The first season of Everybody Loves Raymond drew heavily upon the standup routines of comedian Ray Romano, who depicted himself as a loving but befuddled husband and father of three children, bedeviled by his own overbearing Italian-American parents and a jealous older brother who happened to be a policeman. In the series proper, Romano played Ray Barone, Long Island-based sportswriter for New York Newsday. Ray, his wife, Debra (Patricia Heaton), and their three children lived next door to Rays parents, bombastic Frank (Peter Boyle) and snoopy Marie (Doris Roberts). Frank and Marie in turn lived with Rays older brother, a divorced cop named Robert (Brad Garrett), who still harbored a childhood jealousy for his younger sibling. In the pilot episode, Rays three children were played by the Ferreira children: Amber, Drew, and Justin. The youngest kids, twin boys, were named Matthew and Gregory (after Romanos real-life children), while the six-year-old daughter was not identified by name. Thereafter, the children were known as Ally, Michael, and Geoffrey, and were played by members of the Sweeten family: Madylin, Sullivan, and Sawyer. During season one, a handful of semi-regulars were introduced, among them Rays friend Andy (Andy Kindler), a sports statistician; Nemo (Joseph V. Perry), the owner of the pizza parlor; and Amy MacDougall (Monica Horan), Roberts off-and-on girlfriend. Also firmly established was the intensely combative relationship between Rays parents, who also had a cute habit (cute to everyone but Rays long-suffering spouse Debra) of dropping into their sons house unannounced and poking their noses into everyone elses business. More welcome drop-ins occurred whenever Rays sports-world friends -- usually celebrity athletes and famous TV commentators -- opted to pay a visit to the series. Despite languishing in a low-rated Friday-night slot, Everybody Loves Raymond quickly became a critical favorite, encouraging CBS to move the series to a more advantageous Monday-night berth in mid-season. Though the ratings didnt exactly go through the roof, the series garnered enough of a fan following to warrant a second season. ~ All Movie Guide