Top 10 Best Worst Tv Dads.
Happy Father’s Day! Last year I honored the best tv dads ever so this year I wanted to honor the best worst dads in tv history. Their many faults and lack of parenting skills didn’t earn any of these dads the Father of The Year award but most of them were funny, all of them were entertaining, and despite everything they all cared a great deal about their families even if they didn’t know how to do it properly or even in a sane way.
10. Homer Simpson. The Simpsons.
Ironically Homer happened to also be on my best tv dad list which shows the complexity of the character. He was a buffoon, a overgrown child, and a fat, lazy moron most of the time, but he could also be a dedicated and loving father and husband who truly would do anything for his family. That being said, Homer isn’t exactly a “rolemodel” for any young boy especially his son Bart who he literally chokes every episode.
9. Al Bundy. Married… with Children.
Like Homer, Al has the layers to be both a great dad and the type of dad who no one would ever nominate for father of the year. While Al always came home to his family and protected them when necessary, most of the time he was aloof, crude, self absorbed and gave the worst advice anybody could ever get from their own pop. Al was just a guy who didn’t really wanna be bothered by his family and wished he was dead to get away from them, but that’s why we love and identify with him.
8. Archie Bunker. All In The Family.
Archie Bunker is many things including a not easy to live with dad. Poor Gloria had to endure many arguments with her close minded and loud mouthed father, but at the end of the day these two had a bond which made it believable that despite Archie being a argumentative and extremely difficult father, not to mention person, Gloria still adored her daddy.
7. Fred G. Sanford. Sanford & Son.
Fred Sanford was at the end of the day a lonely old man who was constantly needy, selfish, and starved for attention which made life tough for his son and business partner Lamont. Though Fred loved his son dearly he often held poor Lamont back in life and never failed to lay crazy guilt trips on Lamont to keep him from moving out and going his own way. But through it all these two loved each other and stayed together because they were all the other had.
6. Arthur Spooner. The King of Queens.
When it comes to selfishness, no one turned narcissim and grandiosity into an art form like King of Queens’ Arthur Spooner. Like Fred Sanford, Arthur’s neediness and self absorbtion held Carrie back in life causing a lot of friction between the two. At the end of the day though, Arthur knew he couldn’t live without Carrie and she couldn’t live without him.
5. Frank Barone. Everybody Loves Raymond.
Frank Barone was the ultimate embarassing dad who never missed an opportunity to humiliate or mercilessly tease his two sons. He was stubborn, crude, rude and an ogre. But he was also hilarious and reminded all of us of our own fathers, uncles, grandfathers etc. Frank was no saint, but unlike his own father he never resorted to physically assaulting his sons.
4. Tony Soprano. The Sopranos.
If you think your dad is bad just imagine growing up with a literal gangster. Tony Soprano had many issues, including extreme bouts of anger and he often displaced it with his two kids AJ and Meadow. Tony could be a bully and even popped his own son in the mouth as well as push him and hem him up to the wall. While the character is deeply complex and has many good qualities, even as a father and husband, one can’t deny the damage this guy has done to his family emotionally over the years. Ward Cleaver this guy is not.
3. Lucious Lyon. Empire.
Lucious Lyon is the devil and his three boys have been on the recieving end of a lot of his devilish moments. I mean, besides his controlling and manipulative nature, it doesn’t quite get any worse then a man throwing his own eight year-old son into a trash can. Lucious saw himself as a father trying to prepare his sons for the real world which one can appreciate, but more often than not Lucious would use or manipulate anyone to reach his goal even his own family members. Despite all of this at the end of the day Lucious would do anything for Cookie and the boys, and they rarely ever actually doubted that when it mattered most.
2. Peter Griffin. Family Guy.
Peter Griffin is a perfect example why not everyone should have children. While he often displays the joys of the carefree lifestyle, Griffin is undeniably a reckless, childish drunk and nutcase who has been verbally and sometimes physically abusing his daughter Meg for years. Peter Griffin is a horrible example to his three children, but like his family we can’t help but laugh at him and even love him for his wild antics.
- Cotton Hill. King of The Hill.
When it comes to awful pappies there is no better bad dad than Hank Hill’s mean spirited, bigoted, sexist and downright ornery father Cotton Hill. A miserable excuse of a human being and a complete disaster as a father, Cotton is the best of the worst no doubt. His extreme verbal abuse of his second born son Hank is the sole reason why he grew up to have so many emotional issues and shortcomings. While Hank himself isn’t always the perfect dad next to Cotton he’s father knows best. But despite Cotton’s hilarious failings as a father he has his good qualities: A genuine war hero who sacrificed his shins for his country, and a genuinely loving grandfather to Bobby Hill. I’ve always suspected that the reason why Cotton is a much better grandfather to Bobby than he was as a father to Hank is because in his own way he’s making up for how he treated Hank his whole life.
Again just want to wish all the good dads out there a Happy Father’s Day! Till next times, folks!