Parents are often the unsung heroes of TV shows. Forced into one of two roles (either the horrible task masters, or the idiots constantly being outsmarted by their children) it’s rare you get TV parents who are good, well rounded characters. But it does happen sometimes (hence my use of “rare” in the previous sentence), and when it does, oh man… you get a well rounded character. Sorry the build up on that, I thought I had something more dramatic up my sleeve. Who are these infamous excellent parents-as-TV-characters? Well, scroll down and discover the 7 Most Realistic TV Parents:
Hal & Lois, “Malcolm in the Middle”
On Malcolm in the Middle, Frankie Muniz played the middle child who was a genius (hilarious in retrospect) but was stuck with his family made up mostly of loud oafs. But this is where the depth came in, because Hal & Lois were proud of their son, they also were his parents, so they didn’t care that he was a genius. To them, he was the same petulant know it all that came into this naked and screaming (as we all do). Also, they often had their own storylines that in no way revolved around their kids. Like the time Hal became a meth dealer in New Mexico.
Hank & Peggy Hill, “King of the Hill”
Maybe it’s just because they were so similar to my own parents, what with her overconfidence attempting to cover up her sometimes lack of confidence, and his discomfort with his weird son’s weirder interests, but these two always struck me as eerily realistic. He’s even got his own bizarre infatuation, “propane and propane accessories”, and she likes Boggle, and stuff. Plus, they still love each other, which actually should count as a not realistic quality…
The Weirs, “Freaks & Geeks”
Why were they so realistic? Because the whole show was realistic! THIS WAS THE MOST DEPRESSING REALISTIC SHOW EVER ON TELEVISION! It only makes sense that the parents would follow the same path. Plus, the writers clearly had a lot of affection for the characters, so they never seemed dumb, just a little out of touch with the changing times.
Marie & Frank Barone, “Everybody Loves Raymond”
These are, of course, Ray’s parents on Everybody Loves Raymond. And maybe they just seem realistic because I do not understand how anyone could ever love a person as miserable as Debra always was. It was the rare sitcom you’d watch and think “HE can do better.”
Dexter’s Parents, “Dexter’s Laboratory”
These two literally had no idea that their son was a mad scientist. JUST LIKE REAL PARENTS! I got into all sorts of trouble when I was young, or at least I would have if my parents had not been incredibly busy to deceive because they were busy living their own lives. Of course, “living their own lives” really meant “Working all the time to provide for a family”, but it still had the same outcome as if they were just partying, and stuff.
The Taylors, “Friday Night Lights”
I don’t know if they’re all THAT realistic, but they do seem like the greatest parents on Earth, so they’re making the list.
Leela’s Parents, “Futurama”
Are any of you mutants? I’m not either, so who the hell are we to judge whether or not this was an accurate portrayal?
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