Are there any positive male role models in TV sitcoms?

[absyntheNsugar]

Bill Maher brought up this point on one of his performances...and I have to say I do agree with him.

Most TV sitcoms show the father as a bumbling, inept idiot who can only be saved by the mother. Examples I can think of areHome Improvement, Malcolm in the Middle..in fact I can't think of a single sitcom in which the father is seen as intelligent or at least competant.

Now I'm definitely not saying we should go back to the past with shows like I Love Lucy which showed the women as inept and clueless - but wouldn't it be better to show both sexes as having their strengths and weaknesses (just like in real life)?

But I digress - do you think this is true?

[drdon326]

1. Jim Ignotowski...

of TAXI

[Ohio Dem]

2. I don't really like sitcoms, but off the top of my head I thought of

Mad About You. I know it isn't on anymore, but the man and the woman in that show we equally competant/inept.

[absyntheNsugar]

3. True...and that might have explained its appeal to women

It was very popular with women...and my theory would be that women really don't want to be seen as superior - they want to be equal and treated as a valued counterpart, not a feared superior.

[CanuckAmok]

4. I agree...

It's an age-old thing, and I think it's even more prevelent in advertising. I have to wonder how much is based on observation, and how much is in reaction to advertisers' need to artificially empower their target female demographic.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here...I don't really have an informed opinion on this issue.

[Chuletas]

6. Roc

I always liked that show.

[mitchtv]

5. Flame away, but I like Charlie Sheen

on 1&1/2 men. I don't watch it so I may forget some of the stoopid stuff.

[stevedeshazer]

7. What's wrong with

Homer Simpson? And Hank Hill? :-)

[CanuckAmok]

11. Actually, Hank Hill is kind of a good role-model.

He's conservative and repressed, but he's got a good soul, and he treats his wife and his son with respect, even when they're nuts. Plus, he's far more on-the-ball than the rest of his friends, except maybe Boomhauer.

[scottcsmith]

8. For the most part

Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show was a very positive father figure, IMHO.

In addition to television shows, have you noticed how men are portrayed in commercials? Bumbling, stupid, sex-obsessed nimrods who would hold a book upside-down and think they were reading something written in a foreign language.

We're idiots (not me).

[laura888]

9. allowing men to be child-like

they can act like kids while their woman must be a competent adult.

I always thought the networks were pandering to male fantasies in this regard. No, women don't want a child-like man. It's certainly not my fantasy.

[camero]

13. There's a big difference between child-like and childish

Child-like is more of the need to explore, like when you were a child and saw something for the first time. It's not necessarily a male characteristic.

Childish is just acting out like a child. Nobody wants that.

Alot of us forget this.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

10. The lost one I remember was Bill Cosby...

And he would often play the buffoon to Rashad's role as wife.

[Deja Q]

12. What about Roseanne?

Both Conner parents seemed fairly sane. Except for the final season, but that was a dream that also prevented "Doctor Who" from coming back on FOX (thank God)...

And not Al Bundy? He tries hard; it's his loser family that keeps him down.

[Kat45]

15. No, definitely not Al Bundy.

IMHO, a man who will not have sex with his wife is no role model. (He also takes no interest in his kids.)

[SOteric]

14. That 70's Show.

Red's a bit foul-tempered and terse. But he's nowhere near bumbling and inept. Kitty softens his hard edges.

[BritishHuman]

16. Still Standing

I find it refreshing that the wife has as immature an attitude as the husband. They're both inept.

It does seem that that's the best that can be hoped for - that they're both bad parents.

Ooh! I just thought of one - "I'm with her". It's about a schoolteacher dating a moviestar. He's smart and stable, she's a little neurotic and Hollywood-esque.

[Khephra]

17. I've mentioned this point before in reference to

Everyone Loves Raymond.

The sterotype has always been there, but it's worse these days than ever. The fact there's not many sitcoms left might also be playing a part in the fact a lot of men are noticing it these days.

[SmileyBoy]

18. Roseanne's show was a good example of what you're looking for.

Unfortunately, it's not on anymore. It's just as well, the show started in 1988 and it was on for 9 years anyway.

[Orangepeel]

19. the mother in Malcolm is a nutcase

Most sitcom characters are depicted as fools, regardless of their sex.