På spåret

På spåret
GenreGame show
Created byIngvar Oldsberg, Lennart Andersson
Presented byIngvar Oldsberg (1987–2009)
Kristian Luuk (2009–)
JudgesLennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren (1988)
Björn Hellberg (1995–2003, 2005–2009)
Carl Jan Granqvist (2004)
Fredrik Lindström ( (2009–)
Theme music composerBengt-Åke Andersson (1987–2010)
Augustifamiljen (2010–2019)
Various artists (2019–)
Country of originSweden
Original languageSwedish
No. of seasons28
No. of episodes291
Production
Production locationSweden
Running time59 minutes
Original release
NetworkSVT
Related
Jorda rundt

På spåret (On the Track) is a popular Swedish TV game show series broadcast on SVT since 5 September 1987. The show, which is intended to be humorous yet educational, has remained one of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, attracting an average of 2,150,000 viewers during the 2007 season. The all-time record was set in March 1990, when 3.7 million people tuned in to see the show.[1] This means that nearly half of all Swedes saw the game show.

På spåret is an original format developed by Ingvar Oldsberg for SVT, and he hosted the show for many years. Lennart Dahlgren, winner of the first season, was the judge in 1988. Author and tennis legend Björn Hellberg was promoted from contestant to permanent Oldsberg sidekick and judge in 1995 after winning for four straight seasons. Famous gourmet, restaurant owner, and former contestant Carl Jan Grankvist sat in for Hellberg during the 2004 season.[2]

In 2009, after 21 years, Oldsberg and Hellberg left, and Kristian Luuk took over as host with Fredrik Lindström as judge.

Format

Two teams of well-known Swedes (during the initial seasons each team had three participants each, however this was later reduced to two) compete against each other. Participants are shown filmed journeys (usually filmed from the front of a train, but occasionally from a car, or even from a plane) and the objective is for each team to identify the destination of the journey, using visual clues from the video, and additional clues from the host. The clues, which often include puns and far-fetched word play, get progressively easier as the train approaches its destination, and the number of points awarded for a correct answer accordingly declines. After the journey both teams answer questions related to the destination city, and collect more points.

Each one-hour show has three filmed journeys, typically with one Swedish and two foreign destinations.

The journey involves the competitors figuring out the destination of a journey viewed at high speed from the driver's seat on a train (sometimes also a car, bus or boat) on the way to the place in question. The host reads out various tricky clues, as the journey progresses. Clues are awarded on 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 points, and get progressively easier (2 points almost always includes a pun on the name of the destination). To answer, the team pulls the emergency brake; if the answer is correct, points are given corresponding to the level that the journey has reached. The other team must wait until the next point level to give their answer.

In between journeys 2 and 3, the original hosts, Oldsberg and Hellberg, used to read a text dressed up as Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, giving progressively easier clues about a specific celebrity. The team that first identified the celebrity won points, or instead lost if the answer was wrong. Later "Holmes and Watson" was substituted by "Tintin and Captain Haddock". Following the 50th anniversary of SVT in 2006, this element was replaced by various mini-games, as follows:

  • 'Return' (Swedish 'Retur') - the contestants must guess which is the correct year, based on films and pictures taken from SVT's archive. The correct answer gets three points while the wrong answer gives three minus points. Only the team that pulled the emergency brake first can answer. This section was added in connection with SVT's 50th anniversary.
  • Who's there? (Swedish 'Vem där?') replaced Return 2010/2011. Instead of a year, movies and pictures are clues linked to a famous person.
  • The List (Swedish 'Listan') was a new element from 2016/2017, replacing 'Vem Där?'. The team with the lowest score can choose between two subjects (for example, European capitals or Football players born in the 1970s). Both teams must then decide which four of the eight answer proposals belong to the chosen topic, and then lock their answers by pulling the brake. Three points go to the team that scores the four correct answers. If both teams answered correctly, it is the competitors who pull the 'brake' first who get the points. 'The list' disappeared after the 2018/2019 season (it did not seem very popular with viewers).
  • From the 2019/2020 season, the team that was behind after two journeys could choose between Who's there? and Return.
  • The 2021 season replaced Who's There? and Return with 'Nearest Wins' (Swedish 'Närmast Vinner'), where the team gets to see a film that connects to a place, somewhere in the world. The team that comes closest to marking the place on a blank map gets 3 points - like a geographical 'pin the tail on the donkey'.

Tournament

In recent years, each season have consisted of a tournament with three groups of three teams each. The winner of each group qualify for the semi-finals; the fourth semi finalist is decided by a "quarter final" match between the two best teams that placed second in their respective groups.

Contestants

Until 1995 each team consisted of three people, since then the contestants have competed in pairs. The show typically feature intelligent, humorous and well-known celebrities, such as sports journalist Lotta Bromé, restaurateur Carl-Jan Grankvist, former weight-lifter Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren, comedians/TV-hosts Filip & Fredrik, Olympic high-jump champion Stefan Holm, and actor/TV personality Peter Harryson, sportsjournalist Johanna Frändén to name a few.

