Kick (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Kick is an Australia
n television comedy
that was first broadcast on 9 June 2007 on SBS TV
. It is set in Brunswick
in Melbourne
, Australia
. The series follows the adventures of wild twenty-something Miki Mavros who is forced to move back in with her Greek-Australian parents on Hope Street after a failed attempt to "make it big". Miki begins work as a secretary for suave Anglo-Indian Dr. Joe Mangeshkar, who has a girlfriend named Jan, and things spiral out of control. Miki manages a local neighbourhood soccer team, hence the series title Kick.
The show also follows the adventures of Miki's neighbours on Hope Street, including the Salim family, a Lebanese
-Australian Muslim
family with siblings Amen, Osama "Ozzie", Taghred and Layla. Amen is an aspiring businessman with questionable ethics. Osama is going through typical teenage angst and has a crush on Taghred's friend Tatiana. Taghred is an aspiring soccer star. Layla is a university student arranged to be married to Sharif, but everything changes when Layla falls for fellow fencer
Jackie.
The first season of the show is available on DVD.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n television comedy
Television comedy
Television comedy had a presence from the earliest days of broadcasting. Among the earliest BBC television programmes in the 1930s was Starlight, which offered a series of guests from the music hall era — singers and comedians amongst them...
that was first broadcast on 9 June 2007 on SBS TV
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
. It is set in Brunswick
Brunswick, Victoria
Brunswick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The series follows the adventures of wild twenty-something Miki Mavros who is forced to move back in with her Greek-Australian parents on Hope Street after a failed attempt to "make it big". Miki begins work as a secretary for suave Anglo-Indian Dr. Joe Mangeshkar, who has a girlfriend named Jan, and things spiral out of control. Miki manages a local neighbourhood soccer team, hence the series title Kick.
The show also follows the adventures of Miki's neighbours on Hope Street, including the Salim family, a Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
-Australian Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
family with siblings Amen, Osama "Ozzie", Taghred and Layla. Amen is an aspiring businessman with questionable ethics. Osama is going through typical teenage angst and has a crush on Taghred's friend Tatiana. Taghred is an aspiring soccer star. Layla is a university student arranged to be married to Sharif, but everything changes when Layla falls for fellow fencer
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
Jackie.
The first season of the show is available on DVD.
Season one
| Episode # | Title | Original airdate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kick Start" | 9 June 2007 | |||
| • Unemployed Miki Mavros returns home to live with her parents, Takis and Dora, on Hope Street after trying to break into the entertainment industry and kick start her career. • University student Layla meets Jackie in a fencing match - there's attraction at first sight and they exchange numbers. But we learn that Layla is reluctantly engaged to be married to Sharif. |
|||||
| 2 | "You Can't Stop The Music" | 16 June 2007 | |||
| • Jackie invites Layla to a party and Layla happily accepts. Later, Layla is forced to cancel for the karaoke party where she is performing with her brother and sister. Jackie comes to the karaoke party unannounced and after Layla finishes performing, she flees without talking to Jackie. | |||||
| 3 | "I Feel A Tingle" | 23 June 2007 | |||
| • Miki's day turns into a nightmare when her commercial audition is a disaster, she forgets to help out her boss and Tatiana's soccer dreams continue to nag her. • Tatiana's soccer is put on hold when she lands a gig in a band. • After a tiff about Layla's seeming disinterest in continuing their relationship, Layla and Jackie resolve their misunderstanding and go out for coffee. Layla meets Jackie's friends who catch her off guard by asking if she is Jackie's girlfriend. Layla says they are just hanging out, but the question clearly makes her think. |
|||||
| 4 | "Attitude" | 30 June 2007 | |||
| • Layla continues to enjoy her time spent with Jackie at university, while her relationship with fiancée Sharif continues with him being more invested than she is. | |||||
| 5 | "Get It While You Can" | 7 July 2007 | |||
| • The attraction between Layla and Jackie grows although their attempts to be alone together are repeatedly thwarted. Finally, Layla and Jackie kiss for the first time. | |||||
| 6 | "Love The One You're With" | 14 July 2007 | |||
| • Layla invites Jackie to meet her family but worries that their relationship will be exposed. Jackie assures Layla she will keep their secret. After meeting Sharif, Jackie asks Layla if he is her boyfriend; she answers he is just her "disguise". | |||||
| 7 | "And The Singer Is..." | 21 July 2007 | |||
| • Layla and Jackie room together during an overnight fencing camp. Their plans are interrupted when another fencer joins them temporarily, but they eventually have the opportunity for private intimacy. | |||||
| 8 | "Playing With Fire" | 28 July 2007 | |||
| • Layla meets Sharif's female cousin, and Sharif talks about plans to have children after Layla graduates; Layla is less than enthusiastic about the idea. Attending a lesbian club with Jackie, Layla is surprised to see Sharif's cousin with a female companion. | |||||
| 9 | "Baby, Believe Me" | 4 August 2007 | |||
| • Layla shops for white goods with Jackie, and for engagement rings with Sharif. | |||||
| 10 & 11 | "While The Cat's Away" & "Get Up, Stand Up" | 11 August 2007 | |||
| • Jackie accidentally learns from Sharif that he is engaged to marry Layla. Layla says she is torn between her feelings for Jackie and her obligation to her family to marry Sharif; she does not want to marry Sharif but is not ready to reveal that she is gay. Amen sees Layla and Jackie kiss at a party but says he will not tell anyone about their relationship. Jackie turns up uninvited at Layla and Sharif's engagement party, but leaves early in tears. | |||||
| 12 & 13 | "Crunch Time" & "Issi, Ozzie, Oi Oi Oi!" | 18 August 2007 | |||
| • Jackie tells Layla their relationship is over if she stays with Sharif and continues to hide her relationship with Jackie. Amen also tells Layla that she needs to make a decision. To her mother's dismay, Layla tells Sharif that she does not love him and cannot marry him. She explains this to Jackie, but says she is not ready to reveal to her family that she is gay. Jackie and Layla resume their relationship. | |||||
Season two
No official plans for a second season have been announced by SBS, but in an e-mail dated 8 October 2007 an SBS spokesperson wrote:A second series of Kick is currently in development. At this stage no date has been set to screen the second series. However, we are pleased to inform you we do have the rights to repeat Kick series one. Currently no date has been set by us to re-screen it, but we expect to do so in approximately 8-12 months. Please keep an eye on the published TV guides or to our Whats On website for advanced notice of its transmission at: www.sbs.com.au/whatson.
