Acropolis Now

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]

For the Lynne Truss radio series, see Acropolis Now (radio).

Acropolis Now
GenreSituation Comedy
Created by
Directed by
Starring
  • Nick Giannopoulos
  • George Kapiniaris
  • Simon Palomares
  • Mary Coustas
Theme music composerGeorge Kapiniaris
Opening theme“It’s A Sweet Life”
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes63 list of episodes
Production
Executive producers
  • Ian Bradley
  • Gary Fenton
Producers
  • Stanley Walsh
  • Peter Herbert
  • Oscar Whitbread
Running time30 minutes
Production companyCrawford Productions
Release
Original networkSeven Network
Original release9 August 1989 (1989-08-09) –
4 November 1992 (1992-11-04)

Program synopsis

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 naïve new cook from the bush and Manolis is the stubborn 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 talk show The Kumars at No. 42.

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.

Production

The program was produced by Crawford Productions which is now owned by WIN Television.

Characters

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)

Awards

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.

Home media-DVD release

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]

Filming location

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]

See also

References
  1. "Acropolis now : Season 1 [DVD]. - Version details - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  2. "Acropolis now - Details - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  3. "Australian Web Archive". webarchive.nla.gov.au. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 June 2001. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  4. "Acropolis Now on DVD | Crawfords Online Store". Crawfordstore.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  5. "Google Maps".
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