With Father’s Day on my mind, I noticed the newly released Harris Interactive Poll ranking the top TV Dads in the news. Certainly these icons have had an impact on the lives of many TV viewers; most of them are deeply ingrained in the pop culture of not only our country, but in a few cases the world.

Here’s this year’s Top Ten List Countdown:

10. Ben Cartwright, Bonanza

9.   Tim Taylor, Home Improvement

8.   Charles Ingalls, Little House on the Prairie

7.   Ozzie Nelson, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet

6.   Mike Brady, The Brady Bunch

5.   Andy Taylor, The Andy Griffith Show

4.  Howard Cunningham, Happy Days

3.  Jim Anderson, Father Knows Best

2.  Ward Cleaver, Leave It to Beaver

1.  Cliff Huxtable, The Cosby Show

As I looked at the list I was struck by the fact that not one of the TV Dads is in a current show—in fact, the most recent Dad, Tim Allen’s Tim Taylor, left first-run TV in 1999, over 10 years ago. You can still find several of these Dads in syndicated reruns or on TV Land. Four of them have not been in first-run since the 60s, two since the 70s, two since the 80s and two since the 90s.

So what’s going on? Is it that there are no memorable TV Dads currently gracing our not-so-small screens? Or is it that TV in general isn’t that great? There are plenty of Dads on TV right now and plenty more who have been there between 1960, when Jim Anderson first came through the door to be greeted by Betty, Bud and Kitten (Kathy). So why these Dads and why have they stayed on the list year after year?

The Harris Poll results are from 2,184 adults over the age of 18, which explains the spread of decades for the winners, but two from the 50s/60s in the top three says something. Since I am very familiar with all of them, this poll tells me I either watch too much TV or we played too much Trivial Pursuit. So I decided to check the awareness of the answers in a non-projectable, unreliable, quick survey of my own, I asked family. The <18 knew three, age 18–27 knew four and age 40–45 knew nine. Not too bad; guess I know who watches TV Land.

As I look at all the Dads and their shows, one thing runs through them all—there was a story, there was respect, often a laugh, but always love. Yes sometimes Dad was the center of a joke, but it was never mean spirited. My husband constantly asks me why today’s TV guys are always portrayed as stupid buffoons and ridiculed by all the other characters on the show. And I think he’s right to a certain extent. TV today is meaner than ever; critics call it edgy. People are sarcastic and often downright unlikeable. Maybe that’s why the ratings are down.

So who do you think is missing from this list? How many do you remember? Which current TV Dad is your role model or someone you’d like for a Dad or even someone you’d like to hang out with on a Sunday? Leave a comment; I’m curious.

And don’t forget to call your Dad if you are lucky enough to still have him with you, and your Grandpa and Coach and Uncles or whoever is that important Dad figure in your life. They’ll appreciate it; it just might bring someone a smile, maybe even you.