Release Date: May 24, 2005 (HBO Home Video)
Color/2005
Number of Discs: 1
Number of Episodes: 2
Running Time: 56 Minutes
Audio: English 2.0
Special Features: None
Introduction:
After 9 years, Everybody Loves Raymond comes to a
close. The finale aired on May 16, 2005, drawing
almost 33 million total viewers to see Ray (Ray
Romano), Debra (Patricia Heaton), Robert (Brad
Garrett), Amy (Monica Horan), Marie (Doris Roberts),
and Frank (Peter Boyle) one more time. Back in 1996,
the series started off, sans the character of Amy,
rather quietly in the Friday 8:30 PM slot to mediocre
ratings, with an interesting pilot in its normalness.
In the pilot, Ray’s family is established as nosy
neighbors over constantly, always interfering in Ray
and Debra’s life. Almost a decade later nothing’s
changed.
Packaging / Menu Design and Navigation / Special Features:
The release is a single-disc keep case. The primary
cast (Ray, Patricia, Doris, Peter, Brad) are in front
of a solid-white background in formal clothes, with
Brad and Peter holding cigars, Patricia and Doris
holding glasses of wine, and Ray, in a chair, holding
both. The rear is just the Everybody Loves Raymond
logo in front of the same white background, with the
standard synopsis text on the left, and a solo-shot of
Ray in the chair on the right. Disc features the
same photo as the front cover of the packaging. The
episode selection/main menu is the sole menu on the
set. To the left are two text options, one for the
finale, and one for the pilot. To the right is the
same cast shot from the front cover. The Everybody
Loves Raymond theme plays in a loop in the background.
For this release, there are no special features.
Video and Audio Quality:
The audio on both episodes sounds great. Episodes both
use a Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track with fairly even
mix between audio channels. The video on the pilot is
the same grainy, 4:3 aspect ratio, quality found on
the first release. Also, although I really didn’t
notice it the first time I watched the episode on the
Season One set; the video is a bit faded, but largely
fine. Quality is neither better nor poorer on it
compared to the Season 1 release. On the finale, the
episode is 16:9 Widescreen its original aspect ratio
and looks amazing. The video is sharp, clear, and
vivid, and is overall quite outstanding. Due to the
ages and mediums each of the two episodes were shot
on, this may go down as the biggest difference in
video quality between 2 episodes on the same set ever.
Not that the video is flawed, mind you, just the
inherit differences between a 1996-shot pilot, and a
2005-shot finale. One flaw with the release is that
neither episode features subtitles OR closed
captioning. Apologies to the fans with hearing
problems are in order. Also, there are no chapter
stops. Given that one episode is the finale - and
doesn’t even have opening credits to skip past - it’s
less of an issue than on a full-season set.
Final Comments:
There’s really nothing I can suggest, since this is a
“special” release, and not part of the main series
order. There are one or two things I would have done
differently with the set - commentary tracks, for one.
The season one set already HAD a track on the pilot;
they could EASILY have carried that over. Also,
they REALLY should have included the captioning or
done subtitles. Overall though, it’s a great set.
Obviously, those of you that are fans of the show
should buy this release. Also, those of you that
missed the original airing on CBS or those of you
that have never seen the show - might want to pick up
this CHEAP ($10) release. Furthermore, some fans will
probably love seeing the show in the widescreen format
for the first time, as it’s still hard to find the
DT/HD simulcast of programming in many areas. Fans
with hearing difficulties will probably want to avoid
the set due to the lack of closed captioning or
subtitles, but otherwise, buy the set, you won’t
regret it.
Video Quality: 4.3/5
Audio Quality: 4.5/5
Special Features: 0/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 4.0/5
Overall: 4.0/5
*Please Note: The video on the pilot is 3.5, while the
finale is a 5, so I’ve averaged the two and rounded to
the nearest tenth for the final video score.
-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher on 05/26/05
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