Writer:	Philip Rosenthal
Director:	Michael Lembeck
Star:	Ray Romano (Raymond Albert Barone),  Patricia Heaton (Debra Barone),  Brad Garrett (Robert Barone),  Doris Roberts (Marie Barone),  Peter Boyle (Frank Barone),  Madylin Sweeten (Ally Barone),  Sawyer Sweeten (Geoffery Barone),  Sullivan Sweeten (Michael Barone)
Guest Star:	Stephen Lee (Leo),  Amber Ferreira (Unknown),  Drew Ferreira (Matthew),  Justin Ferreira (Gregory)

Michael and Geoffrey were named after Ray Romano's real-life twins, Matthew and Gregory. (edit) In this episode the twins are named Gregory and Matthew instead of Geoffery and Michael. They are also played by a different set of twin actors. They were replaced after the pilot by Madylin Sweeten (Ally)'s real-life twin brothers, Sawyer and Sullivan Sweeten, one of the main reasons being because the original set of twins got too big too quickly, and they wanted the boys to look smaller. (edit) In this episode, the wallpaper at Ray's house is all white and the set of Marie's house is completly different from the one we see in the rest of the series. (edit) According to Ray, Patricia Heaton got the part of Debra because "she was the only one willing to kiss me in the auditions". (edit) Maggie Wheeler, who later has a recurring character as Linda on the show, was originally considered for the part of Debra.

Maggie also played "Janice," Chandler's on-again off-again annoying girlfriend on "Friends." (edit)

Ray: Okay, alright, I'm gonna ask you quickly and quietly to move to your nearest exit. (edit) Debra: How did he ever become a police sergeant?
Ray: Cause he's a good cop, and they didn't make him count. Or eat. (edit) Frank: Marie--
Marie: I can't talk! There's too much fruit in the house! (edit) Ray: Let's see, when I proposed you were 23. You said no.
Debra: Right.
Ray: Then I proposed; you were 24
BOTH: No again.
Ray: Right, then I took a year off to regroup then I came back with a job; BOOM, married. That would make you 32----ish. (edit) Robert: When did he get this?
Marie: Oh, that's an award your brother got for his sports-column.
Robert: Never ends for Raymond...
Marie: Oh, poor Robbie.
Robert: Everybody loves Raymond. I go to work people shoot at me, Ray goes to work and people do the wave. Then he sits down, has a hotdog, doodles on a piece of paper and they give him a trophy. (edit)

At the end of every episode the "Where's Lunch" logo pops up and there's a food plate served with something different everytime. From now on I will try to chronicle which dish is served at the end of each episode. Pilot dish: Lobster tail with broccoli heads. (edit) In this episode it is stated that Debra refused to marry Ray twice before he finally gets a job and then "boom," marriage. Later, in the Episode "The Wedding" Ray asks Debra to marry him and there's no allusions to suggest he has asked before. Actually, there are many hints that this is his first attempt in asking her to marry him. Also, Ray says he didn't have a job the first two times he asked Debra to marry him, but it is established later that they met when he was setting up a futon she had ordered, clearly indicating that he did in fact have a job when they met. (edit) Creator Philip Rosenthal and Ray Romano provide DVD commentary for this episode. (edit) It's been said many times that one of the big reasons Peter Boyle landed the role of Frank is because when he went to audition, he got lost and couldn't find the place. Then, by the time he got there he was annoyed and in a bad mood, and apparently it was the perfect personality for the character of Frank. (edit) When Ray is sitting with Ally on the bed, he and Ally try to tell the twins apart and they find that they can't. But seeing as one of the boys has very curly hair and the other's is perfectly straight, it's virtually impossible not to be able to distinguish them. (edit)

One of the basic premises of Everybody Loves Raymond, namely that Raymond is the center of everyone's attention while Robert is frequently invisible, may have been influenced by a Season One episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" named "Howard's Girl" (January 1971). Mary is dating Paul Arnell, the brother of former boyfriend Howard Arnell. Paul's family spends all their time talking about Howard, has his pictures all over the living room wall and endlessly praise his accomplishments, while Paul is a nonentity to them (a single photo of him is kept in a box beneath Howard's gallery). (edit)