Disney Plus Request: "Win, Lose or Draw" & "Teen Win, Lose or Draw"

[stevearino]

Dear To Whom It May Concern,

I have a proposal for Disney Plus: in honor of the 35th Anniversary of "Win, Lose or Draw," it's my humblest of suggestions for Disney Plus to add all incarnations of "Win, Lose or Draw" to Disney Plus--including the network series hosted by Vicki Lawrence, the nighttime series hosted by Bert Convy, all 65 half-hour episodes Disney Channel's "Teen Win, Lose or Draw" hosted by Marc Price, and the 2014 revival known as "Disney Win, Lose or Draw" with Justin Willman.

As I'm sure you may know, the original grown-up "Win, Lose or Draw" was conceived and Created by Burt Reynolds & Bert Convy (known collectively as Burt & Bert), who loosely based the game on Pictionary and had conceived it sometime earlier when they noticed that Fred Astaire (who had recently died in Summer 1987 when the series began taping) was shy at playing friendly games of "Celebrity Charades" at Burt's house, so they came up with Drawing to ease his shyness.

After "Wheel of Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin told Burt how much money he'd made on Game Shows, Burt & Bert decided to turn their Drawing Game into a Game Show that eventually became known as "Win, Lose or Draw."

For the network series, airing on NBC and debuting on September 7, 1987, Vicki Lawrence was selected as Network Host, with Bert Convy (already doing double Game Show duty on "Super Password") as Nighttime Syndie host.

Both Network and Syndie shows debuted the same day, with the Network series debuting first. Around 1988, veteran Game Show producer Jay Wolpert, with Burt & Bert's blessing, decided to make a spin-off Game Show for Disney Channel known as "Teen Win, Lose or Draw," selecting Marc Price (fresh from his run as Irwin "Skippy" Handleman on "Family Ties") to host the show.

65 half-hour episodes of "Teen Win, Lose or Draw" would be Taped in 1989 and 1990, respectively, at The Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida, airing from April 29, 1989 - September 26, 1992 on Disney Channel, with new episodes in 1989 airing twice weekly on weekends, Saturday nights at 6:30 P.M. ET and Sunday mornings at 11 A.M. ET on Disney Channel. After Jay Wolpert stepped down after the first season of 39 episodes, he was succeeded as showrunner for the 2nd season by Scott Stone & David Stanley for the 2nd season of 26 half-hour episodes airing once weekly on Saturdays.

After Burt & Bert left the original "Win, Lose or Draw," with NBC cancelling the network show after 2 seasons, they were succeeded as showrunner by Richard Kline (NOT the "Three's Company" actor, but rather Richard Kline the founder of Kline & Friends Productions, a co-producer for Buena Vista Television) and Robb Weller succeeded Bert as host in a Game Show format which DID NOT need fixing, with a Play-Along format and returning Champs.

In 1990, after 3 seasons, The Walt Disney Company wisely cancelled the original "Win, Lose or Draw," with "Teen Win, Lose or Draw" ceasing production after taping its 2nd season of 26 episodes at Disney-MGM Studios in 1990.

In 2013, Disney Channel announced it was bringing back "Teen Win, Lose or Draw," this time with new episodes as "Disney Win, Lose or Draw," with Justin Willman succeeding Marc Price as host and Disney Channel stars appearing with Teen Contestants. The Disney Channel would air the episodes with a January 17, 2014 Sneak Peek debut, after which it aired regularly from March 3, 2014 - May 21, 2014 on Disney Channel for 40 half-hour episodes.

With over 1,000 Network episodes PLUS 585 Syndie episodes PLUS 65 half-hour "Teen Win, Lose or Draw" episodes PLUS 40 "Disney Win, Lose or Draw" episodes, I PERSONALLY believe the "Win, Lose or Draw" format would be a VERY Welcome Addition to Disney Plus. Do You?

Sincerely,
Steve Arino

[rusty spike]

I agree and would like to see it return.

I could have sworn that WLD returned to the GSN channel in the early 2000s, but was very short-lived.