This show made me laugh. Plain and simple. It didn't necessarily break any new grounds, or pursue any new formula. It just managed to be funny. Yes, Jim's character is a slob, a jerk, an insecure ass**** who needs reassurance. That is what drives a lot of the story lines, and I'm fine with that. But In typical sitcom fashion, he "learns a valuable lesson" in these said story lines to make him more manageable. Courtney Thorne-Smith plays his "long suffering" wife trying to cope with his antics. Yes, we've seen it before. But it was FUNNY. Kim Williams-Paisley plays Jim's SMOKING HOT sister-in-law, and of course those two are largely at odds with each other throughout the series run. But they also show true caring and affection for each other when the time comes. And Larry Joe Campbell plays Jim's best friend and brother-in-law, Andy. He plays the butt of many jokes regarding his luck with women, or for that matter life in general. I have no complaints, all of the main characters appeal to me just fine.
One of my favorite story arcs is where Jim is distraught over something regarding his infant son. For instance, his wife allowing him to wear a dress for Halloween. Or his wife buying him a Green Bay Packers football, despite Jim being a HUGE Chicago Bears fan (arch-rivals of the Packers), and hoping to pass that on to his son (like most parents do). This brings in a fantasy segment in which Jim speaks to a teen aged/young adult version of his son regarding the topic at hand. Yes, Jim may be a pompous jerk, an ass-hat, but he doesn't wrap the show up in "his" own viewpoints. There's still a moral, and still a concession made by such an opinionated man.
Really though, if you catch this one on TV, watch it. I don't see how Jim Belushi's character on this show is any harder to deal with then Doug Heffernan on King of Queens (who at first, I couldn't stand). It's got laughs, it's got solid plots (even if some aren't the most original), it's got a good time.
