March's Food Model Spotlight

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, all the food models for March have been green. In order of their appearance:

The Funko Pop Godzilla is a huge, bulky guy. Like most of the Pop figures, he isn't very articulated. In fact, no part of him is movable at all. I was lucky to be able to balance a potato chip on his arm in one review. But, he looks adorable, and is scaled up from most of the Pop characters.

Playability: 2/10.   Displayability: 8/10.

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Next, the Kidrobot Morbo is a fun guy. I loved the series of Kidrobot Futurama blind boxes, and spent way too much trying to get all my favorite characters. (I ended up with three Frys, for example.) Morbo can turn his head, and rotate his arms. It's not a lot of articulation, but even those few points give him some personality. He even comes with a little accessory of Dr. Flimflam's Vein Cream.

Playability: 5/10. Displayability: 7/10.

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On to our loscannic friends. Naveen is just an accessory, really. He comes alongside the Funko Pop Tiana figure. He can't move or pose at all, really, just sit there. He's scaled just right to sit beside Tiana (and her costars Louis and Dr. Facilier). Still, I think the Funko Pop style works well for this tiny frog.

Playability: 2/10. Displayability: 6/10.

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Finally, Kermit and Robin.  I loved the old Palisades Muppet collection (speaking of toylines I spent far too much on), and was excited to see the new Diamond Select versions in person. They're ... different. I liked the option of the bases for the Palisades figures, which made the characters much more poseable. On the other hand, Diamond has made Kermit extremely articulated. By my count, he has 18 joints! (Robin has 5.) Unfortunately, he doesn't stand very well, so I had to lean him against things for all his photos. Even more unfortunately, his eyes aren't right. It's hard for toymakers to mass-produce Kermit and get the thickness of his pupil-slits correct. (That's also my main complaint about the current Pez design.)

Robin, however, is great. The Diamond Robin looks great, and he can pose well. (The old Palisades Robin was fine, but he could only sit.) But perhaps most importantly, you can get Kermit and Robin (and Bean, who will be showing up in this space next month, and a stool and a banjo -- the more expensive comic-shop version also has a log, a ukelele, and another chair) for like $23. The cheapest Palisades basic Kermit on eBay right this second is $25.00. 

Playability: 8/10. Displayability: 6/10.

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Tomorrow is April 1, but I promise there's no trick; just a salty food review. Oh, and another new food-modeling friend. See you then.

Snickers & Hazelnut

Our second sweet treat is Snickers & Hazelnut. It's richer than I expected, with that classic Snickers mix of nuts and chocolate and caramel. It's pretty good, but I wanted something a little different.

If I had one of these and a regular Snickers on a plate, out of their wrappers, I'm not entirely sure I could tell you which is which. This still has a lot of peanuts in it, more than it has hazelnuts. (I get it, they're cheaper, and Nutella is kinda cornering the market.) AND this beast has 240 calories -- for that, I could have two Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Hearts!

As with the previous food's buy-link, please feel free to patronize a local store instead, unless you really need 24 of these.

Christmas With Dave Foley #13: The Grand Finale

Dave's done a handful of other Christmas things over the years, most of which were too short to write whole blogposts about, so here's a roundup of all the ones I know about.

Waaaay back in 1996, the emotional heart of Kids In The Hall: Brain Candy took place at Christmas.

Sidebar: Remember how in Newsradio's second Christmas show, Dave and Lisa manage to visit his parents' house, but they can only stay a few minutes? It always reminded me of this scene.

In between full-length stories from the Prep and Landing elves, Wayne and Lanny had a shorter, special quest to fulfill in 2010's "Operation Secret Santa."

And just last month, Wayne and Lanny got another adventure, at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida, with a big projection/fireworks show, "Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!" It's pretty standard as far as these types of things go, with a melange of quotes from wintry and Christmas scenes from the best-loved things in the Disney canon. It has a nice framing story, as the elves have to rescue Santa from Oogie Boogie.

And even more recently, just two weeks ago today, Dave appeared at a Christmas cabaret, and read a new poem, playing off one of my favorite KITH skits (which I linked to earlier this month), and it's a Seussian retelling of our frettingest, most cretinous, upsettingest election ever.

Finally, two holiday reminiscences from Dave. First, a short interview he gave for Coopers' Christmas, with a recollection of his childhood Christmases. Next, a memory of his favorite and best Christmas present.

