The War at Home Information

The War at Home is an American sitcom that ran from September 11, 2005 to April 22, 2007 on Fox. It follows the antics of a largely dysfunctional Long Island family. The show lasted for two full seasons but was not renewed for a third season.

Cast

• Michael Rapaport as David "Dave" Gold
• Anita Barone as Victoria "Vicky" Gold
• Kyle Sullivan as Lawrence Alan "Larry" Gold
• Kaylee DeFer as Hillary Gold
• Dean Collins as Michael "Mike" Gold
• Rami Malek as Khaleel Nazeeh "Kenny" Al-Bahir

Plot

The show depicts the lives of Dave and Vicky and their three children as they live their lives in Long Island, New York, dealing with normal family issues. Dave is a middle class Jewish insurance salesman. He is often portrayed as insensitive and cynical, and sometimes as a paranoid, overprotective and hypocritical bigot. His family (especially Larry) find it difficult to accept his behaviour. Dave is constantly scolded and insulted (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 Italian Catholic part-time receptionist at a Doctors' office. 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 bad behavior behind the backs of her parents, who often regard her with suspicion. Second oldest is 16-year-old Larry (Kyle Sullivan), an odd 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. His character is portrayed as tougher and more cynical than Larry's.

The series frequently breaks the fourth wall between segments of an episode, during which Dave or other characters deliver a rant or other comment directly relating to the scene.

Origin of title

The phrase 'The War at Home' was originally used to describe the conflict between the US authorities and anti-Vietnam protesters and draft-avoiders within the US during the 1960s. Thus the series title is a metaphor for domestic conflict.

Response

Critical reception

The show was originally panned by critics, scoring a 28/100 on Metacritic, but received critical acclaim during its 2nd season for its handling of Kenny's "coming out" story arc, including a Humanitas Prize nomination for Lotterstein, as well as a GLAAD Award nomination for "Outstanding Comedy Series".

Seasonal ratings

Season		Episodes	Premiere	Season finale	Viewers (in millions)	Rank
1	2005"06	22	September 11, 2005	April 30, 2006	7.2	#82
2	2006"07	22	September 10, 2006	April 22, 2007	4.9	#118

Awards

Year	Award	Category/Recipient(s)	Episode	Result	Ref.
2006	Art Directors Guild	TV - Multi-Camera Television Series John Shaffner (production designer)	Pilot
	Teen Choice Awards	TV - Choice Comedy/Musical Show	"?
		TV - Choice Actor: Comedy Michael Rapaport	"?
		TV - Choice Parental Unit Anita Barone & Michael Rapaport	"?
2007	Humanitas Prize	TV - 30-Minute Category Rob Lotterstein	"Kenny Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
	Young Artist Award	TV Series - Best Supporting Young Actor Dean Collins	"?
2008	GLAAD Media Award	TV - Outstanding Comedy Series	"?
	Young Artist Award	TV Series - Best Supporting Young Actor Dean Collins	"?

DVD releases

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Special Features
The Complete First Season	May 15, 2007	22	Featurette: Living Room Confessions Unaired Scenes Gag Reel

International broadcasters

Country	Broadcaster	Timeslot
	Nine HD, Nine Network	Sundays at 10.30pm
	ORF
	VT4	Weekdays at 18.00 pm
Bosnia	Pink BH	Saturdays at 12.30pm
	Btv Comedy	Weekdays at 19.30 pm
	Global
	RTL Televizija, RTL 2	Weekdays at 7.45 pm
	NTV
	HBO
	6'eren, SBS Net	Weekdays at 16.15
	MTV3	Thursdays at 14.15
	M6 and [[Canal +]]
	RTL 2
	HBO
	Stöð 2
	RT"?
	yes stars Comedy	Weekdays at 9:30 pm ReeRun 11:30 am,next day 4:00 pm
	Joi
	NTV
	LNT
	TV1	Weekdays at 20:00 ReeRun 14:30
	NET 5
	TV2	Sundays at 6:30
	TV Norge	Weekdays at 17:00
	JackTV
	TVN Siedem, HBO Comedy	Weekdays at 19:30 (7:30pm; TVN Siedem)
	Fox Next	Weekdays at 14:40
	Pro Cinema
	TV Avala	Weekdays at 19.55
	TV Markíza	Weekdays at 13.25 pm
	Kanal A	Weekdays at 16.40 pm
	SABC3, M-Net, M-Net Series and Go
	Neox	Monday to Friday at 12:30 pm
	Kanal 5 and Kanal 9
	SF zwei
	ComedyMax
	E4 and Channel 4
	[[1+1]]
	Venevisión