  The linear instability of Faraday waves in Hele-Shaw cells is investigated
with consideration of the viscosity of fluids after gap-averaging the governing
equations due to the damping from two lateral walls and the dynamic behavior of
contact angle. A new hydrodynamic model is thus derived and solved
semi-analytically. The contribution of viscosity to critical acceleration
amplitude is slight compared to other factors associated with dissipation, and
the potential flow theory is sufficient to describe onset based on the present
study, but the rotational component of velocity can change the timing of onset
largely, which paradoxically comes from the viscosity. The model degenerates
into a novel damped Mathieu equation if the viscosity is dropped with two
damping terms referring to the gap-averaged damping and dissipation from
dynamic contact angle, respectively. The former increases when the gap size
decreases, and the latter grows as frequency rises. When it comes to the
dispersion relation of Faraday waves, an unusual detuning emerges due to the
imaginary part of the gap-averaged damping.
