History Main / AwkwardFatherSonBondingActivity

* The plot of ''VideoGame/AnotherCode R'' is kicked off by Richard inviting Ashley to a weekend camping trip to try and salvage their relationship and discuss their mother. It flounders to Richard not being prepared and his job getting in the way as well as Ashley still being resentful towards him, but by the end of the game, the two have patched things up somewhat after a parent-child RelationshipSalvagingDisaster.

* Team sports

The problem is, Son is right now in an age where he isn't exactly very keen on doing uncool activities with uncool adults (or worse, being seen doing so). And [[BumblingDad Dad is of course the uncoolest adult there is]]! Since Son does not ''really'' have a say in the matter, he accompanies Dad of course. But don't expect him to just enjoy the day! He will instead react in one of these two ways:

* [[PlayingCatchWithTheOldMan Playing baseball in the garden]]. May often not include the Son-Doesn't-Like-It bit. For some reason, American media tend to depict this as iconic stock image of Dad and Son genuinely having a splendid time together. Might have something to do with [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff baseball being more popular in the US than in many other parts of the world]]. Plus, if it's in the backyard, the son won't fear being seen with his old man. For that matter, Dad and Son throwing a(n American) football to and fro might convey the same associations.

* Hunting. Here, Dad tries to [[ARealManIsAKiller make a MAN out of Son]], often with the ulterior motive to cure him of (either imagined or really existing) homosexuality. [[FridgeLogic Which doesn't make much sense, if you think a bit about it]]: there is no logical reason why being gay and being a passionate sports hunter should be mutually exclusive. Will inevitably end in [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted the hunters becoming the hunted]], [[MachoDisasterExpedition showing that Dad himself isn't as MANLY as he likes to consider himself]].

* Other "nature" activities, like hiking or [[HorribleCampingTrip camping]]. Can of course overlap with fishing and hunting.

** Other "nature" activities, like hiking or [[HorribleCampingTrip camping]]. Can of course overlap with fishing and hunting.
** Team sports
** Anything else you might need at least two persons for.

* A more serious example in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', as this is basically the entirety of the game. It all starts with Kratos's wife Faye already dead; her last wish is for her ashes to be spread on the highest peak in all of the realms. His young son Atreus is alongside him for the whole journey, but there is little comedy here. The death of Faye leaves Kratos adrift in a position he admits he's just not yet ready to return to: having to be a father figure again. Despite the fact that his hugely traumatic past life is centuries behind him at this point, Kratos is still so terrified of messing up with Atreus (as he has with so many other things) that he really doesn't know what to do or how to act, now that he and his son are forced to deal with each other. It certainly doesn't help that Kratos kept himself distant from Atreus throughout most of the boy's childhood, again likely because of his own insecurities towards being a father again. As a result, both of them have opposing personalities, mindsets, and opinons. Faye had always been the mediator between father and son, and now without her, Kratos is left grasping at straws.

-->-- '''Hank''', ''Series/{{Community}}'', "Advanced Advanced Dungeons & Dragons"

Maybe he wants to make up for being away from home so often. Maybe he wants to understand what is in this kid's mind. Or maybe he just wants to [[HeteronormativeCrusader prevent him from turning gay.]] Whichever reason he may have, one day Dad decides that he and Son should go out of the house and ''do'' something together! It will be fun, Dad says. And they will get to know each other better, won't that be great, [[TotallyRadical old chap]]?

The problem is, Son is right now in an age where he isn't exactly very keen on doing uncool activities with uncool adults (or worse, being seen doing so). [[BumblingDad And Dad is of course the uncoolest adult there is!]] Since Son does not ''really'' have a say in the matter, he accompanies Dad of course. But don't expect him to just enjoy the day! He will instead react in one of these two ways:

* Hunting. Here, Dad tries to [[ARealManIsAKiller make a MAN out of Son]], often with the ulterior motive to cure him of (either imagined or really existing) homosexuality. [[FridgeLogic Which doesn't make much sense, if you think a bit about it]]: There is no logical reason why being gay and being a passionate sports hunter should be mutually exclusive. Will inevitably end in [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted the hunters becoming the hunted]], [[MachoDisasterExpedition showing that Dad himself isn't as MANLY as he likes to consider himself]].

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': When Calvin signs up to play baseball at recess, his dad decides to teach him how to play. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption This goes about as well as you'd expect.]]

* A major part of ''Film/FieldOfDreams'' is Ray's rough relationship with his dad, who loved baseball. [[spoiler: At the end of the movie, his father's ghost comes to the baseball field to play with him]].

* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', everyone is shocked that Sheldon is an expert on football, due to his father's insistence on teaching him against his will.

* In the Pilot of ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' Jim tries to get the other members of the family interested in family bonding, including throwing the football around. Nobody cares to do so. The trip that they take where they have a plane crash and get their powers was another family bonding attempt.

