TV Moms and Dads - New School Dads Round 1

 

TV Moms and Dads

They raised us! These are the moms and dads that we've all looked to over the years for advice, mentorship, and love. They've been our models for how to parent (and some of them have been our models for how NOT to parent). We've laughed, cried, and loved with them. But who's the greatest? There's only one way to find out. VOTE!

New School Dads

(1) Homer Simpson v (16) Hank Hill

Homer has been in our lives for 23 cromulent years. He’s a great dad - he works (to say he works hard is a stretch), he loves Marge dearly, and he’s usually there for Bart, Lisa, and Maggie.

Many dads love to grill, and many dads take great care of their lawns. But for Hank Hill, those accoutrements of suburban living were an end unto themselves, pursuing both with meticulous standards and a borderline-religious zeal. His uptightness and neuroses aside, though, Hank was always an excellent dad to his son Bobby, accepting the boy’s more theatrical and unusual tendencies even when he didn’t understand them.

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(8) Phil Dunphy v (9) Dan Conner

Being part of a modern family is complicated. It’s hard to know how to navigate all of life’s troubles, but Phil’s family makes it even harder. Phil always tries to be the cool dad, even pioneering the “peerenting” method, but despite his bumbling doofus exterior, he’s a great dad.

You gotta have some real substance to match wits with Roseanne. Even though she was the star, Dan was the backbone - always consistent, always in their corner, and always hilarious. Dan Conner is everyman, and he’s every dad.

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(5) Eric Taylor v (12) George Lopez

Every football coach is a father, and Coach Taylor is no exception. Of course, he has a family of his own too. In the middle of balancing work, life, and family, Eric manages to take care of all of it.

In other hands, this show could have been a mail-it-in star vehicle for George Lopez, but instead, it’s a sweet comedy about a loving (but dysfunctional) family. George’s love for his wife Angie and his kids Carmen and Max comes through brilliantly.

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(4) Tim Taylor v (13) Michael Bluth

When he wasn’t electrocuting himself, setting something on fire, or generally endangering his own life, Tim “the Toolman” Taylor was a great dad. Yes, he needed Wilson’s wisdom from time to time, but he also had the humility to ask, and that’s a rare thing.

Trying to raise a kid in the midst of the insanity that is the Bluth family… well… it’s a recipe for failure. The fact that George Michael grows up into a fairly normal adult is a testament to Michael’s acumen as a dad.

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(6) Red Forman v (11) Andre Johnson

It’s the 70s and everybody is smoking pot, including your kid. And let’s be honest - Red and Kitty knew exactly what was happening with Eric and his buddies. Sure, he comes across hard, but he also let the kids be kids.

Andre isn’t just a successful ad exec. He’s a loving husband and father who wants to ensure that his family knows their heritage. Throw in the usual sitcom shenanigans, and Dre’s mission to ground his family in their ethnic identity works… most of the time.

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(3) Carl Winslow v (14) Bob Belcher

It’s one thing to raise Laura, Eddie, and Judy, but it’s a whole ‘nother thing to have to put up with Steve Urkel while you’re doing it. Imagine spending all day defending your town as a police officer and then coming home to…. “Did I do thaaat?” Carl is a hero (just ask John McClane).

Bob is the perfect man in lots of ways. He owns a successful business. He has an awesome wife and three great kids. What more could you ask for? Yes, there’s conflict in the house and, sure, he’s got a vendetta against Jimmy Pesto, but he always comes out on top. Even when he loses.

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(7) Hal Wilkerson v (10) Martin Crane 

Sure, the Wilkerson house is nuts and Malcolm, Reese, Francis, and Dewey can be a handful. But Hal is always there, mixing it up with the rest of them (and causing problems with Lois at the same time). You can always count on Hal to screw it up, but you can also count on the family to come together at the end.

Just as his signature ugly armchair did to Frasier’s classy penthouse, Martin Crane was a welcome island of unpretentiousness in a sea of snobbery and self-importance. Whenever his boys Frasier and Niles would get lost in their own egos, their dear old dad was always right there, usually in front of the TV, ready to provide some working-class wit and Greatest Generation wisdom to bring them back down to earth.

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(2) Philip Banks v (15) Jack Pearson

Yes, Uncle Phil has kids of his own, but we know him best as the dad that CHOSE to be one. When he and Aunt Viv took in Will, they completed their family. Phil fights for his kids, and he even defends Jazz once in a while.

Jack was never afraid to set high expectations for his kids, even in the midst of being a flawed man. He loved his wife for decades, right up until the end. Jack was passionate, fiery, and absolutely in love with his family.