The War at Home

When 16-year-old Hillary wants to date an older guy, Dave puts his foot down, so Hillary brings home a new "study buddy." Meanwhile, Dave and Vicky have trouble understanding their son Larry, who has some fun dragging things out.

In order to understand why Larry dressed in women's clothing, Vicky turns to an old boyfriend via the Internet for advice, which upsets Dave when he finds out. But Dave's been secretly doing some e-mailing of his own, and when Vicky finds an I.M. for him from "Lonely Lady In Michigan," he's got some explaining to do. Meanwhile, Hillary is upset about something but won't turn to Vicky for advice like she used to do.

Dave is sure that the reason Hillary has been so nice to him lately is because she is having sex. But when Mike does some spying and Dave finds out that he's wrong, he's then sure it's because she's been smoking pot - his pot, when his stash goes missing. He confronts her and when she denies it he accidentally lets her know that he has a stash, which he says he's holding for Vicky's mother, Betty, to use for medicinal purposes

Vicky invites Taye's family over for a barbecue, but Dave doesn't get along with Taye's father, Omar, who's a wealthy, well-educated, African-American surgeon, and Dave ends up offending him with what are perceived as racist comments. At Vicky's insistence, Dave apologizes to Omar and has a great day at Omar's exclusive country club, only to find out when he gets home that Hillary and Taye's relationship is on the rocks. Meanwhile, Mike is worried when blisters appear on his penis and Dave's remedy for what is determined to be chronic masturbation only makes things worse.

When Hillary asks Vicky about sex, Dave flips out and makes plans to take the entire family to the city for dinner and a musical on a Saturday night to prevent Hillary from going out with a boy. Meanwhile, Kenny struggles to accept Larry's new girlfriend and begins to plant "seeds of doubt" in hopes of breaking them up.

When Hillary's friend gets breast implants, Hillary wants them, too. Dave and Vicky are against the idea, as Dave argues that it's what you're like on the inside that counts. However, his motto is tested when he meets Larry's new girlfriend, Marla, who is overweight and not particularly attractive. As a result, Dave struggles between convincing his daughter that appearance isn't everything and telling his son he can do better.

When Dave and Vicky catch Hillary and her friend Brenda drunk in their kitchen in the middle of the night, Vicky decides to eliminate alcohol in the household so as not be a negative influence on the kids. However, Prohibition lasts only two days before Vicky and Dave succumb to free pitchers of margaritas with some friends and come home a little more giggly than usual. Needless to say, their buzz is killed when they face an embarrassed Hillary and Brenda's strict and judgmental parents at their doorstep. Meanwhile, Mike becomes a vegetarian after accidentally shooting a pigeon.

Dave fears that the kids are getting away with far too much, and when talking to them doesn't work, he institutes a zero-tolerance, pro-spanking policy. Of course, they think he's all talk and naively call his bluff. When a humiliated Larry, the first recipient of one of Dave's spankings, moves in with Kenny, Child Protective Services is called, and it's Dave who's in for a real "spanking".

After Larry lands a leading role in the high school production of "Annie Get Your Gun," Dave is disgruntled over Larry's lack of interest in masculine activities. Then, after catching him kiss what appears to be another guy, Dave and Vicky are convinced that their son is gay, but their assumption gets Larry into trouble and quickly ruins his game. Meanwhile, after punching a girl at school, Hilary gets dumped by Taye and must deal with her new "player-hater" image.

A family dinner gets out of hand when Grandma Betty brings over her new beau. After Dave discovers that she is spending loads of cash on him, he freaks that he is losing his future inheritance and accuses Gradma's boyfriend of being a gigolo. Meanwhile, Vicky and Dave hatch a plan to break up Hillary and Keith by showing her how difficult it is to raise a baby. And Larry's interest in baseball cards at first encourages Dave - until he learns that Larry is using the information to sell Dave's cards on eBay.

When Mike scores high on a test and is given the option of taking the honors class, Vicky is inspired to be more ambitious and tries to return to her fashion-executive lifestyle. After hearing that her salary would increase, Dave's all for it until household duties are sacrificed for Vicky's new career. Meanwhile, after submitting Kenny's poem as his own, Larry takes a little too much credit.