* At the end of an episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', we see Barney's dad taking Barney and his half-brother to a fishing-trip. Barney quickly proclaims that this is boring. However, it can be seen as an improvement of their father-son relationship that Barney has agreed to go with them in the first place. Before that, he either forced his father to join him during his own usual activities (which are partying and hitting on chicks), or completely ignored him. Also, it has to be pointed out that, contrary to most other examples here, Barney is already an adult. His father went away early in his childhood, and therefore they have a lot to make up for.
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Hal guilt trips Malcolm into fishing during a family boat holiday with Stevie's family when he knows that Reece and Stevie are at a [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleader camp]]. Malcolm later abandons his father on a rock in the middle of the lake to join his brother
* One episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' starts with a father taking his son fishing. The son does not enjoy it--until his dad fishes up a dead body. Suddenly it's the most badass fishing trip ever.

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', Ward remembers a hunting trip on which his dad got so drunk that he [[spoiler: told Ward that he had murdered his own father to inherit the castle and title earlier.]] Very awkward. Ward pretended to not have understood his father's drunk talking.

* Subverted in ''Series/AngryBoys'', where [[NoodleIncident apparently,]] Daniel's mum's partner offered him to go hunting with him, but Daniel declined because "We don't fuckin' go hunting, mate."
* In ''{{Series/Dinosaurs}}'', Earl goes hunting with his son Robbie, in order to lure him away from herbivorism and to turn him back into a carnivore. While [[HaveYouTriedNotBeingAMonster herbivorism is obviously a stand in for homosexuality]] here, in this specific context it would actually make sense for this kind of "therapy" to work. [[spoiler: In Robbie's case, though, it doesn't. Instead, [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted he and Earl get eaten]] by an [[AlwaysABiggerFish even larger predator]]. They get better.]]
* In one episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', Worf takes a Klingon teenager, who lives in a remotely located colony (technically a Romulan prison, but not really prison-like, due to negligence by the Romulans) to a hunt, because Worf can't accept that he, and the other teenagers born there, know next to nothing about the Klingon [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Culture]]. [[spoiler: In contrast to the other examples, this actually works! The teenager even infects all the other Klingons with his post-hunt excitement. Cue a dozen Klingons breaking into a wild drinking song, and their Romulan comrades (their "guards") just sitting there and making uneasy facial expressions.]]

* In ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'', you can join Jake Fletcher and his father to watch a [[LawProcedural law]] movie at the cinema as part of his father's effort to [[spoiler:steer him away from his gangster life]]. Jake is less than appreciative at first, but he'll thank you at the end of his route for [[spoiler:helping him realize that he's being reckless with "fighting crime" by being a gangster.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Orel and his dad go hunting. "Awkward" would be a bit of an understatement. [[spoiler: His dad ends up shooting Orel accidentally and then denies any responsibility or guilt for it cause he was drunk at the time. As a result, Orel realizes that he actually hates his dad.]]

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}:'' A episode late in the series has Frasier take his dad and son on a camping trip, much to ''both'' their irritation. Accordingly, everyone's miserable, until Freddie finds a cute girl on the camping site.

* The plot of ''VideoGame/AnotherCode R'' is kicked off by Richard inviting Ashley to a weekend camping trip to try and salvage their relationship and discuss their mother. It flounders to Richard not being prepared and his job getting in the way as well as Ashley still being resentful towards him, but by the end of the game, the two have patched things up somewhat after a parent-child RelationshipSalvagingDisaster.

--> The campground is divided up into five campsites, each distant enough from the next that, should you and your son have a real breakthrough together, no one else will hear you cry. You are allowed to collect your own wood and tinder, giving you the chance to show your son how to build a fire, just as every father has done throughout the history of civilization. [[BumblingDad And when you fail,]] [[MachoDisasterExpedition there are also Duraflame logs and newspaper available at the ranger station.]]

* In documentary ''Film/HoopDreams'', Bo Agee leaves the family for a while due to a severe cocaine problem. He eventually makes it back into his son Arthur's life, and they play a one-on-one basketball game in the park. It gets edgy and ill-tempered.

* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Sports a Poppin'" has Dexter's father try to teach Dexter a sport--any sport. Dexter winds up either misinterpreting the rules or fails miserably at it, and his father is forced to give up and retreat to the TV, thus missing Dexter using all the sports gears in an attempt to contain the monster that escaped the lab.
** In another episode, Dad is trying to watch a golf game on tv. Dexter takes this as an opportunity to bond with him and learn about sports. Dad is initially ok with this, but Dexter's lack of knowledge about golf, and his excessive curiosity causes him to talk constantly and asks questions, and get terminologies incorrect, resulting with Dad missing every play when trying to explain things to him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' one of the teams is a BumblingDad named Dwayne and his [[WackyParentSeriousChild far savvier]] thirteen-year-old son Junior. Dwayne mentions that he spends most of his time at the office and is happy for this bonding time, even though Junior [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents doesn't seem to share the feeling]].

* An ad for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line is narrated by a mom, talking about her daughter not smiling. It seems to be [[BannedInChina Banned From Youtube]], but [[http://www.splendad.com/ads/show/1054-Royal-Caribbean-Smiling here's]] a description.

