Fascinatin' Debra

Fascinatin' Debra
Dr. Nora in "Fascinatin' Debra"
Season	1
Episode	21
Air Date	March 17, 1997 (USA) September 20, 2004 (Canada)
Cast	Ray Romano Patricia Heaton Brad Garrett Doris Roberts Peter Boyle Madylin Sweeten Sawyer Sweeten Sullivan Sweeten Mary Kay Adams Desmond Howard Lorraine Shaw
Director(s)	Jeff Meyer
Writer(s)	Jeremy Stevens Tucker Cawley Kathy Ann Stumpe Lew Schneider
Preceded by	Neighbors
Followed by	Why Are We Here?

Fascinatin' Debra is the 21^st episode of Season 1, and is episode 21 of the full 210 episodes for the entire series. In this episode, Debra calls a radio psychologist. After the conversation, the psychologist, Dr. Nora, says she wants to meet up with Debra for an interview.

Episode Information

• Episode Title: Fascinatin' Debra
• Episode Number: Season 1, Episode 21 (#21 of 210)
• Air Date: March 17, 1997
• Episode description (from DVD): "Dr. Nora, a phone shrink, comes to interview Debra for a book she's writing. However, she becomes more fascinated with the Barone family than with Debra."
• Cast:
  • Ray Romano as Ray
  • Patricia Heaton as Debra
  • Brad Garrett as Robert
  • Doris Roberts as Marie
  • Peter Boyle as Frank
  • Madylin Sweeten as Ally
  • Sawyer Sweeten as Geoffrey
  • Sullivan Sweeten as Michael
• Guest Stars:
  • Mary Kay Adams as Dr. Nora
  • Desmond Howard as Himself
  • Lorraine Shaw as Bartender
• Crew:
  • Jeff Meyer - Director
  • Jeremy Stevens - Teleplay
  • Tucker Cawley - Teleplay
  • Kathy Ann Stumpe - Story
  • Lew Schneider - Story
• Preceded by: "Neighbors"
• Followed by: "Why Are We Here?"

Synopsis

The episode opens with Ray meeting with Desmond Howard in a bar. They talk about the article Ray wrote about the football star. This opening sequence has nothing to do with the main story of the episode.

As the main story begins, Ray comes home to find his wife Debra on the phone with the radio psychologist Dr. Nora. Debra then explains to Ray that she and Dr. Nora talked about Debra feeling unappreciated at home.

After the radio show ends, Dr. Nora calls Debra back and says she would like to interview her for a book she's writing. She tells Debra that she's a dying breed: a housewife.

Debra tries so hard to impress Dr. Nora when she arrives that things begin to go terribly wrong right from the start. First, Ray starts in with his sense of humor, than the kids act-up, and to top it off, Frank, Marie, and Robert all barge in.

Trying to continue on with the interview, Debra tells Dr. Nora that she did PR work of a hockey team. But Dr. Nora wasn't paying attention to her at all...she was more interested in the rest of the Barone family's behavior.

For the remainder of the episode, Ray and his family try to make Debra feel better because she thinks that she's a boring person. Ray ends up telling Debra that she was weird and twisted because she willingly married into his crazy family.

Running Gags

Robert does his little "crazy chin" habit while eating, and Dr. Nora is fascinated by the behavior. She asks Robert if he's nervous. And Robert doesn't understand what she's talking about.

Trivia

Even though they don't actually appear in the episode, Lee and Stan's names are mentioned.

This is the second time in the show that a character speaks the line: "Everybody loves Raymond". Debra says it as she shoves potato chips into her chin imitating Robert.

Also, when shows move to syndication in the United States, a few minutes have to be trimmed off of the episode. So, for this episode, the opening scene with Desmond Howard was cut when the show was in syndication.

Production Notes

Today’s syndicated reruns use an alternate version of the Where’s Lunch? dish from Debra's Sick. This version has the full piano ditty, plus the dish is more centered, and the image is slightly zoomed out. When it starts, almost all of the dish is already in the frame.

Quotes

• Debra: (imitating Robert) "Everybody loves Raymond."

External links

• "Fascinatin' Debra" at IMDb.com