Married in America & Ansell Adams

This article was first published in the Age on January 31, 2004

Michael Apted looks set to repeat the achievement of the 7 Up series with Married in America (SBS, 8.30pm, tomorrow night). In this two and a half hour special Apted follows nine soon-to-be-wed couples who come from a variety of cultures, ethnicities, religions and economic backgrounds. The focus is on how they met and decided to get married, their views on sex and divorce, their expectations and dreams for the future. He speaks to them in the stressful days and weeks leading up to, and concluding with, their weddings. He'll return to the couples every two years for a decade to see how they're going.

Me, I want to lay odds on who will last and who wont. Reggie and Betty were childhood sweethearts from Queens. He's black and she's white. I'm giving them 3/2 of marital success. Donna & Todd are middle class, live in Manhattan, and, traumatically, took their honeymoon in September 2001. Hard to tell, because September 11 changed everything for them, but I'm guessing 30/1. Chuck & Carol have been married several times between them and met at AA. He's been in prison for rape. They really love each other. I'm giving them 5/1. Nadine reminds Frank of his mother. They are both from Alabama. Long odds (unless they are too depressed to actually get motivated enough to separate): 50/1. Brenda &; David: He's lost a partner already (in a car accident) and Brenda's only 21. Hard to call but they're in for a rough time: 100/1. Chris and Vanessa. He's a policeman and she works is financial planning. Sexy as hell together, both really strong people. 4/1. Amber & Scott. Hardly know each other. She wants to live in big city, he in a small town. 200/1. Cheryl and Neal. This one is totally weird. She's Filipino Catholic, strong and gorgeous. He's New York Jewish, works 14 hours a day and very frightened of the world. She knows what she's getting into, but that may not be enough. 40/1. Toni & Kelly. Now, Apted, be honest. Were the only lesbians you could find for the show these stereotypes? They wear matching baggy cloths and walk their dogs on the beach together. Kelly is a Prison officer and Toni is a PE teacher. They get married in white tuxedos. They're total dags, but they'll never break up. (Famous last words).

For photography lovers, the ABC has a fantastic line-up over the next few weeks. Don't miss the doco on Ansell Adams (tomorrow, 3.00pm). He claims he sought to capture "the continuous beauty of things that are", using the landscape at Yosemite National Park, which he hiked his whole life. Producer Ric Burns weaves together archival footage, photo images and interviews with leading photographers, historians, naturalists and friends to tell the story of a man who was a visionary photographer, pioneer in photographic technique and an ardent crusader for environmentalism. Also recommended is the three part series American Photography: A Century of Images (Sunday, ABC, 2.00pm).

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