United States

1980
United States

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 All Our Weapons Mar 11, 1980

""sex, death and television..."" When Uncle Charlie dies, the Chapins have to figure out how to explain it to their sons.

EP2 Uncle Charlie Mar 18, 1980

""getting ready..."" The Chapins' dinner party with another couple turns into a disaster when the main topic of conversation becomes the husband's infidelity.

EP3 A Touching Story Mar 25, 1980

""advantage Richard..."" An old friend for the past 30 years suddenly reveals to the Chapins that he has been hiding his homosexuality all that time.

EP4 Sometimes Apr 08, 1980

""April, '67 moo goo gai panic"" The Chapins panic when they think that Libby is pregnant.

EP5 Better Than Burning Apr 15, 1980

""the Late Show..."" Richard and Libby have a fight over his refusal to ask her father for a loan.

EP6 Room Service Apr 22, 1980

""breaking out..."" Libby's ex-husband makes a surprise visit to the Chapin home.

EP7 Josh Apr 29, 1980

""sometimes it's like this... he's wrong""

EP8 Windmills Apr 15, 1980

Richard and Libby separately reveal their thoughts to interviewers for a book survey.

EP9 Touching Story Jan 01, 0001

""night shift..."" Libby finally confesses a shocking childhood secret.

EP10 Slide Area Jan 01, 0001

""good samaritans..."" 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.

EP11 Broccoli Mar 18, 1980

""$28 a day... plus tax."" Staying in a motel after a fight with his wife, Richard is tempted to stray when a female friend visits to console him.

EP12 And Baby Makes Two... Apr 01, 1980

""Laura..."" 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.

EP13 Lysdexia is No Joek Jan 01, 0001

""Monday, probably..."" 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.
8| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 11 March 1980 Ended
Producted By: OTP Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

United States is a short-lived half-hour comedy-drama that NBC added to its Tuesday primetime schedule in March 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. 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 six of 13 episodes had aired. The remaining episodes were not broadcast until 1986, when the A&E cable channel aired United States.

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Reviews

nungman36 Comparisons to that other whine-fest "Thirty-Something" are apt. This show was 90 percent talk with virtually no action! The topics were mundane, to say the least, the effect quite snooze-worthy.It might do better today when broadcast TV is an entirely female medium with prime-time soaps dominating the schedule. This transformation was incomplete in 1980 so naturally a good portion of the audience said "Huh?' when the show premiered and never again tuned in.After this experience Beau Bridges, a very talented actor, stayed away from TV. The idiosyncratic Helen Shaver has since found her true métier: as a director.
inoldhollywood I watched this show with great interest and quickly got hooked by this family who was actually intelligent and did not find quick and easy solutions to their problems. They were educated, upper class, and had respect for each other. Fine writing, beautiful sets and creative humor was the highlight. Of course it would not hold up on commercial television, it was far too interesting and well written, but I do hope the studio will release all 6 episodes on DVD. This series would surely find an audience with today's more sophisticated viewers. How times have changed and today we openly talk about the subjects this show brought up. It's time has come!
keifer1301 For anyone who enjoyed the honest dialogue of the show, "thirtysomething", "United States" would definitely have been a show to see. The conversations between a man and his wife (we find out that she has been married before) are a stream-of-consciousness discussion, weaving in, out, and around the original topic. In one episode, the husband finds out that a friend has been having an affair. The topic of marital fidelity is discussed, and the wife reveals that she had cheated on her first husband. Her state of mind at the time of the affair and her new husband's altered opinion of her are addressed, very compellingly.Rather than simply have talking heads, the camera rarely points at the characters' faces. In this episode, for example, the couple is changing clothes to attend a function at which the unfaithful friend will be present.The camera is directed at the busy hands and fluttering clothing of each speaker in turn, until they finally leave the bedroom.If this series is now or is ever available for purchase, I am eager to own it.
woodyweaver This was a short lived gem. Man and wife, adult, discussing adult issues with sensitivity and humor, and without the comic "all ends happily after" at the end of each 30 minutes. Entertaining, and made you smile without demeaning. If it ever comes back (unlikely) worth a view.