TV Slagalica

TV Slagalica ТВ Слагалица
The opening screen showing the mascot, Skočko
Created by	RTS
Presented by	Marija Veljković and Kristina Radenković
Country of origin	Serbia
Original language(s)	Serbian
No. of episodes	6000+
Production
Location(s)	Belgrade, Serbia
Camera setup	Multiple-camera setup
Running time	25 minutes
Production company(s)	Radio-television of Serbia
Release
Original network	Radio-television of Serbia
Picture format	4:3, 16:9 (on 1 December)
Original release	22 November 1993 – Present
Chronology
Preceded by	Muzička Slagalica

TV Slagalica (Serbian Cyrillic: ТВ Слагалица; English: TV Puzzle) or simply Slagalica is Serbia’s longest-running quiz show produced by RTS and airs on RTS1. It is based on Countdown a UK game show. It first aired on November 22, 1993. at 7 pm. It comprises five simple mind games (word, number and knowledge games). Contestants play for a spot in the quarter finals, semi finals and then the finals. Contestants win prizes as they progress. It has two female hosts: Marija Veljković and Kristina Radenković.^[1]

History

TV Slagalica is the longest-running quiz show which has survived competition from internationally created quiz shows with local production in Serbia (such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and The Weakest Link).

The first show aired on November 22, 1993 under the name of Muzička Slagalica (English: Musical Puzzle). The producers changed over time, there have been a total of 20 hosts, 20 different games, 5.000 contestants, the air time has changed numerous times, the studio design has changed as well as the sponsors, prizes and the name (to TV Slagalica).

On April 7, 2006 the quiz aired its 3000th episode. Since May 2007 the show has started airing daily at 7.00PM Central European Time.^[2]

The 70th season of TV Slagalica began airing in September 2011.

Programming

TV Slagalica is aired according to seasons. Each season has 61 episodes and in each show there are 2 contestants. The contestants are chosen by a test conducted before the quiz is filmed. Out of the total 61 episodes in each season, 40 are qualifier shows for the quarter finals and 21 episodes are for those that have won in the previous forty episodes competing for a spot in the top 8. Each contestant gets an award even if they are defeated by their opponent. Each episode starts with the host announcing the episode number and current season and introducing the game supervisor Milka Canić.

Ratings

Even though the quiz show is not as high tech as others, TV Slagalica has managed to bring in a high ratings for its network averaging approximately 1.5 million viewers on work days.

The Games

Slagalica - Igra sa slovima (Puzzle - Letter game)

A computer flashes letters of the Serbian alphabet. The first contestant says "stop" 12 times and therefore twelve letters are displayed. The two contestants try and work out the longest Serbian word they can make from the 12 letters. Each letter is worth 2 points. The person with a word with the more letter wins. The game is played twice (each contestant chooses the letters once).

Moj Broj - Igra sa brojevima (Math game)

The players randomly (by saying "stop", like in the first game) pick a three digit number and six more numbers (four single-digit numbers, one which is one of 10, 15 or 20 and one is 25, 50, 75 or 100). The players must use the six numbers and basic mathematical operations to get a result as close to the given number as possible. A 90-second time limit is imposed. After the time limit, the players report their results and the one with the closer result presents the equation. If the equation is wrong, the other player presents his equation. The game is played twice, each time one of the contestants picks the numbers.

Korak po korak - Igra otkrivanja pojmova (Word detection game)

The players are trying to guess the hidden word through 7 steps. Time takes about 5 seconds on each step, then the player in turn must guess the word. If he cannot guess, the other player tries to do it. First step is always the hardest and last step is the easiest.

Skočko (Mastermind)

The players play mastermind game. Each player plays once and has 6 attempts to guess the four symbol combination. If the player fails to do so, the other player has one attempt to guess his opponents combination. Skočko refers to the mascot of the show, which is also one of the 6 images that can form the combination. Other are playing card suits (hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades) and a star.

Ko zna, zna (General knowledge game)

Ten general knowledge questions are asked. Each question is worth 10 points. If the first contestant does not know the answer the second contestant gets a chance to answer and vice versa. However, if the contestant answer incorrectly, he loses 5 points. This game brings the most points to the player.

Asocijacije (Associations game)

Contestant must solve 8 associations. They have 5 minutes to do so.

Memorable old games

Berza (Auction game)

The players have been offered a set of questions to which the answers are 50:50 or 3:1 chance to answer correctly (most usually yes/no questions), and then the players bid which one will have more correct answers. If the highest bidder answers the exact number of questions he bid for or more, he wins, otherwise, the other player takes points.

Budite detektiv (Detective game)

The players have been told about mysterious person or object and they must guess who the person/object is.

Dodavanje (Number adding game)

The players choose 5 numbers from the randomly chosen set of numbers. Then the player randomly chaoses a target number, which contestants must reach by using their chosen numbers. Whoever reaches the target number, or closest to it, is the winner.

Nije nego ("The other way around")

The players must guess the names of books, movies etc. by the title with antonym words (for example: "A Midwinter Day's Reality" for "A Midsummer Night's Dream"). Each player has 5 titles to guess and has 5 seconds for each. After that, the other player tries to guess the ones the first player missed.

Spojnice (Connections)

The players are offered two sets of 10 words or sentences. The game is played twice, each started by a different player. Each game has a theme and each word from the first set needs to paired up with the corresponding word in the other set. The player that leads keeps his turn as long as he managed to connect each word from the first set. If he makes a mistake, the other player takes over and keeps connecting until he makes a mistake. The process repeats until the last word. No points are awarded for words that none of the players could connect.

Crew

Current crew of Slagalica:

• Hosts: Marija Veljković and Kristina Radenković.^[1]
• Director: Živojin Čelić
• Supervisor: Milka Canić
• Editor: Slavica Ćirović

Gaming supervisor Milka Canić became somewhat of a staple television personality from Serbia, as she always started the show by simply greeting the contestants and the host with the catchphrase "Dobro veče" ("Good Evening"), the remark for which she became notable for being in use for more than 10 years of the show's run.^[3] Canić is not present in the studio during the competition since 2012, but is still credited as the supervisor.

Seasons and rankings

As of January 2014 Slagalica is in its 81st season. Winners and rankings in each season can be seen in the table below.

Superfinals

Besides regular seasons, as of March 2013, four superfinals (superfinala) have taken place featuring best contestants in regular seasons. The fourth superfinal was also counted as Season 60, which took place in 2009 and it included the total of 231 best competitors since the inception of TV Slagalica. Below is the table of superfinal rankings.

References

External links

• Slagalica at rts.rs
• Slagalica.tv - a website where you can play all games from slagalica online
• Igrica Slagalica (.exe file)