Series / Acropolis Now

The main trio. L-R: Jim, Effie, Memo.

If you've got problems on your mind,
You can leave them all behind,
Oh, it's a sweet life.

Acropolis Now is an Australian sitcom set in the fictional Acropolis Café in Melbourne and centred around the café staff and their relationships with eachother, created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series.

In the first episode, Jim Stefanidis' (Nick Giannopoulos) father asks him to run the family business, the Acropolis café, when he suddenly leaves Australia to return to his homeland Greece. Jim is joined by his best friend, Ricky Martinez (Simon Palomares), waiter, Memo Hatzidimitropoulos (George Kapiniaris), waitress, Liz Wilson (Tracey Callander), and cooks, Skip (Simon Thorpe) and Manolis (George Vidalis).

Joining in later series are his cousin, Effie Stefanidis (Mary Coustas), Italian Alfredo (Nick Carrafa), Jim's new love interest, Suzanna Martin (Nicki Wendt) Memo's love interest, Despina Hatzipapadopoulos (Georgie Parker) and Effie's new love interest, Lars Larson (Simon Wilton).

The show's humour arises from the clash of cultures and beliefs and it ran for five series from 1989-1992.

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This series provides examples of:

• '80s Hair: Effie had a hair gel mountain on her head.
• Abhorrent Admirer: Effie is this to Ricky and later Alfredo with her unrelenting advances and constant flirtation.
  • Lars later gives Effie a taste of her own medicine in Series 5.
• Alpha Bitch: Suzanna was this throughout most of Series 4, although Jim helps cool her down by Series 5.
• Ascended Extra: Effie was only in a few episodes of Series 1, but had a starring role by Series 4.
• Book Dumb:
  • Jim is the leading example, progressively getting more and more dense every passing series.
    Jim: There must be at least fifteen people waiting out there.
    Ricky: It's the bus stop Jim.
  • Memo is very blunt and stubborn which constantly leads to bad decisions and spectacular blunders.
  • Effie is smarter than Jim and Memo combined, although that isn't saying much considering how ditzy she is.
  • Skip doesn't often have an expression on his face other than gormless agreement.
• Bottle Episode: Several episodes never leave the Acropolis.
• Breakout Character: Effie was so popular that Mary Coustas got several talkshow spin-offs about her after Acropolis Now.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • Effie gets a few:
    • "Hi, has anyone seen my cousin Jim here?".
    • "How embarrassment".
    • "Hello, good thanks".
  • Manolis also had a weepy "Why did she leave me?".
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Manolis disappears after Series 1, while Liz and Mike are nowhere to be seen after Series 3.
• Cool Car: Jim's beloved orange Monaro.
• Courtroom Episode: "Acropolis Law" was about Effie taking legal action against her best friend Sophie after she messed up her hair.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Suzanna starts off as an Alpha Bitch, although she calms down after she joins the Acropolis staff and starts to date Jim.
• Dumb Blond: Skip is rather vapid and clueless and goes along with the others' ideas without a second of thought beforehand.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Back when they went to school together, Jim and Effie would call Suzanna "Pooey Suey".
• Flanderization: Jim was never the smartest in Series 1, but by Series 5, his IQ had dropped around 50 points.
• Gag Nose: Jim's nose was the target of many a joke throughout the series.
• Gender-Blender Name: Mike the cook from Series 3 was female. It's short for Michael.
• Idiot Hero: Jim is an absolute idiot, although he always means well and will do anything for his friends.
• In-Series Nickname: Memo affectionately calls Jim "Jimako".
• Malaproper: It's rare for Effie to go more than a few sentences without making a mistake.
  Effie: How embarrassment.
• Only Known by Their Nickname:
  • Jim is short for Dimitrius.
  • Memo is short for Agamemnon.
  • Ricky is short for Ricardo.
  • Liz is short for Elizabeth
  • Effie is short for Efthimia.
  • Skip's real name is Gavin.
• Or My Name Isn't...: Effie vowing that she and Sophie'll find work in "Jobs for the Girls".
  Effie: All right, we'll do it. Sophie and me will get a job or my name isn't...
  Sophie: Effie Stephanidis.
  Effie: Exactly!
• Put on a Bus:
  • Ricky leaves in "Ricky Sings the Blues" to join a band.
  • Skip leaves in "The Best of Enemies" to go on his annual pilgrimage to the Big Banana.
  • Alfredo leaves between "The Last Temptation" and "Dream Baby" to join the Church.
• Remember the New Guy?: Despina shows up in Series 5 as the love of Memo's life, despite Haroula being the love of Memo's life back in Series 3.
• Repetitive Name: Lars Larson.
• Soapbox Sadie: When Liz feels deeply about something, she isn't afraid to make her voice heard. "Midnight Espresso" revolves around her getting arrested during a protest.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute:
  • Alfredo took Ricky's role as the the one who would have to bring Jim and Memo down from their idiotic behavior and suffering from Effie's advances.
  • Suzanna took Liz's role as the token skip female with a romantic plotline with Jim.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • Memo calms down a lot after Series 1 and becomes more like one of the guys.
  • Suzanna gradually becomes more chill throughout Series 4 with Jim's help.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Between Jim and Liz. Jim made no secret about his love for Liz, but she was a lot more mixed with her feelings. Then Liz disappeared and no one acknowledged her existence ever again...
• Wedding Episode: "Here Come the Brides", the two-part series finale about Jim being scheduled to marry both Suzanna and Julia at the same time and venue.
• Wedding Finale: The aforementioned "Here Come the Brides" two-parter, although it only became the finale after the series was unceremoniously cancelled and ends on a cliffhanger.
• Welcome Episode:
  • Liz and Skip join the Acropolis staff in "Old Bar, New Bar" when Jim takes over the business from his father.
  • Alfredo joins the Acropolis staff in "A Fistful of Cabana" when his uncle takes over.
  • Suzanna joins the Acropolis staff in "Oh Suzanna!" after she loses her job and Jim takes pity on his old classmate.
  • Lars meets the others in "Hair Razors" after he falls desperately in love with Effie.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: After Skip goes on his pilgrimage in "The Best of Enemies", he is never mentioned again.