Contestants 2007–08

Contestants 2008–09

[3]

Contestants 2009–10

[4]

Contestants 2012–13

Contestants 2013–14

Contestants 2014–15

[5]

Past winners

[6]

Season Winner Runners-up
1987 Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren, Margareta Söderström & Thomas Wernerson
1988 Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt Grive
1990 Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Joakim Nyström Margareta Söderström, Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren & Thomas Wernerson
1991 Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt Grive Putte Wickman, Birgit Carlstén & Lennart Broström
1993 Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt Grive Lasse Strömstedt, Inger Nilsson & Kicki Hultin
1995 Cecilia Hagen & Tomas Tengby Peter Harryson & Eva Bysing
1996 Tommy Engstrand & Birgit Carlstén Bengt Järnblad & Ma Oftedal
1997 Peter Harryson & Malin Peterson Adde Malmberg & Cecilia Hagen
1998 Carl Jan Granqvist & Lotta Bromé Lasse Eriksson & Ulrika Knutson
1999 Peter Harryson & Carina Lidbom Birgit Carlstén & Sven Melander
2000 Agneta Bolme Börjefors & Adde Malmberg Birgit Carlstén & Sven Melander
2001 Annette Kullenberg & Jesper Aspegren Lotta Bromé & Carl Jan Granqvist
2002 Carina Lidbom & Tommy Engstrand Cecilia Hagen & Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren
2003 Ingela Agardh & Stefan Holm Cecilia Hagen & Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren
2004 Ellinor Persson & Dick Harrison Ingela Agardh & Stefan Holm
2005–06 Katarina Mazetti & Stefan Holm Adde Malmberg & Magdalena Forsberg
2006–07 Caroline af Ugglas & Göran Hägg Anne Lundberg & Johan Wester
2007–08 Anne Lundberg & Johan Wester Cecilia Hagen & Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren
2008–09 Lisa Syrén & Johan Wester Jessika Gedin & Hans Rosenfeldt
2009–10 Johanna Koljonen & Marcus Birro Hélène Benno & Peter Apelgren
2010–11 Peter Apelgren & Hélène Benno Martina Haag & Erik Haag
2011–12 Martina Haag & Erik Haag Niklas Strömstedt & Jenny Strömstedt
2012–13 Ellinor Persson & Dick Harrison Cecilia Hagen & Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren
2013–14 Helena von Zweigbergk & Göran Everdahl Elisabet Höglund & Jesper Rönndahl
2014–15 Elisabet Höglund & Jesper Rönndahl Fredrik Wikingsson & Filip Hammar
2015–16 Elisabet Höglund & Jesper Rönndahl Anna Ekström & Göran Hägglund
2016–17 Johan Hilton & Kristin Lundell Isobel Hadley-Kamptz & Kalle Lind
2017–18 Josefin Johansson & Johar Bendjelloul Amie Bramme Sey & Gunnar Bolin
2018–19 Parisa Amiri & Gunnar Wetterberg Eric Ericson & Kjell Wilhelmsen
2019–20 Parisa Amiri & Gunnar Wetterberg Josefin Johansson & Johar Bendjelloul
2020–21 Magdalena Forsberg & Claes Elfsberg Louise Epstein & Thomas Nordegren
2021-22 Cecilia Düringer & Jonatan Unge Hanna Hellquist & Ina Lundström
2022-23 Marie Agerhäll & Fritte Fritzson Cecilia Düringer & Jonatan Unge
2023-24 Marie Agerhäll & Fritte Fritzson Peter Apelgren & Hector Apelgren

Some of the participants have been celebrities in Sweden, more due to this show, than for anything they were before. This applies especially for the former weightlifter Lennart "Hoa-Hoa" Dahlgren. Although far from unknown before his first participation, his celebrity rose quite a lot due to his geographical knowledge. But also Björn Hellberg, Carl Jan Granqvist, Johanna Koljonen are included among the ones who perhaps are more associated with this television show than anything else, at the time and to the general public at least.

International adaptations

The format was sold to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, where the show was called Jorda rundt (Around the World). It was canceled after only one season (1998–99).[7]

References

  1. ^ [1] (in Swedish)
  2. ^ "SVT.se - Kultur & nöje programinformation" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  3. ^ "Många debutanter i På spåret 2008! - Kultur & nöje programinformation | SVT.se" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  4. ^ [2] (in Swedish)
  5. ^ "Säsongens matchordning och musikgäster". svt.se. Archived from the original on 2014-12-05. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  6. ^ "Vinnare genom åren - På Spåret | SVT.se" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  7. ^ "Jorda rundt (TV Series 1998–1999)". IMDb. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2018-06-29.