I suppose I failed at that as well in years past. I always mentioned that I can remember watching these shows as a kid with my family when the episodes first aired, and that's also important. However, I think it's equally important how frequently we watched them in syndication and how much we looked forward to the time of year when networks would air them in reruns.
You're likely sick of hearing about how "kids today" have the opportunity to watch anything and everything in just moments, but the contrast in generations is quite stark. We had to wait. We marked the calendar and set the VCR, even if we were going to be home. If we didn't tape it, we'd likely never see it again. We waited for the program to start and made sure during that brief 3-minute commercial window, we used the bathroom and grabbed our snacks before leaping back onto the floor in front of the TV set.
We only had minutes to do what was needed because there was no "pause." Like Brother Love says, it was "All the way live, baby."
Of course, the big appointment viewings came after weeks of advertising and anticipation for the newest holiday episodes. It was an "event." More often than not, though, my generation would watch these special holiday episodes on what was practically a repeating loop during their syndicated run on random weekday afternoons.
Most afternoons after school, I'd get off the school bus and spend time at Granny's house, where I'd watch Disney Afternoons or some other cartoon while I did homework. When Mom and Dad would come home from work, I'd walk next door, and while dinner was being made, I'd catch reruns of sitcoms on one of the handful of syndicated channels I loved to watch. I'd watch everything from Growing Pains to The Simpsons while I waited for dinner. After dinner and the evening news signed off around 7, I'd have control of the television. At 7pm, there isn't anything new, so I'd watch more syndicated reruns of various programs. Then, we'd have the family shows we all watched together, like "Home Improvement" or the Rangers hockey game, and eventually, I'd be sent to bed.
It goes without saying that I had memorized exactly when and what old reruns were on what channel so I could switch right to them!
I've heard the guys from The Purple Stuff Podcast occasionally mention that they used to be able to tell how close to bedtime it was based on what old show was currently airing on PIX 11 or FOX 5. Yep, me too. The guys on Purple Stuff are older than me, maybe 5 years or so, but they grew up just a handful of miles away from where I did in the suburbs of New York City. Their experiences are incredibly similar to mine, and I love hearing their take on things because, quite often, it's like reliving my own childhood.
Over the years, I've discovered that most shows in syndication are typically run in sequential order. In the early days of the internet, before Wikipedia or similar sites, someone had to post the complete list of episode titles for a specific series so I could figure out what episodes were coming up soon. Especially ones I'd never seen before. My local paper's television guide (we didn't get TV Guide) only listed the series title for each time slot and not the individual episodes (for daytime syndicated shows); these lists on someone's random Geocities or Angelfire website were priceless in trying to game the system. A list like that was how we finally saw that one Rolling Stones episode of The Wonder Years that always seemed to elude us.
Even without a list, I'd get annoyed when episodes were shown clearly out of order. Imagine, if you will, waiting to see the "special" episodes of one of your favorite shows, like Saved by the Bell, where Jesse's father gets married at a really cool-looking hotel. They play the first episode that ends on a cliffhanger, and suddenly, we're back in Indiana at Miss Bliss' class, and half the Bayside gang isn't even there!
This sequential order still exists today, especially on Pluto, the free streaming service. I often turn on the I Love Lucy channel for background noise, and they show every episode in order. I can tell what season they are in based on what's currently airing. When they get closer to my favorite episodes (the California trip from Seasons 4 and 5), I pay closer attention. If I miss it, it's okay since it'll be back in the same spot in chronology in a day or two.
What does any of this have to do with classic sitcoms and Halloween? Over the years, I noticed that holiday-themed episodes tended to get skipped during regular parts of the year. A Christmas-themed episode would rarely play in a month like May, and Halloween episodes would rarely play outside of October.
They may have been taken out of the regular rotation but were celebrated as a "Special Event" all month during the holiday season. For example, the Home Improvement or Roseanne Halloween episodes would run several times during October as special events on the syndicated channels (and even ABC) to get you excited for the season.
Another show that frequently runs in syndication is "Everybody Loves Raymond." It's hard to turn on a television these days without seeing Ray Barone and his family. I don't spend much time watching cable these days, but the show isn't hard to find if I turn it on. Between TV Land, Cozi, IFC, or MeTV, I feel like "Everybody Loves Raymond" is always available somewhere. As of now, it's also available on Peacock.
I have a very special place in my heart for "Everybody Loves Raymond," or "Raymond," as my family called it. It was an important show for my family. In the short-lived "Gnarly 90s" podcast, episode three covered the 90s shows most important to us, and I discussed Raymond at length. That episode was never published, but since I spent days learning on the job (so to speak) how to edit audio just for that episode, I may just post it to my YouTube channel so that it finally sees the light of day.
Either way, I'll summarize why I love the show for you here.
