I've been wondering lately if the more family-oriented comedies and the more adult-themed comedies differed in pace and proportion of joke lines versus plot-developing lines, so I took it upon myself to compare this show to Friends. In my very unscientific study spanning one episode for each series, I found very little difference in the ratio of laughs to lines. There goes that theory.
Everybody Loves Raymond has some of the most unusual opening themes. It's interesting to see them change over the years, even though each one tends to get tedious near the end of the season. The newest one, perhaps because it's the most conventional to date, appeals to me the most. I don't think I'll ever get sick of watching the Barone family dance.