Normally, I react exactly as you did to paeans of praise about actors and TV shows.

"Legend" is Hollyweird's  most overused word. 

But The MTM Show remains the very best of its genre.  

And the undisputed leader of this group and show was the wonderful Mary Tyler Moore.  .

At university I made an attempt to plow through "War and Peace".  I got to about the 600th page before I said "the hell with this turkey".  

Just because something is long and tedious and in a foreign language and drearily serious doesn't make it great.

As Allen Swan said in "My Favourite Year", "dying is easy, comedy is hard".

And the very best comedies and comedians are as and probably more praiseworthy than the very best dramas and dramatic actors, 

MTM - the show and the star - really were that special.

Not mainly because they made us laugh but because they made us think about ourselves and society.

Weekly for 7 years this show did exactly that and Mary and her show are legendary and unforgettable.