Winners (Australian TV series)

Work on the scripts for Winners commenced in 1983 and included the input of writers such as Anne Brooksbank, John Duigan, Bob Ellis, Morris Gleitzman, Cliff Green, Tom Hegarty, Terry Larsen, Tony Morphett, Maurice Murphy, Jan Sardi, and Roger Simpson. Series script editing was done by Roger Le Mesurier and Sandra Levy.[7] The supervising production manager was Geoff Pollock.[7] Scripting was completed in October 1983 and went into pre-production in May 1984.[7]

As an eight-part anthology series of one television-hour dramas, six episodes were produced in Sydney and two in Melbourne.[18] Episodes commenced production at different times between July 1984 and January 1985, with answer prints of all eight episodes being delivered by 31 March 1985.[18] The series was successfully completed within its budgeted cost of $3.82 million and delivered to the distributor on time and in accordance with its distribution agreement.[18] To assist in marketing and to make the series available to as wide a viewing audience as possible, a decision was made during production to have the series captioned for the hard-of-hearing.[18]

The story concepts for More Winners were commissioned in March 1985.[18] The second installment of the show involved such writers as Morris Gleitzman, Roger Simpson, Steve Spears, Mac Gudgeon, Paul Cox, Michael Cove, Ken Cameron, and Jane Oehr.[18] Sandra Levy was the script consultant.[18] Directors attached to the project included Esben Storm, Ken Cameron, Mario Andreacchio, and Michael Pattinson.[12] Production began in early 1990, and the show was launched in June by then-prime minister, Bob Hawke.[17] The foundation produced study kits to accompany the series, and tie-in novels were published as well.

Both Winners and More Winners received praise from a variety of publications, including Perth's West Australian, who called Winners "...everything children's television should be".[10] West Australia's Wanneroo Times called it "...some of the finest television yet seen in this country",[10] and Melbourne's Herald TV Extra wrote, "Winners proves that learning and being entertained can go hand-in-hand."[10] Other outlets that praised the series included Perth's Weekend News and Sunday Times, Mildura's Sunraysia Daily, The Canberra Times, the Sydney Morning Herald, and Launceston's Sunday Examiner.[10] More Winners was greeted with reviews such as "If you think quality Australian children's programming is a thing of the past—don't just think again, think More Winners", from Adelaide's The News[1] and "The joy of this series so far has been its desire to have children put in situations where they stretch themselves creatively, intellectually and imaginatively", published in the Sydney Morning Herald.[1] Other positive reviews came from Melbourne's The Sun, Perth's Daily News, and a variety of others.[1]

• Melbourne International Film Festival: "The Big Wish", "His Master's Ghost", and "Boy Soldiers" were screened as part of the Children's and Youth Section of the Melbourne International Film Festival in 1990.[1]
• 9th International Film festival for Young Australians: "Second Childhood" was screened at the festival, held in Adelaide in August 1990.[1]
• Film Fest DC: "The Big Wish" was screened in Washington, D.C., in May 1991.[1]
• Harbourfront Festival: "The Big Wish" was shown at this Toronto-based festival in May 1991.[1]
• Beijing TV-International Children's Festival: "Boy Soldiers" and "Mr Edmund" was shown at this event in China in May 1991.[1]
• Banff World Television Festival: "The Big Wish" was selected for screening at this Canadian event in June 1991.[1]
• Cinemagic: "The Big Wish", "His Master's Ghost", "The Journey", "Second Childhood", and "Mr Edmund" were screened as part of a special 'Australian Weekend' at this Irish/Northern Irish children's film festival in December 1991.[19]
• International Kinderfilmfestival: "The Big Wish" was screened as part of a Retrospective of Australian Children's Films 1927–1990 at this German festival in November 1991.[19]

In 1985, Winners was sold to Network 10.[20]

In 1996, Disney Channel Australia acquired pay television rights to both Winners and More Winners.[21]

In 1986, Winners was sold to WonderWorks, an award-winning American children's television show. The first episode, "On Loan", aired in March 1996.[22]

Over the years, a variety of nations and territories have acquired rights to the shows, including Japan's NHK,[17] Canada's Knowledge Network,[1] Showtime,[19] Italy's Telepiù,[21] the Netherlands' Kindernet,[21] Panama's FETV, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation,[23] Iran's Farabi Cinema Foundation[24] and Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting,[25] Mexico's Canal Once,[24] Television Nationale du Burkina Faso,[25] and Israeli Educational Television.[25] Other nations who acquired the series include France, Argentina, the UK, Belgium, Ireland,[1] Thailand, Switzerland,[19] Bosnia and Herzegovina,[24] Hungary, the Cook Islands, Bophuthatswana, Singapore, Czechia, and Indonesia.[26]

The screenwriters for the series agreed to adapt their screenplays into novels, which were published through McPhee Gribble in Melbourne and distributed through Penguin Books.[18] This was the first time books based on an Australian children's television series were made available in Australia.[10][22]

To enhance the series for educational purposes and to promote discussion on wider issues surrounding each episode, a comprehensive study guide was prepared for teachers and parents.[18] The resources were prepared to enable teachers and students to get the most benefit from the series.[10] The study guides were made available to all primary and secondary schools in the metropolitan areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Brisbane at such times that coincided with the network screening of the series, state by state.[18] Copies of the guide were also made available in other areas throughout Australia, as and when regional networks purchased the series.[18]

The school video packs contained a VHS video cassette of one episode, the novel, and a study kit packaged in a specially prepared video box.[10] The marketing campaign directed teachers and school librarians and included seminars, direct mail, advertisements in relevant teacher and student journals, and other promotional activities.[10]

In 1990, CBS/FOX Video released new school packs containing a More Winners video, a tie-in novel, and an accompanying study kit.[17]