Marie's Sculpture
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox television episode
| series = Everybody Loves Raymond
| season = 6
| episode = 5
| airdate = {{Start date|2001|10|22}}
| image = Mariessculpture.jpg
| caption = Marie shows her abstract sculpture to her family, unaware most of the members think it looks like a vagina
| production = 0105
| length = 22 minutes
| director = Randy Suhr
| writer = Jennifer Crittenden
| photographer = Mike Berlin
| editor = Patricia Barnett
| guests =
- Lauri Johnson as Sister Ann
- Mary Gillis as Sister Beth
| season_article = Everybody Loves Raymond (season 6)
| episode_list = List of Everybody Loves Raymond episodes
| prev = Ray's Ring
| next = Frank Goes Downstairs
}}
"Marie's Sculpture" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the American sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2005), written by Jennifer Crittenden and directed by Randy Suhr. Everybody Loves Raymond follows the life of Newsday sportswriter Ray Barone (Ray Romano) and his oddball family, which includes wife Debra (Patricia Heaton), parents Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts), brother Robert (Brad Garrett), daughter Ally (Madylin Sweeten), and twin sons Michael (Sullivan Sweeten) and Geoffrey (Sawyer Sweeten).
In "Marie's Sculpture," Marie produces an abstract statue that (while not of her intentions) looks like a vagina, which makes most of the family uncomfortable. Lauri Johnson and Mary Gillis guest star as two Sisters who look at the statue for a church auction. Originally airing on CBS on October 22, 2001, "Marie's Sculpture" was the top-rated television program that night, scoring 21.21 million viewers aged 18 to 49. It has been considered by some television critics to be one of the best Raymond episodes and by TV Guide the 42nd Greatest Episode of All-Time. Crittenden received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Marie's Sculpture."
Plot
Marie Barone is taking a sculpting class that her daughter-in-law Debra suggested to her. Marie brings an abstract sculpture she did in class to Debra's house and shows it to her, sons Raymond and Robert, and husband Frank. The family is initially impressed, until they realize that it resembles a vagina, although this doesn't occur to Marie or Frank. Debra, Ray, and Robert get nervous from standing in front of the sculpture, which is worsened by Marie stating she made it as a "gift" for Ray to keep in the house. However, it catches Frank's attention to the point where he's staring at it, although he's not sure why.
Although Debra initially instructs to keep the statue in the house to not upset his mother, that changes the next day when she starts to "see it in [her] sleep." Ray starts his plan of removing the statue by covering it up with a garbage bag, but Marie walks in the house as he does this. Ray and Debra successfully convince Marie to remove the sculpture from the living room while pretending to love it; however, she does this via a church auction where two Sisters come to the house to view it. They observe it the same way as Debra, Ray, and Robert did when they first saw it, and refuse to take it. One of the Sisters, Ann, informs Marie about the vaginal likeness; Marie initially takes offense to the interpretation, but when she takes a closer look, she suspects she's a lesbian.
Following the failed auction, Marie is initially discontent over not being able to do what she planned, that being to make something abstract instead of a piece that resembles a real-life object; however, Ray cheers her up by complimenting the sculpture, commending how she was able to produce art that "shocked" people and got the family to discuss it, which is "what real artists do." Her sculpture is presented at an exhibit and receives a positive reception, although at the same exhibit, Frank's emotion towards the sculpt turns from appreciative to horrified when a janitor tells him that it looks like a vagina.
