With the passing of Tom Bosley, I pondered with my family about the changes in TV. Mr. C was the ideal and iconic father of the 1970s (yes, the show was set in the 1950's, but you know what I mean). We have several contenders for the 1960's, but I would choose Mr. Brady--so many kids, so many problems, so many haircuts. Bill Cosby's character is such an obvious choice for the 1980's. It gets harder in the 1990's, but I would choose John Goodman's character in Roseanne. But what about since then? Which father is the one that is seen as both ideal and iconic for the Aughts? Tony Soprano is clearly an iconic father, but hardly ideal. Ray of Everybody Loves Raymond was on a popular show, but did anyone see him as being a positive and widely appreciated dad? Freaks and Geeks was way too underviewed and ran too short for Joe Flaherty's character to make it.
Two things happened in the past 10 years or so: TV fragmented and family sitcoms largely disappeared. We have so many more channels and programs that no one show will be nearly as influential as the Brady Bunch, Happy Days or Roseanne were. Plus the popular comedies are relationship shows (Friends, How I Met Your Mother) or workplace comedies (The Office, 30 Rock), not family sitcoms. Perhaps we will have more in the Teens with Modern Family and its imitators. Of course, which father is most likely to be an icon in Modern Family? Probably Cam! Wouldn't that be something--a gay man as the iconic father!
So, I ask the readers, who is your favorite TV father of the Aughts?
