TV Moms and Dads - New School Dads Round 2

 

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 (9) Dan Conner

Homer has been in our lives for 32 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.

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 (4) Tim Taylor

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.

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.

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(6) Red Forman v (3) Carl Winslow

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.

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).

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(10) Martin Crane v (2) Philip Banks

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.

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.

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