My TV Dad: A Very Special Episode, Starring Indira Samuels

In this episode, Erin talks to Cleveland writer Indira Samuels about her Jamaican immigrant dad, Lionel, and their unique bond, cemented by watching television together up until the day Lionel died in 2014. Like so many dads we talk about on this show, Lionel was a man of few words himself, especially when it came to the big stuff like his daughter's teenage pregnancy, her acceptance to a prestigious university, her robbery and assault, or his illness. But what he could share with his youngest daughter before his death in 2014, was a love of storytelling through the syndicated sitcoms and game shows of the 80s. A favorite of them both: The Golden Girls (Lionel saw himself as a Sofia, but Indira thinks her dad was very much a Blanche) and Jeopardy, the show that taught her the most about her father by his trivia answers. We also talk about testing the taste of men through tv, the messiness of Bob Eubanks, Jerry Springer's on-brand game show called Baggage, and processing grief through mourning Alex Trebek.

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