Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond

Don’t focus on the one guy who hates you. You don’t go to the park and set your picnic down next to the only pile of dog shit.

—Shit My Dad Says

Alice discovers that there's one person that just doesn't like her that much. Of course, she freaks out, because she must be liked by everybody. "How can Bob not like me? What's not to like?"

Occasionally, Alice will end up going through every single event of her life, trying to figure out why Bob doesn't like her. Sometimes, this type of story is used to teach the audience An Aesop that "You can't please everyone."

But most of the time, Hilarity Ensues, and their attempts to reverse this dislike will only succeed in really giving the other person something to hate them for.

Examples of Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond include:

Anime and Manga

• In Fruits Basket, Tohru is deeply distressed at Akito's dislike of her.
  • Her distress stems more from the fact that Akito is an abusive control freak who could have Tohru's memory erased at any time, and none of the people she's living with would be able to do anything about it. Beyond that, Tohru is pretty self-deprecating, and for the most part, is genuinely surprised that so many people do seem to like her.
• In one episode of Ranma ½, a cursed brooch made Shampoo despise Ranma rather than love him madly as usual. Rather than being grateful that one of the most troublesome angles on his Love Dodecahedron had fixed itself neatly, he took a massive blow to his ego and set out to win her back, just so he could feel manly.
• The World God Only Knows touches on this when a pop idol insists that the protagonist love her music in order for her to have a sense of self-worth, ignoring the millions of cheering fans.

Film

• Discussed in Wayne's World. Wayne mentions that it's okay if a few people don't like his show and explains it this way:

"Led Zeppelin didn't write tunes everybody liked. They left that to the Bee Gees."

Live Action TV

• Trope name comes from the Sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, which, yes, built an episode around this trope.
  • "Is it really that hard to fathom that somewhere, in this vast cosmos, there might exist a single person - a single ENTITY - that thinks ya suck?"
  • When Ray Romano did stand-up comedy at Just for Laughs, he posited to the audience that everybody truly loved him. There were three objections: Herb from New Brunswick (who is not Micky Dolenz), the swinging Levines, and Shelagh Rogers from CBC's This Morning.
• Done in a Golden Girls episode, in which Rose has a coworker that cannot stand her. Her efforts to make him like her only worsen this, naturally, and quite frankly, border on harassment.
• This often happens to Frasier; it's often lampshaded with the frequently-offered explanation that Frasier is a pretty emotionally needy person and possesses a deep-seated yearning to be liked by everyone. But one notable instance was an episode when his show was being focus-grouped—out of twelve people in the group, only one person (played by Tony Shaloub) didn't like the show and didn't like him. Rather than accept that eleven people did like him, Frasier of course obsessed over the one person who didn't, and ended up hounding him to the extent that he accidentally burnt down the man's news-stand. It turned out that the only reason the man didn't like Frasier before was because he thought Frasier was a bit of a know-it-all, but he certainly had reason enough not to like him after.
• Seinfeld experiences this after Babu's restaurant goes under because of Seinfeld's advice. "Was mother wrong?"
  • There is an episode where George cannot take it when Jerry's girlfriend doesn't like him, it goes so far that he falls in love with her because she dislikes him so much.
  • On another episode, this trope was turned on its head, when Jerry starts going out with this cute, perfect girl. The only thing is, everybody else - close friends included - talk about her as if she were a loser, like he's doing her a favor to go out with her. Naturally, Jerry obsesses over what hidden trait could possibly make her undesirable... Until she meets his parents, and they just love her. He dumps her immediately.
  • And of course, Jerry's mother's reaction to Crazy Joe Davola wanting him dead: "How can anybody not like him?!" His father, though, is not so surprised.
• A whole episode on Mad About You is devoted to Jaime's need for the new stuffy English couple who move in next door to like her. After many incidents - including Paul getting caught with the neighbor's wife's panties on his head, a mis-delivered pizza, and Murray getting lucky with their prized show dog - the couple can't stand either one of them. Somewhat unique for this trope, they stay on as regular supporting characters.
• On Scrubs, JD's constant efforts to get the Janitor to like him, or eventually just to call off his grudge, usually backfire in this manner.
  • There have also been a few episodes where it is implied or outright stated that in fact a lot of people at the hospital don't like him, though he usually manages to avoid the revelation.
  • On the recent episode of "Med School" JD get a negative review from a student after spending an entire class period explaining why he is the best teacher around. JD then spends an episode trying to figure out who that was, only to find out that it was Dr. Cox himself.
• A 3rd Rock from the Sun episode involved Dick getting upset that a cafeteria lady hated him. This is pretty bizarre when you consider how Dick is usually apparently okay with several regular and recurring characters disliking him. In fact, when he got angry that she didn't even hate him for an actual reason, Nina replied "Does she need a reason? 'Cause I can give her reasons."
  • It most likely bothered him because she had no reason, as she pretty much hated him as soon as she first met him. Dick later rants about how she can hate him for his brilliance, for his higher salary, for his dashing good looks, but to not just hate him "because."
• Drew Carey was horrified to discover that he had a hate group that composed of people he'd accidentally wronged. Drew spent an episode apologizing, only to accidentally wrong another character, starting the cycle anew.
• Yes, Friends had a plot like this: Phoebe forgets to mail an invitation to Rachel's mother for the baby shower that Monica is throwing. Rachel's mother blames Monica for it (because it was Monica who called to tell her about the mistake) and Monica spends the rest of the episode obsessively trying to make Rachel's mother like her again. In the end, she learns nothing.
  • Another one has Chandler finding out that Monica hasn't told her parents about their relationship because they don't like him. Eventually he finds out that years ago Ross lied and told them that Chandler had smoked pot in his room.
• On Better Off Ted, Ted found that he was not as popular with males over 50 in the company as he was with all the other demographics. He spends the entire episode trying (and failing) to find out why.
  • He does learn why and gets them to like him. He just eventually decides that he doesn't want to make them like him, and goes back to normal.
• An episode of The Latest Buzz has Michael desperate to get validation for his fashion choices from a total stranger after he thinks the stranger made a sarcastic remark about his tie.
• Susan on Desperate Housewives with anyone, but especially when Bob and Lee moved in, and mistook her for being homophobic. She ended up hiding their lost dog so that she could help them find it. Of course, things really backfired when they figured her out.
• On 30 Rock, Jenna is upset by the fact that Frank doesn't like her, and spends an episode trying to win him over. Strange, in that Jenna is a gorgeous blonde and Frank is a geeky, slovenly pervert.
  • It is commonly accepted fact (as far as giving advice on TV is concerned anyway) that beautiful women can't understand it when guys that "should" worship them, don't.
    • In another episode from another season, she was upset that Frank wouldn't brag that he slept with her - Frank had his reasons, though. Everyone is disgusted when they find out; disgusted at Frank for sleeping with Jenna.
• One episode of Will and Grace had Grace and her husband Leo both obsessing over why Karen doesn't like Leo (she doesn't think he's funny). Leo even digs up an old yearbook to show Karen all the signatures he got, proving everyone loved him and thought he was hilarious.
• In one episode of Boy Meets World, Cory discovers that Angela keeps trying to avoid him and spends the entire episode trying to figure out why she doesn't like him. Eventually it is revealed that she is only avoiding him because she is hurt over her breakup with Shawn and being with Cory is a painful reminder. The revelation brings the two of them closer together.
• In How I Met Your Mother, Ted finds out that he's gotten loads of glowing reviews from his students on ratemyprofessor, from "A++++" to "brilliant puns", but ignores them all and fixates on the single person who called him "boring". He spends the entire episode obsessing about it, and sure enough, boring everyone to tears with his constant attempts to prove he's not boring.
• Rocky Blue of Shake It Up is particularly adamant that everyone likes her, and spends an entire episode trying to win the favor of the cantankerous old witch Mrs. Locassio.
• Teddy Duncan of Good Luck Charlie tries in vain to win the favor of her Jerkass English teacher Mr. Dingwall (most because he gave her a bad grade). Dingwall has a Pet the Dog moment when he explains to Teddy that just because he doesn't like her doesn't mean there's anything wrong with her.