Production
"Marie's Sculpture" is the only episode of Everybody Loves Raymond to be directed by Randy Suhr, who was usually a first assistant director on the series. It is also Jennifer Crittenden's ninth writing credit for the series, after "The Will,"{{cite episode|title=The Will|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Will Mackenzie (director); Michael Feldman and Jennifer Crittenden (story); Jennifer Crittenden (teleplay)|station=CBS|airdate=October 18, 1999|season=4|number=5}} "Robert's Rodeo,"{{cite episode|title=Robert's Rodeo|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Will Mackenzie (director); Jennifer Crittenden (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=February 7, 2000|season=4|number=15}} "Alone Time,"{{cite episode|title=Alone Time|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Steve Zuckerman (director); Jennifer Crittenden (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=April 17, 2000|season=4|number=20}} "Robert's Divorce,"{{cite episode|title=Robert's Divorce|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Wil Shriner (director); Tucker Cawley and Jennifer Crittenden and Steve Skrovan (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=May 22, 2000|season=4|number=24}} "Meant to Be,"{{cite episode|title=Meant to Be|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Michael Zinberg (director); Kathy Ann Stumpe and Jennifer Crittenden (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=October 16, 2000|season=5|number=4}} "What Good Are You?,"{{cite episode|title=What Good Are You?|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Ken Levine (director); Jennifer Crittenden (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=January 8, 2001|season=5|number=12}} "Ray's Journal,"{{cite episode|title=Ray's Journal|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Kenneth Shapiro (director); Jennifer Crittenden (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=February 5, 2001|season=5|number=14}} and "Let's Fix Robert."{{cite episode|title=Let's Fix Robert|series=Everybody Loves Raymond|credits=Gary Halvorson (director); Jennifer Crittenden and Mike Royce (writer)|station=CBS|airdate=April 30, 2001|season=5|number=21}} When the series ended production of new episodes in 2005, Marie actress Doris Roberts took home the statue and placed it in her living room.{{cite web|last=Lipton|first=Mike|date=May 23, 2005|url=https://people.com/archive/everybody-leaves-raymond-vol-63-no-20/|title=Everybody Leaves Raymond|work=People|accessdate=January 21, 2020}}
Broadcast
"Marie's Sculpture" garnered 21.21 million viewers of the 18–49 demographic with a 7.8/18 rating; it was the top show of the night, scoring the fifth number-one episode for Everybody Loves Raymond
Reception
{{Blockquote|If you didn’t crack up over “Marie’s Sculpture” in the third season, you weren’t paying attention. How they got that anatomically correct artwork past the censors remains a mystery.|The Denver Post, 2005{{cite web|last=Ostrow|first=Joanne|date=May 12, 2005|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2005/05/12/raymond-exits-at-the-top-of-its-comic-game/|title='Raymond' exits at the top of its comic game|work=The Denver Post|accessdate=January 21, 2020}}}}
Some critics have called "Marie's Sculpture" one of Everybody Loves Raymond
Summarized Screen Rant, "The moment Marie shows her masterpiece to Ray and Debra is unforgettable, and the story that follows is equally entertaining." Reviewing the episode upon its 2001 airing, Kevin McDonough claimed, "the episode unfolds in a series of subtle reaction shots and clever understatement, proving that words unsaid and things unseen can often be far more amusing than blatant vulgarity."{{cite news|last=McDonough|first=Kevin|date=October 22, 2001|title='Raymond' laughs at art's feminine mystique|work=Charleston Daily Mail|page=8A}} DVDTalk claimed, "What makes this a really fun episode is how everyone reacts when they find out exactly what the sculpture resembles."{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=Jeffrey|date=June 4, 2006|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/22032/everybody-loves-raymond-the-complete-sixth-season/|title=Everybody Loves Raymond – The Complete Sixth Season|website=DVDTalk|accessdate=January 18, 2020}} Stated Di Nunzio, "The scenes in which one by one (except for
Marie) they begin to associate the work with the exact part of a woman's body are some of the funniest moments in any television sitcom in history."
