My favorite TV dad has been ‘dead’ for three seasons. ‘Dead’ in quotes because: a) The actor that portrayed him his very much alive, and b) It’s a show based on a comic book, and who stays dead in a comic book?

I am, of course, talking about John Schneider’s portrayal of Jonathan Kent on Smallville.

While some aspects of Smallville seem hokey to me, (such as the fact that we’re nine seasons in, Clark’s a reporter at the Daily Planet and flirting with costume ideas, shouldn’t the show be over by now? At least change the name to Superman and be done with it…) Jonathan Kent struck a chord in me.

Imagine what life must have been like for Jonathan and Martha Kent. You find a baby in the burning wreckage of an unidentified spacecraft. You take the boy in, knowing that one day you will have to tell him of his amazing arrival into this world. Sooner than you’re probably ready for, the boy starts exhibiting amazing powers. Powers beyond those of mortal men. You feel the boy slipping from you. All you can hope is that you’ve instilled in him the values that will make him more than just a productive member of society, but someone who will make the world a better place.

Jonathan Kent on Smallville is obviously out of his depth. What does a Kansas farmer know about raising a super being? Although the challenge terrifies him, he meets that challenge head-on with grace and the patience of a saint. Anyone else would have probably given up when Clark was taken over by Red Kryptonite or Jor-El threatened his life, but Jonathan had the unconditional love that a father has for his son. He loved that Kryptonian as if Kal-El were his own.

Before this gets too goofy (too late), let me just say that there’s something about fiction, and science fiction in particular, that can cut to the heart of a subject matter and tell it like it truly is. Orson Scott Card often says that science fiction is the one fiction genre that can be about something. Rod Serling created The Twilight Zone to explore controversial topics without sending censors through the roof. Smallville, for all it’s action and adventure and pretentious super model poses at commercial breaks, still fits within the science fiction mode of showing us something about ourselves.

Jonathan Kent, while exaggerated, points out some of the treachery of being a parent. ‘How would I deal with that?’ you find yourself asking. And while your child will probably not fly or burn holes in the school when he’s hot for teacher, you will have to deal with raging teenage hormones. All you can do is try to be that anchor.  Guide your child to the best of your abilities, and pray that he/she gets it.

'The look'

As for John Schneider’s portrayal? All I can say is, when Clark screwed up and John gave him ‘the look’, I felt like I was getting the lecture. But there were also several times that the love for his son almost seemed too much to bear, and that spilled off of the screen and into my heart as well.

So here’s to Jonathan Kent, may he rest in peace. Until he somehow miraculously returns at the Fortress of Solitude from an alternate dimension, as a clone, or an evil doppleganger.