Maybe it’s just me, with my upbringing under the tutelage and instruction of balding, old-school, Midwestern sour-face adult male figures, but I’ve always found an almost tangible sense of awe and terror at the face of an incensed Red Forman. One of the many parts of ‘That ’70s Show’ that rang true was that iron-fisted ultimate authority figure of Red, doling out punishment, derisive life-lessons and the threat of a foot in your @$$ for your foolishness. Moreso than the commanding voice of Grand Moff Tarkin, more than the quiet poetic truths of Robin Williams in ‘The Dead Poets Society’, even more than the soothing tones of Captain Picard, the ultimate school principal in red spandex, which leads us to today’s patriarchal query…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) isn’t saying that my mother had a type, but at least one of my step-fathers was fundamentally Red with a trucker hat and a buzzcut, asking: What fictional overlord, parental figure or big boss is your ultimate authority figure?
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Well, Harry would hate me for saying this, but crime boss “Gentleman” John Marcone from the Dresden Files. Nothing fazes that man, and no matter how in over his head he gets, he stays in control of the situation through sheer force of will.
I’m pretty bad with authority figures, but would follow Captain Picard to where no man has gone before.