THERE'S EVEN MORE TO LOVE ABOUT 'RAYMOND'.

Byline: - David Kronke

A SHOW has indisputably reached classic status when the mere premise of an episode evinces laughs, when the characters have been so vividly realized that simply imagining them in a situation is funny - and then the episode manages to subvert your expectations for even greater laughs.

``Everybody Loves Raymond'' opens its seventh season this evening with a two-fer, and as amusing as the first episode is, it's the second that's the real keeper. Ray (Ray Romano) and Debra (Patricia Heaton) enter marriage counseling, much to, naturally, Raymond's abject horror. Somehow, though, he manages not to be his usual nincompoop and snows the shrink into thinking him thoughtful and sincere, garnering from Debra more than a few of her priceless withering glares.

Tonight's first episode finds Robert (Brad Garrett), utterly exasperated at his family's monumental dysfunction, seeking therapy himself by joining Inner Path, a group espousing upbeat homilies. His mother, conniving, contentious Marie (Doris Roberts), bewildered by her son's newfound peace, dismisses the group as ``maniacs.'' That we know who the real maniacs in this equation are is what keeps the Barones uniquely entertaining in what has become an arid landscape for network sitcoms.

EVERBODY LOVES RAYMOND - Four stars

What: Seventh-season premiere of Ray Romano's hit sitcom about a family that's tight-knit and even more tightly wound.

Where: CBS (Channel 2).

When: 9 tonight.

In a nutshell: Still crazy after all these years.

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Photo:

Brad Garrett, left, Ray Romano, Doris Roberts and Patricia Heaton in one of two therapy-themed ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' episodes airing tonight.