* Happens many, MANY times in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot''. An example:
-->'''Peter:''' Well, I guess things could be worse.\\

'''Peter:''' At least Dad hasn't suggest we sit around the campfire naked and beat drums in some stupid "Iron John" male-bonding ceremony.
-->-BeatPanel-\\

-Cut to Roger peeking out of a tent holding a drum.-\\

-->'''Jason:''' Ever worry that our bloodline contains a bunch of idiots?

* Variation: the awkward father-''daughter'' bonding between Veronica and her father in ''Series/BetterOffTed''. For years the two of them have interacted mostly through corporate espionage and trying to one-up each other, but when Veronica's father develops terminal cancer they make some awkward attempts at spending time together. They quickly decide that they preferred the corporate espionage.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}''

* Another gender-inverted example in ''Series/TheGoldenGirls,'' which is also unique in the sense that it's the ''daughter'' who wants to bond. Dorothy isn't sure how much time she has left with her elderly mother Sophia, takes her to Disney World. Sophia wants to go on the rides, but Dorothy, desperate to bond, forces her to stay in the hotel room and go through photos and letters and slides and diaries. This results in a massive blowup and then a reconciliation.
* On ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' Jerome refers to the search for the gem as a 'bonding thing' with his father.
* Halfway GenderFlipped in one ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode, where Barnaby's daughter Cully is in town and wants to spend time with her dad. Unfortunately, there's a murder case that causes him to go back to work at the least convenient times (which happens in every episode, but his wife is used to it by now).
* Invoked in one sketch on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 2018 - Creator/AdamDriver is a man hoping to bond with his son after his ex-wife got custody of him, and the medium chosen is none other than ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}.'' He gets the whole squad killed.

* In one ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' episode (from the album A Date with Dad and Other Calamities), Ed Washington takes his daughter Tamika on a day of Awkward Father-Daughter Activities when he feels like he's losing touch with the teenager she's becoming. Said activities are based on her interests as a much younger child and merely wind up embarrassing her. The episode ends with Ed learning that he needs to relate to his daughter as the person she is, not the one he remembers, while Tamika realizes that her father is genuinely trying to have fun with her and that she should make an effort to appreciate that he wants to be involved in her life. They find a mutually agreeable activity and ultimately wind up averting this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', [[ProfessionalKiller Connor]] and [[ArchnemesisDad Haytham]]'s [[BadassFamily hijinks]] from the encounter at the church until the confrontation with Washington qualify.
** Would also apply to Desmond and and his father William, seeing how they haven't talked to each other in years.
* A more serious example in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', where this is basically the entirety of the game. It all starts with Kratos's wife Faye already dead, her last wish is for her ashes to be spread on the highest peak in all of the realms. His young son Atreus is alongside him for the whole journey, but there is little comedy here. The death of Faye leaves Kratos adrift in a position he admits he's just not yet ready to return to: having to be a father figure again. Despite the fact that his hugely traumatic past life is centuries behind him at this point, Kratos is still so terrified of messing up with Atreus (as he has with so many other things) that he really doesn't know what to do or how to act, now that he and his son are forced to deal with each other. It certainly doesn't help that Kratos kept himself distant from Atreus throughout most of the boy's childhood, again likely because of his own insecurities towards being a father again. As a result, both of them have opposing personalities, mindsets, and opinons. Faye had always been the mediator between father and son, and now without her, Kratos is left grasping at straws.

* Following the events of the main story of ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'', Zagreus initially ''thinks'' that he and Hades are going to engage in fishing. [[spoiler:Instead, it's the two fighting to the death, and given that DeathIsCheap, it has no lasting consequences and it basically becomes the two testing each other's strength and skill.]]

* Thane and Kolyat seem to be headed for this in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. If Thane survives the suicide mission it's shown in the third game that they ''did'' manage to to connect, perhaps even better than they [[WhenYouComingHomeDad had before.]]

* Played around with in ''Franchise/{{Noob}}''. In the backstory, a father tried that with his teenage son after the death of his wife. Problem: the father is a WellDoneSonGuy and the son has InferioritySuperiorityComplex, so the father tries to do his best at the activities, which puts an invisible toll on the son's self-esteem. PoorCommunicationKills kicked and the two ended up drifting away even further. The son eventually started playing the {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set, hoping it would be a place where his father wouldn't follow him, but turned out to be very wrong. Long story short, things deteriorated to the point that secretly going ArchnemesisDad online ended being the only way the father could interact with his son. In ''Film/NoobLeConseilDesTroisFactions'', they got themselves to a family therapist who suggested that they try board games and had to be told that the usual activities don't work on them. He ended up prescribing them playing the {{MMORPG}} with brand new avatars.

* Inversion: The ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' episode "The Son Dad Never Had" presented the Ghost With The Most taking on the persona of cousin B.J. (taking on the size and demeanor of a 12-year old) bonding with Lydia's dad Charles while she's busy with a project. Lydia, upon seeing this, starts thinking she's unwanted--until she sees Beetlejuice fleecing Charles for money. Lydia sends BJ. home, much to her dad's relief. And as it turns out, he loves to do things with Lydia, which he describes as "us" things.