"Marie's Sculpture" is most known for its graphic content, and has never aired in the United Kingdom.{{cite web|last=Heritage|first=Stuart|date=February 13, 2017|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/feb/13/south-park-to-sesame-street-lena-dunham-tv-censorship-hall-of-fame|title=South Park to Sesame Street: the TV censorship hall of fame|work=The Guardian|accessdate=January 21, 2020}} It is an all-time favorite television episode for I'm Sorry creator Andrea Savage, who explained its importance in prime-time television history in a 2019 Variety interview: "at the time I think this was a groundbreaking thing. I felt like [Raymond] was an edgier show than its packaging. So it sort of slipped into people’s homes. It had some edgier stuff."{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=August 5, 2019|url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/andrea-savage-im-sorry-everybody-loves-raymond-my-favorite-episode-podcast-1203292360/|title=Listen: 'I'm Sorry' Star Andrea Savage Recounts That Infamous 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Vulva Sculpture Episode|work=Variety|accessdate=January 18, 2020}}
Accolades
Crittenden was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for writing "Marie's Sculpture." Philip Rosenthal, in the same ceremony, was also nominated for the award for writing "The Angry Family."{{cite web|last=Schneider|first=Michael|date=July 18, 2002|url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/awards/six-feet-has-emmy-day-to-die-for-1117869881/|title='Six Feet' has Emmy day to die for|work=Variety|accessdate=January 18, 2020}} This was the second time Everybody Loves Raymond was nominated for the writing accolade,{{cite web|url=https://www.emmys.com/shows/everybody-loves-raymond|title=Everybody Loves Raymond|website=Emmys.com|accessdate=January 5, 2020}} as Romano and Rosenthal were previously nominated in 2000 for their work on "Bad Moon Rising."{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2000/tv/news/52nd-annual-primetime-emmy-nominations-part-3-directing-writing-casting-music-choreography-1117784954/|title=52nd annual Primetime Emmy nominations, part 3: directing, writing, casting, music, choreography|work=Variety|date=August 12, 2000|accessdate=January 5, 2020}} Pat Barnett was also nominated for an Eddie Award for Best Editing for a Half-hour Series for Television for her work on the episode.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2003/film/awards/ace-eddie-nominees-list-1117880818/|title=ACE Eddie nominees list|work=Variety|date=February 19, 2003|accessdate=January 18, 2020}} "Marie's Sculpture" made two TV Guide lists in the 2000s; it ranked number 62 on its list of the "Top 100 Most Unexpected Moments in TV History" in 2005{{cite news |title=TV Guide and TV Land Join Forces To Count Down The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments |url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20051201/NYTH02201122005-1.html |access-date=March 7, 2021 |work=PR Newswire |date=December 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830195947/http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20051201/NYTH02201122005-1.html |archive-date=August 30, 2006}} and 42 on its 2009 edition of the 100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time, the only Raymond episode on that list, with the following caption: "We don’t know art, but we know what we like: this bawdy screamer about a suggestive statue."{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628092330/http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/feature/tvs-top-100-episodes-of-all-time-60-41-1427.html?page=2|archivedate=June 28, 2009|url=http://www.tvguidemagazine.com/feature/tvs-top-100-episodes-of-all-time-60-41-1427.html?page=2|title=TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time: #60-41|work=TV Guide|date=June 2009|page=2|accessdate=January 19, 2020}}
Home media
On May 9, 2006, "Marie's Sculpture" was a included of the official DVD set for the sixth season, which also features an audio commentary track of the episode featuring Romano, Rosenthal, and Roberts. It, along with the whole series, was also available on Netflix until September 1, 2016.{{cite web|last=Rosen|first=Christopher|date=August 26, 2016|url=https://ew.com/article/2016/08/26/whats-leaving-netflix-september/|title=What's leaving Netflix in September|work=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=January 21, 2020}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb episode|0574189}}
- [https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/everybody-loves-raymond/episode-5-season-6/maries-sculpture/100143/ "Marie's Sculpture"] at TVGuide.com
- [https://www.tbs.com/shows/everybody-loves-raymond/season-6/episode-5/maries-sculpture "Marie's Sculpture"] at TBS.com
{{Everybody Loves Raymond}}