Everybody Loves Raymond had some great episodes over its nine-season run, but one that changed sitcoms forever was season 4, episode 22, “Bad Moon Rising”. Everybody Loves Raymond, on the surface, was just like other sitcoms of the era, but it tweaks everything just a degree and creates something totally unique.
The series is filled with surprising episodes that don’t always take the path you expect them to, often happy to deal with taboo or oddly mundane subjects with a critical and focused eye. Take “Bad Moon Rising”, an episode centered on PMS and featuring a standout Patricia Heaton performance.
The Everybody Loves Raymond Episode “Bad Moon Rising” Is A Leap Forward In Sitcom Storytelling
“Bad Moon Rising” begins with Debra (Heaton) going through premenstrual syndrome. Already, that’s an unusual storyline for network television in 2000. It’s an unusual storyline for network television now. Always one to pick a fight with Ray (Ray Romano), Debra has an even shorter temper than usual.
Ray goes to his friends and Frank (Peter Boyle) for advice, and they give him the usual stereotypically misogynistic sitcom advice about what to do when your girl has a problem: try and stop it at all costs. Ray even gets pills to end Debra’s PMS early. It’s a storyline that some viewers have bristled against.
However, it’s clear what the episode thinks about this kind of response. Frank and Ray are painted in the wrong, and this is one of the few times in the show that Marie (Doris Roberts) takes Debra’s side over Ray’s, telling her son that his inability to simply be with her at a difficult time is selfish.
“Bad Moon Rising” Features One Of Patricia Heaton’s Best Performances In Everybody Loves Raymond
Heaton is always fantastic in Everybody Loves Raymond, but her performance in “Bad Moon Rising” may be her best. The episode earned Heaton her second Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, and her first win, which she repeated in 2001.
There are few actors who can bring the energy to a character like Heaton can to Debra week in and week out. It’s a role that requires physical acting, absolute control of her face as she scrunches it into impossibly angry expressions, and the ability to let a joke linger until Ray or the audience can pick it up.
In “Bad Moon Rising”, Heaton pulls double duty, acting as the straight man and also performing bigger than she ever does in other episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond. It’s a perfectly rounded comedic performance and an excellent showcase of her many talents.
Release Date
1996 – 2005
Showrunner
Phil Rosenthal
Patricia Heaton
Debra Barone