* Gender-inverted example from ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold''. Helga and her [[TheAlcoholic mother]] are going to meet up with relatives for Mother's Day weekend, and to do that, a road trip is necessary, and becomes this.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyDadTheRockstar'', Rock is convinced by Willy to try find something they can bond over, leading them to engage in a lot of these kinds activities. Ultimately, they find out they have nothing in common [[spoiler:until the very end of the episode when the pair find some common ground in stargazing.]]

[[folder:Film]]

* Not ''quite'' baseball, but this imagery is clearly invoked when [[spoiler: Buzz plays with Zurg]] after the LukeIAmYourFather moment in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''.
* Ray attempts to bond with his son by tossing a baseball back and forth in the 2004 ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds''. Thanks to divorce induced estrangement and raging teenage contempt, it goes disastrously when barbed comments from his son incite Ray to put a lot of heat on his throws and hurt his son's hand, who then "accidentally" busted a window of Rays house.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'' Pat Sr. tries to make watching the Eagles his bonding activity with his son, who has open contempt for his father's superstitions. [[spoiler: They make it work eventually.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "Legend of the Gobblewonker", Grunkle Stan drags Dipper and Mabel off on a fishing trip in a poorly-built dinghy for Family Bonding Day. Considering how the last Bonding Day got the family arrested for counterfeiting ("The county jail was so cold..." says Mabel), the twins are more than happy to escape for a monster hunt. After Dipper and Mable discover [[spoiler: the lake monster was a fake built by Old Man [=McGucket=], a lonely old man desperate for attention]], they feel guilty about ditching Stan and go back and fish with him.
* Bart going fishing with Flanders (not really Bart's father, but in this specific instance clearly acts as father figure) in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''. But, here this is very much appreciated by the boy. Earlier in the movie Homer did take Bart fishing, just with a bug zapper.
* In [[http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic07_02.html this]] page of a ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries Star Trek TAS]]'' fancomic, George Kirk goes fishing with his son James Tiberius. But Kirk Junior considers it far more interesting to ''analyze'' the fish with his tricorder.

[[folder:Film]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer's Phobia", Homer tries de-gaying Bart by taking him to a deer hunt. (Bart's reaction: "A bunch of guys alone together in the woods? Seems kinda gay.") [[spoiler: After being attacked by reindeer, the hunting party gets rescued by the Camp ''and'' Gay (but not CampGay) man that Homer feared to have "contaminated" Bart in the first place.]]

* Part two of this satirical Cracked article on specialized hiking trails: [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-hiking-guides-that-are-honest-about-why-people-go-hiking_p2/ Miners Gulch Campgrounds: A Guide for Fathers Reconnecting With Their Teenage Sons]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood" sees Homer accompanying Bart's [[ScoutOut scout troop]] on a father-son river rafting trip that [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Bart doesn't want Homer around for]] and that Homer ''really'' doesn't want to be around for, simply because [[AbileneParadox neither wanted to be the bad guy in the situation so each was counting on the other one to do the rejecting when the subject came up]]. They do get some bonding in, but not before Homer has [[EpicFail managed to get himself, Bart, Ned Flanders and his son Rod lost at sea with little hope of rescue]].

[[folder:Film]]

* In the original UK version of ''Life on Mars'' Sam Tyler plays soccer with his Dad- the twist being because he's travelled back in time his Dad doesn't know this!

[[folder:Film]]
* Inverted in ''Film/BoilerRoom''. Seth attempts to have coffee with Marty, but it's ''Marty'' (the father) who quickly gets annoyed and leaves.
* Inverted in ''Film/GettingEvenWithDad'' as it is Timmy (the son), who wants to improve his relationship with his reluctant father by doing fun activities together.

* Played for laughs in ''Film/WorldsGreatestDad'', where the kid suggests to his dad they could build a rocket, only to add that the idea was retarded.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Dad Egbert tries to connect with his son's "interest" in harlequins by filling their entire house with them and giving him a massive harlequin figure for his birthday. [[spoiler: If only he knew the origin of John's wall graffiti that led him to the idea in the first place.]]

* In ''Webcomic/WhenHeavenSpitsYouOut'', in order to make up with Ryan after [[spoiler: breaking his arm]], Simon takes Ryan to the park for a walk, although Ryan is initially reluctant to do so. Once there, the pair do very little interaction, mooching silently around the lake while walking their dog, Chester.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "A Clockwork Origin", Zoidberg tries to bond with his godson Cubert by [[BizarreAlienPsychology boiling a pair of baseball gloves for their lunch]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood" sees Homer accompanying Bart's [[ScoutOut scout troop]] on a father-son river rafting trip that [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Bart doesn't want Homer around for]] and that Homer ''really'' doesn't want to be around for, simply because [[AbileneParadox neither wanted to be the bad guy in the situation so each was counting on the other one to do the rejecting when the subject was broached]]. They do get some bonding in, but not before Homer has [[EpicFail managed to get himself, Bart, Ned Flanders and his son Rod lost at sea with little hope of rescue]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood" sees Homer accompanying Bart's [[ScoutOut scout troop]] on a father-son river rafting trip that [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Bart doesn't want Homer around for]] and that Homer ''really'' doesn't want to be around for, simply because [[AbileneParadox neither wanted to be the bad guy in the situation so each was counting on the other one to do the rejecting]]. They do get some bonding in, but not before Homer has [[EpicFail managed to get himself, Bart, Ned Flanders and his son Rod lost at sea with little hope of rescue]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the episode "Boy Scoutz N the Hood" sees Homer accompanying Bart's [[ScoutOut scout troop]] on a father-son river rafting trip that [[AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents Bart doesn't want Homer around for]] and that Homer ''really'' doesn't want to be around for, simply because [[AbileneParadox neither wanted to be the bad guy in the situation so each was counting on the other one to do the rejecting]]. They do get some bonding in, but not before Homer has [[EpicFail managed to get himself, Bart, Ned Flanders and his son lost at sea with little hope of rescue]].

