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Acropolis Now was an Australian television sitcom set in a fictional Greek cafe, called the "Acropolis Cafe" in Melbourne that ran for 63 episodes broadcast from 9 August 1989 to 4 November 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy stage show, Wogs out of Work. The title is a nameplay on the film Apocalypse Now. Each episode was 20 minutes in length and filmed in front of a live audience.[1][2][3]
| Acropolis Now | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Directed by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | George Kapiniaris |
| Opening theme | "It's a Sweet Life" |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 63 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company | Crawford Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | 9 August 1989 – 4 November 1992 |
Jim's (Giannopoulos) father asks him to run the family business, the Acropolis café, when he suddenly leaves Australia to return to his homeland Greece. The series centres on the activities of the cafe staff. Greek Jim Stefanidis, is the immature owner and his best friend, Spaniard Ricky Martinez (Palomares) is the sensible manager (seasons 1-2 only). Memo (Kapiniaris) is the traditional Greek waiter, Liz is the liberated Australian waitress. Skip is the new cook from the bush, naïve to wog culture but more accomplished in Greek cuisine than Jim, and Manolis is the stubborn, incompetent, drunk cook from the old cafe. The show's humour arises from the clash of cultures and beliefs.
Jim's hairdresser cousin Effie, played by Mary Coustas, became a hugely popular and enduring character during the run of the show. Coustas later reprised the role for several TV specials and series including Effie, Just Quietly, an SBS comedy/interview show, and Greeks on the Roof, a short-lived Greek-Australian version of the British television show The Kumars at No. 42.
Series overview
Series 1 (1989)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Old Bar... New Bar" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 9 August 1989 |
| 2 | "The Proxy Blues" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 16 August 1989 |
| 3 | "The Martinez Inquiry" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 23 August 1989 |
| 4 | "The Trouble with Mothers" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 30 August 1989 |
| 5 | "It's Academic" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 6 September 1989 |
| 6 | "It's Not Unusual" | Ted Emery | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 13 September 1989 |
| 7 | "The Key to Her Heart" | Pino Amenta | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 20 September 1989 |
| 8 | "Easter Greek Style" | Pino Amenta | Mary Coustas, Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 23 August 1989 |
| 9 | "Three Skips and a Joey" | Pino Amenta | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 4 October 1989 |
| 10 | "Bucklovers" | Pino Amenta | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 11 October 1989 |
| 11 | "Writer's Block" | Pino Amenta | Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares | 18 October 1989 |
Series 2 (1990)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Cappuccino Catastrophe" | Pino Amenta | Simon Palomares | 2 August 1990 |
| 2 | "Double or Nothing" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 9 August 1990 |
| 3 | "Black Ain't Black" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 16 August 1990 |
| 4 | "Olives Ain't Olives" | Pino Amenta | Simon Palomares | 23 August 1990 |
| 5 | "St. Memo's Fire" | Peter Andrikidis | George Kapiniaris | 30 August 1990 |
| 6 | "Ms Acropolis" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 6 September 1990 |
| 7 | "Carmen I'm Too Bizet" | Pino Amenta | Simon Palomares | 13 September 1990 |
| 8 | "Ring of Confidence" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 20 September 1990 |
| 9 | "Jobs for the Girls" | Pino Amenta | George Kapiniaris | 27 September 1990 |
| 10 | "Shakespeare Was a Greek" | Pino Amenta | George Kapiniaris | 4 October 1990 |
| 11 | "My Sister Aphroula" | Pino Amenta | George Kapiniaris | 11 October 1990 |
| 12 | "The Taxman Cometh" | Pino Amenta | Simon Palomares | 18 October 1990 |
| 13 | "Ricky Sings the Blues" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 25 October 1990 |
Series 3 (1991)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Harry Who Didn't" | Pino Amenta | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 21 February 1991 |
| 2 | "The Goddess" | Pino Amenta | George Kapiniaris | 28 February 1991 |
| 3 | "A Fistful of Cabana" | Pino Amenta | Pino Amenta, Chris Anastassiades & Peter Herbert | 7 March 1991 |
| 4 | "On the Waiterfront" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 14 March 1991 |
| 5 | "Teenage Mutant Ninja Greeks" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 21 March 1991 |
| 6 | "The Kid" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 28 March 1991 |
| 7 | "The Best of Enemies" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 4 April 1991 |
| 8 | "Throw Memo from the Plane" | Kendal Flanagan | Julian Glavacich, George Kapiniaris & Alan Keaughran | 11 April 1991 |
| 9 | "Snow Job: Part One" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 18 April 1991 |
| 10 | "Snow Job: Part Two" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 25 April 1991 |
| 11 | "Midnight Expresso" | Kendal Flanagan | Simon Palomares | 2 May 1991 |
