THE MAD DASH (1978 - 1985)
A life-size game board and Canadian slant made “The Mad Dash” a ratings hit
“The Mad Dash” was a proudly Canadian show that brought a board game to life and half a million viewers to their TV sets every day.
Created by Montreal-born Sidney M. Cohen, the show featured a giant snakes and ladders type game board with Canadian-themed questions the audience could easily relate to.
“We didn’t disguise (this show),” says Cohen. “We were just Canadian, I didn’t care. And it didn’t hurt us one bit.”
Hosted by Pierre Lalonde, “The Mad Dash” began airing on CTV in 1978, picking up huge ratings across Canada and parts of the U.S. Its premise was simple: teams of two would face off against each other with one member as the “dasher” on the giant board and the other as the “roller” answering questions at a podium.
If the “roller” answered the question correctly, they would roll a giant dice to see how many spaces their partner would move. The spaces included everything from cash and prizes to challenges like blowing up balloons or darts. And just like a real game board, there were also spaces that would force players to go forward, go back or lose a turn.
The first “dasher” to get to the “Win” space at the end took home the cash and prizes with their partner.
“People mocked the show because it was so simple and cheesy. That’s exactly what I wanted to do,” says Cohen. “I wanted a show that everybody could play (and) everybody could laugh at the answers when they were incorrect.”
Despite its popularity, “The Mad Dash” was cancelled in 1981. It was revived years later in Poland with the new name “Duety Do Mety.”
The show featured a modernized game board and set, a kangaroo mascot and much bigger prizes like a car. Cohen went to Poland to help get the show off the ground and couldn’t believe how much it had evolved.
“I walked into the studio and was amazed to see my show in a foreign land. It was really incredible.”