To kafe tis Charas
Encyclopedia
To kafe tis Charas was a Greek
comedy TV series that broadcast on ANT1
and ran for three seasons from September 2003 until mid 2006, its timeslot was at 21:00 local time
right after Ta Nea tou ANT1
which was the same timeslot for other ANT1 stations outside Greece, within the Greek diaspora in 2007, the show broadcast at 19:00 on one of ANT1 stations. Its producer is Kostas Lychnaras and the directors were Charis Romas and Anna Chatzisofia. The show stars Haris Romas
(of Mama Mia, Oi Men Kai Oi Den
and Konstantinou kai Elenis
fame), Renia Louizidou, Joyce Eveidi, Vassilis Chalakatevakis, Kostas Flokatoulas, Christina Tsafou, Foteini Demiri, Haris Grigoropoulos, Stelios Goutis, Rania Ioannidou, Sofia Moutidou, Periklis Lianos, Dimitris Tsakalas, Hara/Chara Ismirou/Ismyrou, Dimitrios Macheras and Giannis Papathanas(s)is.
The show currently runs for reruns in 2007 and airs every Weekend mornings on ANT1 and has also Greek subtitles or closed captioning for the hearing umpaired, unlike most English programs, it is one of the few Greek speaking shows that offers closed captioning probably different.
, with Chara Chaska, a single mother who works at an advertising agency. When her boyfriend and fellow co-worker steals her ideas for a campaign and gets promoted instead of her, she decides to leave her old life behind, quit her job and accept an inheritance (a house and a shop) at a remote village.
As soon as she and her daughter reach the village in question, Kolokotronitsi (Κολοκοτρωνίτσι, presumably named after Theodoros Kolokotronis
) located somewhere in Arcadia
, they meet the mayor, Periandros Popotas (Περίανδρος Πώποτας), an old - fashioned person with a pathological hatred of everything "modern" who dislikes all "foreigners" who may disrupt the motto of the village "Order and Morality" (Τάξις και Ηθική). Having studied folk art and traditions in London
, he lives with his son Emmanouil and with the family help of Tasia, but has a secret shady past of his own (he is pretending that his wife Penelope, a world-renowned opera singer has died, while in reality they have divorced - and he has blocked her from seeing their son ever since). Periandros has a sister, Stavroula, unhappily married to the village's cheating cafe owner, Vangelis.
As soon as Chara comes to the village, opening a modern cafeteria (which she calls "To cafe tis Charas", literally "The cafe of joy", a pun on her name) and questioning many of the old - fashioned beliefs, the mayor turns everyone against her but sure enough, she soon manages to turn everybody round with her liberal and kind-hearted ways. The mayor is not unaffected and soon falls desperately in love with her.
Among the secondary characters is Lefteris and Kanella, the village's bakers who have a long-running feud with the village's greengrocers, Tasos and Chaido over a fig tree
(only to have their feud resolved when their children, Billy and Gogo get together and eventually marry), the village's priest Papa-Triantafyllos and his gossiping wife Marika and Aglaia, the wacky teacher who is madly in love with Periandros and fantasizes about getting married to him.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
comedy TV series that broadcast on ANT1
ANT1
Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a television network airing in Greece and Cyprus. The alternate spelling is play on words in Greek; ena is the Greek number 1, thus ANT1 is pronounced the same as Antenna . It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel, and is owned by...
and ran for three seasons from September 2003 until mid 2006, its timeslot was at 21:00 local time
Eastern European Time
Eastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in some European countries that also use Eastern European Summer Time as a summer daylight saving time.- Usage :...
right after Ta Nea tou ANT1
Ta Nea tou ANT1
-Greece:TA NEA TOY ANT1 is a famous news television programme in Greece aired by ANT1 since 1992 and is currently hosted by Giannis Papadopoulos as well as the rest of the ANT1 News Team....
which was the same timeslot for other ANT1 stations outside Greece, within the Greek diaspora in 2007, the show broadcast at 19:00 on one of ANT1 stations. Its producer is Kostas Lychnaras and the directors were Charis Romas and Anna Chatzisofia. The show stars Haris Romas
Haris Romas
Charis Romas or Haris Romas is a Greek actor, screenwriter, lyricist and cinematographist. His real name is Haralambos Rassias and he was born in Piraeus in 23 March 1960.-Filmography:-Movies made for television:-Television:...
(of Mama Mia, Oi Men Kai Oi Den
Oi Men Kai Oi Den
I Men... ke I Den is a comedy series which aired on ANT1 for three seasons from 1993 to 1996. The scripts were written by Haris Romas and Anna Chatzissofia.-Dionyssis Dangas:...
and Konstantinou kai Elenis
Konstantinou kai Elenis
Konstantinou kai Elenis was a Greek sitcom broadcast on ANT1 channel, aired from 1998 until 2000, and one of the most successful and most-watched greek series in the history of greek television. Starring Haris Romas ,who co-wrote the script along with Anna Hatzisofia, and Eleni Rantou...
fame), Renia Louizidou, Joyce Eveidi, Vassilis Chalakatevakis, Kostas Flokatoulas, Christina Tsafou, Foteini Demiri, Haris Grigoropoulos, Stelios Goutis, Rania Ioannidou, Sofia Moutidou, Periklis Lianos, Dimitris Tsakalas, Hara/Chara Ismirou/Ismyrou, Dimitrios Macheras and Giannis Papathanas(s)is.
The show currently runs for reruns in 2007 and airs every Weekend mornings on ANT1 and has also Greek subtitles or closed captioning for the hearing umpaired, unlike most English programs, it is one of the few Greek speaking shows that offers closed captioning probably different.