| 12 | "Back in the U.S.S.R" | Kendal Flanagan | Marc Gracie, Peter Herbert & Simon Palomares | 16 May 1991 |
| 13 | "Acropolis Law" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Mary Coustas | 23 May 1991 |
Series 4 (1992)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Oh Suzanna!" | Peter Andrikidis | Elizabeth Coleman | 13 February 1992 |
| 2 | "Crimes of Fashion" | Mark Piper | Ray Boseley | 20 February 1992 |
| 3 | "Phantom of the Acropolis" | Mark Piper | Julian Glavacich, George Kapiniaris & Alan Keaughran | 27 February 1992 |
| 4 | "21 Today" | Julie Bates & Aleksi Vellis | Mary Coustas | 5 March 1992 |
| 5 | "The Letter" | Julie Bates & Aleksi Vellis | Kevin Nemeth | 12 March 1992 |
| 6 | "Wheel of Shame" | Elizabeth Crosby | George Kapiniaris | 19 March 1992 |
| 7 | "Full Metal Jerks" | Julie Bates | Nick Giannopoulos & Aleksi Vellis | 26 March 1992 |
| 8 | "Four Eyes" | Kendal Flanagan | Nick Giannopoulos & Aleksi Vellis | 2 April 1992 |
| 9 | "Devil in Disguise" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Elizabeth Coleman | 9 April 1992 |
| 10 | "The King and I" | Kendal Flanagan | John Ruane | 16 April 1992 |
| 11 | "Desperately Seeking Effie" | Kendal Flanagan | Mary Coustas | 23 April 1992 |
| 12 | "Deaf Jammed" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades | 30 April 1992 |
| 13 | "The Last Temptation" | Kendal Flanagan | Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos | 7 May 1992 |
Series 5 (1992)
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dream Baby" | Mike Smith | Ray Boseley | 12 August 1992 |
| 2 | "Love" | Mike Smith | Kevin Nemeth | 19 August 1992 |
| 3 | "Hair Razors" | Mike Smith | Chris Anastassiades, Peter Herbert & Aleksi Vellis | 26 August 1992 |
| 4 | "The Other Man" | Mike Smith | Chris Anastassiades | 2 September 1992 |
| 5 | "The Lars Supper" | Mike Smith | Ray Boseley & Lachy Hulme | 9 September 1992 |
| 6 | "Mum's the Word" | Andrew Friedman | Ray Boseley | 16 September 1992 |
| 7 | "Coward's End" | Andrew Friedman | Christine Madafferi | 23 September 1992 |
| 8 | "The Battle of the Sexists" | Andrew Friedman | Julian Glavacich & George Kapiniaris | 30 September 1992 |
| 9 | "Torn Between Two Lovers" | Andrew Friedman | Elizabeth Coleman & Peter Herbert | 7 October 1992 |
| 10 | "Stupidstition" | Andrew Friedman | Julian Glavacich & George Kapiniaris | 14 October 1992 |
| 11 | "Confessions of a Hair Gel Goddess" | Andrew Friedman | Mary Coustas | 21 October 1992 |
| 12 | "Here Come the Brides: Part One" | Andrew Friedman | Nick Giannopoulos | 28 October 1992 |
| 13 | "Here Come the Brides: Part Two" | Andrew Friedman | Nick Giannopoulos | 4 November 1992 |
Acropolis Now helped popularise the term "skippy" or "skip" to refer to Anglo-Celtic Australians and others of European but non-Mediterranean descent. This term (inspired by the iconic 60's TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo) became popular with Mediterranean-Australians, and to a lesser extent non-Mediterranean people, especially in Melbourne.
The program was produced by Crawford Productions which is now owned by WIN Television.
Overview
| Character | Portrayed by | Acropolis Now | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Drimitrius "Jim" Stefanidis | Nick Giannopoulos | Main | ||||
| Agamemnon "Memo" Aristotele Hatzidimitropoulos | George Kapiniaris | Main | ||||
| Efthimia Francesca "Effie" Stefanidis | Mary Coustas | Recurring | Main | |||
| Ricardo "Ricky" Martinez | Simon Palomares | Main | ||||
| Elizabeth "Liz" Maloney | Tracey Callander | Recurring | ||||
| Gavin "Skip" Farrell | Simon Thorpe | Recurring | ||||
| Manolis | George Vidalis | Recurring | ||||
| Sophie | Sheryl Munks | Recurring | Guest | Recurring | ||
| Aphrodite (Aphroula) "Afro" Costadina Afiyenya Hatzidimotropoulos | Evdokia Katahanas | Guest | ||||
| Harry (the bouncer) | Kris Karahisarlis | Guest | ||||
| Alfredo | Nick Carrafa | Recurring | Main | |||
| Suzanna Martin | Nicki Wendt | Main | ||||
| Despina Hatzipapadopoulos | Georgie Parker | Main | ||||
| Lars Larson | Simon Wilton | Main | ||||
| Julia | Katerina Kotsonis | Recurring | ||||
| Olga | Christine Kaman | Recurring | ||||
Other characters
- Russell Crowe – Danny O'Brien (Soccer Star)
- Anthony Brandon Wong – Guido Mazzio (Italian-Asian; Guido Rosi's cousin)
- Warren Mitchell – Kostas "Con" Stefanidis (Jim's Father)
- Zlatko Kasumovic – Vlad (Harry's Brother; the bouncer)
- Lawrence Mah – Colin (Chinese Green Grocer)
- Tony Poli (S03E07) & Joe Perrone (S04E02) – Vinnie Vincenzo (Owner: Vinnie's Bistro, Jim's long-time rival)
- Gerry Connolly – Larry (Wheel of Language Host)
- Vince D'Amico – Don Santo (The Italian Godfather)
- Di Adams – Michael "Mike" (Female Masculine Chef)
- Fotis Pelekis – Dimi Stefanidis (The Kid; Jim's Identical teenage year 10 wagging school Cousin)
The show itself did not win any awards, but Mary Coustas won the 1993 Logie for Most Popular Comedy Performer for her role as Effie.
Acropolis Now has been released as a complete series boxset by Crawfords Online Store. The boxset contains all 63 episodes on a 15 disc set, along with episode synopses and out-takes from episodes as a special feature.[4]
Although the Acropolis cafè/hotel was filmed in HSV-7 Studios, the exterior is still standing and looks almost identical to the show. It is located on 251 Brunswick Street, and corner of Greeves Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.[5][better source needed]
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