Fannish5: Five best or worst fathers.
Jun. 18th, 2011 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakWell, "worst fathers" would be like shooting fish in a barrell, given how especially American tv loves its daddy issues. So here are some great dads who come to mind:
1.) Mr. Kwon from Lost. Alas, we never find out his first name, but Jin's dad is that rarity on Lost, a genuinenly good parent. He raised Jin as his own despite the fact they're not biologically related, put up with Jin having class issues and being ashamed of him and was still there when a repentant Jin needed comfort and advice. This would make him a great father in any narrative, but on this show? Trust me, it makes him rarer than pink diamonds.
2.) Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. After two shows where the regulars tended to have issues with at least one of their parents, usually the father, and/or with their offspring, Sisko wasn't just the first male lead to get along with his father famously, he also was a single parent raising his son and doing a stellar job of it. Not that he's perfect, but by and large, good old Ben S. s a really great father.
3.) Dexter Morgan from Dexter. He may be a serial killer, plus I think the show sort of lost its moral compass in the last season, but there is no denying it: one thing Dexter has been consistently great with from season 1 onwards is being a father, both in the emotional sense (with Rita's children, Aster and Cody) and in the biological sense (Harrison). Given his, err, impediments, that's all the more unusual.
4.) Keith Mars from Veronica Mars. Does not let the fact he's unsure about the biological factor influence his love for his daughter one bit, does a great job being there for her, does not take his own misery and angst out on her, and is in general a champion. Go Keith!
5.) Aeneas, from Greek and Roman mythology. Look, I'm the first to admit thatVirgil's Homer fanfiction the Anaeid suffers by comparison to the two originals, and of course as far as wandering heroes go, the wily Odysseus wins every time. However. Aeneas, as opposed to most fathers in myths (looking at you, Laios, and you, Priam) does not try to get rid of his kid as a baby. He doesn't eat him, either (Tantalus, you had that underworld punishment coming), nor does he kill him to prove how no one should be above the law (looking at you, original Brutus) or to appease the gods (Agamemnon, step forward). Nor does he dump the boy on someone else to care for. (Looking at pretty much everyone.) No, Aeneas when leaving his burning city behind brings both his Aged Parents and his son along, and raises the later through years of questing, divine punishments, ill-fated love affairs, the occasional clash with leftover Greeks from the war and eventually settling and a new marriage. There were earlier mythological single parents, but arguably Aeneas is the first to make a success of raising his son and being a questing hero at the same time instead of giving one up for the other. Clearly a model to the earlier named gentlemen!
Footnote: if you're wondering why Jack Bristow isn't there: Spydaddy is undoubtedly willing to move mountains for his daughter and willing to sacrifice his (and other) life for her at any time, but when it comes to day-to-day parenting, his track record is a bit less stellar. Yes, there are traumatic reasons for that, but the fact of the matter is that when we meet them in season 1, the communication between them is so bad and the issues are so massive that Jack can't bring himself to have dinner with Sydney, prefering instead to sit in his car broodingly in the rain outside the restaurant where she's waiting for him. It gets far better as the show progresses, but my criterium of selection for the fathers wasn't just "fathers willing to die for their children" but "fathers actually good at communicating with and raising their children".
1.) Mr. Kwon from Lost. Alas, we never find out his first name, but Jin's dad is that rarity on Lost, a genuinenly good parent. He raised Jin as his own despite the fact they're not biologically related, put up with Jin having class issues and being ashamed of him and was still there when a repentant Jin needed comfort and advice. This would make him a great father in any narrative, but on this show? Trust me, it makes him rarer than pink diamonds.
2.) Benjamin Sisko from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. After two shows where the regulars tended to have issues with at least one of their parents, usually the father, and/or with their offspring, Sisko wasn't just the first male lead to get along with his father famously, he also was a single parent raising his son and doing a stellar job of it. Not that he's perfect, but by and large, good old Ben S. s a really great father.
3.) Dexter Morgan from Dexter. He may be a serial killer, plus I think the show sort of lost its moral compass in the last season, but there is no denying it: one thing Dexter has been consistently great with from season 1 onwards is being a father, both in the emotional sense (with Rita's children, Aster and Cody) and in the biological sense (Harrison). Given his, err, impediments, that's all the more unusual.
4.) Keith Mars from Veronica Mars. Does not let the fact he's unsure about the biological factor influence his love for his daughter one bit, does a great job being there for her, does not take his own misery and angst out on her, and is in general a champion. Go Keith!
5.) Aeneas, from Greek and Roman mythology. Look, I'm the first to admit that
Footnote: if you're wondering why Jack Bristow isn't there: Spydaddy is undoubtedly willing to move mountains for his daughter and willing to sacrifice his (and other) life for her at any time, but when it comes to day-to-day parenting, his track record is a bit less stellar. Yes, there are traumatic reasons for that, but the fact of the matter is that when we meet them in season 1, the communication between them is so bad and the issues are so massive that Jack can't bring himself to have dinner with Sydney, prefering instead to sit in his car broodingly in the rain outside the restaurant where she's waiting for him. It gets far better as the show progresses, but my criterium of selection for the fathers wasn't just "fathers willing to die for their children" but "fathers actually good at communicating with and raising their children".
