Father Figures Suitable for Every Occasion

Dads, are you finding it hard to live up to the impossibly high standards set by the ‘50s’ Jim Anderson, Ward Cleaver and Ozzie Nelson? Within the next week, you can look for a new role model on TV episodes that focus on some different retro dads--from Darrin Stephens to Lionel Jefferson to Frank De Fazio. Some of them have parenting skills shaky enough to make you feel as if you could be Father of the Year.

The flip side of the ‘50s’ wise, patient man in the easy chair has to be Ricky Ricardo. As the man of the house on “I Love Lucy,” he leaves most of the child-rearing to Lucy (boy, is that scary). So it’s a very big deal when, after being nagged, he decides to spend a vacation week just hanging out with Little Ricky (Friday at 9 a.m. on KTTV Channel 11).

At one point, he lets the baby crawl away from the apartment, which disqualifies him as stay-at-home-dad material. But he can sure tell a great story: This is the episode with his classic, bilingual “Little Red Riding Hood.”

A couple of years later, Ricky hadn’t made a lot of progress: He and Lucy fight over choosing a career for their 5-year-old (Sunday at 10 p.m. on Nickelodeon, part of a salute to dads that runs from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.). But they generously decide that the boy will get to choose it himself. (Retrofact: Little Ricky as a baby was played by twins Joseph and Michael Mayer; when he was a little older he was portrayed by Keith Thibodeaux, who later was cast as Opie’s pal Johnny Paul Jason on “The Andy Griffith Show.”)

Darrin Stephens, as a ‘60s father-to-be, is a little more enlightened, but that’s only after his witchy mother-in-law casts a spell that gives him pregnancy symptoms, on “Bewitched” (Sunday at 10:30 p.m. on Nickelodeon). The premise was way before its time. Nearly 30 years later, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in the movie “Junior” would also learn a politically correct lesson about what pregnant women go through.

“The Brady Bunch’s” Mike Brady, a dad from the next decade, isn’t funny, as his ‘60s counterpart is. He might be as much of a super-dad as the guys from the ‘50s, but he’s way duller. When he punishes stepdaughter Marcia for various infractions (Sunday at 9 p.m. on Nickelodeon), he tells her, “Those chores were part of your punishment. Unless you can explain why you ignored them, I’m afraid I’m going to have to be more severe.” Of course, good-girl Marcia has broken the rules only in order to nominate Mike in a Father of the Year contest. The episode ends with the typically mechanical Brady Bunch smiles, hugs and kisses.

If Mike Brady lived in a parallel universe, his name would be Burt Campbell--and he would live on the planet “Soap.” The twitchy and tetched Burt doesn’t have the devotion of his birth children, let alone his stepchildren. Unfortunately, about the same time stepson Danny discovered he no longer hated Burt, he was ordered by a mob boss to kill him. Danny failed in his attempts, but now the Godfather warns him he has just one more shot at it (Saturday at 7:30 a.m. on Comedy Central).

Wayne Arnold is an ‘80s/’90s dad--by way of the ‘60s. “The Wonder Years,” of course, is about the ‘60s, but when Wayne and 12-year-old son Kevin bond during a trip to see what Dad does at work (Monday at 12:30 a.m. on Nickelodeon), it feels yuppily ‘90s. (By the way, Mr. Arnold is a manager of distribution and product support services for a company called Norcom).

More episodes with TV dads, some who disappoint, others who are disappointed:

* “MASH’s” Trapper John McIntyre, who has daughters, wants to adopt a son--a Korean orphan the MASH unit gets attached to (Monday at 7 p.m. on FX). Though the episode is from the series’ early--meaning funny--years, it has a bittersweet ending.

* Pride and misunderstandings come between the rugged Isaiah Edwards and his poetry-loving adopted son John, on “Little House on the Prairie” (today at noon on KTLA Channel 5). Don’t be surprised if your eyes tear up during this one.

* Dylan’s new father-in-law figures a hit man will be enough to win his daughter back, on “Beverly Hills, 90210” (Friday at 11 a.m. on FX). But he winds up going to a funeral he hadn’t planned on.

* Lionel feels trapped by wife Jenny’s pregnancy on “The Jeffersons” (Sunday at 11 p.m. on Nickelodeon).

* Frank De Fazio arranges a marriage between Laverne and Nick Martino, son of the Mozzarella King, on “Laverne & Shirley” (Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on Nickelodeon).

Stations provide airing times and episode schedules, which are subject to change.