TVSquad

Two of my favorite summer shows, Psych and Burn Notice, have something in common. Well, two things. First of all, they are finally back for the second half of their current seasons on the USA Network. The other is that the main characters have an obnoxious parent.

Shawn's dad in Psych, Henry Spencer (played with personality and perfection by Corbin Bersen), is tough on Shawn, yet has a tender side. Michael's mom in Burn Notice, Madeline Westen (played with obnoxious delight by Sharon Gless), is rough around the edges but loves her son like crazy.

They are fun to watch, sometimes a little bit annoying, but always entertaining. So who comes out on top as leading obnoxious parent? Who's the biggest embarrassment to their child? Read on ...

Appearance
I haven't even started writing this category and I already know it's going to be a tough call. Madeline wears garish jewelry and chain-smokes. My son would be mortified if I showed as much cleavage as Madeline does. Her clothes are loud (and low cut; we've determined that) and her hair is teased and wild. She's probably pretty typical Miami ... yowza!

Henry nearly always sports a loud Hawaiian shirt and boat shoes, which seems somewhat out of place for Santa Barbara. But he's neat and clean. Very clean, in fact. And the flowered robe he was wrapped in after Shawn caught him in a bubble bath just might tip the scales a bit ... but for this category, I have to give the props to Madeline. She looks pretty embarrassing every day; I've only seen Henry in a flowered robe once.

Personality quirks
OK, Shawn's dad takes the aforementioned bubble baths, and gets nervous and sappy around women. He's also one of the most domestic men on television, cooking with an apron and well, the bubble baths. Madeline started the series as a hypochondriac and calls Michael to come help her -- with anything -- at the drop of a hat. All Henry wants from Shawn these days seems to be a fishing trip with his son, but whoo-boy, was he a tough dad when Shawn was a kid.

Henry all but tortured poor Shawn as a youngster, putting him through observations tests to hone his skills and always staying one step ahead of him. Shawn couldn't get away with anything! Sure, Madeline is more needy, but Henry's parenting was just so unorthodox that the golden ticket for this category goes to Henry.

Controlling behavior
OK, so here's the thing. The place where Madeline is going to come out on top, no matter what Henry does. Henry had a lot more control over Shawn when he was a child. Henry was always onto Shawn's schemes, and he'd catch him and one-up him, like when Shawn tried to sneak off during a field trip to the aquarium to swim with the dolphins. As adults, though, Shawn bests his dad on a regular basis. He always wins the "guess the Christmas present contest," and in a recent episode, he steals Henry's boat right out from under him.

Madeline, on the other hand, is all about the control over the adult Michael. As a child, it seems like Michael had the upper hand; we hear stories of his rebellious nature coupled with knowing that Madeline was doing the best she could for where she was at that point in her life. But now, Michael's got guilt: guilt for the way he treated his mom both as a child and when he was a covert operative, always sneaking about and hiding things from her, including his location.

So this, the tie-breaker, goes to Madeline, for having her thumb on her kid in the present; honorable mention to Henry for besting his 12-year-old.

There you have it -- Madeline Westen wins the crown for most obnoxious, embarrassing parent on the USA Network. Any comparisons you think I missed?