With Vicky working more hours at her new job, the house is a shambles as the family tries to adjust to her new working life. Larry becomes the maid and mother-figure and Dave is having a tough time dealing with the things Vicky used to handle. When Mike and Hillary get into trouble, Dave's temper only makes matters worse. However, changes at the office make Vicky second-guess her decision to try and have it all.

Vicky's old college friend, Jodi, pays a visit. Now that Jodi is sober and making amends for her past wrongdoings, Dave is terrified she'll confess that they slept together in college - but it's Dave who's in for a rude awakening when Jodi apologizes for seducing someone else entirely. Meanwhile, Hillary is failing classes, and the boys conspire to ogle a naked woman.

Dave discovers a pregnancy test in the trash and suspects Hillary - only to find out that a depressed and out-of-work Vicky has gone off the pill. Completely opposed to having another kid, Dave plays Mr. Fix-It, helping Vicky to pursue job opportunities - with lackluster results. Meanwhile, Larry throws himself into a spelling bee competition, and Mike's lazy streak forces him to buy Hillary's old book reports from the days when she had good grades.

After finding a crumbled-up note with despondent scribbling on it in Mike's room, Dave and Vicky are convinced that Mike is unhappy and try to pamper him out of his depressed state. Mike plays along with their suspicion and milks it for all its worth, but the truth comes out when he's forced to see a therapist, who sees right through his lies. Meanwhile, Larry is upset that Mike is getting all the attention when he is the son who actually needs help, and Hillary takes a sexual experience survey for class.

With Vicky and Hillary's menstrual cycles in full swing, Dave must deal with constant mood swings and PMS. After having to take Hillary to the dreaded gynecologist's office, Dave realizes that her doctor is his old friend, who was quite the ladies' man in high school. Needless to say, Dr. Vogel's professional relationship with the family gets personal when Dave doesn't believe Dr. Vogel has changed his player ways. Meanwhile, after Mike calls Larry a nobody, Larry does whatever it takes to gain the respect of his brother.

When Dave gets hit on by an attractive saleswoman at work, he believes he is still a catch for the younger ladies. However, he is quickly brought back to earth when he finds out she was actually checking him out for her mother. On the other hand, Vicky attracts males of all ages when she visits Mike's class for career day and Hillary is attracted to Kenny's sensitive side.

When Mike asks for a bar mitzvah, Dave initially believes he's only in it for the party and the gifts. However, after Mike studies Hebrew and expresses true interest in Judaism, Dave and Vicky support his request to have the traditional coming-of-age ceremony. Meanwhile, Hillary also wants to be Jewish after meeting Mike's hot Hebrew tutor and Larry gains the confidence to ask out an attractive girl at school.

When Hillary sprains her ankle skiing and lands in the emergency room, a furious Dave becomes even angrier when he realizes Vicky gave her approval for the ski trip without his consent. But when they arrive at the hospital and learn that Hillary lied to the both of them, their argument turns into an all-out war. Meanwhile, Larry awaits a phone call from a girl and Mike takes advantage of the situation to get an older woman.

Dave takes the family on a trip to visit his parents in Florida because it won't cost him anything. However, Mike hates to fly, Vicky hates his parents and Hillary wants to stay in town so a boy won't forget her. The only one excited about going is Larry, who has started on a weight-loss program so he will look good in his Speedo. Things go from bad to worse when their ride to the airport cancels, Hillary's new nipple ring is discovered by security in front of a furious Vicky and Dave is searched by security. At the condo, Dave is continuously belittled by his dad, similar to the way he treats his own son Larry, and he wants to turn around and fly home minutes after arriving.

When Vicky refuses to buy Larry Ice Capades tickets, he runs away from home hoping she'll give in so he can see Brian Boitano star as Bilbo Baggins in "The Lord of the Rings" on ice. A disbelieving Vicky holds her ground, but when she realizes Larry really did leave town, she questions her parenting skills. Meanwhile, Dave tries to support Hillary in a fight with one of her friends but when it backfires on him, Dave and Vicky get tired of parenting and ditch the kids.

When Dave takes Hillary out for driving lessons and she gets pulled over for reckless driving, Dave takes the blame, thinking that Hillary will be forever grateful. When this fatherly act leads to a DUI arrest for Dave and Hillary isn't appreciative, Dave goes to court to straighten things out. Meanwhile, Vicky forgets to register Larry for Shakespeare camp, and Dave and Mike take up online poker.