A look at coupledom that is worth the commitment

Michael Apted, whose “7 Up” documentaries have tracked a group of ordinary Britons through the years just to see how they’re getting on, has also been making a series about marriage. The second installment, “Marriage in America 2,” airs tonight on the Hallmark Channel, owned by the card people, appropriately enough. (The first ran on A&E; in 2002.) The films track nine couples, representing a variety of sometimes mixed colors, cultures and classes -- none too upper crust -- and it’s a natural progression from “7 Up,” from the life of an individual to the life of a couple.

The result is something not in the least extraordinary and yet absolutely captivating. Like “7 Up,” “Marriage in America” is designed to make its points over time, and a marriage is, of course, all about time: It starts as a prediction two people make about the future -- that they’ll spend it together, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, etc. And it is also retrospectively defined by time: “They were married all of six weeks” or “They were married 50 years,” the longer figure generally being considered the greater success. (Though perhaps not if “and were miserable the whole time” were to complete the phrase.)

The fact that no one actually can tell the future is really the point of the project, which is planned to go another five years, although theoretically such a series could follow these couples until death or divorce do them part, as long as Apted or his creative heirs can scratch up the money to keep going. “Marriage in America 2” carries a production credit from Faith & Values Media, whose stated goal is to “use the electronic media to enrich spiritual life, heal wounds by advocating religious tolerance, and build bridges of understanding among people of faith.” We of little faith should not, however, be put off by the association -- like marriage itself, the film does not need God to work. (And it isn’t necessary to have seen the first chapter, which the present one recaps.)

For whatever nexus of reasons, and notwithstanding various bridal-themed “reality shows” on lifestyle cable nets, television has lost interest in exploring the conjugal state. Where once the married couple was a fixture of the medium, nearly all of the major characters and most of the minor ones on series currently running are some form of single (never married, divorced, separated, widowed). (“The Sopranos” and “Big Love” are among the exceptions, and how weird is that?) Dating is the name of the game. “Grey’s Anatomy,” whose characters seem perennially condemned to a kind of emotional high school, wound up its year with one marriage narrowly averted and another veering toward the rocks. Two shows about getting married, “Big Day” and “The Wedding Bells,” flopped midseason, though this may have something to do with the fact that neither was very good.

But it’s a rich story, marriage, and a bigger story than the relationship it defines -- as seen here, it involves issues of work, ambition, community, money, place and children. It’s dramatically advantageous that the film focuses mostly on young people, for whom five years can represent a world of changes, though all but one couple are still together. (Another is back together.) But while a few have “stories” -- one couple who lived blocks from the World Trade Center were on their honeymoon when the towers came down, another come from lives marked by violence and alcohol, a lesbian couple (and parents of twins) work for same-sex marital rights -- it’s the ordinary stuff that is most exciting to see.

While in one sense this is a big, ambitious project, in another there is nothing to it. Apted, while a penetrating (off-camera) interviewer who doesn’t shy from asking uncomfortable questions, is not pushing for any sort of answer or working to support a thesis. He’s simply showing up and paying attention, in his dry British way. It is a wonderful thing to be taken seriously, and to be taken seriously for who you already are, without having to perform for the camera -- and it is wonderful to watch. These couples are all different, which means some of them are different from you, possibly to the point of strangeness. Yet in their very variety they stand for any of us, for better, for worse, in sickness, in health, and so on.

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

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‘Married in America 2’

Where: Hallmark Channel

When: 9 to midnight tonight

Rating: TV-MA (may be unsuitable for children younger than 17)