The War at Home (TV series)

Infobox television
show_name = The War at Home


caption = From top left Dean Collins, Kyle Sullivan, Kaylee DeFer, Anita Barone; bottom centre Michael Rapaport
genre = Sitcom
creator = Rob Lotterstein
starring=Michael Rapaport Anita Barone Kyle Sullivan Kaylee DeFer Dean Collins
country = USA
num_seasons = 2
num_episodes = 44
list_episodes = List of The War at Home episodes
runtime = approx. 22 minutes
camera = Multi-camera
network = FOX
picture_format = 480i (SDTV),
720p (HDTV)
first_aired = September 11, 2005
last_aired = April 22, 2007
website =
imdb_id = 0460692
tv_com_id = 31987|

"The War at Home" was a sitcom that ran from September 11, 2005 to April 22, 2007 on Fox. It followed the antics of a largely dysfunctional and bitter New York family.

On May 17, 2007 the series was cancelled after two seasons and 44 episodes. [ [http://www.tvseriesfinale.com/2007/05/2007_cancelled_shows_fox_cancels_plenty_of_series.php Fox Confirms Cancellation] ] [http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=7341 Fox to split "Drive" season, "War" to wrap early] ]

Cast

*Michael Rapaport as David "Dave" Gold
*Anita Barone as Vicky Gold
*Kyle Sullivan as Lawrence "Larry" Gold
*Kaylee DeFer as Hillary Gold
*Dean Collins as Michael "Mike" Gold
*Rami Malek as Kenneth "Kenny" Al-Bahir

Plot

The show depicts the life of Dave and Vicky and their three children as they live their lives in Long Island, New York. Dave is a middle class Jewish insurance salesman. He is sometimes portrayed as a paranoid, overprotective and hypocritical bigot, and his family (especially Larry) have a hard time putting up with him. Dave is constantly chewed and cussed out (and even punched once) by Larry for always picking on him. It is established toward the end of season one that Dave is the way he is because he had a father who constantly badgered him. Dave's wife Vicky is an attractive Catholic interior designer. Generally levelheaded, she usually spends her time dealing with Dave's unreasonable behavior, but can be quite obnoxious herself.

Of their three children, the oldest is Hillary (Kaylee DeFer), a typical 17-year old who frequently misbehaves, trying to get away with mischief behind the backs of her parents, who often regard her with suspicion. Second oldest is 16-year-old Larry (Kyle Sullivan), an eccentric misfit given to emotional outbursts (such as when Vicky denies him permission to see Brian Boitano star as Bilbo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings On Ice"). Larry is often seen with his best friend Kenny. Initially Dave believes that the boys are both gay, but it is later revealed to the audience that while Larry is not gay, Kenny has a secret crush on Larry. Dave, and to a lesser extent Vicky, often treat Larry's flamboyancy with wary eyes. The youngest child, the pubescent 14-year-old Mike (Dean Collins), must deal with issues such as masturbation, dating and underage gambling.

The series frequently breaks the fourth wall between segments of an episode, during which Dave occasionally delivers a rant.

Gay-positive efforts

Perhaps due to criticism of the main character's homophobia , the episode "Out & In", first airing on January 4, 2007, deals in a gay-supportive way with Kenny coming out of the closet. The show closed with a public service announcement with Michael Rapaport, Rami Malek and Kyle Sullivan, out of character, talking about The Trevor Project, a suicide-prevention support service for gay and inquiring youth.

The plot involves Kenny admitting to himself, Dave, the rest of the Gold family, and finally his own parents that he is gay. His parents react negatively (off-screen) to the revelation, casting him out of their house. Although Dave uses anti-gay slurs during the episode and seems somewhat uncomfortable being hugged by Kenny, he also tells Kenny that he should be proud of who he is. With some prompting from Vicky, Dave also consents to Kenny moving in with them, and begins to treat him as a member of the family.

Larry initially has trouble adjusting to these significant events, and to the fact that his best friend kept such a secret from him for so long. However, he and Kenny quickly resolve matters, with Larry assuring him that his sexual orientation will not be an issue in their friendship. Kenny does, however, maintain his crush on Larry a secret for obvious reasons.

The February 15 episode, entitled "Kenny Doesn't Live Here Anymore", dealt with Kenny and his boyfriend being banned from the Sadie Hawkins dance at school due to homophobia. The Trevor Project public service announcement appeared at the end of this episode as well. Eventually Kenny's family takes him back.

The show also recruited openly-bisexual Tila Tequila for a cameo appearance on the show in its final season.

DVD releases

Season Releases

International broadcasters

The series was shot in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Hamilton,+Ontario,+Canada |title=Internet Movie Database - List of Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario|accessdate=2008-01-29]

References

External links

*tv.com|31987|The War at Home
* [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6838 Warner Brothers announces Season 1 DVD]
* [http://tvseriesfinale.com/articles/tv-series-finale-news-interview-with-the-war-at-homes-bill-kunstler/ Interview with series writer Bill Kunstler and script for unproduced episode.]