Western Animation

• Homer Simpson goes through a degree of this when he gains a personal enemy in the appropriately-titled The Simpsons episode "Homer's Enemy". Word of God establishes that Grimes, the focus character of the episode, was meant to be a "real person" reacting to the nonsensical world of the show.
  • Which raises the question as to how a "real person" would have a backstory as nonsensically depressing as Homer's unrealistic ability to get away with his life.
    • It's probably better to say that he thinks like a real person, i.e., recognizes how incompetent and stupid Homer is, while also having a backstory messed up enough to turn what might just be annoyance or disdain into true hatred. Or something.
  • In the same episode, Moe tries to comfort Homer by saying that there are people who don't like him, too. Homer refuses to accept this.
• Also done in the Recess episode "Nobody Doesn't Like TJ", where TJ obsesses over why Gordy doesn't like him.
  • It's a bit of a Broken Aesop, since Gordy never actually has a reason he doesn't like TJ, simply stating that he's a great guy and all, but he just doesn't like him. He then shrugs his shoulders and walks off. To really drive it home, Ms. Finster, the resident Sadist Teacher, chuckles a bit and says to TJ "Heh, even I think you're okay.", causing him to facepalm.
• In The Weekenders, Tino spends an entire episode trying to get someone to invite him to a party, and he doesn't even like the guy.
• In an episode of Family Guy Brian finds out that Quagmire hates him. As you'd expect from any sitcom, he goes through several ordeals to improve their relationship, only to make it worse and horribly awkward (including thinking that Quagmire's sister [whose boyfriend is abusing her] is one of Quagmire's dates and tricking Quagmire into thinking that Cheryl Tiegs [the only woman whom Quagmire was really in love with; the break-up of which was what turned Quagmire into a sex addict] was taking him to dinner). When Brian asks him why he hates him, he replies with a huge tirade based on viewers' complaints about Brian's personality in recent (and a few past) episodes.
  • In another episode, this reaches the breaking point when Brian unknowingly sleeps with Quagmire's father, who just had a sex change.
• My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic: The episode "A Friend in Deed" has Pinkie Pie encounter Cranky Doodle Donkey, the one creature in Equestria she's met who refuses to be her friend. She spends the rest of the episode trying to change that. She pulls it off by reuniting him with his lost love.
• Much of the plot of I Am Weasel. Everybody loves Weasel, except his nemesis I.R. Baboon, who is insanely jealous of him. Baboon always tries to one-up Weasel, causing Hilarity to Ensue.