Win, Lose or Draw

Its okay.

There is nothing special about this show other than the 80s nostalgia. The Host is fine. Contestants can only use why the game show allows them to use. The Game show is the problem.

It's a weak game show. 3 years says a lot.

This was a pretty good show when it was on, and Bert Convey, who also hosted "Tattletales" and "Super Password", was a good host. The best thing about this game is, to this day, it's still being played at parties, gatherings and the like everywhere. I also liked how two members of each team were celebrities. If they ever do a remake of this show, which they probably won't, I think Bob Saget would be a good host, just as long as he doesn't try too hard to be funny like he always did on "America's Funniest Home Videos".

Game Show ideas have come in different ways. They have been spawned from other shows or come from personal experiences. Such was the case with veteran movie actor Burt Reynolds, who played a game with his Hollywood friends called Sketchpad Charades. Along with game show host Bert Convy, he came up with the concept of Win, Lose or Draw, which aired in both syndication and on NBC's daytime lineup.

Convy, himself hosted the syndicated version until he left in 1989 to host another show he produced 3rd Degree. He was replaced by Robb Weller. This version didn't get a lot of airplay in the Twin Cities but Weller wasn't as good as Convy. He didn't have the experience of hosting a game show.

The daytime version that aired on NBC is the one I remember most. With Convy busy hosting Super Password, Vicki Lawrence became the host. She did an outstanding job as host, keeping the game moving and interacting well with the celebrities and contestants. She was one of the few women who had success as a game show host. I should also add that Sally Struthers filled in for her on a few episodes when Lawrence was ill and though she lacked experience running a game show, she did fine.

As for the game, it was a very simple game that invited the home audience to play along (if you didn't look at the answer on the screen) as the celebrities drew clues to the identity of a person, place or thing. The set, modeled after Reynolds living room, was simple, not flashy and very homey.

But times were changing in daytime TV as NBC, which was still in third place, erased the show from its lineup in 1989. It was one of the last successful game shows on the network and a show that deserves to be rerun someday on GSN.

The late Bert Convy hosts his zillionth (and final) game show in the latter part of the 1980's where just about every board game had been tweaked to become the platform for a game show, ripe for syndication.

"WIN, LOSE OR DRAW" was a rather cheap take on the popular game "Pictionary", the object of drawing a series of doodles on a board, your fellow team-mate(s) trying to figure out what 'word' or 'phrase' you are attempting to depict.

In this case, two teams of three players broken into male and female, compete against the clock to outwit each other by drawing a 'word' given to them by Bert Convy. On each team, two of the players are celebrities which leaves only one male and one female to participate as the true contestant. The celebrities were usually second-rate television personalities. Although in one episode, I do remember seeing former child star of the silver screen, Margaret O'Brien as a celebrity contestant!

The setting of "WIN, LOSE OR DRAW" was supposed to capture the 'family home' setting, the game board positioned in front of two couches with a fireplace behind it, Bert Convy usually wearing a sweater or 'casual' outfits while handing out words to the contestants as they kneeled on the carpet before him to try and figure out the doodles that were being drawn by their fellow players.

Quite a boring take on the 'game show' extravaganza that struck the 1970's and 80's when compared to more exciting and cut-throat fare of today's game shows (ie. "WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE", "THE WEAKEST LINK", "FEAR FACTOR", "DOG EAT DOG") and the money prizes were quite small. The only REAL connection that "WIN, LOSE OR DRAW" shares with nearly every other game show that has existed is that you will always find the 'dumb contestant'. Watch out for the player who tries to doodle a bird but draws something else that resembles a triangle with two lines for legs as his team shouts out, "CHEESE? IS IT A SLICE OF PIZZA?" - *Groan!*

"WIN, LOSE OR DRAW" is perfect 80's nostalgia (ie. fashions, hair-styles, etc.) but certainly not up there with the more memorable shows like "FAMILY FEUD" or "THE $25,000.00 PYRAMID".

This game was one that Burt Reynolds used to play at home with his friends. It translated well to the T.V. show. This is one of the few game shows where the host didn't hog the screen time and let the players play. Bert Convey is a bit hard to take, but this is one of his better hosting gigs.