TV's Top Pops

You could say that, as a member of both the League of Assassins and H.I.V.E., Thea's father is evil. (You would not be wrong.) You could also say that he's just plain nuts. (Again, not wrong.) What you couldn't say, however, is that he doesn't love his offspring to death. Sometimes literally — er, right, Tommy?

Kenny's coming-out sent his mom into a tailspin. His dad, on the other hand, has been so admirably supportive that he took the teen to his first gay coffee shop and enrolled with him in a gay dodgeball league. In other words, Pat's here, he's dear, get used to it!

While we can't vouch for his track record as a brother, son or lover — he's kind of a royal screw-up in those departments — we can't think of another vampire-werewolf hybrid we'd rather call dad. There's no evil witch he wouldn't decapitate, no coven he wouldn't cut to pieces, to keep his little girl safe from harm. And those bedtime stories are to die for.

Though the telenovela leading man can be a little — OK, make that a lot — self-involved, there is at least one thing that he loves more than his own reflection and facials: his daughter, Jane. So, in spite of his narcissism, it came as no surprise, really, that he moved heaven and earth to give his little girl her dream wedding.

As often as this ad exec has complained that his four kids have it easy, he's gotten schooled himself more frequently than he's managed to teach them a lesson. Still, an openness to learning is a pretty reliable indicator of a great dad, wouldn't you agree?

When not throwing himself in harm's way to save the world via his super-secret intelligence gig, this father of three is the McCord family go-to for solving problems big (Stevie's rushed nuptials) and small (except, maybe, for that broken washing machine).

Jon's BFF may not be the first person you picture when conjuring up images of valiant father figures. But, even though he's not Little Sam's biological dad, he has looked out for Gilly's boy with a devotion that we suspect you'll agree makes him tops among pops.

There's perhaps no father on this list who hates to make a fuss about his feelings more than Frankie's better half. So it's not in his words but his actions — like letting daughter Sue summer at Dollywood or allowing Axl to decide his football future — that he proves he's as caring as they come. Just don't let him — or any dad, for that matter! — text.

Whatever it takes to protect Carl and Judith from the dangers of the post-apocalyptic world — from whacking walkers to biting out the throat of a would-be rapist to hacking off his own girlfriend's hand (R.I.P., Jessie) — Lori's widower is not only willing but scarily able to do.

If he was any better a dad, the award wouldn't be called Father of the Year, it would be called Joe of the Year. Heck, he's not only a "pop" star to daughter Iris and surrogate son Barry, he even made room in his spacious heart this season for yet another youngster, Wally.