ELR was very good at portraying subtext of the typical 'family comedy'. There was the surface plotting/activity, but so much resentment and animosity existed beneath the surface--a lot like many families. It felt as if they were all 'stuck with each other' rather than wanting to be together, yet they did not do anything to change their predicament. Part of the overall arc of the series was watching to see when/if someone finally blew their proverbial stack and called the others out on their irritating behaviors, perhaps breaking the cycles of passive-aggressive behavior and resentment once and for all. Of course it would happen in small doses/events, but they mostly allowed the situation(s) to fester and did little to change the situation long-term. Ray Romano will never do Shakespeare, but they wisely surrounded him with good actors and made his character an extension of his stand-up persona. His character's main weaknesses (being spineless and self-absorbed) worked well when Romano did not have the same acting chops of Heaton, Roberts, or even Garrett.
While I enjoyed the show for its great acting and writing, I grew to absolutely detest Marie Barone (played to the hilt by Doris Roberts). I can only believe that she was meant to be the villain of the piece, though the syrupy-sweet delivery of her "helpful advice" (criticism) made it look as if she genuinely did not know she was so poisonous. I found that my enjoyment of an episode almost always related to how much they dialed back Marie's mean-spiritedness.
