Vera Sto Dexi
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Vera Sto Dexi is one of the most popular and acclaimed TV soap operas in Greece. Created by journalist Helena Akrita and writer Giorgos Kyritsis, Vera Sto Dexi (Greek for "Wedding Band on the Right") combines elements of drama, mystery/adventure, and occasionally comedy. The series airs daily on Mega Channel.
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[edit] Origin and Story Overview
Vera Sto Dexi was created by Helena Akrita and Giorgos Kyritsis as a lead-in to the 8pm News of Mega Channel and as a daily series that would revolutionize the concept of a daily show as a regular dramatic series instead of a soap opera.The show is currently the most succesful soap opera in Greece. At the beginning of 2007 Mega Channel announced that the third season, which premiered September 17th 2006, will be the last one for the show.
A story on the influence the past has on the present and the future, Vera Sto Dexi refers to the consequences of a murder committed by three young women twenty years ago. The ongoing war between two ruthless businessmen, Diamantis Amiras (Costas Kazakos) and Angelos Antypas (Danis Katranidis) and its influence on the lives of the characters of the show is also a recurring theme. The title refers to the exploration of marital relationships and the use of the wedding band as a symbol of commitment to another person or cause. Many of the show's most important events take place during a wedding or relate to the influence of such an event.
[edit] Plot and Characters
[edit] Season 1 (2004-2005)
The main storyline of Season 1 was that of Stratos Antypas (Alexandros Stavrou), brother of the murdered Angelos Antypas and his efforts to avenge his brother's death, by ruining the lives of the four women he considered responsible for the murder. The women are Claire Mela (Katia Dandoulaki), a widely respected book publisher, her niece Regina Camba (Marianna Toumassatou), renowned lawyer and her best friends, Dora Aggelidi Sarri (Iro Loupi), a repressed housewive whose quotidian life is falling apart, and Elsa Saranti (Elisavet Moutafi), a young performer engaged to the son of businessman Diamantis Amiras (Kostas Kazakos), Stefanos Amiras (Constantinos Kazakos). As a child, Stratos witnessed the three younger women murder his older brother and legal guardian in self-defence (as he had attacked Regina, who had been his lover, in jealous rage over their separation) and was sent to an orphanage. Having closely followed the women's lives, Stratos also targeted Claire Mela, Regina's wealthy aunt who had witnessed the murder and kept it a secret. At that point in the series, Stratos was working as an assistant/hitman for businessman Diamantis Amiras, who had adopted him and had raised him like a son, resulting in a competitive relationship with Amiras's real son, Stefanos. Stratos pursued Regina romantically under an alias, and went on to ruin her life on many levels, culminating on the public and personal humiliation of abandoning her at the altar on their wedding. Stratos subsequently revealed his true identity and the reasons behind his actions to a desperate Regina, and tortured her by forcing her to endure his affair with her best friend Dora, blackmailing her not to reveal the truth. He also made sure Elsa was sent to jail on her wedding day for a murder she did not commit, and engaged in a heated affair with Dora, after introducing a young prostitute named Aliki Karra (Mady Labou) to her husband Antonis Sarris (Constantinos Constantopoulos) thus ruining her seemingly perfect family life. Enchanted by Dora's strict ethics and healthy lifestyle as well as fond of her children who reminded him of his own traumatic childhood in an orphanage, Stratos chose to give up on his war against the four women. Meanwhile, Elsa was cleared of all charges and moved in with the severely depressed Regina. Eventually, Elsa, Regina and Claire decided to reveal the truth about Stratos to Dora,. When Dora found out the truth, she suffered a nervous breakdown and violently repelled Stratos. The latter, feeling he had been deprived of his chance to rebuild his life, attacked Regina and tried to kill her. Regina shot him, in an echo of her encounter with his late brother. Stratos survived the injuries and, in an act of remorse, cleared Regina of all charges. After Stratos's recovery, a mysterious benefactor contacted Regina with information on the murder and the events that led to it. Stratos was thus forced to collaborate with Regina in order to uncover the mystery. The evidence led to the war between Diamantis Amiras, Stratos's employer and stepfather and Angelos Antypas, Stratos's deceased brother. Stratos discovered the truth about himself: He was Amiras's son and was not related to Angelos by blood. Feeling lost and betrayed, Stratos confronted Amiras, his birth father and was forced to confess his developing attraction to Regina. The two shared a night of passion, resulting in Regina's pregnancy. Feeling guilty about his relationship to Angelos's former lover, Stratos left Regina a second time. The season ended with a startling discovery: Angelos was still alive. He had been hiding in New York for years, waiting for his return. The discovery and Angelos's comeback changed everything for everyone.
