Erotas (TV series)

"erotas" redirects here. For other uses, see erotas (disambiguation).
Erotas
Έρωτας

Created by Vana Dimitriou
Kostas Kostopoulos
Starring Koralia Karanti
Gregoris Valtinos
Stefanos Kiriakidis
Adamantia Kontogiorgi
Noni Ioannidou
Dimitri Liakopoulos
Narrated by Koralia Karanti (flashbacks)
Opening theme Pezi o Erotas by Giorgos Perris
Ending theme Pezi o Erotas (instrumental) by Giorgos Perris
Country of origin Greece
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 700 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Ena Productions
Location(s) Athens, Greece
Mykonos, Greece
London, England
Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Running time 42 min. approximately
Release
Original network ANT1
Picture format 480i (SDTV),
720p (HDTV)
Original release September 8, 2005 – May 30, 2008
Chronology
Related shows Based on The Bold and the Beautiful
External links
Website

Erotas (Greek: Έρωτας; English translation: Love) is a critically acclaimed and popular Greek television soap opera revolving around the private lives of wealthy Athenian families. It that aired on the ANT1 network from September 8, 2005 until May 30, 2008 in Greece and Australia.

The final five episodes of the series were the highest rating episodes of the series in its history, with over 4,250,000 watching, on average, in Greece. The series was also aired in Cyprus, United Kingdom, United States and Canada.

Many critics commented that many of its plotlines were based loosely on those of The Bold and the Beautiful, however the pace of these storylines was much faster in Erotas than B&B.

The plot itself surrounded the disappearance of Antigoni Douka and the trouble she caused for those around her when she was returned to her family by Vera Douka, committing many crimes, as a result of psychological damage from seeing her father abuse her mother when she was aged four. It also surrounded the highs and lows of Myrto Anagnostou's, Stefanos Doukas's and Ektoras Anagnostou's extended family of children, ex-husbands/wives/girlfriends, long lost friends and other relatives. Their storylines often revolved around topics such as murder, kidnapping, espionage, and fraud and rarely around the central theme of love directly. Many critics commented that the characters were always unhappy and have all entered jail at some point, except the protagonist Myrto Anagnostou. The writers integrated themes of love and passion and dialogue these themes through the trials, tribulations and daily lives of their main characters.

The series will continue for a final prequel season, placed before the timeline of the first three seasons, on another network in the 2009-2010 television season. This will see the return of many of the original cast members from the first season, and the departure of many newcomers, except for favourite Nadia, who is somehow being written into the flashback storylines. Antigoni, will not be returning, the writers thought it was time to give her character a rest, however she is expected to guest star at some point.

Controversy

Uproar among fans arose in early 2007, during the storyline of Mirto's kidnapping when the writers led the fans to believe that she was dead. The writers admitted in early 2008 that were unsure themselves at the time whether or not the character would survive, and therefore "unintentionally" left viewers hanging in the balance while they made their decision. They eventually concluded that the character would have died, however she was not killed due to negative audience reaction expected, similar to that after the death of character Vera Douka in late 2006. Koralia Karanti renewed her contract until the end of the series, on August 25, 2007 and remained on the show for the entire series, appearing in every episode.

Ratings

Season Timeslot (EDT) Season Premiere Season Finale TV Season Rank Viewers
(in millions)
1 Monday-Friday 7.00 P.M. September 8, 2005 June 24, 2006 2005–2006 #2 4.0
2 Monday-Friday 7.00 P.M. September 17, 2006 July 13, 2007 2006–2007 #10 3.2
3 Monday-Friday 7.00 P.M. September 3, 2007 May 30, 2008 2007–2008 #1 4.5

It was the highest rating television show in Greece after the cancellation of Vera Sto Dexi. Almost immediately after beginning, the show has proven quite popular, beating all other shows in its timeslot except Vera Sto Dexi, until its end in May, 2007. The show suffered a significant drop in ratings of 15% after Noni Ioannidou's character Vera left the show in November 2006; the writers have now admitted that they regretting killing her character, as they knew Vera was one of the most popular characters, but did not predict this sharp decline in ratings, however by the end of the second season the ratings had significantly recovered. However, in 2008, the show was cancelled on the ANT1 network, due to low ratings, opposite Mega Channel's UGLY MARIA.