And now, if I may, a short recitation:

On the twelfth day of Christmas, Dave Foley gave to me:
Twelve bad relations,

Eleven naughty children,

Ten elves a prepping,

Nine scammers dancing,

Eight Parks-a-singing,

Seven Dans-a-fighting,

Six guest stars singing,

Five silver blades!

Four moms and dads,

Three minutes home,

Two gravied trouts,

And a Pepsi with Fibber McGee.

Thanks, Dave, for a great December.

I wish you a Merry Christmas! I wish you Happy Holidays! I wish you the best Bellini Day ever!

Peppermint Twinkies

Hey, look! It's my hundredth post on this-here weblog! To celebrate, let's get all sugared up!

The white fudge on the outside of these Twinkies is pretty perfect: it's got a tiny amount of crunchy shell, and a vanilla sweetness to replace what we expect from the cream (sorry, "creme") filling. The cake is pretty standard Twinkie, but the filling has some peppermint in it. Not as much as I expected, but it syncs up perfectly with the fudge and cake.

I really enjoy this one and, like the cinnamony Pumpkin Spice Twinkies, would gladly eat these year-round. It's been a fun month of junk food, and while nothing can beat those Cinnamon Roll Peeps, all six of the things I tried were fun and tasty.

I suppose I should write about junk food throughout the year, since I try a lot of the limited-time items anyway. (You need to have some of the Brazilian Picanha Lay's chips, if you can get your hands on them!) As they say, stay tuned.

Pumpkin Spice Twinkies

I was going to write about these beauties back in October, but I ran out of time. Lucky for all of us, these are still in stores, even as late as today. Like Jack Skellington, they straddle the fall/winter holiday season as a whole. This is the second year Hostess have made these, and this year they also brought out a cheesecake variation that sounds good.

These are very recognizably Twinkies, with the classic foamy cake we all remember. The creamy filling has a good dose of cinnamon, though. Maybe it could use some nutmeg, some more ginger, etc. As it stands, this is the second-best seasonal treat I've had this month. (I'm still craving more Cinnamon Roll Peeps, and just stocked up at the Walgreen's.) I'm proud to be taking some to a few Christmas parties this week.

You might get lucky and find some of these on eBay at this-here link.

Christmas With Dave Foley #8: Dr. Ken "A Park Family Christmas"

It's been a while since I watched anything on TV live as it aired, but last night, Dave appeared on Dr. Ken's first Christmas episode. I've only seen two previous episodes, and I don't really love the show, since it leans into about every family and workplace sitcom cliche ever. The parts I have enjoyed are the few twists -- Ken Jeong's terrible use of street slang, and Dave's perverse glee at being such an awful pennypincher.

One of my favorite Christmas episodes (which I haven't seen in a few years) is from The Bob Newhart Show. Bob and Emily invite all their friends, and a lot of Bob's patients, over for a party at their apartment. The patients talk out a lot of their holiday issues, and end with a nice singalong. I couldn't help but remember that funnier, smarter show when Dr. Ken and his wife end up inviting a patient (hey, it's Ted from Scrubs!) to their house for a party, which of course ended in a heartfelt singalong (even Dave's character seemed to be feeling the song). I didn't get moved by much of the sweet family stuff, though a surprise gift exchange made me go "aww" near the end. And most of the jokes didn't do anything for me, though I imagine some of them would land better if I knew the characters.

In my experience, ABC.com won't let you stream shows the first day or two after they air, but [edited] the link should work now for the Americans. Or, you might get lucky here. And, of course, since it's brand-new, I won't put on a buy-link either.

As a Christmas episode, I rate this one 5/10. It's got music, and decorations, and gift talk, and generosity of spirit, and people learning lessons about the meaning of the holidays. But that's just dressing for a bog-standard sitcom.
As a spotlight for Dave, I rate this one 4/10. His tiny, one-note character is at least a fun note.

Cinnamon Roll Peeps

The Cinnamon Roll flavored Peeps are perfect. They smell like cinnamon! The marshmallow and fudge both taste like sweet, buttery cinnamon. There's even a slight yeasty undertone (this is a good thing) to make the flavor more authentic. I'm trying to keep my sugar intake at a reasonable level, but I just polished off the whole pack in under an hour. Oh well, it's Christmastime. If I can't make questionable dietary choices this time of year, when CAN I?

I could easily eat one of these every day for the rest of my life, so once again it's a good thing for me that they're still just a seasonal item. These are another retail exclusive, only available at Walgreen's. Though I imagine this time next year they'll be more places, since they are so dang good.

