Ep. 574 - The Ultimate TV Dad Tier List: Alan Matthews, Jack Arnold & George Bluth Sr.!! #dad

**Matt** (0:00)
Well, how diddly-doo, everybody out there? It is the Working Perspectives Podcast, presents Four Dads by Dads. We got another blaster tonight. Gonna be a good one, gonna be a good time, gonna have some fun. This is how we do it. Tonight, we're re-ranking some dads.
We got the skills. We're dads, we can rank dads. We're ranking TV dads throughout the TV sitcom universe. So far, this is what we've done. In the S-Tier, we've got Dan Connors and Your Honorable Judge Philip Banks. Obviously S-Tier. Then we have no one in A-Tier. Then we got in B-Tier, we got Al Bundy, and we got Tony Soprano. All right. And then C-Tier, we got Heathcliff Huxwell and Homer Simpson. D-Tier, Frank Reynolds. Tonight, we're bringing you three fresh dads, three fresh perspectives. I'm here, Matt Lavelle, accompanied, as always, by Bern Pockets. He's a bad boy and the most handsome man in town, Liam Reese. Going to be a lot of fun tonight. Episode 574 of the Working Perspectives Podcast. Let's get this thing started. Let's go.
So, tonight, Bandidi Padalini, we're starting off with you. You're giving us your guy.
And this is how it's gonna work. You're gonna give us your guy.
You're gonna rank him. You're gonna give us your opening statement on where he should be and why he should be there.
Then Liam and I are gonna probably correct you, because you're not really right on a lot of shit. IE. Tim Meadows, IE. Friends, IE the show Roseanne. So then, once we correct you for being wrong again, then you'll have a minute closing argument and then we'll move on to the next jabrone. All right? So, Benditi Padalini, please give us who is your dad.

**Bern** (2:59)
Matt, a great recap. We've had some great dads. We've got some okay dads. We've had some not so great dads so far, but I'm looking at this graph right now.
This A tier is really lonely. I mean, not a single A tier dad. It's lonely. So what I would like to do tonight is introduce what I think is an absolute home run slam dunk A tier dad. And if you'll lend me your ears, I'll sing you a song and I'll try not to sing out of key. Guys, my submission tonight is none other than John, aka Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years.

**Matt** (3:48)
You're putting him in A.

**Bern** (3:50)
I'm putting Jack Arnold right in A. And let me tell you why. Jack Arnold is a tough, rough, no nonsense old man. When people talk about your dad or say, hey, what's up with your old man? Jack Arnold is your old man. He's not your dad. He's not your daddy. He's not your papa. He's your old dad. Jack Arnold, Korean War veteran.
Comes back home. He works for a defense contractor. Until eventually on the course of the show, he carved his own little niche out in this world. And that is making furniture. He's a guy who showed up for his country, did the job he had to do.
He defended America. And then once he was stable, and once his three bratty kids grew up enough, he was like, I'm going to do what I like to do. Guess what he likes to do? Make shit with his goddamn hands. Jack Arnold is a little beautiful slice of Americana. Now, is he going to yuck it up at the dinner table? Not a ton. Jack's tired.
Jack's got a real job. Jack's got work to do. Does he always agree with his wife? No, he doesn't. But do they always operate together as a unit? They sure do.
I'll tell you what, Wayne might be a jerk off. Karen might be a hippie.
Evan might be kind of a pud sometimes.

**Matt** (5:29)
And a puss.

**Bern** (5:30)
Jack is there for every second of their childhood. He makes it important to be there. He shows up. He gives discipline when it's needed.
And every once in a while, you just see a little bit of a softer side. I submit to you gentlemen, Jack Arnold from The Wonder Years is an A-tier dad.

**Matt** (5:53)
I'll tell you this, Bern. I'll tell you this. I like Jack Arnold. And I'll tell you this. One thing comes to mind. The saying, I'm not your friend.
I'm your father.
I think Jack Arnold embodies that.
Right? Like that's, if you think I'm not your friend, I'm your father, that's Jack Arnold, daddy. I'll tell you this.

**Bern** (6:15)
And you'll thank me for it someday.

**Matt** (6:18)
Yeah, I'll tell you this. First episode, season one, episode one. Kevin, he gets done in elementary school. He's headed to middle school. It's a big jump. Winnie Cooper looked like one thing over the summer. She shows up at the bus stop looking right. He's catching all these weird feels. He doesn't know what he's doing. He has a blow up in the cafeteria, throws an apple through a window, gets sent to the principal's office. The next scene.