Broadcast

Its popularity has been reflected by airing it internationally on the ANT1 Pacific network in Australia, where it has a huge fanbase, broadcast at 7pm, on the ANT1 network, in synchronisation with Greece.

It is also seen in over 15 other countries, including across Canada via the Odyssey Network and the United States via ANT1 Satellite network. Replacing reruns of Lampsi and Kalimera Zoi, the show has attracted quite a lot of fans outside Greece as it is aired at the 7 p.m. timeslot (like in Greece).

Criticism

Almost every cast member has been framed for a crime, and many have been sent to jail, which has sparked criticism against the show as the characters are setting a bad example for the community. Other criticisms of the show are that in the second season, many characters in Stefanos' family were killed. The list includes, Vera, Olga, and his half-sister, sister and father.

Central character Aphrodite's husband was also killed along with Hector's secretary, along with various other minor characters that were killed only weeks after being introduced. The writers have promised to lower the amount of death on the show next season, as in only 2 seasons of the show over 15 characters have died, this is more than Lost in its first two seasons. Furthermore, at the start of the third season, many new characters were introduced and roles of current characters re-cast. Many fans feel that they are not watching the same show anymore, since hardly any original cast members remain after only two completed seasons.

Additionally, the fans were disappointed that the storyline involving Angelle's death was revealed by the actor before the end of the second season. This ultimately spoiled the cliffhanger.

Setting

Storyline guides

Season 1(2005–2006)

Main article: Erotas (season 1)

Erotas Season 1 premiered on September 8, 2005 and ended on June 24, 2006 with a total of 225 episodes. A successful heart surgeon and a dynamic business woman enjoy personal and family completion with their daughter. All seems wonderful in their life until the moment that the woman's ex-husband sets it as his objective to destroy her life.

Season 2 (2006–2007)

Main article: Erotas (season 2)

Erotas Season 2 premiered on September 17, 2006 and ended on July 13, 2007 with a total 225 episodes. At the start of the second season months have passed since the tragic explosion at Martha's farewell party and everybody struggles to move on.

Season 3 (2007–2008)

Main article: Erotas (season 3)

Erotas Season 3 premiered on September 3, 2007 and ended on May 30, 2008 with a total of 250 episodes. This season would have had 100 episodes, however this was extended to 250 episodes on October 10, 2007 due to outstanding ratings performance. This lead many to believe it would be the last season, since it was being given an increasingly extended run. These people were proven corrected, as the series was cancelled on May 26, 2008. The start of the third season begins where Season 2 left off. Everybody has boarded Myrto's cruise, and Angello is murdered. A wedding occurs, and some beloved faces from Mirto's past return.

Cancellation and future

On April 26, 2008, the series was officially cancelled. The producers stated, that this was always the plan, and talk of future seasons was a ploy to avoid determining the end point of the series to the audience. The final episode aired on May 30, 2008 in Greece. The producers say they wanted to end the series at the height of its popularity, and therefore decided to not renew for an additional season, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that this is untrue, and the real reason being a financial dispute. The creator of Erotas has said she would be more than willing to continue the show on another network, should any of the major networks express interest.

Syndication

The ANT1 network begin to run Erotas episodes in syndication in a late-night timeslot from the fall of 2008.

Specials

Two specials have aired, recapping Season 1 on May 19, 2006, and Season 2 on June 20, 2007, with spoilers for next season, and the respective seasons' final episodes. A recap special highlighting future season 3 events/cast interviews, aired on September 2, 2007.

A greatest moments of the series special is planned, if it is not picked up by the MEGA network.

Cast and characters

Main characters

Below is a list of all main characters, that have appeared in Erotas, in order of prominence.

DVD releases

A greatest hits DVD covering the most memorable moments from the first two seasons will be released before the beginning of the third season in Greece and Australia.

Final season

The MEGA network has not confirmed when it will run the final season of Erotas.

References

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, March 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.