Pistvakt – En vintersaga
Encyclopedia
Pistvakt – En vintersaga (english: Slope guard - A winter fairy tale) was a Swedish television series, produced and aired by SVT
subdepartment SVT Drama. It is based on a play by Pistolteatern.
; Sven-Erik, Jan-Erik and Olle Marklund. Living and working in the isolated and fictitious village Svartlien, they face the horrors of solitude and dangers of the wild nature. Their father Stor-Erik, missing for decades, is always present as a symbol of perfection and the ultimate idol for the brothers.
The boys' primary tasks are, among others, weather reports and the oiling of the ski-lift. They go about their job with utter determination and never let anything come in between them and the completion of those jobs.
Occasionally, visitors arrive at Svartlien - with the common result that Sven-Erik has to save them from wild animals, avalanches or other dangers. Also living in Svartlien are the boys' mother Gudrun, and her secret admirer Beng-Hans - owner of Beng-Hans Bodega.
A very common ingredient in the series is the Sven-Erik having to be the rescuer of either his brothers or the guests in the village. The series relies heavily on deadpan humour
and running gags
.
In the end of every episode the brothers perform a dance in Bengt-Hans Bodega, often to the tune of a classic disco
song. After the song, Gudrun generally stays in the bodega, talking to Bengt-Hans, a conversation often filled with innuendo. When Gudrun leaves, Bengt-Hans always exclaims "Oh, Gudrun!".
The brothers are by that time in their triple-level bunkbed, where they discuss the events of the day.
The language of the brothers is a fictitious dialect of Swedish, based on northern dialects, but with a number of neologisms added.
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
subdepartment SVT Drama. It is based on a play by Pistolteatern.
Story
The story revolves around three brother ski patrollersSki patrol
A Ski Patrol is an organization that provides Emergency Medical and rescue services to skiers and participants of other snow sports, either at a ski area or in a back country setting. Patrollers are trained in Basic or Advanced Life Support to stabilize and transport patients to definitive care,...
; Sven-Erik, Jan-Erik and Olle Marklund. Living and working in the isolated and fictitious village Svartlien, they face the horrors of solitude and dangers of the wild nature. Their father Stor-Erik, missing for decades, is always present as a symbol of perfection and the ultimate idol for the brothers.
The boys' primary tasks are, among others, weather reports and the oiling of the ski-lift. They go about their job with utter determination and never let anything come in between them and the completion of those jobs.
Occasionally, visitors arrive at Svartlien - with the common result that Sven-Erik has to save them from wild animals, avalanches or other dangers. Also living in Svartlien are the boys' mother Gudrun, and her secret admirer Beng-Hans - owner of Beng-Hans Bodega.
Cast
- Lennart JähkelLennart JähkelLennart Jähkel is a Swedish actor. He is currently active at the Stockholm City Theatre, where he participated in several plays.-Films:*1991 - Infödingen*1992 - Nordexpressen*1992 - Ha ett underbart liv...
as Sven-Erik Ivar Marklund - Jacob Nordenson as Jan-Erik Ivar Marklund
- Tomas Norström as Olle Ivar Marklund
- Pierre Lindstedt as Bengt-Hans
- Barbro OborgBarbro OborgBarbro Christina Oborg Ljunggren is a Swedish actress. She is married to Sten Ljunggren.-External links:...
as Gudrun - Carl Magnus Dellow as Yngve
- Margareta Stone as Eva-Lena
- Sten LjunggrenSten LjunggrenSten Ljunggren is a Swedish character actor. He played Henrik in the long-running Swedish drama TV series Svenska hjärtan, which aired between 1987 to 1998...
as Stor-Erik
Template and style
Every episode follows quite a strict template. Starting with a speaker telling of the basic plot of the series, the camera pans from a crude model of the mountaintop near the brothers' home to their little house. During the pan, the audience appears for the first (and sometimes only) time in the episode - breaking the fourth wall.A very common ingredient in the series is the Sven-Erik having to be the rescuer of either his brothers or the guests in the village. The series relies heavily on deadpan humour
Deadpan
Deadpan is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing an unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor...
and running gags
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
.
In the end of every episode the brothers perform a dance in Bengt-Hans Bodega, often to the tune of a classic disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
song. After the song, Gudrun generally stays in the bodega, talking to Bengt-Hans, a conversation often filled with innuendo. When Gudrun leaves, Bengt-Hans always exclaims "Oh, Gudrun!".
The brothers are by that time in their triple-level bunkbed, where they discuss the events of the day.
The language of the brothers is a fictitious dialect of Swedish, based on northern dialects, but with a number of neologisms added.
Impact
The series was a success and had a follow-up second series, aired in 2000, and a movie (Taglined, roughly translated, "An Albino Western from the White Desert" referring to the snow in the Swedish mountains) in 2005.Season 1
- Lavinbjärn (english: Avalanche Bear) – 15 January 1998
- Årets vackraste dag (english: Årets vackraste dag) – 22 January 1998
- Svartlien 2010 – 29 January 1998
- Flytande inspektion (english: Floating inspection) – 5 February 1998
- Doris är död (english: Doris is dead) – 12 February 1998
- Julafton -73 (english: Christmas Eve -73) – 19 February 1998
Season 2
- Väck inte den bjärv som sover (english: Don't wake up the bear-wolverine who sleeping) – 26 October 2000
- Besök från Vargvallen (english: Visit from Vargvallen) – 2 November 2000
- Lusekoftanovan (english: The lusekofta nova) – 9 November 2000
- Samesilvre i Kinaskreve (english: Sami silver in Kinaskreve) – 16 November 2000
- Personalfestan (english: The staff party) – 23 November 2000
- Jakten på en dräpare (english: The hunt for a killer) – 30 November 2000