Ranking the Most Iconic TV Dads (Cartoons vs Sitcoms) | Fatherhood Hot Takes & 1K Subs!

If you grew up on sitcoms and Saturday morning cartoons, this one’s for you. In Episode 31 of The Dad Compass, we rank the most famous TV dads—animated and live-action—from Uncle Phil and Danny Tanner to Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, Red Foreman, Tony Soprano, Walter White, Clark Griswold, Frank Gallagher, Thanos (yep), and more. We also celebrate hitting 1,000 subscribers (thank you!) and close with a spicy Fatherhood Unscripted: Would society collapse faster without sex… or money?

Expect unfiltered dad banter, questionable grading systems (numbers? letters? both?), and a few meat-smoking detours. Subscribe if you like real talk on fatherhood, nostalgia, and the messy art of being a dad.

Timestamps / Chapters
00:00 Cold open: “too loud” intro & Episode 31
00:36 What are we ranking? Numbers vs letter grades
01:50 First pick: Uncle Phil / Philip Banks (Fresh Prince)
06:30 Danny Tanner (Full House) – soft, solid, or mid?
07:47 Animated round: Homer vs Peter (neighbor you’d want, dad you wouldn’t)
11:10 Stan Smith (American Dad) & the “Roger” factor
11:50 Hank Hill mention & revival chatter
12:32 Bob Belcher—restaurant dad goals
13:00 BBQ detour: pork butts & “bring meat to work”
14:14 George Jetson hot take (lol)
14:57 Fred Flintstone (and Bam-Bam confusion)
15:52 Randy Marsh—“hit me in the balls” memory lane
18:02 Tim “Toolman” Taylor—first solid “A”
18:28 Al Bundy—funny, not fatherly
18:57 Dan Conner (Roseanne) & John Goodman love
19:51 Everybody Loves Raymond—good show, “bit of a…”
20:25 Who’s the Boss? & Alyssa Milano sidebar
21:59 Bernie Mac—RIP, funny, dad vibes debated
22:23 Red Foreman—awesome/terrible paradox
22:58 Frank Costanza (Seinfeld) – Serenity now
23:32 Drama dads: Ned Stark confusion,
24:22 Walter White—provider vs parent
24:42 Tony Soprano—Dmitry’s “great dad” hot take
26:39 Always Sunny: Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito)
27:13 Gomez Addams name spiral
28:23 Reality dads: Ozzy Osbourne, Jenner confusion, Hugh Hefner debate
32:17 Frank Gallagher (Shameless)—hall-of-shame dad
33:20 Will Smith slap riff & Uncle Phil callback
34:23 Legendary dads: Darth Vader, Liam Neeson (Taken), Clark Griswold, Pursuit of Happyness
38:19 Modern pop: Joe Exotic, Homelander
40:06 Thanos—selfless villain or good guy?
41:50 Fatherhood Unscripted: quick shout-outs & kid patience
43:22 Parenting real talk: attitude, school meeting, and honesty
46:33 Thank you for 1K + what’s next
47:55 Big question: Society collapses faster without sex or money?
49:49 Final beats, outro & subscribe

Support the show
• Comment your Top 5 TV Dads & your pick on “sex vs money.”
• Like & share with a dad friend.

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