Geeky Dads in Pop Culture

As a father figure to Harry Potter, Dumbledore provided the right blend of guidance and trust for the boy wizard to create fun memories at Hogwarts while protecting him from the dark forces of the wizarding world.

D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle's dad was unapologetically geeky. From his die-hard cleaning obsession to his knack for trying on awkward clothes from yesteryear, Danny let his geek flag fly again and again.

Sure, Darth Vader is the Dark Lord of the Sith, but given that he's one of our favorite sci-fi characters ever, he had to be included on this list. He did have a heart at one point, remember?

Bob Parr is a superhero and a super dad, too. Though his many faults may come into focus while he navigates a midlife crisis, he's got the heart of a hero inside and won't let his family down, no matter what the cost.

The misunderstood mad scientist has never been more adorably lovable than Wayne Szalinski in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. The most important lesson from this dad: Always check your cereal for microscopic children before consuming.

A professor of medieval literature, Professor Henry Jones, Sr. was the estranged father of Indy — captured by the Nazis during his quest for the Grail. He wasn't the most attentive father to Indy, but his curious spirit and desire to travel the world in search of lost ancient treasure certainly rubbed off! This is one dashing father-son duo.

Professor X not only taught his mutant family acceptance, love, determination, and passion to do right, but he also taught them the skills they needed to survive. That's the perfect description of a father if I've ever seen one!

One of our favorite TV dads of all time, William Adama, led the last remaining survivors of human kind to salvation in an epic journey across space. Though he had to "roll the hard six" when faced with challenges like war, famine, and terrorism, he stayed fair, just, and above all, kept hope alive for the people of the fleet. So say we all.

As Monica's nerdy older brother, Ross definitely embraced his geek status within the group. With a Ph.D. from Columbia, he was a paleontologist who repeatedly rambled about his dinosaur obsession. The geek thing seemed to work for him, though — in the end, he got the girl.

When Marty traveled back in time to his parents' high school days, George was an all-around nerd. He was also a diehard sci-fi fanatic, both writing stories and watching films.

The Doctor met his daughter for just one episode, but the encounter definitely left its mark. In his Tenth Doctor form, the Time Lord showed rare emotion for the adventures he missed out on with his child. We can only imagine the epic father-daughter hijinks that could've been: "But, da-ad, I want to fight the daleks this time."

Photo courtesy of The BBC

Ned (Full name: "Nedward") Flanders had two kids — Rod and Rodd — was full of dorktastic phrases ("Hi-dilly-ho, neighborinos!"), and he owned The Leftorium, a store in the local mall that specialized in products for left-handed people. Adorable super geek, right?