Opening sequence
The opening credits show photos of the cast as children amidst scenes of Kolokotronitsi with children's drawings of the cafe, several houses, its school, the village square and the village. Its theme song is one of the popular used ones dating back to the early to mid 20th century, the remix is used only during the beginning of the program, the original is heard at the closing credits.Plot
The story begins in AthensAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, with Chara Chaska, a single mother who works at an advertising agency. When her boyfriend and fellow co-worker steals her ideas for a campaign and gets promoted instead of her, she decides to leave her old life behind, quit her job and accept an inheritance (a house and a shop) at a remote village.
As soon as she and her daughter reach the village in question, Kolokotronitsi (Κολοκοτρωνίτσι, presumably named after Theodoros Kolokotronis
Theodoros Kolokotronis
Theodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek Field Marshal and one of the leaders of the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire....
) located somewhere in Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
, they meet the mayor, Periandros Popotas (Περίανδρος Πώποτας), an old - fashioned person with a pathological hatred of everything "modern" who dislikes all "foreigners" who may disrupt the motto of the village "Order and Morality" (Τάξις και Ηθική). Having studied folk art and traditions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, he lives with his son Emmanouil and with the family help of Tasia, but has a secret shady past of his own (he is pretending that his wife Penelope, a world-renowned opera singer has died, while in reality they have divorced - and he has blocked her from seeing their son ever since). Periandros has a sister, Stavroula, unhappily married to the village's cheating cafe owner, Vangelis.
As soon as Chara comes to the village, opening a modern cafeteria (which she calls "To cafe tis Charas", literally "The cafe of joy", a pun on her name) and questioning many of the old - fashioned beliefs, the mayor turns everyone against her but sure enough, she soon manages to turn everybody round with her liberal and kind-hearted ways. The mayor is not unaffected and soon falls desperately in love with her.
Among the secondary characters is Lefteris and Kanella, the village's bakers who have a long-running feud with the village's greengrocers, Tasos and Chaido over a fig tree
Common fig
The Common fig is a deciduous tree growing to heights of up to 6 m in the genus Ficus from the family Moraceae known as Common fig tree. It is a temperate species native to the Middle East.-Description:...
(only to have their feud resolved when their children, Billy and Gogo get together and eventually marry), the village's priest Papa-Triantafyllos and his gossiping wife Marika and Aglaia, the wacky teacher who is madly in love with Periandros and fantasizes about getting married to him.
About the village
The village features a square where its bakery, its greengrocers, its primary school and the city hall is located. It has three neighboring villages mentioned many times in the series as Megalochori, Ano Kremasta and Pera Rachoula.Trivia
- The real location of the village is Karia village at ArgosArgosArgos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
of PeloponnesePeloponneseThe Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth... - Little Valia, the daughter of Chara is the niece of protagonist Haris RomasHaris RomasCharis Romas or Haris Romas is a Greek actor, screenwriter, lyricist and cinematographist. His real name is Haralambos Rassias and he was born in Piraeus in 23 March 1960.-Filmography:-Movies made for television:-Television:...
in real-life - The scenes for the cafe were in fact shot in KallitheaKallitheaKallithea is the 8th largest municipality in Greece and the 4th biggest in the Athens urban area...
, AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... - Trelantonis, Charis Grigoropoulos is actually married to Foteini Demiri that plays Kanela
Music
The music editor heavily uses tracks from movies but also incorporates classical music in the series. Alan Silvestri, Joaquin Rodrigo and Jon Brion play a lot through the series.Cast
| Character | Cast |
|---|---|
| Mayor Periandros Popotas Περίανδρος Πώποτας (Δήμαρχος) |
Charis Romas Haris Romas Charis Romas or Haris Romas is a Greek actor, screenwriter, lyricist and cinematographist. His real name is Haralambos Rassias and he was born in Piraeus in 23 March 1960.-Filmography:-Movies made for television:-Television:... |
| Chara Chaska Χαρά Χάσκα |
Renia Louizidou |
| Stavroula Fatsea Σταυρούλα Φατσέα |
Tzoys (Joyce) Eveidi |
| Vangelis Fatseas Βαγγέλης Φατσέας |
Gerasimos Skiadaresis Gerasimos Skiadaresis Gerasimos Skiadaresis is a Greek actor. He also worked in theatre in E. Chatzikou School which he began in 1982. He is married to actress Bessy Malfa.-Theatre:*La Moschetta*A play from Molière*Louves*Oleanna... |
| Trelandonis or Trelantonis Τρελαντώνης |
Charis Grigoropoulos |
| Kanela Poulopoulou Κανέλα Πουλοπούλου |
Foteini Demiri |
| Lefteris Poulopoulos Λευτέρης Πουλόπουλος |
Vasilis Chalakatevakis |
| Chaido Polymenea Χάιδω Πολυμενέα |
Christina Tsafou |
| Tasos Polymenas Τάσος Πολυμενέας |
Kostas Flokatoulas |
| Marika Μαρίκα (Παπαδιά) |
Rania Ioannidou |
| Papa-Triandafyllos Παπα-Τριαντάφυλλος |
Stelios Goutis |
| Aglaia Αγλαΐα (Δασκάλα Α') |
Sofia Moutidou |
| Theodoros (Mayor's Assistant) Θεόδωρος (Βοηθός Του Δήμαρχου) |
Periklis Lianos |
| Tasia Τασία |
Maria Kanellopoulou |
| Matoula Ματούλα |
Chara Smyrou |
| Billy Polymeneas Μπίλλυ Πολυμενέας |
Dimitris Tsakalas |
| Dionysis Διονύσης |
Dimitris Machairas |
| Emanouil Popotas Εμμανουήλ Πώποτας |
Paris Skartsolias |
| Vallia Chaska Βάλλια Χάσκα |
Efi Rasia |