Favourite father figure in a tv show?

Keith Scott in One Tree Hill, Sandy Cohen from The OC, and Red Foreman on That 70s Show. Yeah, Red was a hardass, but all of these men mentored kids that weren't theirs. They loved them and treated them as their own kids just the same. I guess I love them because I didn't know my dad well at all growing up, and my grandfather stepped into that father role for us.

I didn't include Giles, cause that's a given to me.
 
Fredikins said:
I can't rep you anymore but...I laughed unnecessarily hard at this.

If I had to choose one...I'd pick Arnold's grandpa on Hey Arnold 😀. He's an American hero.
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😱 why laugh?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNmo6efZ2Vg"]Kenan & Kel - I.Q. Can Do Better 1/3 - YouTube[/ame]

Skip to 1:18...perfect father.
 
SlayerFest
SlayerFest
hahah oh roger...any dad that can put up with their crap is spectacular ;)
I guess I don't watch enough television because I haven't watched a single one of any of the shows mentioned on this thread (except Bonanza, but that's been a long time).

I can't really think of any other father figures other than Giles, that I admire. I do think it's interesting that Anthony Head has played many father roles - Repo, The Invisibles, Merlin, The Inbetweeners. Of those, I think Uther (in Merlin) was tender and loving to Arthur.
 
The Scourge said:
Best TV Dads: Jonathan Kent, Mitch Leery, Keith Scott, Paul Hennessy, Sandy Cohen
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Paul Hennessy was actually the first, and the only one, that come to my mind.
Glad to see someone else mention him.

/SK
 
Keith Mars is awesome, I would love him as my Dad.

And Red from That 70's Show always cracked me up. He was a smart ass, but he really did care about his family. Reminds me of my Dad.
 
Another vote for Keith Mars, Red from That 70's Show and Bobby Singer from Supernatural 🙂

Hmmmm, and I think I will add Bill from True Blood. I love his father/daughter relationship with Jessica 🙂
 
So I'm going to answer the question "favorite" TV fathers rather than "best" TV fathers. "Best" requires so much more justification that I quite frankly don't have. "Best" says something more than "favorite." "Favorite" is a very personal opinion of quality. "Best" is a much less personal opinion of quality, it implies something broad that "favorite" does not.

That said, Bobby (Supernatural) is one of the best father figures I've seen. He's always there for his boys without question, despite them not biologically being his children.

Comedy shows might get overlooked here... but Bobby Cobb (Cougar Town) is also a really amazing father. He doesn't always get it right, but he tries. He really loves Travis and you can see that in everything he does. I admire him for never bailing on Trav ever. Part of the tragedy of Bobby's character is that he's so socially f***ed up... But the beauty of his character is how much he tries and how much he loves. He loves Travis more than anyone and anything. He named his dog Travis because he missed his son. One of the most touching moments of a VERY touching show.

Keeping with the Bill Lawrence... Dr. Cox is a really wonderful father. And the beauty of including Dr. Cox in this list is he's not just a good dad, but he's a good father figure to JD. He's mean to JD, sure. But he genuinely cares for him and gives him the pushes he needs to become the doctor and more importantly, the man he becomes. He's also a good dad to his children. He spends the whole night one night looking for someone to give his daughter a shot because he doesn't want her scared of him. And I'll never forget the moment when Jack asked where babies come from and Dr. Cox said "well sometimes when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much... they close they eyes, and they make a wish." I'm tearing just thinking about that moment.

All of the fathers of Modern Family make this list. Phil, Cam, Mitchell, and Jay. Honestly, I don't even think this needs any sort of justification because if you've watched even an episode you would see ho much the four of them do for their families. How much they do for all of their children. I will point out Phil and Jay in particular just because their role as father has been more focused on than Cam and Mitchell... but all four are really wonderful. Phil's reaction to the news that Haley is no longer a virgin was phenomenal. Haley didn't see what we got to see because of the show's mocumentary format... But that little speech he did at the end of that episode... That is how every good father should react to that news. And the way Jay has taken in Manny. There is no one moment I could point out for this. There is only the whole show.

