and is based on his relationship with an abusive ex-girlfriend. As a running gag, in most of the episodes there is a reference to guns and/or fire, usually the threat of someone or something being set on fire, as well as Titus's story of how he drunkenly fell into a bonfire and nearly died when he was a teenager. Casting Cynthia Watros was the first person to audition for the role of Erin, and was also the first person cast. Steve Carell and Zack Ward both auditioned for Tommy; Carell lost out to David Shatraw, while Ward was soon cast as Titus's brother, Dave. After a number of auditions for Titus's father Ken, Stacy Keach was cast after Titus admitted Keach intimidated him. Before his death, Christopher's real father, Ken Titus, would give tips to Keach on how to better portray him. Titus also admitted that, even with the driest line the writers could invent, Keach would find a way to make the line funny. This often upset Titus because Keach's set-up would be funnier than Titus's punchline. Hargrove has also commented that Keach could get an audience response with just a look; Hargrove's favorite moment is the look Ken gives Tommy in "Insanity Genetic (1)" after Tommy comments "I have no nuts." Censorship by the network More than one episode was censored/banned by Fox, including a two-part episode made in the months after the September 11 attacks that centers on the premise that the U.S. government believes Titus and his family and friends are a terrorist group after a series of misunderstandings -– as a result of his mother's suicide, Titus suffers a nervous breakdown on the plane ride home, Tommy complains to a flight attendant about his mispronunciation of 'chicken à la king', to the point where Tommy gets down on his knees and cries "A la, a la, a la king!" (which sounds like "Allah king"), and Dave comes out of the plane's bathroom gurgling mouthwash, which seems like he is speaking unintelligibly, and wearing a towel turban, a robe, and shaving cream on his face which resembles an Islamic beard. The episode "The Intervention" was also almost banned, as the censors were wary about the episode glorifying alcoholism, since the story focused on Titus convincing his father, Ken, to start drinking again since Ken's sobriety is making him boring. Titus had to read the script to