Growing up half-Italian in New York, I realized that many qualities in every character reflect someone in my family or my wife's family. After spending 20 years on Long Island, I enjoyed Ray Romano's humor more than I did growing up in "upstate" New York. In the "if you know, you know" category, you get more when you understand the people and culture the real-life Ray grew up with. My wife is a Long Island native; I was just a transplant. Still, twenty years is certainly long enough to call someplace "home," and the local references, jokes, and personalities are funnier from the perspective of a Long Island family man.
In the fall of 1996, when Raymond debuted on CBS, I would have been starting the 7th grade. My family became instant fans, and even Granny and Gramps began watching the show. There were several instances I remember them asking us if we had seen the episode the night prior because they found it so funny. My wife and her family also loved the show when it first aired, and the two of us constantly reference things from the show like "More fruit!?" I also will frequently repeat Marie's overbearing "RIGHT HERE!" as she rushes to hug her child.
Of course, who could forget the famous scene where Ray describes to Debra the different 'zones' in which living near his parents could turn a comfortable visit into the danger zone!
The series ran on CBS between 1995 and 2005 for nine seasons and 210 episodes. It was a substantial success with critics and audiences, receiving a whopping 15 Emmy Awards (and 69 nominations) while featuring legendary talents like Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts.
There may have only been one Halloween episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, but honestly, it may be one of the best Halloween sitcom episodes ever. IMDB calls it one of the top five Halloween episodes in television history!
Season Three's sixth episode, "Halloween Candy," originally aired on October 26, 1998. According to Executive Producer Philip Rosenthal, "We had always wanted to do an adult show about families," and this episode certainly was that.
Writer Steve Skrovan pitched the idea for "Halloween Candy" to CBS before even filming the first episode of the series, but CBS rejected it due to the episode's adult nature. It took until its third year, when the series moved to Mondays at 9PM (originally, the show was a Friday show with more children watching), for this episode to get the green light.
Steve Skrovan is credited with writing the episode, which is his second collaboration with director Steve Zuckerman after the episode "Getting Even" two episodes prior. If you don't have every episode title memorized (and shame on you!), "Getting Even" was an episode in which Ray publically embarrasses Debra at a school auction, and he is paranoid she is out to get even with him.
This Halloween episode is full of funny euphemisms, but be forewarned, it may not be the best show to watch with young children unless you feel the need to explain certain things to them!
The episode opens as Ray (Ray Romano) and Debra (Patricia Heaton) try to have a little "alone time" after the kids go to bed. Ray wants to be the pilot of a private jet "for Halloween" and suggests Debra be "Vicky, the sexy flight attendant..." also, you know, "for Halloween." She stops Ray and sits up, frustrated. Ray quickly reminds her that everything is "locked, closed, or asleep," but that's not what worries her. She's out of "the stuff," and this news makes Ray panic as he searches the bedroom for more. He finds a tube of "the stuff," but Debra points out that it's only sunblock. Ray quickly changes gears and suggests he pretend to be "the cabana boy on the beach" before finally admitting defeat.
The intro plays next, and it's my favorite of the various ones the show had since it perfectly sums up the show. Set to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," the Barone family begins their march across the street, horrifying Ray and Debra. You can watch the introduction below.
Back in the bedroom, the two sit in bed, frustrated. Ray blames her for not having more of "the stuff," but she turns the tables and asks why he never goes to the drug store to buy "the things." Ray claims he doesn't like "the things." Debra responds that she doesn't like "the stuff." Ray then mumbles that the lady cashier at the drug store makes him feel "dirty" when he buys "the things."
Debra then suggests another option, but it's a little more surgical than "the things."
A little "snip, snip," she says.
Ray freaks out and looks down in his lap. He apologizes to "his partner" for having to hear that and that it should not listen to the crazy lady. Debra rolls over to sleep and suggests that if "his partner" took more responsibility, he'd get out more often.
A little spicy for a Halloween-themed family sitcom, wouldn't you say?
Days later, at lunchtime on Halloween day, Ray goes into Nemo's Pizza shop. Nemo (Joseph V. Perry) stands behind the counter dressed like the Chiquita Banana girl. Robert and Andy wait in a booth, wondering what the younger waitress, Angelina (Tina Arning), is wearing this year for Halloween. They hope it's as good as last year's little bunny outfit, and when she arrives wearing a low-cut nun outfit, the boys go crazy.
Ray can't stay; he has to have a "little procedure" done at the doctor's office.
Robert (Brad Garrett) asks him, "Rubber glove?"
Ray says no, and Robert is puzzled. "He doesn't use a glove?"
Ray lets them know he's getting a vasectomy just as Angelina (Tina Arning) drops by with his ginger ale. She tells him he's very courageous as Nemo waddles over. "I hear you're cutting the wires," he says. Nemo tells Ray not to worry and that it will be great because he's "going to get loved like he's never gotten loved before." After Nemo walks away, Ray asks Robert if Nemo (in his Chiquita Banana outfit) was flirting with him.
