Happy Fathers Day: Seven of TV’s Most Badass Dads

Fathers Day seems a good a time as any to honour some of the most badass, awesome and strange Dads in sci-fi, fantasy and fun TV.

Get the list beyond the jump.

Lord Eddard Stark, Game of Thrones

(Sean Bean)

To a man whose honour is everything and is willing to give his life for this commitment Ned Stark realized the one thing that mean more to him than this, his children.  Lord Stark was willing to sacrifice his honour to do what he believed would save his family.

Angel, Angel

(David Boreanaz)

Angel’s relationship with his son is probably one of the most unconventional we’ll find on TV (yes, this is a challenge to find a stranger father-son relationship on the small screen).

Vampire’s getting pregnant, this shit is wack! Someone better get the word out what will all those sexy vampire shows going on otherwise we’re going to have a vamp-baby epidemic on our hands. PSA’s people, vampireism doesn’t prevent pregnancy.
Darla somehow managed to get pregnant with Angel and produce a human child, Conner. (maybe it was the special kind of dirty hate sex they were having?) But seriously, After sacrificing herself to allow this somehow human child to live Angel became a single dad.

Because it’s Angel’s L.A. crazy shit went down including Conner being dragged into a hel dimension for most of his childhood & having a creepy romance with Cordelia who was possessed by the God/Demon Jasmine.

In the end Angel made the difficult choice to give up his relationship with his child in exchange for Conner forgetting the hell that he’s been through and getting to live a normal human life with a kind and warm family

Helo Agathon, Battlestar Galactica

(Tahmoh Penikett)

Karl “Helo” Agathon was pretty much the most reliable, adaptable and skilled officer on Galactica keeping a cool head in almost every situation, considering the fleet was facing potential extinction of the human race and attacks from the cylons and within pretty much daily, that is no easy feet.

Hera had a difficult life as the object of desire of both sides of a genocidal war. When she was in their care Helo and Athena made sure to make time in their busy schedule of being fighter pilots and top officers to spend quality time with their daughter. The end of the series had the family walking peacefully through a meadow with Helo excited with so much hope of all the things he would get to teach Hera.

Oh, and he looked damn good doing it too.

William Adama, Battlestar Galactica

(Edward James Olmos)

William Adama was pretty much the father to the entire Galactica crew, actual father to Lee Adama and basically father to Kara Thrace. Come to think of it with Kara having been engaged to Zak (Lee’s brother) then having an ongoing romantic relationship with Lee that’s kinda creepy.

Point being, Adama Sr. was always there for his children as much as he knew how. He did his best in an impossible situation as his fleet were in an ongoing war against the Cylons to protect his people. He truly felt like they were all his family, and all his personal responsibility.

Walter/Walternate Bishop, Fringe

(John Noble)

Walter – He may not be a perfect dad (or an especially GOOD one) but he did cross universes (TWICE) to save his son. That’s got to count for something.The universes were permanently damaged from these crossings but at least he felt pretty bad about it and got his best friend Belly (Leonard Nemoy) to lobotomize him. Now that’s commitment.

Walternate – Willing to destroy the worlds to get his son back. Then kind of willing to also destroy his son… okay maybe not so much.

Stephan Bartowski, Chuck

(Scott Bakula)

Firstly, it’s Scott Bakula. Now that we’ve got that our of the way, Stephen Bartowski was largely absent from Chuck & Ellie’s lives during their childhood. It’s only later that they discover that it’s because he is Orion, wanted by many government agencies. Despite the absence the Sr. Bartowski had been looking after his children from afar since he disappeared.

When he did return he was deeply involved in Chuck’s story since he was the creator of the intersect. He continued to protect his children and on many occasions stepped into dangerous situations allowing himself to work for the enemy just to protect his family. Although Orion faked his death many times the bullet finally got him for real.

Stephen Bartowski’s legacy continues to live on in the series with the codes and secrets he left to help his children, including a new intersect and the discovery of his long lost friend, Alexei Volkoff Hartley Winterbottom.

Wilfrid Mott, Doctor Who

(Bernard Cribbins)

Wilf is not only a great father, but an amazing, loving grandfather. He has an adventurous childlike spirit and is absolutely taken with The Doctor and the unknown. He sees the potential in his granddaughter, Donna, encouraging her to become the best she can be with the help of the Tenth Doctor. When the Doctor is forced to erase Donna’s memories of her experience traveling in the TARDIS, Wilf is the only person left who understands the wonderful Donna person Donna had allowed herself to become while traveling with the Doctor. Wilf’s role isn’t solely a sad one, though: he’s an endearing Doctor Who character who has great comic timing and gets to deliver lots of funny lines whenever we see him pop up.

Honourable Mention goes to:

Rupert Giles, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

(Anthony Stewart Head)
Giles pretty much filled the role of father figure to Buffy. As Watcher he looked out for her, taught her, guided her and he loved her in a fatherly sense. He went above and beyond in his Watcher duties and tended to Buffy’s emotional needs. Especially after the death of her mother Giles became a very important parental figure in Buffy’s life.

Have I left your favourite TV Dad off the list? Let me know in the comments? Also I dare you to find a more unconventional father-son relationship than Angel and Conner!

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads out there!

An alternate version of this post lives on The Viewing Party.