Acropolis Now

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

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	Nick Giannopoulos George Kapiniaris Simon Palomares
Directed by	Ted Emery Pino Amenta Peter Andrikidis Kendal Flanadan
Starring	Nick Giannopoulos George Kapiniaris Simon Palomares Mary Coustas
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	Ian Bradley Gary Fenton
Producers	Stanley Walsh Peter Herbert Oscar Whitbread
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Crawford Productions
Original release
Network	Seven Network
Release	9 August 1989 (1989-08-09) – 4 November 1992 (1992-11-04)

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 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.

Episodes

Series overview

Series	Episodes		Originally released
1	11		9 August 1989 (1989-08-09)
2	13		2 August 1990 (1990-08-02)
3	13		21 February 1991 (1991-02-21)
4	13		13 February 1992 (1992-02-13)
5	13		12 August 1992 (1992-08-12)

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 (1989-08-09)
2	"The Proxy Blues"	Ted Emery	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	16 August 1989 (1989-08-16)
3	"The Martinez Inquiry"	Ted Emery	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	23 August 1989 (1989-08-23)
4	"The Trouble with Mothers"	Ted Emery	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	30 August 1989 (1989-08-30)
5	"It's Academic"	Ted Emery	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	6 September 1989 (1989-09-06)
6	"It's Not Unusual"	Ted Emery	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	13 September 1989 (1989-09-13)
7	"The Key to Her Heart"	Pino Amenta	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	20 September 1989 (1989-09-20)
8	"Easter Greek Style"	Pino Amenta	Mary Coustas, Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	23 August 1989 (1989-08-23)
9	"Three Skips and a Joey"	Pino Amenta	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	4 October 1989 (1989-10-04)
10	"Bucklovers"	Pino Amenta	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	11 October 1989 (1989-10-11)
11	"Writer's Block"	Pino Amenta	Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris & Simon Palomares	18 October 1989 (1989-10-18)

Series 2 (1990)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Cappuccino Catastrophe"	Pino Amenta	Simon Palomares	2 August 1990 (1990-08-02)
2	"Double or Nothing"	Pino Amenta	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	9 August 1990 (1990-08-09)
3	"Black Ain't Black"	Pino Amenta	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	16 August 1990 (1990-08-16)
4	"Olives Ain't Olives"	Pino Amenta	Simon Palomares	23 August 1990 (1990-08-23)
5	"St. Memo's Fire"	Peter Andrikidis	George Kapiniaris	30 August 1990 (1990-08-30)
6	"Ms Acropolis"	Pino Amenta	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	6 September 1990 (1990-09-06)
7	"Carmen I'm Too Bizet"	Pino Amenta	Simon Palomares	13 September 1990 (1990-09-13)
8	"Ring of Confidence"	Pino Amenta	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	20 September 1990 (1990-09-20)
9	"Jobs for the Girls"	Pino Amenta	George Kapiniaris	27 September 1990 (1990-09-27)
10	"Shakespeare Was a Greek"	Pino Amenta	George Kapiniaris	4 October 1990 (1990-10-04)
11	"My Sister Aphroula"	Pino Amenta	George Kapiniaris	11 October 1990 (1990-10-11)
12	"The Taxman Cometh"	Pino Amenta	Simon Palomares	18 October 1990 (1990-10-18)
13	"Ricky Sings the Blues"	Pino Amenta	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	25 October 1990 (1990-10-25)

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 (1991-02-21)
2	"The Goddess"	Pino Amenta	George Kapiniaris	28 February 1991 (1991-02-28)
3	"A Fistful of Cabana"	Pino Amenta	Pino Amenta, Chris Anastassiades & Peter Herbert	7 March 1991 (1991-03-07)
4	"On the Waiterfront"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	14 March 1991 (1991-03-14)
5	"Teenage Mutant Ninja Greeks"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	21 March 1991 (1991-03-21)
6	"The Kid"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	28 March 1991 (1991-03-28)
7	"The Best of Enemies"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	4 April 1991 (1991-04-04)
8	"Throw Memo from the Plane"	Kendal Flanagan	Julian Glavacich, George Kapiniaris & Alan Keaughran	11 April 1991 (1991-04-11)
9	"Snow Job: Part One"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	18 April 1991 (1991-04-18)
10	"Snow Job: Part Two"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	25 April 1991 (1991-04-25)
11	"Midnight Expresso"	Kendal Flanagan	Simon Palomares	2 May 1991 (1991-05-02)
12	"Back in the U.S.S.R"	Kendal Flanagan	Marc Gracie, Peter Herbert & Simon Palomares	16 May 1991 (1991-05-16)
13	"Acropolis Law"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Mary Coustas	23 May 1991 (1991-05-23)