* Other activities

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/PS238'': In the intro, the father-son bonding between [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk The Hulk]] {{expy}} and his son (who is [[ModeLock permanently in Hulk form]]) isn't seen as boring by either party, but involves breaking stuff.

* [[PlayingCatchWithTheOldMan Playing baseball in the garden]]. May often not include the Son-Doesn't-Like-It bit. For some reason, American media tend to depict this as iconic stock image of Dad and Son genuinely having a splendid time together. Might have something to do with [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff baseball being more popular in the US than in many other parts of the world]]. For that matter, Dad and Son throwing a(n American) football to and fro might convey the same associations.

[[folder:Comics]]
* When [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]] signs up to play baseball at recess, his dad decides to teach him how to play. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption This goes about as well as you'd expect.]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Jack seems to think he shares a love of football with Tim, though when Tim is with the Waynes he asks Alfred to change the channel when football is on since he doesn't care for it. Jack even expects Tim to try out for the high school team, and ends up furiously dismantling Tim's room after speaking to the coach and learning the coach doesn't remember Tim showing up for try-outs.

[[folder:Comics]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'': Jack makes a plan to go fishing with Tim after Jack promises to do better about spending time with him upon waking from his couple month long coma and discovering his wife is dead and his health is such that he can't go gallivanting off to the other side of the globe so easily. Jack ends up going on a date with his physical therapist instead and never tries to make any further plans with his son despite bringing it up on occasion so it's averted in the end.
* A textbook example appeared in ComicStrip/{{Zits}}: Jeremy was already not excited about waking up at the crack of dawn to go on a boring fishing trip with his dad Walt, but then Walt decides to use the alone time to give Jeremy TheTalk, making the awkward meter shoot skyward.

[[folder:Fanworks]]
* The ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'' episode "Dad" shows Calvin and his father going fishing.

* In [[http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic07_02.html this]] page of a ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries Star Trek TAS]]'' FanFiction comic, George Kirk goes fishing with his son James Tiberius. But Kirk Junior considers it far more interesting to ''analyze'' the fish with his tricorder.

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Comics]]

[[folder:Fanworks]]
* In a non-related example in ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'', Fai attempts to bond with [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran after he ostracized and ignored the latter for months by having cooking lessons with him and going book-shopping. [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran hates it the entire time because it comes across as extremely forced and Fai overcompensates too much. [[FromBadToWorse It ends in tears]] when [[DistressedDude Syaoran gets kidnapped in the bookstore.]]

* In a non-related example in ''FanFic/{{Shatterheart}}'', Fai attempts to bond with [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran after he ostracized and ignored the latter for months by having cooking lessons with him and going book-shopping. [[spoiler: R!]]Syaoran hates it the entire time because it comes across as extremely forced and Fai overcompensates too much. [[FromBadToWorse It ends in tears]] [[AdultFear when Syaoran gets]] [[DistressedDude kidnapped in the bookstore.]]

* ''VideoGame/WhatRemainsOfEdithFinch'' features a father-daughter variant. After his harsh parenting has caused him and his daughter to drift, Sam Finch takes his daughter Dawn (mother of Edith) on a camping and hunting trip. Despite a begrudging and awkward start, Dawn does start to have fun. When Dawn shoots a buck on a cliff, Sam decides to set his antique camera on a timer to take a commemorative photo with her. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he doesn't check to make sure the deer is dead, and the camera captures him being bucked off the cliff to his death right in front of Dawn.]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'': It is never seen on screen, but you can hear a voice message of a disastrous father-son hunting trip. (Depending on your PI, it plays out differently.)
[[/folder]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'', Donald convinces his nephews to play ice hockey with him. They are bored by this, and just try to win the game really fast, in order to end this as soon as possible.

-->'''Kratos:''' Faye... What do I do? Our son is not ready to carry your ashes to the top of the mountain... and neither am I. I do not know how to do this without you.\\

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer has suddenly decided to spend time with his kids, to get back at his father (somehow). He tries to teach Bart how to ride a bike (even though Bart already knows), pushes Lisa on a tire swing (made with a broken, dirty tire), and showers Maggie with potato chips as he eats them with her strapped to his chest.

----

* In ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Orel and his dad go hunting. "Awkward" would be a bit of an understatement. [[spoiler: His dad ends up shooting Orel accidentally and then denies any responsibility or guilt for it cause he was drunk at the time.]]

