On January 28, 1990, something happened that barely raised an eyebrow then, but now serves as a sign of the changing times.

Homer strangled Bart.

Homer is one of TV's most iconic dads. ( Supplied )

It went on to become one of the most consistent jokes in the Simpsons catalogue, starting from that moment in season one and making more than 100 recorded appearances over the years.

The setup for that first gag was the Simpsons arriving at a family picnic for Homer's work and his boss, Mr Burns, telling them to make themselves at home.

"Hear that, dad? You can lay around in your underwear and scratch yourself," Bart quips.

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With those words we were introduced — unheralded, but inevitably — into the modern era of the foolish, useless and/or absent cartoon dad.

It's a trope that's taken nearly 30 years to shake.

How did we get here?

The useless cartoon dad archetype can be a mix of lazy, gluttonous, erratic and prone to accident or fault.

They can be loved by their kids but rarely respected, with the serious mums in the series often used as way to highlight the "goofiness" of the dad.

And once you notice it, you can't help but see it.

Lois and Peter Griffin from Family Guy. ( Supplied )

The trope has its roots in the old family dynamics of the 1950s and '60s, says TV critic Cameron Williams.

"In the decades where the dad very much was the provider and the mum stayed at home," he said.

"The dads are supposed to fit into that provider archetype.

"You're expected to fix things … defend the home, be the breadwinner."

But when it came to the domestic duties, dads were portrayed as out of their depth, Williams said.

"And I think on television in particular that's where you can kind of mine that for comedy, and so you end up with the useless dad."

And there are plenty of examples.

Family Guy's Peter Griffin is the fat, beer-swilling idiot who is usually doing something stupid or dangerous.

At the very least, he's the one to laugh at while being told off by an angry wife.

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American Dad's Stan Smith is much of the same — which is perhaps unsurprising as they come from the same creator.

In the pre-school crowd, Peppa Pig's Daddy Pig has long irked some people for being forgetful, lazy or generally pretty useless.

The particular catchphrase "silly daddy" has driven some parents mad.

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Of course, Homer didn't start the trend, even if he is the most stunning modern example.

From Fred Flintstone to George Jetson and Disney's daggy dad dog literally named Goofy, this is a longstanding trope.

Goofy regularly embarrasses his son, Max. ( Supplied: Disney )

In the sitcom TV world there are many more examples, to various extents:

Al Bundy from Married With Children;

Al Bundy from Married With Children; Ray Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond;

Ray Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond; Phil Dunphy in Modern Family;

Phil Dunphy in Modern Family; Tim Taylor in Home Improvement

Tim Taylor in Home Improvement Hal from Malcolm In The Middle

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Are times a-changing?

While the trope may appear little more than tiresome or unoriginal, you can argue that what we see on TV matters.

Associate Professor Julie Green is the executive director of the Raising Children Network and said characters that appear in shows aimed at younger children are particularly important.

"The TV role models that children see, they do shape their attitudes and behaviour," she said.

"For the younger age, say the preschool-age children, just for where they are in their stage of development they tend to take what they see on a screen at face value rather than questioning a role model or behaviour.

"So young children won't question the stereotypes or exaggerations on television."

If it is something that bothers you, then take heart when Mr Williams says times appeared to be changing.

As TV shows go through endless reboots and remakes, the way dad characters are crafted has also shifted.

Whether it's through design or simply a desire to be original, the modern take is usually more eccentric than useless.

Randy Marsh on South Park. ( Supplied )

"I think someone like Randy Marsh on South Park is a really great representation of kind of how absurd a TV dad can be," Williams said.

"In terms of being useless and also trying to be proactive and kind of being present, and sometimes he's a helicopter parent.

"I think Randy Marsh is one of the great TV dads in the way that the show leans really hard into the way that dads are depicted on every other TV show."

He is not alone.

The version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 90s kids would be familiar with had a very stern father-figure in Master Splinter — the rat who raised the boys.

In today's re-imaging he's eccentric to the point of erratic.

We see similar instances of this new father and/or father figure in shows like Rick and Morty.

Rick from Rick and Morty. ( Supplied )

"Animated kids properties now are very meta and kind of satirical and more self-referential than ever before," Williams said.

"So when you insert those parental characters, they are always kind of deconstructing those archetypes within animated shows."

For Williams, Bluey is a perfect example of a show that is breaking the mould.

Is the dad in Bluey a game-changer? ( Supplied )

The Aussie kids' show about a family of dogs has become a hit for what many see as an authentic take on domestic life.

"Bluey's dad is doing way more, he's more active in the home than dads have ever been before in TV shows," Williams said.

He does the washing, plays with the kids, takes them on excursions and works from home.

"It's reflecting the way the world has become and so it makes it real."

Still, Williams said the show was not without its faults, and it risked falling into a trap that has caught out many shows in the past.

"I do think there's still room for improvement in the depiction of mums," he said.

"In Bluey, mum does get thrown under the bus a bit.

"Dad is the fun dad, whereas mum is the one enforcing discipline."