Parents In Television

I totally agree with you--the complex parent is hard to come by in television.   Top five notable parents on currently running TV:

5) Lynnette and Tom on Desperate Housewives.  I’m a few seasons behind on this one, but it highlights the constant, exasperating, literal battle of wills that is involved in raising children.

4)  Eric & Tami on Friday Night Lights - the best example of roles that include all the extraneous bull**** that comes with being a parent, and they handle it with harried grace

3) Allison (Patricia Arquette) & Joe on Medium.  The episode where her eldest daughter gets her heart broken for the first time and wishes she could go back to innocence is some of the most moving parenting I’ve ever seen on television.

2) Arthur and Paula on South of Nowhere – These parents are far from perfect, but that only makes them more interesting.  This show starts up again August 10th and features the only lesbian couple on non-premium TV!

1) Nichole & Stephen on Kyle XY.  They parent with compassion rarely seen anywhere-film, movies, or TV.  If you loved Buffy, you'll like this show.  The government conspiracy part of this show kicks the ass of the government conspiracy part of Buffy (and I say this as a genuine Buffy freak), but still isn’t quite as good yet as the evil corporation of Dark Angel.  Watch it from the beginning or suffer the consequences. 

Honorable mention: Peggy & Hank on King of the Hill.  Ok, so they're animated, and not very bright.  They are also some of the only working class parents on tv, and they manage to be well rounded and dynamic, with their hearts in the right place even when they have their head up their a** and their foot in their mouth. (plus they're the only working class parents ever on tv who seem to have decided to be parents before they got pregnant.  Correct me if i'm wrong).  (While I love other characters who have kids, like Niki & DL on Heroes, or Bette & Tina on the L word, being a parent is not a big enough part of what makes them interesting, and that’s why they didn’t make the list).

::SPECIAL AWARDS::

Best Co-Parents Ever on TV: Patty & Graham on My So Called Life.  Hands down flat out the best still-together parents ever to have been on TV are from a show that only ran a single season in the mid nineties but is still famous today: My So Called Life.  Please don't let a dislike of Claire Danes or Jared Leto get in your way.  I never saw this show as a kid--I didn't see it until I started watching the N, the same network that South of Nowhere is on.  I was surprised at how it touched on issues rarely seen in teen shows--actual teen lives the way they’re really lived.  Watch for the OUT! gay sidekick, her best friend Ricki.  This was in an era when nothing gay could even be on grown-up TV, let alone a teen show.  Groundbreaking and should not be missed. Honorable Mention: Cliff & Clair Huxtable on the Cosby Show.  Need I say more?

Best Single Parent Ever on TV: Lorelai from Gilmore girls.  Mother and daughter best friends, the funny writing, eccentric side caracters, and witty repartee make this show unmissable.  The series just ended in June after 7 years.  If you're not hooked by the end of the first episode, there's something wrong with you!  Honorable Mention: James Woods as in the currently running Shark, for never losing integrity and compassion in his treatment of his daughter and recognizing his own weaknesses, even though in the rest of his life, those same qualities are pretty spotty.

There is a sitcom that aired a few episodes in the spring that is coming back for the fall, about pregnancy & new parents, called Notes from the Underbelly.  This is a good chance to catch the lead from Kissing Jessica Stein in a meatier role, and the show from what I’ve seen is really funny!  I haven't seen George Lopez, Big Love, or Weeds, but I hear they have good parent roles, too. 

I think this list also outlines the extreme lack of positive black parents (or parents of any non-european background, for that matter).  Also-- Where are the grandparents?  My parents see their parents at least once a month, but they aren't even mentioned in most shows.  I think there could be a goldmine in exploring this.  *sigh* i miss Arrested Development.

~~~~ One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory. ~ Rita Mae Brown