Like any card-carrying fan of “The Simpsons” (and yes, I do actually have a “Simpsons” card in my wallet), I also enjoy “The Critic.” The animated sitcom was created by “Simpsons” writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss and starred Jon Lovitz as film critic Jay Sherman, whose attitude towards life could be summed up by his catchphrase: “It stinks!” (Also: “hachi machi.”) The show sadly only ran for 23 episodes from 1994-1995, because the show flipped networks (it began on ABC and ended up on FOX) and many viewers didn’t think Sherman was a likable enough character. That’s precisely why I like “The Critic”—that, and the dozens of Hollywood parodies the show provided.

Over the last 15 years, many of those spoofs have come true (or close to true), proving that there really isn’t anything that’s too stupid for Hollywood to make. Below are ten of “The Critic’s” most prophetic parodies.

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This week’s list takes a look at TV episodes that ventured outside of their shows’ established formats. In order to highlight originality, I specifically asked Josh to avoid common gimmicks like the “bottle episode.” And to keep things from getting too meta, we’re leaving “Community” off the list altogether, because its gimmick is using gimmicks so often that they’re no longer gimmicks. And now my head hurts. –Ed.

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My apartment is decorated with a “Dexter” bobblehead, old issues of TV Guide with the casts of “Six Feet Under” and “The Sopranos,” and a fake press pass for Homerpalooza. Those are all pretty cool (I use the word lightly) pieces of television memorabilia. But there’s a darker, crappier side to the world of items based on your favorite TV shows (and I only chose shows that people actually like–obviously “Cavemen” is going to have some subpar merchandise). Below are ten of the worst.

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Len Lesser, the veteran character actor who played Uncle Leo on “Seinfeld,” died yesterday at the age of 88 from cancer-related pneumonia. Yikes. That sounds like the worst kind of pneumonia.

Lesser’s lengthy list of television credits included parts on “Get Smart,” “That Girl,” “The Munsters,” “The Monkees,” “The Rockford Files,” “thirtysomething,” “ER,” and “Everybody Loves Raymond,” which featured Lesser in a recurring role as the arm-shaking Garvin. His film credits included “Outlaw Josey Wales,” “Kelly’s Heroes,” “Birdman of Alcatraz” and “Death Hunt.” He most recently appeared on the TV drama “Castle.” [AP]

“Seinfeld” castmates Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander remembered Lesser fondly:

“I’ll never forget when Uncle Leo was in prison and tattooed ‘Jerry Hello’ on his knuckles,” Seinfeld said in [a] statement, adding that Lesser was “a very sweet guy” and that the cast “always loved having him on the show.”

“Len was a tremendous guy,” [Alexander] tweeted. “He was a smart actor/comedian who knew exactly what he was doing in the creation of Uncle Leo.” [NYDN]

Ah, Twitter. Always such a wonderful medium to eulogize someone. “RIP Len. gone 2 soon. ur in our <3s and prayers. miss u 4eva”

Ladies and genetlemen, please welcome once again Josh Kurp, Warming Glow’s official Listführer. I think this is his finest contribution yet.

Considering no one actually reads intros to lists, I’ll just say one thing: catchphrases like “D’oh!” or “Hello, Newman” aren’t recurring jokes. To the list!

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