Barones get into are weird and strange, but they aren't unrelatable. One of the best episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond would really only happen in a sitcom, but it's also highly relatable.
Season 6, episode 14, "Snow Day", is arguably the best episode of the show. It's extremely funny, recognizable, human and moving, and a chance for the main cast to shine. The episode sees Debra, Ray, Robert, and Amy stuck at Frank and Marie's during a snowstorm, where everybody starts drinking and having a good time.
The party is spoiled when Debra inadvertently insults Frank, resulting in Marie accusing Debra of thinking she's better than the rest of the Barones, beginning a drunken dialogue about everyone's foibles. It's an episode that has everything that makes Everybody Loves Raymond a classic.
Snow Day Is Hilarious, But Moving
"Snow Day" is hilarious, a requirement for any episode of the show that wants to be called the best in the series. The comedy that comes from all the Barones together is excellent, and because everyone's cutting loose, they're all a little more honest with one another than usual.
Ray and Robert's dance moves are fantastic displays of physical comedy from Romano and Garrett, as is the awkwardness of the family together. Things take a turn when Debra says that she can't believe she's having fun with Frank. An offhand comment that catches everyone off guard, causing Frank to quietly leave and go outside.
The episode becomes more serious as Marie, not unkindly, says that she knows Debra thinks she's better than the Barones, and the pair have an argument where they are closer to crying than yelling. The episode doesn't stop being funny at this point, though, and Ray's increasingly drunken comments keep everything palatable.
Ray knows his family and drunkenly explains all their problems, with special attention paid to Robert, of course, leading to some hilarious lines like Robert explaining why he separates his "Good & Plenty" into "Good" and "Plenty" piles, or Amy admitting she finds Frank "sexy".
It's a critical moment for Debra and Marie as they come to terms with what they think about the other, and what has remained unsaid for most of the series has now been said. There's still love there, and so while what is said is eye-opening, no one leaves the party wounded; they just go on, like in real life.
Snow Day Gives Patricia Heaton And Debra A Chance To Shine
"Snow Day" gives Patricia Heaton and her character a real chance to shine. Debra has plenty of episodes dedicated to her, but this may be one of the most important in the series. Debra has long been besieged by the Barones, who tramp into her house unannounced and uninvited.
She's withstood it all, and as the audience, we've understood that while this relationship is a fraught one, everyone seems to go along to get along. In "Snow Day", we figure out that Debra's coping mechanism is to think of herself as better than the Barones, though, to be fair, she vehemently denies it.
It's an episode that gives Debra a lot more depth and paints her as someone with a lot of dimensions, even if not all those dimensions are positive. Heaton is doing some of her best work in this episode as well. Debra is on the defensive for one of the few times in Everybody Loves Raymond, and Heaton plays her as shocked, sad, even a little timid. It's a multi-layered portrayal, but it still feels like Debra.
Everyone In The Cast Is Doing Some Of Their Best Work
It's not just Heaton who is knocking it out of the park. Every actor is doing some of their best work. For one, they're all playing slightly drunk, a notoriously difficult thing to pull off right. Amy is wonderful as someone who is not entirely sure if she should be present and is accidentally saying strange things out of nervousness.
Robert's discomfort with Amy being present is very funny, as is his low-key reaction to everyone using him as an example of how low the Barone bar is. Ray is in peak form, very drunk, and happily calling out everyone in his family while still defending his mother and Debra at the same time.
Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, and Patricia Heaton were all nominated for Emmy Awards for Everybody Loves Raymond season 6. Romano, Garrett, and Roberts all won in their respective categories.
Marie is also great. When she calls out Debra, Doris Roberts somehow doesn't make the accusation feel cruel. She says it carefully, like she knows the words will hurt but thinks it's important she says them anyway. Her quick, giddy turn when Ray gives her a compliment of sorts is perfectly Marie.
Then there's Frank, who isn't present for a third of the episode as he's standing out in the snow. Peter Boyle's hurt when Debra insults him is painful to watch. His conversation with her outside is even better, and when he says he always thought he and Debra were a team against the others, you understand why her comments hurt so much.
"Snow Day" has the best of what Everybody Loves Raymond has to offer, and it merges the comedy with the heart in the way the series has always had a knack for. 14 years later, it still makes you feel as much, and laugh just as hard.
Release Date 1996 - 2005
Showrunner Phil Rosenthal
Directors Gary Halvorson, Will Mackenzie, Jerry Zaks, Kenneth Shapiro, Steve Zuckerman, Jeff Meyer, Michael Lembeck, Brian K. Roberts, John Fortenberry, Michael Zinberg, Jeff Melman, Ken Levine, Alan Kirschenbaum, Andy Ackerman, Asaad Kelada, Michael Lessac, Paul Lazarus, David Clark Lee, Rod Daniel, Wil Shriner
Writers Jason Gelles, Bruce Kirschbaum, Eric Cohen, Jay Kogen, Kevin James, Scott Buck
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Patricia Heaton
Debra Barone
English (US) ·