Acropolis Now

For the Lynne Truss radio series, see Acropolis Now (radio).
Acropolis Now
Genre Situation Comedy
Starring Nick Giannopoulos
George Kapiniaris
Simon Palomares
Mary Coustas
Theme music composer George Kapiniaris
Country of origin Australia Australia
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 63 ([of episodes])
Broadcast
Original channel Seven Network
Original run 9 August 1989 – 4 November 1992
External links
Website

Acropolis Now was an Australian television sitcom set in a fictional Greek cafe in Melbourne of the same name that ran for 63 episodes from 1989 to 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 play on the film Apocalypse Now. Each episode was 30 minutes in length and filmed in front of a live audience.[1][2][3]

Jim's 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 Stephanidis (Giannopoulos), is the immature owner and his best friend, Spaniard Ricky Martinez (Palomares) is the sensible manager (who ended up leaving in Season 2). 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. 'Hilarity' prevails 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 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.

Cast

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.

DVD Release

Acropolis Now has been released as a complete series boxset by Crawfords Online Store. It can be purchased for $99.95. The boxset contains all 63 episodes on a 15 disc set, along with episode synposes 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 St, Fitzroy, Melbourne Victoria Australia. https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=251+Brunswick+St+%26+Greeves+St,+Fitzroy,+Melbourne,+VIC,+Australia.&ie=UTF-8&ei=aI7kUqMPhIWQBcL5gcAO&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Acropolis now : Season 1 [DVD]. - Version details - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  2. ↑ "Acropolis now - Details - Trove". Trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  3. ↑ "Pandora Archive". Pandora.nla.gov.au. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. ↑ "Acropolis Now on DVD | Crawfords Online Store". Crawfordstore.com.au. Retrieved 2013-06-04.

External links