[edit] Season 2 (2005-2006)
Having returned to Athens, Greece, Angelos Antypas (Danis Katranidis) was finally ready to avenge his rival, Diamantis Amiras. Explaining his disappearance, Angelos claimed to have been hunted down by Diamantis Amiras, after a tragic and much publicised shipwreck scandal. Amiras made sure his former partner, Angelos, was entirely blamed for the tragedy. As a direct consequence, Angelos was wanted and had to flee the country. He staged his own death, convincing the young women they had killed him. Angelos asked for Stratos's help to destroy Amiras, but Stratos rebelled against him, telling him he had destroyed his life by letting him go to an orphanage and abandoning him without a second thought. Other new characters included Andreas Kairis, a successful journalist and old friend of Stratos's, and his newspaper editor, Jacob Sideris. Meanwhile, Regina's pregnancy continued, but the father's identity was kept secret from everyone, except Claire and Elsa. Stratos eventually discovered the truth about Regina's pregnancy and decided to take the baby from Regina and raise the child on his own. Regina told him that she would rather die than let him touch the baby, and fought in every possible way to protect her from him. In the meantime, Dora had re-approached Stratos and the two re-entered their relationship, with Stratos lying about Regina's pregnancy. Angelos had already started his vengeance rampage, with Claire, Regina's beautiful socialite aunt. Right before Angelos left Greece, staging his death, his wife had abandoned him, taking his only daughter with her. For a long time, Angelos had researched the cause of her actions, only to discover Claire had informed his wife of his affair with the then-teenage Regina. After returning to Greece, Angelos seduced Claire, exposed her infidelity to her politician husband Ares (Stathis Kakavas) and the media, destroying her personally and professionally. He then approached his former lover Regina and offered to protect her from Stratos, when she gave birth to the baby. She declined his offers repeatedly, until she gave birth to her daughter. At that point, Dora discovered the truth about Stratos and Regina's one night stand and their platonic relationship. Borderline psychotic, Dora decided to stay with Stratos, offering to raise his baby with Regina with him. She kept making elaborate schemes, considering mostly legal action against Regina, going almost insane in her effort to defeat her old friend. She eventually married Stratos, but her personality was largely changed by the fame and wealth she eventually obtained. Meanwhile, Elsa, Regina's best friend, embarked on a romantic relationship with Andreas, Stratos's best friend. Their relationship is widely regarded as the healthiest relationship of the series, as opposed to the sadistic and frequently perverse love of Regina and Stratos. However, Elsa and Andreas were also challenged in many ways, particularly by her ex-husband, Stefanos Amiras who pursued them and took legal action against Elsa's capacity as legal guardian of their child. However, the charges were cleared when Stefanos was discovered to have been the mastermind behind many criminal actions, including a murderous attack against Elsa. Stefanos was aided by his lover, the murderous Ragna. Regina finally accepted Angelos's marriage proposal, when Stratos attempted to abduct their daughter. However, the two finally managed to resolve their differences, and finally admitted their love for one another, moving in together. Stratos divorced Dora, who went on to regain her mental health, but Angelos refused to leave Regina. Towards the end of the series, Angelos presented Regina with a tape featuring Stratos murdering a man. Regina was forced to succumb to his blackmail. In order to save Stratos, Regina lied to him and hurt his feelings to prevent the final battle between him and Angelos. Unable to keep going with the lies and pain, Regina attempted to kill both herself and Angelos. Angelos was saved with light injuries, but Regina ended up in a coma. Stratos finally discovered the truth and went back to Regina, who recovered. Eventually, working as a team, Diamantis Amiras, Stratos, Regina, Elsa, Claire and Andreas managed to destroy Angelos's plan to gain control of the Amiras Group. Realizing everything he fought for had fallen apart, Angelos vowed to take revenge. In the 2-hour season finale, he attempted to murder Regina and frame Stratos for the crime. Stratos found him and shot him, freeing Regina. Realizing what he had done, Stratos was consumed by horror and guilt and ran away. Elsa and Claire tried to help Regina overcome her grief, while Amiras stepped up and took full responsibility for the shooting of Angelos, thus saving his son. It was announced that Angelos would in fact survive the injuries, but would be left incapacitated. Stratos's friends, Andreas and Takis were left looking for the guilt-driven Stratos. Dora left Athens with her family, in an optimistic attempt to start over, having finally managed to mend her relationship with her ex-husband Antonis (Constantinos Constantopoulos) and her friends. The season ended with an emotional scene of Regina holding her baby daughter, telling her that they would have to survive alone from this point on.
[edit] Cultural Impact & References
Contrary to the usual negative buzz surrounding daytime soap TV shows, Vera Sto Dexi has been critically lauded. Many scholars and academics have praised the series for its powerful use of dialogue, and its ingenious character development. Despite the fact that the show has featured a love triangle, the romantic storyline has never been the center of the action. Many of the most prestigious Greek actors have appeared in the series, including theater veterans Katia Dandoulaki, Costas Kazakos and Costas Arzoglou. The series has also been praised by the media as genuinely complex, powerfully moving and well-written. Creator Helena Akrita is an acclaimed journalist. She has been quoted as saying that she is usually in charge of the more emotional storylines and the development of the female characters, whereas her co-writer and fellow creator of the show Giorgos Kyritsis chooses the more mysterious, adventurous storylines and is responsible for the development of the male characters. The show is full of references to poetry, music, film and worldwide literature, and is known for its expression of frequent and different political opinions. It is also known for the many social issues it has tackled, such as the position of women in modern societies and cultures, childhood abuse, the state of the penitentiary system and justice and more. It has also motivated many other TV networks to cancel some more conventional shows and start new, more complex television shows, such as ANTENNA TV's Erotas ("Love") and ALPHA TV's upcoming daily series, both of which are being broadcast at the same time zone with Vera Sto Dexi.
