Best Dads in TV and Film

firstthings ^ | June 25, 2010, | Joe Carter

[Mr. Lucky]

...and one fifth Old Granddad.

[Scythian]

If only I had that deep booming voice of his I think my kids would respect me more .... / sarcasm, well half anyway ;)

[mware]

Hey Joe, ya got a photo of John Walton, and Grandpa Walton???

[windsorknot]

[Sloth]

Surrogate dads:

[Dr. Sivana]

Most indifferent TV dad who is not cast as bad guy:

Robert Petrie on Dick Van Dyke, that kid must always be at day care, even at night.

Runner-up:

Ricky Ricardo, who was happy to have his kid farmed out to Mrs. Trumbull so his wife can cause problems for him.

[Dr. Sivana]

Richie, Chuck and Joanie Cunningham’s dad from Happy Days should get a mention, and Laverne’s dad as honorable mention for immigrant dad.

Danny Thomas in Make Room for Daddy should get a mention.

[wordsofearnest]

Or Fred MacMurray in “MY three Sons”

[wku man]

Good list...some observations, though:

1) Taken was hardly a forgettable movie...it kicked a** (and so did Bryan Mills...a lot of a**)!
2) Bill Adama was a Commander, and later an Admiral. Saul Tigh was the Colonel. Yes, I am a BSG nerd.
3) Hank Hill and Red Forman could run for president, and I'd vote for either. Better yet, they should run as a ticket.
4) Homer Simpson is the best cartoon Dad, hands down! He may be a doofus, but he loves his family and fumbles his way into doing the right thing, every show. Furthermore, he's a fountain of wisdom, saying things like "Me lose brain? Why I laugh?" and "I am so smart! I am so smart! S-M-R-T...I mean S-M-A-R-T!" Of course, Hank Hill nailed it when he said, "Soccer is a game invented by European women to give them something to do while their men cooked."

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[John O]

-Best Protector: Bryan Mills (Taken) – Chances are you won’t recognize the name even if you’ve seen the good-but-forgettable 2008 action flick Taken. So why does Mills make the list? Because when faced with every father’s worst nightmare (his his 17-year-old daughter is kidnapped in Paris and forced in the sexual slave trade), Mills uses all his skills and knowledge (he’s a former CIA agent) to find her and bring her home. While the action is pure Hollywood, the message is universal: We dads will do anything in our power to protect our children.

Excellent movie. With some good lines. Perhaps my favorite is when the French police chief tells him "Brian, Please don't make a mess"

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[BenKenobi]

No mention of George Bailey?

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[Non-Sequitur]

I always thought Dan Lauria as the dad from “The Wonder Years” was pretty good. A guy who hated his job, but did it anyway. Who loved his family, but didn’t know how to show it except by providing for them the best he knew how. Really a typical 60’s or 70’s dad.

[jagusafr]

YES! Secondhand Lions may be my all-time favorite for men who never intended to be father figures but stepped up and hit a grand slam.

Colonel, USAFR