* A daydream of J.D. from ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' involves him playing baseball with his "father figure" Dr. Cox.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': When Homer finds out that Abe may not really be his biological father, he imagines himself playing baseball with the mystery guy who actually sired him. (He even has a question mark instead of a face!)
* Not ''quite'' baseball, but this imagery is clearly invoked when [[spoiler: Buzz plays with Zurg]] after the LukeIAmYourFather moment in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory2''.
* It's not ''playing'' baseball, but in ''Literature/{{Ragtime}}'', when things are really starting to fall apart for the family, Father (who has been mostly neglectful) decides to take the Little Boy to see a baseball game whether he wants to go or not. In the end, Father is the one who has a miserable time (the game has more swearing, spitting, and immigrants than he remembered), while the Little Boy finds it all quite interesting.

* Ray attempts this with his son in the 2004 ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds''. Thanks to divorce induced estrangement and raging teenage contempt, it goes disastrously when barbed comments from his son incite Ray to put a lot of heat on his throws and hurt his son's hand, who then "accidentally" busted a window of Rays house.

* In the Pilot of ''Series/NoOrdinaryFamily'' Jim tries to get the other members of the family interested in family bonding, including throwing the football around. Nobody cares to do so. The trip that they take where they have a plane crash and get their powers was another family bonding attempt.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Hank seems to wish he could "throw the old pigskin around" with his dad, as evidenced by Rusty's LotusEaterMachine.
* In ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', everyone is shocked that Sheldon is an expert on football, due to his father's insistence on teaching him against his will.
** In a later episode, this actually enables Sheldon to bond with Mike, ''Bernadette's'' father. This is upsetting Howard, because being Mike's son-in-law, ''he'' is the one who was supposed to bond with him.
* In ''Film/SilverLiningsPlaybook'' Pat Sr. tries to make watching the Eagles his bonding activity with his son, who has open contempt for his father's superstitions. [[spoiler: They make it work eventually.]]

* Bart going fishing with Flanders (not really Bart's father, but in this specific instance clearly acts as father figure) in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsonsMovie''. But, here this is very much appreciated by the boy. Earlier in the movie Homer did take Bart fishing, just with a bug zapper.
* In [[http://startrekanimated.com/tas_comic07_02.html this]] page of a ''[[WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries Star Trek TAS]]'' FanFiction comic, George Kirk goes fishing with his son James Tiberius. But Kirk Junior considers it far more interesting to ''analyze'' the fish with his tricorder.
* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Catch of the Day" is about Dexter's father taking him fishing, though the focus of the episode seems to be about getting to the pond before dawn.

* ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'': Numbuh One / Nigel and his father go fishing and playing the tuba ([[InsistentTerminology sousaphone]]). Nigel reacts with passive aggressiveness. That bites him in the ass when later another kid kidnaps (fishes!) Nigel’s dad to be his own and challenges Nigel to a tuba competition with Nigel's dad as the prize. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* At the end of an episode of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', we see Barney's dad taking Barney and his half-brother to a fishing-trip. Barney quickly proclaims that this is boring. However, it can be seen as an improvement of their father-son relationship that Barney has agreed to go with them in the first place. Before that, he either forced his father to join him during his own usual activities (which are partying and hitting on chicks), or completely ignored him. Also, it has to be pointed out that, contrary to most other examples here, Barney is already an adult. His father went away early in his childhood, and therefore they have a lot to make up for.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': In "Legend of the Gobblewonker", Grunkle Stan drags Dipper and Mabel off on a fishing trip in a poorly-built dinghy for Family Bonding Day. Considering how the last Bonding Day got the family arrested for counterfeiting ("The county jail was so cold..." says Mabel), the twins are more than happy to escape for a monster hunt. After Dipper and Mable discover [[spoiler: the lake monster was a fake built by Old Man [=McGucket=], a lonely old man desperate for attention]], they feel guilty about ditching Stan and go back and fish with him.
* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Hal guilt trips Malcolm into fishing during a family boat holiday with Stevie's family when he knows that Reece and Stevie are at a [[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheerleader camp]]. Malcolm later abandons his father on a rock in the middle of the lake to join his brother

* One episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' starts with a father taking his son fishing. The son does not enjoy it--until his dad fishes up a dead body. Suddenly it's the most badass fishing trip ever.
* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}}'': Tim's father Jack makes a plan to go fishing with him after Jack promises to do better about spending time with him and getting to know him upon waking from his couple month long coma and discovering his wife is dead and his health is such that he can't go gallivanting off to the other side of the globe so easily. Jack ends up going on a date with his physical therapist instead and never even tries to make any further plans with his son despite bringing it up on occasion so it's averted in the end.

