Sto Para Pente

In the nick of time (Στο παρά 5)
Promotional photograph
Genre	Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Adventure
Created by	Giorgos Kapoutzidis
Written by	Giorgos Kapoutzidis
Directed by	Antonis Aggelopoulos
Starring	See Cast and characters below
Opening theme	Imoun Aggelos tou Charlie by Danae Favilli
Country of origin	Greece
Original language(s)	Greek
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	49
Production
Location(s)	Athens, Greece
Running time	45 min
Release
Original network	Mega Channel
Picture format	4:3, 16:9
Audio format	Mp3
Original release	September 27, 2005 – June 18, 2007
External links
Website

In the nick of time (Greek: Στο παρά 5 - the number 5 is pronounced) was a popular Greek comedy-drama television series which was broadcast on Mega Channel for two seasons, from September 27, 2005 until June 18, 2007.

The script was written by Giorgos Kapoutzidis, who had also written the successful Greek TV series, Savvatogenimenes, that aired on that same network for the 2003-2004 season. The director was Antonis Aggelopoulos. Being an instant critical and popular success, Sto Para Pente was the biggest television hit of both the 2005-2006 and the 2006-2007 seasons and is regarded as one of the most famed and successful shows in Greek television history. The series was originally supposed to include only one season (26 episodes, each lasting approximately 45 minutes) but its immense popularity resulted to a second season consisting of 23 more episodes. The first episode of Season 2 aired on October 2, 2006. Despite early, widespread calls for the creation of a third season, Kapoutzidis made it clear that the second would be the last season of the show. The highly anticipated series finale attracted an audience of nearly 3 million viewers (a rating of 66.0%), making this 70-minute-long special episode the third most watched episode of any television series ever in Greece since ratings began. "Sto Para Pente" also met great success abroad within Greek diaspora communities.

The plot revolved around five seemingly unrelated people who happened to be present at the death of a former minister in a malfunctioning elevator of a luxurious hotel in central Athens. The dying minister begged them with his final words to find out who did this to him by researching a forgotten crime that took place decades before in Thessaloniki. The five characters soon discovered that the minister was actually poisoned. Without a clue on what course of action to follow, they decide to team up, which leads them to a long series of incredible adventures. What they were unaware of at the beginning, however, was that they were actually dealing with some of the most powerful criminals in Greece. What is more, after an alarming number of coincidences made them realize that nothing had happened as randomly as it seemed to in the beginning.

The title 'Sto para pente' is literally translated as "At five [minutes] to" and is a Greek expression that means "In the nick of time".