7 best TV dads
I’ve already honored my dad with some Father’s Day jerky.
It’s become a tradition, the weirder the flavor the better, because he loves it. Or maybe he’s just pretending to enjoy the taste, and he loves it because it’s become a tradition.
Either way, he’s taken care of, which gives me time to celebrate some of my favorite TV dads.
■ Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown), “This Is Us”: The NBC drama became a massive hit because of its time-hopping stories that chronicled the evolution of its sprawling cast. But I’d be fine with a show that’s nothing more than Randall and his wife, Beth (Susan Kelechi Watson), lovingly sassing each other in their fantastic kitchen.
■ Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), “Friday Night Lights”: The Pearsons may have one of the best marriages currently on TV, but Coach and Mrs. Coach (Connie Britton) had one of the best TV marriages ever. It was messy and complicated, but it felt real. Coach Taylor raised one daughter and was in the process of raising a second when the series ended. But at work, he raised dozens of boys who truly needed a father figure. And he did it all by making them believe, and not sounding the least bit corny when he said it, that clear eyes and full hearts can’t lose.
■ Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher), “The O.C.”: Speaking of full hearts, the Newport Beach, California, public defender had one of the biggest on TV. Who else would bring a juvenile delinquent home to live in his pool house? That’s a bigger deal than it sounds like, considering the Cohens’ sprawling McMansion apparently only had two bedrooms, since every time someone else needed to crash in the pool house, Ryan (Ben McKenzie) had to bunk with Seth (Adam Brody).
■ Walter White (Bryan Cranston), “Breaking Bad”: You may think you’re a good father, but do you have what it takes to become the meth king of Albuquerque just to provide for your family? Didn’t think so.
■ Hank Hill (voiced by Mike Judge), “King of the Hill”: He may not always have understood his only son, Bobby (Pamela Adlon). “That boy ain’t right” became his catchphrase. But Bobby should be thankful he even exists, considering Hank was cursed with that narrow urethra.
■ George Bluth Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor), “Arrested Development”: Terrible human being, good provider. After all, “There’s always money in the banana stand.”
■ Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), “24”: Sure, he got his wife killed. And whenever his daughter wasn’t being kidnapped, she was being menaced by a cougar. But give the guy a break. He was so busy saving the world, he never even took time out to use the restroom.
Shows to know for the week ahead
■ Las Vegas native Rutina Wesley returns in the second season of “Queen Sugar” (10 p.m. Tuesday, OWN), which finds the Bordelon siblings struggling in their new roles in the sugarcane business.
■ The house “The Real Housewives” built goes back to its original reason for existing, if only for an hour, as Scarlett Johansson stops by “Inside the Actors Studio” (8 p.m. Thursday, Bravo).
■ An eerie haze rolls into Bridgeville, Maine, isolating the residents from the rest of the world, in the 10-episode retelling of Stephen King’s “The Mist” (10 p.m. Thursday, Spike).
■ It’s going to sound like I’m making this up, but I swear I’m not. When her husband disappears, a woman (Francia Raisa) retreats from Silicon Valley to one of those trendy tiny houses, only to be menaced inside its tight confines, in “Tiny House of Terror” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime Movie Network)
Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.
Shows to know for the week ahead
■ Las Vegas native Rutina Wesley returns in the second season of “Queen Sugar” (10 p.m. Tuesday, OWN), which finds the Bordelon siblings struggling in their new roles in the sugarcane business.
■ The house “The Real Housewives” built goes back to its original reason for existing, if only for an hour, as Scarlett Johansson stops by “Inside the Actors Studio” (8 p.m. Thursday, Bravo).
■ An eerie haze rolls into Bridgeville, Maine, isolating the residents from the rest of the world, in the 10-episode retelling of Stephen King’s “The Mist” (10 p.m. Thursday, Spike).
■ It’s going to sound like I’m making this up, but I swear I’m not. When her husband disappears, a woman (Francia Raisa) retreats from Silicon Valley to one of those trendy tiny houses, only to be menaced inside its tight confines, in “Tiny House of Terror” (8 p.m. Saturday, Lifetime Movie Network)
