Posted on 25. Oct, 2005 by Brian Reid in General

Quick Desperate Housewives Overanalysis, Goodbye Edition: I am retiring my weekly scan of the most famous SAHD on TV — D.H.’s Tom Scavo — out of a lack of material. The show’s creators have utterly ignored him, and as long as that remains the case, I won’t waste any bandwidth on him. I have been inclined to see the lack of the bumbling dad stereotype as cause for celebration, but Boston-based blogger Meredith O’Brien has a different, and worthwhile, perspective:

Never mind that little Parker has a stay-at-home parent in the form of a father to be with him every day. To play ball with him. To share stories. To read. To wrestle. Instead, viewers only see Lynette crying because of what she’s “done” to her child by going back to work. Yeah, I get that the show is called “Desperate Housewives,” NOT “Househusbands,” but, still, why is it that all Lynette gets is guilt while her husband just gets invisible?

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  1. chip

    25. Oct, 2005

    Hey Brian, thanks for watching DH so we don’t have to… :)

  2. Jon

    25. Oct, 2005

    I have not read the article yet, but, my college aged son says it is a positive addition to the stay at home / househusband material. It is from Details magazine. I have to get the magazine so I can read it, but, here is another positive recognition for us.

  3. Jeff

    25. Oct, 2005

    Hey R.D.

    If you’re out there…..
    Are you having trouble opening the wiki???
    For some reason, I can’t connect to the server.

    Just curious.

    BTW…. I’ve given up on the whole Tom/D.H. thingy. The only good thing to come from it so far is that they haven’t made it completely negative.

  4. Rebel Dad

    25. Oct, 2005

    Wiki was down for some strange reason. Back now … I have some adds/edits to make this week …

  5. Phil

    25. Oct, 2005

    Watching a football game on Sunday, I caught a glimpse of a TV ad about fathers being good parents. Anyone out there seen it? It featured ex-pros like John Elway congratulating a dad for cooking, cleaning, and spending time with his kids.

  6. Jason

    26. Oct, 2005

    I may have missed it, but have you commented on (or seen) Television’s most recent stay at home dad: The First Gentleman on Commander and Chief?

    I think the show is formulaic and simplistic, but I’m vaguely interested in what they do with this First Gentleman character after they get past the initial obvious stuff they are doing with him being given the tour of the kitchens and dealing with going from his wife’s chief of staff (when she was VP) to “just” her husband when she takes over being President.

    Despite the limitations of the show, I find some of the issues potentially interesting - like his teenage son being embarrased by him and getting teased at school because of his “wimpy dad”.

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