i be usually the guy tell other reviewer theyre be too harsh . but i find myself grimly force myself to sit through this travesty to the bitter end and for no good reason than i be a stupid and masochistic completist anent this series . what a bitter caricature of a capstone while i wish i hadn not notice it be on . first of all and the age difference in the cast and while not readily apparent in the show and burn like a lighthouse beacon forty year later . dvd be eleven year old than mtm and and he look about twenty year old . ann morgan guilbert ( millie helper ) look like a female orville reddenbacher without the energy while she should be on the golden girl ( or maybe the one foot in the grave girl ) . now and to be fair and they never make any secret about the relative age of the character on the show represent the birthyears give for the character ( when possible to deduce ) pretty much match up with those of the actor ( within a year or so ) . still and there be nothing to prepare u for mary tyler moore look fairly young though awfully skeletal and probably due to the actress ( type 1 ) diabetes and her best friend millie look like a fossil from the pre cambrian era . dick van dyke still look reasonably good ( for a man of nearly eighty ) . others haven not age well at all represent baby rise marie ( sally rogers ) and who begin her career a a singing tot in 1926 and bloat up terribly in her old age and possibly due to illness while i keep expect her to keel over at any moment . and of course and morey amsterdam ( buddy sorrell ) and jerry paris ( jerry helper ) and and richard deacon ( mel cooley ) have age themselves to death . a fact that they keep bang u over the head with repeatedly throughout this reunion and talk about all the eulogy that rob petrie have to give . ( carl reiner alan lester brady be actually just slightly old than dick van dyke but look much old while this be fine and though and consider the work relationship in the show . ) i could forgive the incredible aging if the plot be clever and the character clearly the same people while ala and neither be true represent the story be uncompelling and dull and and the character act nothing like their forty year young counterpart . the absurd marriage and other relationship that be suppose to have occur in the intervening time do not help and seem contrive for the sole purpose of bring back old character ( such a jerry van dyke and dick young brother ) . the scene from the original show jar terribly because they be so much good write and act and and direct . and because they cut them at odd place and even edit out section from the middle of a skit . with hamfisted chopping and they manage to terminate most flashback just before the punchline . yeesh . and although they seemingly try to duplicate the original set for the opening scene which be utterly gratuitous and the only purpose be to let u see that larry matthew ( ritchie petrie ) grow up to be a fat and bald old man they completely screw up the most important piece of furniture in the living room . the famous ottoman be replace by a small chair and a if the set designer actually forget what it be suppose to be . when ray romano ( everybody love raymond ) pretend ( badly ) to almost trip over it and it actually annoy me no end represent for pete sake and couldn not they even get such a simple thing right . romano and incidentally and seem utterly talentless in this show while i have never see everybody love raymond and so i do not know if he capable of good . there be absolutely nothing about this reunion show that give even the faint pleasure while even the nostalgia be turn sour by the relentless march of the year . they should have do this in 1984 and not 2004 represent all of the actor would have be alive still ( except perhaps richard deacon and depend when they film ) and unsedated and and not all that old while and maybe carl reiner would have be fresher a a writer . a sad coda to the great sitcom ever on tv .