The Merchant of Venice mercy". Critic Harold Bloom listed it among Shakespeare's great comedies. Bassanio, a young Venetian of noble rank, wishes to woo the beautiful and wealthy heiress Portia of Belmont. Having squandered his estate, he needs 3,000 ducats to subsidise his expenditures as a suitor. Bassanio approaches his friend Antonio, a wealthy merchant of Venice who has previously and repeatedly bailed him out. Antonio agrees, but since he is cash-poor – his ships and merchandise are busy at sea to Tripolis, the Indies, Mexico and England – he promises to cover a bond if Bassanio can find a lender, so Bassanio turns
Venice: The Series Venice: The Series Venice: The Series is a soap opera web series co-produced by and starring American actress Crystal Chappell, and is inspired in part by the "Otalia" storyline on the daytime drama "Guiding Light". The series has been streamed on VenicetheSeries.com since December 4, 2009, and is currently in its fifth and final season. "Venice" is described by Chappell as "a show about families, and life, and all the simplicity of it, and the turmoil of it. We're going to be following a character named Gina who is a designer, and she is a gay woman." Crystal Chappell played