You are Not the Father
A woman falsely claims that a male character is the father of her child, either because she truly believes he is, she wants money from him, or she really wants him to be the father.
Cheers
Appearances
- The Bob Newhart Show: Season 6, episode 5, "Carlin's New Suit" (1977). Mr. Carlin is being sued for back child support by a woman he's never met, but he becomes attached to her son and wants to be his father anyway.
- Mork & Mindy: Season 2, episode 4, "Mork's Baby Blues" (1979). A woman tries to extort money from Mork by claiming she's having his baby, but to her surprise he insists on marrying her instead.
- Barney Miller: Season 8, episode 1, "Paternity" (1981). Wojo is sued for child support, but it becomes clear he's not the father when he discovers he's sterile.
- It's a Living: Season 2, episode 2, "All My Son" (1981). A woman claims Sonny is the father of her son, Arthur, and when Sonny questions her, she leaves Arthur with him and runs off. Sonny takes a liking to Arthur, and he's disappointed when his mother confesses that Sonny's not his father.
- Buffalo Bill: Season 1, episode 11, "The Fan" (1983). An obsessed fan claims she's having Bill's baby, and she threatens to kill him and herself if he doesn't marry her.
- Cheers: Season 1, episode 15, "Father Knows Last" (1983). Carla claims that Marshall, a nerdy cybernetics expert, is the father of her unborn child, and Marshall is ready to take responsibility, but Carla reveals to Diane that her ex-husband is really the father, and she seduced Marshall and lied to him so her child could have a better father.
- Night Court: Season 4, episode 19, "Paternity" (1987). A woman files a paternity suit against Dan for her 10-year-old son, but it turns out her lawyer got the wrong guy, and the boy's father is "Stan Fielding."
- Cheers: Season 7, episode 2, "Swear to God" (1988). An old girlfriend named Denise calls Sam and tells him he might be the father of her baby, and Sam is so worried he swears to God that if he wasn't the father, he would never have sex again. Moments later, Denise calls and tells Sam that a blood test proved another man was the father.
- Cheers: Season 11, episode 5, "Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman" (1992). Cliff's estranged girlfriend, Maggie, comes back from Canada pregnant and claims Cliff's the father, but Cliff confesses to Sam that he and Maggie never had sex, so the baby can't be his.