hell, if this was Hell's Kitchen and not MasterChef, Ramsay probably would have said it himself.

Because while the hardcore MasterChef fans would like for the show to essentially be amateur-Top Chef, the producers are probably more interested in chasing their William Hung moment that will result in some sort of viral video of the show.  If one those assistants brought in an omelet  cooking bear he'd probably get…

He's a lot more tolerable on MasterChef than his other shows, imo.  Outside of the obvious douchebags, he seems to want the contestants to succeed, unlike Hell's Kitchen or the more outrageous Kitchen Nightmares episodes where you can tell he has nothing but contempt for the participants.

His happy little kick jump after catching the football was also a delight to watch.

Guys, Wal-Mart sells real meat, we swear to God.

I would say that for as much of a man-child as he is, Andy still has more emotional/relationship intelligence than most male sitcom characters.

It's not like there's not a healthy respect for the classics of that format around here.  I think it's more that the format is not fashionable with the type of show creators that make sitcoms appealing to most AV Club readers.

Also, they continue to give Dave Foley a semi-consistent (and well-earned) paycheck.

I'll accept the rip-off accusations if we can consider this the Malcolm in the Middle to Bob's Burgers Simpsons.

yikes…that sounds bad.

Kattan won me back with Jed Mosley.

Mike occasionally veers into stereotypical dumb-sitcom-dad territory (the mother's day episode comes to mind), but yea, by and large he just seems like a good normal dude.

Do you think he and Kate get into arguments about who is prettier?

I like old format sitcoms fine, and believe the argument can be made that when done well they can be better/funnier than the current crop of critical darlings (I don't agree, but I think the argument can be made).  However, none of the examples you or @ritafrita:disqus have listed (with the exception of Raymond) are…

Totally forgot about that, but I'm now incredibly happy about it.

My college roommate was obsessed with the George Lopez show.  I endured many a drunk ramble about "George Lopez…that's a pretty OK show…"

Rules of Engagement, you gave us something non-controversial or attention-demanding, yet entertaining enough to watch on Netflix when our new-parent minds were fried after our son was born.  Thank you.

I like the idea of Ed Begley Jr. as some sort of TV Angel of Death, ushering sitcoms to the after-life.

It didn't?  How are there re-runs of that show constantly on then?

I think if it hadn't spent years getting nominated for/winning Emmy's over shows people liked better, Raymond wouldn't catch the flack it did.  At worst it was always a solidly crafted show that knew how to tell its kind of stories very well.