In Honor of Father's Day 2016, Here Are the 12 Best TV Dads of All Time

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Father's Day is coming up, which means it's a perfect time to take a retrospective look back at all of the fictional dads we've loved during their time on the small screen. That's right, sorry real dads, today we're celebrating the made-up fathers who were perfect in a way you'll never be (but it doesn't hurt to aspire!) Happy Father's Day!

Stu Pickles, Rugrats

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Sure, Stu didn't seem to know what was going on with his kids most of the time (um, hello, your infant son has a screwdriver in his diaper!) but he was usually a sweet and caring father. Plus, he was an inventor, which means he was teaching his kids to follow their dreams.

Phillip Banks, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

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Uncle Phil was pretty much everything a dad should be, even to Will, who was his nephew. Sure, he may have been kind of strict, and his political leanings were kind of disappointing, but he loved his family.

Phil Dunphy, Modern Family

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Phil is a total goofball (kind of like Stu) and incredibly embarrassing, what with his love for gadgets and cheerleading and dad jokes, but he's totally obsessed with his kids. In a good way.

Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

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OK, technically we know it seems like Homer Simpson shouldn't be on this list — he drinks too much, he's constantly putting his family in life threatening situations, and he's kind of an idiot. But Homer Simpson is also one of the most famous TV dads of all time, and he's saved his family almost as often as he's messed things up for them.

Ned Stark, Game of Thrones

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Spoiler alert: Ned Stark wasn't the most, well, savvy character on Game of Thrones, but he's arguably the best dad in Westeros. He taught his kids all about honor and tradition, and (luckily for her) he even let Arya take sword-fighting lessons. We miss ya, Ned.

Louis Huang, Fresh Off The Boat

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Louis may not fully understand his children and their choices, but his enthusiasm for being a dad, and for embracing all things American, is sincerely touching.

Dan Conner, Roseanne

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If we learned anything from Dan Conner it's that the only way to get through being a dad is with humor. We're still mad at him for throwing David out, but he's basically a teddy bear for the whole rest of the series.

Dre Johnson, black-ish

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One of the best things about Dre Johnson as a dad is that he isn't afraid to bring up tough subjects with his kids, like the episode of black-ish where he talks about police brutality. But in every episode, Dre is always a caring dad whose biggest priorities are his kids' and their upbringing.

Hal, Malcolm In the Middle

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Hal showed us that dads could have flaws, like, lots and lots of flaws, and still be great fathers. Sort of. To be fair, Hal's sons had a lot of stuff going on.

Coach Taylor, Friday Night Lights

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Is there any better father, nay, any better man, than Coach Taylor? Not only was he devoted to Julie and baby Gracie (despite their respective terrible personality and giant head) he was also a father figure to Matt Saracen and Vince Howard and literally every other wayward, adorable teen who crossed his path.

Ray Campbell, Sister Sister

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You have to give Ray credit for rolling with the punches. When he found out his adoptive daughter had a twin sister, he basically let two strangers move into his super-nice home. And he's totally the yin to Lisa's yang — he might be kind of uptight but he cares a lot about his family.

Bob Belcher, Bob's Burgers

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Bob loves puns, like any good father. And while some of the time he might seem like life has sort of, well, beaten him down, he loves his family a lot. Despite the terribly situations they put him in.

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