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'', Ward remembers a hunting trip on which his dad got so drunk that he [[spoiler: told Ward that he had murdered his own father to inherit the castle and title earlier.]] Very awkward. Ward pretended to not have understood his father's drunk talking.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Homer's Phobia", Homer tries de-gaying Bart by taking him to a deer hunt. (Bart's reaction: "A bunch of guys alone together in the woods? Seems kinda gay.") [[spoiler: After being attacked by reindeer, the hunting party gets rescued by the Camp ''and'' Gay (but not CampGay) man that Homer feared to have "contaminated" Bart in the first place.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Orel and his dad go hunting. "Awkward" would be a bit of an understatement. [[spoiler: His dad ends up shooting Orel accidentally and then denies any responsibility or guilt for it cause he was drunk at the time.]]

* Subverted in ''Series/AngryBoys'', where [[NoodleIncident apparently,]] Daniel's mum's partner offered him to go hunting with him, but Daniel declined because "We don't fuckin' go hunting, mate."

* Eddie and his dad, Morty, go camping in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Birdz}}''. It starts out as one of these but in the end, Eddie admits it was fun.

* In the original UK version of ''Life on Mars' Sam Tyler plays soccer with his Dad- the twist being because he's travelled back in time his Dad doesn't know this!
* In ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'', Donald convinces his nephews to play ice hockey with him. They are bored by this, and just try to win the game really fast, in order to end this as soon as possible.
* The ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Sports a Poppin'" has Dexter's father try to teach Dexter a sport--any sport. Dexter winds up either misinterpreting the rules or fails miserably at it, and his father is forced to give up and retreat to the TV, thus missing Dexter using all the sports gears in an attempt to contain the monster that escaped the lab.
** In another episode, Dad is trying to watch a golf game on tv. Dexter takes this as an opportunity to bond with him and learn about sports. Dad is initially ok with this, but Dexter's lack of knowledge about golf, and his excessive curiosity causes him to talk constantly and asks questions, and get terminologies incorrect, resulting with Dad missing every play when trying to explain things to him.

* ''WesternAnimation/AGoofyMovie'': Goofy drags his son Max to a cross-country trip like the ones he took with his dad (which he remembers very fondly, in a subversion of this trope). Along the way, there's a stop at a [[SouvenirLand dilapidated theme park]] and a short fishing lesson interrupted by [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Bigfoot]]. [[spoiler:They never actually finish the trip, because Max directs them to Los Angeles to try and get to a concert. They end up bonding anyway after Max saves Goofy from an InevitableWaterfall with the Perfect Cast, which [[ChekhovsGun Goofy taught Max earlier in the film]].]]
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyDadTheRockstar'', Rock is convinced by Willy to try find something they can bond over, leading them to engage in a lot of these kinds activities. Ultimately, they find out they have nothing in common [[spoiler:until the very end of the episode when the pair find some common ground in stargazing.]]

* The various activities to do with Shaun that Ethan comes up with in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' are all pretty awkward, though, of course, their issues are on an entirely different level.
* Thane and Kolyat seem to be headed for this in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. If Thane survives the suicide mission it's shown in the third game that they ''did'' manage to to connect, perhaps even better than they [[WhenYouComingHomeDad had before.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer has suddenly decided to spend time with his kids, to get back at his father (somehow). He tries to teach Bart how to ride a bike (even though Bart already knows), pushes Lisa on a tire swing (made with a broken, dirty tire), and showers Maggie with potato chips as he eats them with her strapped to his chest.
-->'''Bart:''' No offense, Homer, but your half-assed underparenting was a lot more fun than your half-assed overparenting.\\
'''Homer:''' But I'm using my whole ass.
* There was a commercial which featured a clearly nerdy dad who was sporting facial piercings, talking about bonding with his son at Burning Man. The son just sat there looking utterly mortified.
* Inverted in ''Film/BoilerRoom''. Seth attempts to have coffee with Marty, but it's ''Marty'' (the father) who quickly gets annoyed and leaves.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}''
** When Blaine correctly picks out a carburetor for Kurt's dad, Blaine explains that he and his own father rebuilt a classic Chevy together. He also explains that he thinks the activity was meant to "turn him straight."
** There was also has a small moment when Kurt sees his dad and new stepbrother bonding over watching college sports. As Kurt is more a CampGay character, it breaks his heart that there are some "manly" activities that he has no interest in and which will never be a way for him to bond with his own father.
** However, this trope is also inverted for the same characters in a season two episode, in which Kurt and his dad are seen sharing one of Kurt's favorite pastimes - cooking - as a bonding activity instead of the previously seen attempts at sports and working on cars. It doesn't work, but that's not because of the choice of activity.
* Variation: the awkward father-''daughter'' bonding between Veronica and her father in ''Series/BetterOffTed''. For years the two of them have interacted mostly through corporate espionage and trying to one-up each other, but when Veronica's father develops terminal cancer they make some awkward attempts at spending time together. They quickly decide that they preferred the corporate espionage.
* ''Literature/{{Aquila}}'' is full of them, or at the very least attempted bonding activities like swimming (a lot of swimming is mentioned) but perhaps the oddest one is where a father sticks wheels on the titular space-craft.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Dad Egbert tries to connect with his son's "interest" in harlequins by filling their entire house with them and giving him a massive harlequin figure for his birthday. [[spoiler: If only he knew the origin of John's wall graffiti that led him to the idea in the first place.]]
* Gender-inverted example from ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold''. Helga and her [[TheAlcoholic mother]] are going to meet up with relatives for Mother's Day weekend, and to do that, a road trip is necessary, and becomes this.
* Another gender-inverted example in ''Series/TheGoldenGirls,'' which is also unique in the sense that it's the ''daughter'' who wants to bond. Dorothy isn't sure how much time she has left with her elderly mother Sophia, takes her to Disney World. Sophia wants to go on the rides, but Dorothy, desperate to bond, forces her to stay in the hotel room and go through photos and letters and slides and diaries. This results in a massive blowup and then a reconciliation.
* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'', [[ProfessionalKiller Connor]] and [[ArchnemesisDad Haytham]]'s [[BadassFamily hijinks]] from the encounter at the church until the confrontation with Washington qualify.
** Would also apply to Desmond and and his father William, seeing how they haven't talked to each other in years.
* On ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' Jerome refers to the search for the gem as a 'bonding thing' with his father.
* ''WebAnimation/JimmyNeutronHappyFamilyHappyHour'': Played straight (?).
-->'''Hugh Neutron:''' Now it is time for father-son bonding. ''BOND WITH ME JIMMY.''
* Played for laughs in ''Film/WorldsGreatestDad'', where the kid suggests to his dad they could build a rocket, only to add that the idea was retarded.
* Inverted in ''Film/GettingEvenWithDad'' as it is Timmy (the son), who wants to improve his relationship with his reluctant father by doing fun activities together.