You might get lucky -- as I write this, there are some for sale on eBay, though the markup there will be pretty high, so you should just find some at Walgreen's if you can.

Christmas Cookie Peeps

It could be said that I spend too much time on this supposedly media-based blog talking about Peeps. Well, it could also be said that we don't need over a dozen different limited-time flavors of Peeps, but that's how the Peeps company pays their stock dividends every year. Only a monster would want a candy company to go out of business, depriving children and adults alike of sweet succor in these trying times. You're not a monster, are you?

No, I didn't think so. You're reading this blog, so I'm going to assume that besides maybe having too much spare time, you're also intelligent and kind and probably easy on the eyes.

So, since we've agreed that Peeps simply must put out a bunch of seasonal flavors, and I must therefore eat them and write about the experience, let's move on, shall we?

The Christmas Cookie Peeps are a little boring, to be honest. The "sugar cookie" marshmallow tastes an awful lot like any other marshmallow to me, sadly. This claims to be a Walmart exclusive, with the white fudge on the bottom (okay, I liked that part just fine). Online, they're selling the same marshmallows with chocolate on the bottom instead, and I'll bet those are a tiny bit tastier.

As I write this, these are sold out on Walmart.com, but here's a link just in case they restock before the end of the season. Or, try your luck and go into a Walmart, if that's something you REALLY want to do ten days before Christmas. Hey, they have to pay their stock dividends too.

Buy Christmas Cookie Peeps from Walmart.com

Gingerbread Larabar

Hey, look! It's another seasonal Larabar! The gingerbread one is... okay. It smells good, and I like the addition of raisins and vanilla to the recipe. But it's just not gingery enough for my taste. I kinda wanted to smell more ginger when I opened the package, and that's not there.

Like the pumpkin pie flavor, the texture isn't what I'd pick. But hey, it's another bar that's mostly blended dates and nuts, and it's not called "Ginger Snaps," so maybe my own expectations are the problem. I love the idea that every food company makes special seasonal things during the holidays, and I never would've tried a Larabar if they hadn't put out these flavors, so it's a win-win for everyone.

Pumpkin Pie Larabar

Hey, it's food time! Jack is holding a seasonal flavor of Larabar. I've never had a Larabar before, but my local grocery store had them on sale, and I felt like trying two holiday flavors.

This smells like pumpkin pie, a lot. And it also has real pumpkin in it, a lot. You can genuinely taste the actual pumpkin, which I didn't expect from any mass-market packaged food. I'm not sure I really like the texture of this bar; I might prefer more nuts, but that's okay. It's a nice counterpoint to all the overly-sweet, overly-chemical pumpkin spice treats that are still available lots of places. (I dunno how actually "healthy" it is, and it's got about the same calorie count as a similarly-sized candy bar, but the ingredient list is just fruits and nuts and spices, so yay for that.)

Maple Brown Sugar Peeps

For someone who claims to be writing about media and culture, I sure do spend a lot of time talking about food. Well, no matter.

This year, the Peeps people (Peeps peeps, I suppose) put out their three flavors from last year, plus a new retail exclusive, Maple Brown Sugar. When you open this package, it smells like you just spilled maple syrup all over your shirt. The smell alone is amazing, and the flavor combination in the actual marshmallow chick is flawless. I don't think the white fudge here is actually needed (in fact, of the four dipped Peep flavors I've tried, only the caramel apple was truly justified), but it doesn't wreck the rich, dark sweetness of these.

I know it's late in the Halloween candy-buying season, but my local Target still had quite a few of these left, so you may be in luck if you still want to try them. As I mentioned, these can only be purchased at brick-and-mortar stores, but the other three seasonal flavors are still for sale:

Buy Peeps from the Peeps peeps.

Legacy of Frankenstein #7b: Young Frankenstein: The Moichandising

Today we're looking at a few of Young Frankenstein's ancillary products (where, of course, the REAL money is made).

This is from a line of gorgeous Sideshow Collectibles figures from 2001. Until today, I'd never taken mine out of the box. He's gorgeous, and looks just like Gene as Frederick.

His accessories include operating tools and a stethoscope, his lightning goggles, a nice textured stand, and a copy of his grandfather's book.

He has all the expected points of articulation for free posing (including a full range of motion at the ankles, which is nice) and stands about a foot high.

Sadly, I don't have the other two figures in this set (they also made an Igor and a Monster, of course) but you can look at them, and maybe even buy one, at this eBay link.

If I have a little extra time and energy before the month is out, maybe you'll see some more of this guy.