As Ray begins to leave the pizza joint, Robert tells him about a friend in the police force who got a vasectomy but afterwords "couldn't salute the Captain any longer."
She's impressed and proud that he even spoke to the lady at the drugstore! Ray reminds her that he has taken responsibility and that she should just relax.
She agrees to do so... just after they take the kids trick or treating. And after they fall asleep. Maybe 9:30 or so.
Later that evening, Ray's father Frank (Peter Boyle) walks into their living room dressed as Frankenstein. It's a little nod to the fact that his name is Frank but also an homage to Peter Boyle's famous portrayal of Frankenstein in the 1974 film Young Frankenstein.
Frank is holding a large brown M&M's box when Marie (Doris Roberts) bursts through the door dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein. She needs the box of candy for the children coming to their door across the street, and because that's just what these two do, Frank and Marie begin to argue. Frank claims, "Doctor make bad bride. Frankenstein sue Doctor!"
Marie leaves in a hurry to hand out candy. Frank stays behind to hand out candy while Ray and Debra take their kids out trick-or-treating. Debra comes downstairs dressed as a vintage Pan Am flight attendant, causing Ray to get excited. He asks if her name is "Vicky."
She says no, "but departure time is still 9:30."
Later, children come to the door, and Frankenstein Frank scares them. When the children start to cry, he starts giving them fistfuls of candy while apologizing profusely.
Meanwhile, Ray and his family arrive at their first house. After they collect their first pieces of candy, he's already trying to rush them home to "get their rest" by going to bed early.
Back at Ray's house, Frank has grown bored of handing out candy and is eating what appears to be a giant Twix bar. He opens the door and tells the kids he's "out of business," but the kids all start chanting, "Frankenstein sucks!" Frank responds, "FRANK NO SUCK." When more children arrive demanding candy, Frank panics at the child uprising. He searches the house for more candy and finds a white bag hidden in the kitchen. He smiles when he looks inside and marches back to the door happily.
A while later, Ray and Debra arrive at Marie's door for their last house of trick-or-treating. The kids look sleepy, so Marie offers to let them stay the night. Ray practically shoves them through the door and drags Debra home.
Just as Ray and Deb walk through their front door, Frank hands out the last colorful "thing" to a kid dressed up as Dracula. Frank tells Ray he didn't leave enough candy, but it's a good thing he found that bag of chocolate coins left in the kitchen cupboard!
Ray is confused, but Debra immediately realizes what has happened. She hands Ray the empty white drugstore bag, and Ray freaks out. Just then, Robert walks into the house, dressed in his police uniform. He asks what's been going on since he's been getting complaints about the candy coming from their address. Debra is mortified, and Ray freaks out again.
Frank is confused, especially after Ray, desperate to salvage his evening plans, runs out to find the kid dressed in the Dracula costume in search of the last "chocolate coin."
Robert leans over and whispers in Frank's ear.
Frank turns to Debra and says, "You...are...sick."
After the commercial break, Debra apologizes to a concerned neighborhood parent on the phone. Ray bursts through the door, claiming he got one of the "things." He had to go through 15 different kids dressed as Dracula to find the right one, but he was able to buy it off him. Debra asks if the kid knew what he had, and Ray says no, but so the kid didn't get curious, he also bought a popcorn ball and a box of raisins from the kid.
An embarrassed Debra tells him about all of the parents she had to apologize to tonight and is worried that everyone is going to think they have "wild sex" all the time. Ray tries to get her to keep her eyes on the prize and takes out his colorful "thing."
He unwraps it... and finds that it really is a chocolate coin! While he stares in disbelief, Debra eats it. Grasping at straws, Ray throws open the window and begins yelling at children in the street, searching for another one who may have gotten some of his "things."
Debra starts to fall asleep, and a defeated Raymond states "I hate Halloween."
He looks at Debra, then checks his watch.
"Eh, Sportcenter," he says as he grabs the remote and turns on the television as the episode ends.
What a great episode! It doesn't exactly scream Halloween, but at least the theme of Halloween runs throughout and doesn't get just a brief mention at the beginning.
Upon the original airing of "Halloween Candy," The Palm Beach Post named it one of the "funniest moments" of the 1998-1999 television season. The Oregonian ranked it the seventh-best episode of the entire series. The major film and television database IMDB lists Halloween Candy as one of the top Halloween-themed television episodes ever! Also, both the Tech Times and the Business International Times include this episode on their (unranked) lists of best Halloween episodes ever.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Next month, we'll continue the "Holidays on Classic Sitcoms" series with EIGHT Thanksgiving-themed episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond! See you then!
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