Noah Wyle as Tom Mason in "Falling Skies."
Of all the TV dads at the moment, the best one in my opinion has to be Tom Mason of TNT’s “Falling Skies.”
Honorable and self-sacrificing, Tom (played by Noah Wyle) is easy to root for, as he tries to keep his three sons together and safe in a world under alien attack.
As a father, he’s also easy to identify with, and I do — on more than one level.
But there's one big difference: Instead of invaders from space, the aliens that my wife and I, as parents, are trying to protect our girls from are much more this-wordly.
They come in many guises, most famously of late, in a flesh-colored PVC bikini armed with a set of foam-fingers.
And in this case, they don’t shoot so much as shock.
Beginning when my girls were younger and continuing today, I have always felt a twinge of unease when they start liking some young star-on-the-rise — actor, singer, the latest Disney Channel starlet.
Even though I subtly try to steer them toward better role models, they are drawn to the glitz and glamour.
And that’s a worry, because both you and I know where this is likely going to end up.
If fame is a fickle mistress, it’s also an abusive boyfriend. Too many youths who find it at a tender age end up, down the road, its battered victim, spiraling downward into self-debasement and self-destruction.
We’ve seen it time and again with child stars. And in this age, where there’s always a camera around, the crash-and-burn often plays out in real time for everyone to see, every sad scene of it.
Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t. And sometimes it ends badly.
The point of all this is, as a parent, while I don’t want my kids idolizing any fallible human being, really, I especially don’t want them following somebody whose example is ultimately going to confuse them about what is true and good, about what growing up and becoming an adult should be like.
My man Tom Mason has it easy in a way.
In his new post-apocalyptic world, there are no more pop culture icons; along with just about every other vestige of the civilization he knew, they’re gone, vanished, history.
Still, I’m pretty sure what good ol’ Tom would do, if he did ever have to deal with them as a parent.
A former history teacher who loved his subject, Mason is always quick to share lessons from the history books. As such, it's easy to imagine him turning his kids on to the great men and women of ages past, the Lincolns and Earharts.
Role models who have stood the test of time.
Of course, if the cultural invaders got too overwhelming, Tom would still have his handy assault rifle.
As any dad will tell you, believe me, sometimes you feel like you need one.
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