Alan Thicke Died as He Lived: The Quintessential Canadian Dad

The late 70s and 80s were truly the golden years of the TV father. From Archie Bunker and Steve Keaton to Bill Cosby and Danny Tanner, the dad heyday was marked by a sea of salt and pepper lids and nubby sweater vests. But none were so thoroughly modern and impactful for me, than Alan Thicke's Jason Seaver. When his wife Maggie goes back to work as a reporter after having their fourth (!) child, Jason decides to work from home to help raise the kids. Ok Growing Pains, you had me at hello. Even though I'm sure when they initially pitched the show it must have seemed like a real wacky concept that dad stays home, Growing Pains managed to play it relatively straight. Maggie was a cool, hard-working journalist and Jason was a fairly collected, though sometimes frighteningly serious dad.