Cast
- Zoe VentouraZoe VentouraZoe Ventoura is an Australian actress. In early life she attended Penrhos College in Perth, Western Australia. Ventoura is best known for portraying Melissa Rafter in Packed to the Rafters...
as Miki Mavros - Raji JamesRaji JamesRajesh Jhanji better known by his stage name Little Raji James That Used To Be In Eastenders But Ruined It, is a British Indian actor, club night promotor and podcast co-host, best known for his role as Ash Ferreira in EastEnders, he also played Abdul Khan in the 1999 British Film East Is East...
as Joe Mangeshkar - George KapiniarisGeorge KapiniarisGeorge Kapiniaris is Greek Australian television actor, stage actor and comedian.-Career:Kapiniaris broke through in the stage show Wogs Out of Work with Nick Giannopoulos. He then starred in the Melbourne based television sitcom Acropolis Now with Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares and Mary Coustas...
as Takis Mavros - Maria MercedesMaria Mercedes (actor)Maria Mercedes is an Australian actress who has many credits in television, movies, and theatre.Mercedes has had starring roles in the television comedy/variety series Greeks on the Roof as Poppy, the mother of Effie, and in the comedy series Kick as Dora Mavros...
as Dora Mavros - Anh DoAnh DoAnh Do is a Vietnamese Australian author, actor and stand-up comedian.He has appeared on many Australian TV shows such as Thank God You're Here and Good News Week, and was runner-up on Dancing With The Stars in 2007. He studied a combined Business Law degree at the University of Technology, Sydney...
as Hoa Tran - Damien FotiouDamien FotiouDamien Fotiou is an Australian actor who has appeared in many fims and television series.Fotiou is probably best known for his roles in the television series Kick and Thunderstone. His guest roles on television series include Blue Heelers, Halifax f.p., Stingers and The Saddle Club...
as Nico Angelidis - Firass DiraniFirass DiraniFirass Dirani is an Australian actor known for his roles of Nick Russell, the Red Mystic Ranger on Power Rangers Mystic Force, Charlie on the 2009 Australian film The Combination, and as John Ibrahim on the 2010 series Underbelly: The Golden Mile....
as Amen Salim - Nicole Chamoun as Layla Salim
- Stephen Lopez as Osama "Ozzie" Salim
- Mauricio Merino Jr as Justin Haz
- Romi Trower as Jackie Schneider
- Kat StewartKat StewartKat Stewart is a Logie Award-winning Australian actress who has made numerous appearances in television series, movies and on-stage.-Career:...
as Jan Pollock - Alex MengletAlex MengletAlex Menglet, born Alexei Menglet in Moscow in 1956, is an actor who has found success working in Australia. He is best known for his roles as chef Ray "Gay Ray" Proctor in the 1984 season of Prisoner and more recently as Zoran Baranoff in the SBS series Kick...
as Zoran Baranoff - Nadja Kostich as Martina Baranoff
- Natasha Cunningham as Tatiana Baranoff
- Osamah SamiOsamah SamiOsamah Sami is an Australian actor of Persian origin. He has appeared in numerous episodes of the Australian television programme Kick.-Biography:...
as Sharif Doumani - Rebecca AshaRebecca AshaRebecca Asha is an Australian television and film actress. She has appeared in the SBS Television series Kick and several Australian feature films released theatrically including Hating Alison Ashley The Extra and Charlie and Boots alongside fellow Australians Paul Hogan and Shane Jacobson...
as Guest Cast
See also
- List of Australian television series
- List of television shows with LGBT characters