Also sadly, I don't have any of the more recent Funko toys. As you can see, they've chosen the same character lineup, but with a more stylised, cutesier design. (Well, ugly-cute, but that's in keeping with the franchise.)

They're shorter, too, so maybe I only want the Igor to keep my Sideshow Frederick company. Luckily, these guys are still widely available, and I just added all of them to my Amazon Wishlist.

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't seen or read Mel's new book about the film yet, but I hope to very soon. And of course, there have always been T-shirts and soundtrack albums and tie-in magazine covers and the Young Frankenstein Flame Thrower ("A Children's Toy").

Finally for today, we're going to have a brief discussion of the Broadway musical adaptation of the film.

That video puts a happy spin on Mel's followup to his Producers bonanza, but the reviews and grosses weren't nearly as good. I'll be honest, I'm not much of a Broadway musical guy. (For some reason, the sound of a modern pitband grates on my nerves.) I saw The Producers (on a later tour, and then the movie version, which I preferred), and I enjoyed it well enough. But I didn't feel the need to ever see it again, or even rewatch the film version. I prefer the original film so much to either adaptation that, at least until Mel leaves us, I probably won't even relisten to the songs (which I remember as okay, but they didn't inspire me to buy the album).

Over on my Twitter feed, I compulsively notate every album I listen to, and this month I've done a lot of Halloween-themed listening. I heard this for the first time right after the Addams Family musical, which I enjoy whole-heartedly. I'm afraid Young Frankenstein pales in comparison, though.

A lot of the movie fits well into a musical-theater structure, and a lot of the movie's most important moments are well-represented in song (I really enjoyed the full treatment of "Roll In The Hay," based on just five seconds of the movie). But, while the songs work well musically, a lot of the lyrics aren't particularly clever. So much time is spent on innuendo that we don't get a lot of wordplay, or even much emotion or character development.

Sidebar: on the topic of "Deep Love," the part of the movie that has dated the worst is the Monster's rape of Elizabeth (to be fair, this was hinted at way back in Whale's 1931 film, but playing it for laughs is deeply troublesome). I get the impression (just from the songs, since I haven't seen a production) that they attempted to soften the blow of this by having Elizabeth be a recovered slut (which is, to my mind, just as troublesome). I know the movie is beloved, and any big change will alienate a lot of the core fanbase, but I think a change was possible that could avoid slut shaming and victim blaming in this case.

I don't think I'll ever love this musical adaptation, and I'm sad it's not better. I can't imagine a better film than Young Frankenstein. I can certainly imagine much better musicals made from it.

TruMoo Orange Scream Milk

Say hi to Aughra there, my newest spooky friend and this month's official food model.

This is at least the second year TruMoo have put out an orange-flavored milk for Halloween (tied into that Trolls movie now, apparently). I've always had a soft spot for strawberry milk, but my all-time favorite dessert is an orange Creamsicle.

This milk isn't nearly as sweet as you think it will be (a quick calorie count tells us that it only has about half the sugar in, say, I don't know, a Sunkist orange soda), so it's not a rich dessert milkshakey flavor. I'd say it works best to wash down a rich cookie, either vanilla or chocolate.

In fact, I think I'd want the cookie to be heavily vanilla, because this milk doesn't really have enough vanilla in it to hit my perfect spot -- I think I'm actually going to put a drop of vanilla extract into my next glass.

Anyway, we've got more Frankenstein posts coming up, and Aughra and I will tell you about the new seasonal Peeps flavor, plus I'm planning to share a whole album of spooky music before the month ends.

(And since TruMoo doesn't sell anything online -- I got mine at Walmart, though I've seen their stuff in plenty of convenience and grocery stores -- today's buy link will help you get your own Aughra to have dinner with, and then maybe discuss cosmology.)

Green Room (2016)

I just watched Green Room, a low-budget indie film from this year. You may have heard of it, since it has a few stars in it and was very very well-reviewed. It's been on my to-watch list for a little bit.

A low-end punk band, The Ain't Rights, get stiffed on a job. Their replacement job is a rough one, playing for politically questionable hardcases (okay, they're white supremacists) in the middle of nowhere. The gig starts out rocky, but they manage to win over the crowd. Of course, then, something goes terribly wrong. It's tense and brutally effective, watching the band struggle to get out from under. I don't watch much horror, certainly not many current films. This is more of a siege thriller than a horror film, and while there's one (arguably gratuitous) piece of gore, it's mostly just enough blood to keep us grounded in the reality of the situation.

