newcritics - Latest Comments in Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Jobs Kent — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:53:07 -0000

TV Fathers - one of the best Howard Cunningham

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

hoss and the leprechauns — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:13:47 -0000

You have to include ol' Ben Cartwright.
Full of ageless wisdom.
Taught his booys to stand up for themselves,
not to be afraid of hard work.
To show respect for others.

Why can't more dads do that today?

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Vassilis — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 01:37:07 -0000

Interesting...

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Tom Watson — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 08:57:32 -0000

What's interesting to me is that Ralph Kramden, although not a father (he wished though, he wished!) was the model for so many sitcom/cartoon dads...

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Lance Mannion — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 07:43:31 -0000

Richie Petrie's job was to be heard of but seldom seen, a role-model for TV children more shows should have followed.

To add to the list of best TV dads:

John Schneider as Jonathan Kent on Smallville.

Since the 1970s some of the best fathers have been father-figures rather than actual fathers, surrogate dads to the rest of the cast.

Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Col. Potter on MASH
Dr Westphall on St Elsewhere, with Aushlander as a surrogate grandfather---Westphall was a good father to his teenage daughter and autistic son but most of his fathering was of Dr Morrison.
Adam Schiff on Law and Order.

After 1970 or so, the fathers in TV sitcoms all but disappeared. When they returned in the late 1980s they became the biggest babies on their shows.

Fathers have been largely absent from TV dramas on the main networks because the main characters are almost always intended to be sex symbols and the shows they're in focus almost entirely on their heroic work lives.

There are more fathers on the premium channels and cable networks---WB, now the CB, had a bunch, but they've all been canceled now.

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Tom Watson — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:20:05 -0000

Nobody liked Richie Petrie, it's true - he was more of a prop - like Little Rickey.

I'm not so sure about the others - they were real fathers, perhaps not good ones. Certainly, Fred Munster - although undead - was a fine father to Eddie.

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Mudge — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 14:21:56 -0000

Of your list, only Cliff Huxtable and Andy Taylor are true fathers. They spent time in the series actually raising their children. Neither father-child relationship was cutesy. The fathers had serious jobs. I enjoyed their roles as father, unlike the rest, where being a father was more of a foil (or he was a clown) or the offspring were disfunctional.

Did anyone actually like Richie Petrie?

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Tony Alva — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:46:27 -0000

Mike Brady...

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

Dan Leo — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 05:04:27 -0000

Hey, let's have a little love for the mighty Hank Hill of "King of the Hill".

Oh, but Frank Costanza, definitely. I mean I have actually sat and watched the harmless "King Of Queens" only in the hopes of catching a few seconds of Jerry Stiller brilliance.

Re: Ward Cleaver’s Club: the Great TV Dads

OutOfContext — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 23:28:11 -0000

Here I go:
Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke Show)
Darren Stevens (Dick York-Bewitched)
James Evans (Good Times)
Dan Connor (Roseanne)
J R Ewing (Dallas)
Howard Cunningham (Happy Days)
Rocky Rockford (Rockford Files)
Homer Simpson (The Simpsons)
Burt Campbell (Soap)
Fred Ziffel (Green Acres)

I'm barbecuing for my Dad tomorrow as well. I never thought about it, but it must be a wide practice.