''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 Simon Palomares is a German-born Australian comedian and actor of Spanish descent. He is best known for his character as cafe manager Ricardo "Ricky" Martinez in ''Acropolis Now''. Biography Simon Palomares was born in Dusseldorf, Germany. Hi ...

, 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.

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 Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

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 Mary Coustas (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian actress, comedian and television personality and writer. Originally from Melbourne, Coustas often performs as the character "Effie", a stereotypical second-generation Greek Australian prone ...

, 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 ''Greeks on the Roof'' was a short-lived Australian television talk show and variety show that ran for 11 episodes on the Seven Network from 1 April to 1 July 2003. It was hosted by the actress/comedian Mary Coustas in character as Effie Stepha ...

'', a short-lived

Greek-Australian Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greeks, Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had ...

version of the British television show ''

The Kumars at No. 42 ''The Kumars at No. 42'' is a British television show. It won an International Emmy in 2002 and 2003, and won a Peabody Award in 2004. It ran for seven series totalling 53 episodes. It was reportedly a favourite of Queen Elizabeth II. Plot Th ...

''.

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (1989)

Series 2 (1990)

Series 3 (1991)

Series 4 (1992)

Series 5 (1992)

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

Other characters

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...

– Danny O'Brien (Soccer Star) *

Anthony Brandon Wong Anthony Brandon Wong (born 12 May 1965), often credited simply as Anthony Wong, is an Australian actor. His roles include Ghost in ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions''. Career His role of Ghost from ''The Matrix Reloaded'' an ...

– 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.

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.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0122333
Acropolis Now at the National Film and Sound Archive
1980s Australian television sitcoms 1990s Australian television sitcoms Seven Network original programming 1989 Australian television series debuts 1992 Australian television series endings Greek-Australian culture in Melbourne Television shows set in Melbourne Australian workplace comedy television series