The Mad Dash

The Mad Dash
GenreGame show
Created bySidney M. Cohen
Directed bySidney M. Cohen
Presented byPierre Lalonde
Sidney M. Cohen (pilot)
Narrated byNick Hollinrake
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes390
Production
Executive producerDon Forsyth
ProducerSidney M. Cohen
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes
Production companies
  • Champlain Productions, Inc.
  • Super People Productions, Ltd.
Original release
NetworkCTV
Release1978 (1978) –
1981 (1981)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Mad Dash is a television game show created by Sidney M. Cohen (who hosted the pilot episode) which first appeared in 1978 on Canada's CTV network and ran until 1981. The series proved to be a family favourite based on Canada's BBM ratings, and was also popular in parts of the northern United States, where CTV affiliates were available to Americans living near the Canada–United States border, both over the air and via cable. Pierre Lalonde was the MC, and Nick Hollinrake was the announcer for the show, which was taped at the studios of CFCF-TV in Montreal. This classic series is included in the collection of Canadian icons in the 2006 feature film Souvenir of Canada based on the book by Douglas Coupland. The series was later rerun on GameTV in Canada, from 2007 to 2010.

Only a handful of episodes still exist, due to the then common practice known as wiping. Several of these episodes, including the pilot (hosted by series creator Sidney Cohen) and the premiere episode, have been posted to YouTube.