Baze (Live Unexpected) is also a personal favorite. When the show starts, he's a complete mess. But he COMPLETELY turns his life around for Lux. From the moment she shows up at his door and tells him who she is, she becomes his world. To me, that proves that had Kate told him of her existence in high school, he would have done everything he could to take care of Lux. Lux was never a burden on him... she was never something he wished hadn't have happened.

Zeke (Parenthood) is a wonderful father and an incredible grandfather. He makes a lot of mistakes, and he's not my favorite character by far. But his children and grandchildren are the most important things in his life. This is another one where I don't have one moment... but rather the whole show.

Burt Hummel (Glee). I don't like to give Glee credit for much of anything... but Burt is such a wonderful father. To both Kurt and Finn. It's remarkable really. This is another one... there's no one big moment to sum it all up. There is only the whole show.

Honorable mentions:
Cal Lightman (Lie to Me). He doesn't make the list because it drives me crazy how he reacts to his daughter having birth control. Not even being sexually active... just having birth control. However, that ridiculousness aside, he's a wonderful father. He adores his daughter and is always there for her. She is is first concern. He's a very intense man, and his parenting is not an exception to this... but he is a wonderful father.

Booth (Bones). He'd be on the list had it not seemed he forgot all about Parker in season 7. The fact that he hasn't once mentioned him and we're 7 episodes in... The season has been focused on his role as father to the new baby... however, Parker seems to have not even been in Booth's mind but fathering seems to be the only thing he thinks about. That said, all the way through to the end of season 6, we've seen him be a wonderful father to Parker. The best dad he could be.
 
C
caritas08
Glad someone finally mentioned Burt Hummel.
You know, the first person I thought of was Max from United States of Tara.

He's always making time for his family and it really wears on him. Everyone is always so messed up and dealing with their problems, and Max has his own problems, and helps take care of all of his family's too.

It's just so appealing to me how hard he tries to be everything that they need. And how much that really takes out of him was about to be explored in the show . . . and it got canceled. I am still trying to recover. lol
 
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T
This Year's Girl
Yeah, it sucked that it got cancelled!
Gum Gnome33
Gum Gnome33
Definitely Max!
Bill Cosby from the classic 80's sitcom "The Cosby Show"

alot of "parents" on shows today seem to be so easily duped & are more for comedy relief or to prop up the children on the show...especially shows on the disney channel.
 
M
Ms.Trick
totally agree with everything you said!
I'm surprised that people are saying Red from that 70's show. I've seen eps here and there so I don't have all the info, but wasn't he really mean to Eric? Like called him names all the time, never showed any affection or emotion (besides anger) and so on? I'm not judging, just curious what makes you guys think he was a good father?
 
brinkster130
brinkster130
Yeah, I liked the character but he was mean to the kids, calling the "Dumb Ass" all the time. He loved them but he didn't show it.
Gum Gnome33
Gum Gnome33
Totally agree!
In a sense I think Dr Cox from Scrubs was a great father figure as well. He wasn't the typical loving father but he guided JD, taught him loads and always had his back. The moment when JD's actual dad died was a great example of that.
 
Z
zobothehobo
He's on my list! :)
I'm doing a Medium watch right now, and Joe is an awesome dad! I love how much they both love their families but their faults are apparent. Also Bert Hummel and Giles. And Castle & Booth. And Jim Shannon from Terra Nova.
 
Taake
Taake
Joe from Medium <3
My favorite is Eric Camden from 7th Heaven 😛 lol I loved him and wanted him to be my dad.

I also loved Jonathan from Smallville, even if he made me angry at times, he was a wonderful loving father to Clark.
 
Jean Luc Picard from Star trek the next generation was a pretty awesome dad the only episode he was one. 🙂 And to Wesley too. 🙂
 
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