Amazon Blogs: Armchair Commentary Daily Digest

Check out these Updates from Armchair Commentary for June 18, 2010.

Television's Rad Dads June 18, 2010 Television has offered up a flurry of father-centric shows over the years: Father Knows Best, Wait 'Til Your Father Gets Home, Bachelor Father, The Family Guy, The Courtship of Eddie's Father. With Father's Day just around the corner, here's a look at some of our favorite TV dads (we did the same for mom): Ben Cartwright from Bonanza (1959-1973): Lorne Greene played Ben, one of TV's original single dads, who rode herd on Hoss (Dan Blocker), Little Joe (Michael Landon) and Adam (Pernell Roberts). Set in the 1800s, this long-running NBC hit didn't follow the ol' shoot-em-up Western trail. Bonanza focused on the Cartwright family dynamics that could often grow tense and end up with Hoss dukin' it out with Little Joe. Ben used a mixture of horse sense and gentle strength to keep the hotheaded brothers in line and peace on the Ponderosa. John Robinson from Lost in Space (1965-1968): You may think that you dad never took you on any cool family vacations. Well, you're absolutely right this time. Guy Williams played Professor John Robinson who whisks his family away on the Jupiter 2 in search of a new planet - this is 1997, after all. Judy (Marta Kristen), Penny (Angela Cartwright) and Will (Billy Mumy) were the luckiest kids in the universe with a dad like that and we'll wager there was much fighting over who got to wear the jet-pack.  Charles Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie (1974-1983): Michael Landon played the family patriarch on this NBC prime-time series based on Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling book series. Hardscrabble life on a Minnesota farm meant Paw had to do everything from building a cabin to scaring away bears. Yet the Ingalls clan always had those heartwarming conversations by candlelight around the dinner table. Charles would draw on his pipe; listen to Half-Pint's (Melissa Gilbert) woes over that mean Nellie Oleson and spout a bit of tender wisdom. And then he'd go chase off a wolf. Team Paw! Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show (1984-1992): The wildly popular NBC sitcom that put wildly patterned sweaters on our "Fashion Don't" list. Bill Cosby played everyone's favorite TV dad alongside Phylicia Rashad, TV mom extraordinaire Clair. What do we like about Cliff? He combined sputter-laugh snark with discipline. Gee, my dad wasn't that funny when he was grounding us. Cliff's calm, cool demeanor was perfect for managing the lively crew of Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), Denise (Lisa Bonet), Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam) and Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf). Cosby even wrote a best-selling book, Fatherhood, which I gave to my dad for Father's Day, but it didn't make him any funnier. Dan Conner from Roseanne (1988-1997): Who couldn't relate to his blue-collar comedy? John Goodman played the lovable Dan, beer belly and all, on this ABC sitcom starring Roseanne Barr. The Conners lived in nuttin' fancy digs complete with a multicolored crocheted afghan thrown over a  well-worn couch. D.J. (Michael Fishman), Darlene (Sarah Gilbert) and Becky (Alicia Goranson and Sarah Chalke) gave Dan many reasons to pull out his hair, but he handled them with wit and aplomb – although Dan wouldn't be caught dead saying "wit and aplomb." Julius Rock from Everybody Hates Chris (2005-2009): Comedian Chris Rock created and narrated this TV series based on his youth growing up in the Bed-Stuy district of Brooklyn. Tyler James Williams does a brilliant job of portraying the adorably awkward young Chris. But it's Chris' father Julius, played by ex-NFL linebacker Terry Crews, who gets the most laughs from me. Julius is the perfect combination of stern-dad-wannabe and a complete pushover. Alongside wife Rochelle (Tichina Arnold), Julius shows us why Chris Rock turned out to be a success – even if the series itself was killed by a bad time-slot. Walter White from Breaking Bad (2008-present): Don't wince; just bear with me a minute please. This AMC hit follows a teacher desperate to save his family from financial ruin. Walter (Bryan Cranston, who also played wacky dad Hal on Malcolm in the Middle) learns he has cancer and turns to a life of crime – making and selling crystal meth – in order to support his pregnant wife and disabled son. The show is dark, biting and it rakes in the Emmys. And no, that doesn't necessarily make Walter a "good dad" in the mold of Ward Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver), but he certainly is one helluva interesting dad. A shout-out goes to Homer Simpson from The Simpsons (1989-present): Homer has tea parties with daughter Lisa. That about covers it. – Francine Ruley Who Should Play 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'? June 18, 2010 It's the hottest property in Hollywood right now: the U.S. film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo , an international best-seller with two sequels (the third book, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest , was released last month). A Swedish film... read more

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