There's a lot of terror in the idea of a calm, implacable evil that cannot be reasoned with. The bad guys in this movie aren't particularly malicious, just cold-blooded criminals trying to eliminate witnesses. Their level-headed patience and endless resources feel not just unconquerable, but inescapable.

A word on the actors: Patrick Stewart is the main draw for this film, even if his American accent isn't perfect. I was expecting him to go to more chilling depths for his villain, though maybe the script didn't give him leeway to get bone-deep. I've never seen young Mr. Yelchin in anything before, though his portrayal seems perfectly fine, and I can see why people are mourning his loss. Of course, I also enjoyed seeing Alia Shawkat in this (as I would in anything) and enjoyed her non-sexualized role as just another musician.

Finally, the director's previous film was called Blue Ruin (it sounds good, by the way). This is Green Room.

BLUE RuiN

GREEN RooM

If we follow the ROY G BIV progression on the first words of each title, and the alphabetic progression of the last letter, his next film should be called Yellow Rule. I'm looking forward to it..

Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Juniors

Okay, so I missed a week. So what?

I've got more Frankenstein posts coming soon, but first -- more food!!!

For a few years now, my mother and I have been addicted to the Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice cake doughnuts. The density and heaviness of the cake works with these flavors, and the glaze puts a perfect touch on the warm spices.

Finally, this year they're also available in a smaller size. I like the little Krispy Juniors -- they're identical in taste and texture to the full-sized ones, but the serving size is more to my current needs. I've been working on this bag all week, literally since the last time I wrote a post, and I'm not done yet. I'm about to eat my last one, microwaved for a few seconds, and then maybe a cold glass of milk.

(I couldn't find a buy link for the smaller ones, though I imagine they're in grocery stores all over the South. The full-size ones are great too though, I promise.)

Pumpkin Spice Frappucino

A quick break from my Frankenstein coverage to mention my first seasonal food:

That's right: bottled Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappy Thing. I'm not a huge PSL fan (though I love most of the pumpkin spice things), so I didn't know how much I'd like this one going in.

I've tried all the bottled Frappy Thing flavors before (there are a lot: coffee, mocha, s'mores, coconut, mint, caramel, and my favorite, vanilla) and they're all similar: a sweet, pricey treat. It's always a tasty caffeine delivery system, and this one is no exception.

This one, as you might guess, has no actual pumpkin in it, but the spices are prevalent in the mix. I'm aware this might sound like heresy to my coffee people, but I'm not sure I can tell the difference between this Frappy Thing and a nice cold chai latte.

Like the PSL, this one seems to have flown off shelves quickly (I bought mine two days ago and went back for another today, and they were alllllll gone). If you see one and want to spend $3, it's worth your money and stomach space.

Legacy of Frankenstein #1: The Infinite Monkey Cage

What? No big deal, I'm just blogging again.

We don't really know specific dates, but this summer marked the 200th anniversary of Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley) first creating science fiction and horror as we know them, in the form of Frankenstein. The first version of the book was published in subsequent years, and then underwent constant transformation in its text, meaning, and unstoppable adaptation. I'm going to experience a lot of the best Frankenstein-related media ever, and have decided to start the blogging with a quick mention of the show that inspired me to do so.

Professor Brian Cox and Comedian Robin Ince have, for a few years now, hosted a BBC radio show about science. Frequently, they also discuss popular culture. Their penultimate show addresses the Frankenstein anniversary.

I came into this show completely fresh, knowing only basic cultural-osmosis stuff about the story and its creation, so I really appreciated the deep dive into both Godwin's influences and creative process, and the science inherent in the story. I always like it when knowledgeable people discuss their field of inquiry as it appears in art. Hearing a biologist discuss exactly how impossible the reanimation process would be was great fun for me.

The panelists also pointed out that the original text of the book was much more pro-science, so that's the version I'll be reading soon, and presumably blogging about soon thereafter.

Finally, my favorite spooky TV goth, Noel Fielding, had the chance to discuss science, magic, and monsters, and tell a few off-color jokes.

If you have any interest in science or horror at all, the radio show is well worth a listen. The show-specific link up there will (as of this writing, at least -- I can't say how long it will be available) let you listen to the edited radio version, a tight 30 minutes. BUT! They also release an extended podcast, with at least 50% more goodness, and that's what I recommend. You can (as of this writing) get the extended podcast version on iTunes here, or listen at this link.

The MCU-Westphall Connection.