* Played around with in ''Franchise/{{Noob}}''. In the backstory, a father tried that with his teenage son after the death of his wife. Problem: the father is a WellDoneSonGuy and the son has InferioritySuperiorityComplex, so the father tries to do his best at the activities, which puts an invisible toll on the son's self-esteem. PoorCommunicationKills kicked and the two ended up drifting away even further. The son eventually started playing the {{MMORPG}} in which the story is set, hoping it would be a place where his father wouldn't follow him, but turned out to be very wrong. Long story short, things deteriorated to the point that secretly going ArchnemesisDad online ended being the only way the father could interact with his son. In ''Film/NoobLeConseilDesTroisFactions'', they got themselves to a family therapist who suggested that they try board games and had to be told that the usual activities don't work on them. He ended up prescribing them playing the {{MMORPG}} with brand new avatars.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "A Clockwork Origin", Zoidberg tries to bond with his godson Cubert by [[BizarreAlienPsychology boiling a pair of baseball gloves for their lunch]].

* In ''ComicStrip/BigNate'', the title character's dad tends to leap at the chance for some sports bonding, despite being hopelessly un-athletic. Baseball is the most frequent culprit, but football and golf have also made appearances.
* In one ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' episode (from the album A Date with Dad and Other Calamities), Ed Washington takes his daughter Tamika on a day of Awkward Father-Daughter Activities when he feels like he's losing touch with the teenager she's becoming. Said activities are based on her interests as a much younger child and merely wind up embarrassing her. The episode ends with Ed learning that he needs to relate to his daughter as the person she is, not the one he remembers, while Tamika realizes that her father is genuinely trying to have fun with her and that she should make an effort to appreciate that he wants to be involved in her life. They find a mutually agreeable activity and ultimately wind up averting this trope.
* A few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/AtomicPuppet'' center on Joey and his dad Phil doing activities together. For example, "Survival of the Feltest" has the two go hiking in the wild and Phil teaches Joey some survival skills.
* Inversion: The ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' episode "The Son Dad Never Had" presented the Ghost With The Most taking on the persona of cousin B.J. (taking on the size and demeanor of a 12-year old) bonding with Lydia's dad Charles while she's busy with a project. Lydia, upon seeing this, starts thinking she's unwanted--until she sees Beetlejuice fleecing Charles for money. Lydia sends BJ. home, much to her dad's relief. And as it turns out, he loves to do things with Lydia, which he describes as "us" things.
* In ''Manga/BirdyTheMighty'', Tsutomu's father abruptly declares that he's going to join his son in the bath for some "father-son naked bonding time" (which makes his wife say "Wait, what?!") Of course, the potential awkwardness is really cranked up since his son is SharingABody with an attractive female alien...and she's in the body when Dad walks in.

* In ''Webcomic/WhenHeavenSpitsYouOut'', in order to make up with Ryan after [[spoiler: breaking his arm]], Simon takes Ryan to the park for a walk, although Ryan is initially reluctant to do so. Once there, the pair do very little interaction, mooching silently around the lake while walking their dog, Chester.

** There was also has a small {{Tearjerker}} moment when Kurt sees his dad and new stepbrother bonding over watching college sports. As Kurt is more a CampGay character, it breaks his heart that there are some "manly" activities that he has no interest in and which will never be a way for him to bond with his own father.

* Playing baseball in the garden. May often not include the Son-Doesn't-Like-It bit. For some reason, American media tend to depict this as iconic stock image of Dad and Son genuinely having a splendid time together. Might have something to do with [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff baseball being more popular in the US than in many other parts of the world]]. For that matter, Dad and Son throwing a(n American) football to and fro might convey the same associations.