THE CANISTER

Everybody Loves Raymond
Season 5 (2001)

Easter-themed episodes of sitcoms are a rare and beautiful thing. Who knows exactly why there is such a scarcity of Easter episodes?  Perhaps it’s because Easter is a relatively religious holiday and sitcoms generally avoid religion.  Maybe it’s just because the holiday falls rather late in a typical sitcom season, and shows tend to be wrapping up and can’t devote time to the holiday.  Maybe Easter just isn’t as popular as Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving (thought it ranks as my third favorite holiday).  Luckily Everybody Loves Raymond provided us with not only more than one Easter episode, but this truly amazing one.

I can almost smell the vinegar and hear those color tablets fizzing...

The plot is simple yet brilliant: on the day before Easter Debra insists that she returned a canister to Marie, even earning an apology from Marie after she accuses her of losing it.  Moments later Debra discovers that she had the canister all along, and in order to avoid years of Marie rubbing the mistake in their faces the family goes to great and hilarious lengths to prevent the truth from being discovered.  Despite their frantic efforts, on Easter Sunday the canister keeps showing up at the worst possible moments, leading to a last-minute rescue from an unlikely source.

The canister that wouldn't die

“The Canister” is a much beloved episode of the show and deservedly so; it’s one hilarious scene after another.  When the infamous canister comes clunking down the stairs after Ray and Debra thought they’d throw it away, their genuine terror is a sight to behold.  Other great moments include Ray smuggling the canister in to Marie’s house under a puffy jacket and Ray and Robert’s deliciously awkward, extremely long hug (an effort to conceal the canister clutched between them).  The ending of the episode is even surprisingly poignant.  It really is sheer sitcom perfection from start to finish, equal parts comedy, horror movie, caper, and slapstick—all that plus a holiday backdrop!  

Holidays are for hugging

Easter with the Barones reminds me a lot of my many family holidays, including the squabbling.  The opening scene shows Ray dying eggs (with newspaper spread over the kitchen table, naturally) and we also get all sorts of fun Easter shout-outs: chocolate eggs, ham, daffodils, Easter outfits and subtle decorations in the background.  At one point the camera focuses on Debra and I noticed Easter gel clings in the window behind her.  All hail the gentle yet knowing touch of the Everybody Loves Raymond set decorator!  Details like these make the show—and the holiday.

Subtle over the shoulder and to the right Easter decor alert!

Easter Quotient: As much as I adore this episode, it’s prevented from earning a 5 since the story doesn’t actually revolve around Easter—it just takes place on Easter.  Still there’s plenty of holiday trimmings so it rates a 4. 

See It, Skip It, Own It?
Mandatory Easter viewing, year after year!