Series 4 (1992)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Oh Suzanna!"	Peter Andrikidis	Elizabeth Coleman	13 February 1992 (1992-02-13)
2	"Crimes of Fashion"	Mark Piper	Ray Boseley	20 February 1992 (1992-02-20)
3	"Phantom of the Acropolis"	Mark Piper	Julian Glavacich, George Kapiniaris & Alan Keaughran	27 February 1992 (1992-02-27)
4	"21 Today"	Julie Bates & Aleksi Vellis	Mary Coustas	5 March 1992 (1992-03-05)
5	"The Letter"	Julie Bates & Aleksi Vellis	Kevin Nemeth	12 March 1992 (1992-03-12)
6	"Wheel of Shame"	Elizabeth Crosby	George Kapiniaris	19 March 1992 (1992-03-19)
7	"Full Metal Jerks"	Julie Bates	Nick Giannopoulos & Aleksi Vellis	26 March 1992 (1992-03-26)
8	"Four Eyes"	Kendal Flanagan	Nick Giannopoulos & Aleksi Vellis	2 April 1992 (1992-04-02)
9	"Devil in Disguise"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Elizabeth Coleman	9 April 1992 (1992-04-09)
10	"The King and I"	Kendal Flanagan	John Ruane	16 April 1992 (1992-04-16)
11	"Desperately Seeking Effie"	Kendal Flanagan	Mary Coustas	23 April 1992 (1992-04-23)
12	"Deaf Jammed"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades	30 April 1992 (1992-04-30)
13	"The Last Temptation"	Kendal Flanagan	Chris Anastassiades & Nick Giannopoulos	7 May 1992 (1992-05-07)

Series 5 (1992)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Dream Baby"	Mike Smith	Ray Boseley	12 August 1992 (1992-08-12)
2	"Love"	Mike Smith	Kevin Nemeth	19 August 1992 (1992-08-19)
3	"Hair Razors"	Mike Smith	Chris Anastassiades, Peter Herbert & Aleksi Vellis	26 August 1992 (1992-08-26)
4	"The Other Man"	Mike Smith	Chris Anastassiades	2 September 1992 (1992-09-02)
5	"The Lars Supper"	Mike Smith	Ray Boseley & Lachy Hulme	9 September 1992 (1992-09-09)
6	"Mum's the Word"	Andrew Friedman	Ray Boseley	16 September 1992 (1992-09-16)
7	"Coward's End"	Andrew Friedman	Christine Madafferi	23 September 1992 (1992-09-23)
8	"The Battle of the Sexists"	Andrew Friedman	Julian Glavacich & George Kapiniaris	30 September 1992 (1992-09-30)
9	"Torn Between Two Lovers"	Andrew Friedman	Elizabeth Coleman & Peter Herbert	7 October 1992 (1992-10-07)
10	"Stupidstition"	Andrew Friedman	Julian Glavacich & George Kapiniaris	14 October 1992 (1992-10-14)
11	"Confessions of a Hair Gel Goddess"	Andrew Friedman	Mary Coustas	21 October 1992 (1992-10-21)
12	"Here Come the Brides: Part One"	Andrew Friedman	Nick Giannopoulos	28 October 1992 (1992-10-28)
13	"Here Come the Brides: Part Two"	Andrew Friedman	Nick Giannopoulos	4 November 1992 (1992-11-04)

Popular culture

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][better source needed]}

See also

• List of Australian television series

References

1. . Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2013 – via Trove.
2. "Acropolis now". Retrieved 4 June 2013 – via Trove.
3. "Australian Web Archive". 23 August 2006. Archived from the original on 24 June 2001. Retrieved 4 June 2013 – via Australian Web Archive.
4. . Crawfordstore.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
5. "Google Maps".

External links

• Acropolis Now at IMDb  
• Acropolis Now at the National Film and Sound Archive