Normally I review things here (that is, when I bother to write anything at all). This isn't a review, more like a heap of speculation. I know this is gonna get weird, but just this week we were reminded that Colonel Harlan Sanders is a major part of the DC multiverse. So clear your next half-hour and stick with me.

So Captain America: Civil War has been out for a few months, but I was discussing it with a friend this week, and he forwarded me the following screenshot:

That's right. In case you still haven't heard, Arrested Development's Bluth Co. Staircar pretty much appears in the film. (It's not a complete match, but -- barring denial from the directors -- I'm gonna say that's supposed to be the same thing.)

Why? Well, if you're not caught up yet, Cap's last two solo movies were directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, otherwise most famous for directing a LOT of Community. But, they also directed a lot of AD, so if we assume that's the same car, that means Arrested Development exists in the same fictional universe as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Which is great fun to think about, right? Imagine Iron Man flying in to fight the "giant" mole monster.  Imagine Peggy Carter visiting Wee Britain, or Doctor Strange teaching Gob how to perform real tricks illusions. Imagine 1980s-era Howard Stark being treated by Doctor Norman, or Maggie Lang somehow running into Kitty Sanchez.

But the fun doesn't stop there. Remember this scene?

No? Well, that's ok; I brought links! It's Detective John Munch, appearing on AD. Which means the Marvel Cinematic Universe is tied into the biggest shared fictional universe on TV.  To sum it up, that means the Battle of New York was witnessed by Benson and Stabler. And, god help her, Benson might one day see one of Kilgrave's victims.

I can't be the only person who wants to see Detective Goren haul Wilson Fisk into an interrogation room and berate him about his personal failings for 20 minutes.

But I'm not stopping there either.

That's right. In case you forgot, Munch showed up on The X-Files too. For boring legal reasons, there aren't any "mutants" in the MCU. But The X-Files used a lot of mutants, starting almost at the beginning. Ever so many monsters-of-the-week would make great oneshot Marvel villains. Oh, and speaking of Cap, I seem to remember something about SuperSoldiers there too.

Before SVU, of course, John Munch started his TV life on one of my favorite shows, Homicide. Agents of SHIELD has an assassin named Sebastian Derik, who claims to be from Baltimore. If he started his murderin' ways there, surely his victims were investigated by Al Giardello's murder squad, possibly even by Munch himself.

Homicide also had a guest-star crossover from Saint Elsewhere, which crossed over with a lot of shows: M*A*S*H, Cheers, and The Bob Newhart Show. This is where we really go into the weeds.

Peter Quill was kidnapped outside a 1988 Missouri hospital -- can we assume some of the staff from AfterMash had moved down the road from their nearby Veterans' Hospital?
How close is the Goldbrix Tavern to Cheers?

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And there are now hundreds of new heroes in the MCU! Here are a few notables:
Walker, Texas Ranger (Homicide & St. Elsewhere > Chicago Hope > Early Edition > Martial Law > Walker Texas Ranger)
Ally McBeal (Cheers > Boston Public & Boston Legal > Ally McBeal)
Phoebe Buffay (Cheers > Frasier > Caroline In The City > Friends)
Cosmo Kramer (Friends > Mad About You > Seinfeld)
Barney Fife (Mad About You > The Dick Van Dyke Show > The Danny Thomas Show > The Andy Griffith Show)

And there are a few other heroes that might be in the MCU. For example, Murphy Brown is a real person in the crossover with The Bob Newhart Show, But on Seinfeld, Murphy Brown is a fictional character, played by Candice Bergen.

Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor (owned by the same corporate parent as the MCU -- get on that movie, Disney!) appeared on The Drew Carey Show, which crossed over with Coach, which crossed over with Newhart. But Newhart was all a dream of Bob's character on The Bob Newhart Show, which means Tim Taylor is part of that dream. (Drew Carey also featured an appearance from Daffy Duck, whose WB partner Wile E. Coyote appeared on Night Court, but we're drifting from what I'm generously going to call my point.)

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And speaking of dreams, we're coming close to the end here. Saint Elsewhere famously ended by revealing that the whole show was a dream of one character (which, of course, means that Newhart, Coach, et al, are part of a dream within a dream). So therefore the MCU is all a part of Tommy Westphall's snowglobe dream, right?

In other words, I just completely wasted four hours of my life researching and writing this post. And I would gladly do it again. Of course, there are dozens of other characters and shows I didn't have room to talk about -- who's your favorite "new" Marvel character?