United States
GenreComedy drama
Created byGary Markowitz
Written byGary Markowitz
Larry Gelbart
Tom Whedon
Everett Greenbaum
Carol Gary
Directed byWill Mackenzie
Nick Havinga
StarringBeau Bridges
Helen Shaver
Rossie Harris
Justin Dana
ComposerJack Elliott
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (4 unaired)
Production
Executive producerLarry Gelbart
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companyOTP Productions
Original release
NetworkNBC
ReleaseMarch 11 (1980-03-11) –
April 29, 1980 (1980-04-29)

United States is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from March 11 until April 29, 1980.

Larry Gelbart, the show's executive producer and chief writer, said the name United States was not a reference to the country but rather to "the state of being united in a relationship". Gelbart envisioned a series that would be "a situation comedy based on the real things that happen in my marriage and in the marriages of my friends".

Episodes tackled such topics as marital infidelity, household debt, friends who drink too much, death within the family, and sexual misunderstandings.

United States focused on Richard and Libby Chapin, an upwardly mobile couple who lived in a Los Angeles suburb, Woodland Hills. Beau Bridges played Richard, and Helen Shaver played Libby. Gelbart reverted to black-and-white script for the show's titles. He said that was to convey the mood of "a sophisticated '30s film." Gelbart also avoided use of background music and a laugh track. Scripts featured dialogue such as, "Just for once I'd like to be treated like a friend instead of a husband," and "Maybe you and Bob can go out and get yourselves one redhead with two straws."

United States premiered at 10:30 p.m. on March 11, 1980. NBC pulled it from the schedule within two months, after only nine of 13 episodes had aired. The series aired later that year in Britain on BBC2, under the title Married. The remaining episodes were not broadcast in the US until 1986, when the A&E cable channel aired United States.

The show's tagline made by NBC was "It will do to marriages what M*A*S*H did for war".

Cast

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Uncle Charlie"UnknownUnknownMarch 11, 1980 (1980-03-11)
When Uncle Charlie dies, the Chapins have to figure out how to explain it to their sons.
2"Broccoli"UnknownUnknownMarch 18, 1980 (1980-03-18)
The Chapins' dinner party with another couple turns into a disaster when the main topic of conversation becomes the husband's infidelity.
3"Josh"UnknownUnknownMarch 25, 1980 (1980-03-25)
An old friend for the past 30 years suddenly reveals to the Chapins that he has been hiding his homosexuality all that time.
4"And Baby Makes Two..."UnknownUnknownApril 1, 1980 (1980-04-01)
The Chapins panic when they think that Libby is pregnant.
5"All Our Weapons"UnknownUnknownApril 8, 1980 (1980-04-08)
Richard and Libby have a fight over his refusal to ask her father for a loan.
6"Windmills"UnknownUnknownApril 15, 1980 (1980-04-15)
Libby's ex-husband makes a surprise visit to the Chapin home.
7"Sometimes"UnknownUnknownApril 22, 1980 (1980-04-22)
Sometimes it's like this, he's wrong.
8"Better Than Burning"UnknownUnknownApril 29, 1980 (1980-04-29)
Richard and Libby separately reveal their thoughts to interviewers for a book survey.
9"Touching Story"UnknownUnknownUnaired
Libby finally confesses a shocking childhood secret.
10"Slide Area"UnknownUnknownUnaired
A severe storm causes their friends to have to stay over because their house is about to slide away. Richard questions his emotions when he cries for no apparent reason.
11"Room Service"UnknownUnknownUnaired
Staying in a motel after a fight with his wife, Richard is tempted to stray when a female friend visits to console him.
12"Lysdexia Is No Joek"UnknownUnknownUnaired
When Nicky's teacher comes to talk to them about his difficulties learning how to read, Libby feels pangs of guilt that her son seems to be inheriting her learning disability.
13"The Grand Funk"UnknownUnknownUnaired
An already depressed Richard becomes even more so when Libby tells him that their son Nicky is part of a gang of kids who are going around killing cats.

Reception

Writing in The Toronto Star, entertainment critic Ron Base (reviewing the first episode) felt the program lacked insight, and wrote that the program's emphasis on talk and arguments made Bridges and Shaver "surprisingly unlikable".[1]

In their Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1946—Present), authors Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh characterize the show as "tedious, boring and didactic".[2]

References

  1. ↑ Base, Ron (12 March 1980). "Nasty arguments aren't funny". Toronto Star. p. F3.
  2. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Earle Marsh (2007). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows (1946—Present): Ninth Edition. U.S.A.: Ballantine Books. p. 1456. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
  • Lurie, Alison. (1980, April 26-May 2). Are We Ready For Marriage—1980s-Style ... With No Sugar Added? TV Guide, pp. 4–8


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