When I was nine and my family moved into the Buffalo area from Louisiana in early 1980, I came across this show for the first time either on a day home from school, or during the Summer. Even though I didn't really watch it too many times afterwards, I loved it ever since.
I watched this in Seattle when cable tv broadcasted the Canadian channels. I liked the show. I found out later about Video Village and Shenanigans and how they were created as game shows after the quiz show scandals happened since they were safe but entertaining as well (in the 1960's). They were the same thing as Mad Dash but bigger boards and no questions. Lots of American influence in the show. The announcer sounds like a cross between Jay Stewart and Johnny Gilbert.
the reason I think this show did so well, it was like "the little show that could" the underdog if you will, a bargain basement prize budget and set but a solid game and competent host in Pierre Lalonde. it's just too bad that despite the popularity only a few episodes still exist on tape and no one's attempted a revival.
It would be nice to see a revival here up north. We do still have our own version of "Cash Cab" going up here, as well as a Canadian version of "Match Game" (with both English and French language versions). I wonder how "The Mad Dash" would work for 21st century television though.
i had a similar idea but it would be set in Las Vegas and the champions would risk everything they won every new game they played. The more they played, the "madder" they'd become by continuing to play. If they won over $100,000 in cash they would have there money doubled. If at the end of a game they had exactly $100,000 in cash they would roll two dice and the money would be multiplied by the number they rolled for a top prize of $1.2 million.As a host I was thinking either Wink Martindale or Alex Trebek due to them being hosts of High Rollers at one time.
Thanks for sharing this, Wink! Considering the return of Family Game Night and the new Monopoly lottery show, I think board games and game shows will continue to have a long, prosperous relationship.
The total winnings record on The Mad Dash was $9,550, set in 1980. (I found an article about it in the Dec. 5th 1980 issue of the Lethbridge Herald, found on newspaperarchive.com). A book titled "Les grands québécois présentent les records québécois", released in 1985, also mentioned that record.
A channel called Game TV up here in Canada was playing it not too long ago. (right around the time this was uploaded, I would say) They had a lot of episodes, but I don't know the exact number. I sort of stumbled upon it one day and dug it. I still have an episode from those showings on my DVR because there's a hilarious blooper in it. I'll try and post it sometime. Sad to hear about Pierre's passing... Didn't know until I saw some of the comments.
Didn't know he'd passed away, either...may he RIP. :-( Only 12 episodes survived, which Game TV ran into the ground back in the late 00s...producer Sidney M. Cohen considered a North American revival during that time, but nothing ever came of it. Pity, since I'd have loved to see a revival!
Looking at the studio layout, this looks like the same one where the early 1970s version of "Beat the Clock" was produced by Goodson-Todman. Nick Hollinrake, the announcer for this show, did the same for "Beat the Clock" when Gene Wood became host.
I've seen a couple episodes before where they've had to spin that wheel. That's the "Happy Birthday" wheel. One wheel has every month on it. If it's that contestant's birth month, the money amount spun on the other one would be doubled. There's also an insurance space on there, where they can get a marker they can use should they land on "Go Broke" or "Return Prizes".
I love this show and format because of its simplicity and even with the low budget of the prizes, the contestants and audience are having fun! You can't fake or over produce that compared to shows that unwatchable yet have bigger budgets (the Recent Name that Tune/Shazam game).
Wink, where do you find these? I'm loving everything you've posted so far, and it's made me feel like a kid on a sick day from school, and there's nothing on tv but old game shows. Keep up the awesome work, Wink!
In the early 60s, there was a show that had contestants moving around a game board produced by Heatter & Quigley called "Video Village". It was originally hosted by Jack Narz for the first couple of months, but it was hosted for the majority of it by Monty Hall. Of course, not too many episodes exist anymore due to the practice of wiping back then.
This game must have been a mix of "High Rollers" for the dice and "Concentration" for the prize boards(Then again, "High Rollers" also kept a tally of accumulated prizes).
This is actually the first time I've seen an episode end like this. I guess when they were shown on GameTV, they had a bit of an updated ending, probably for broadcast.
It's not often that a host does two different shows in different languages like Pierre Lalonde did. That's pretty rare. Three hosts, Anne Robinson, Donny Osmond, and Howie Mandel have done the same format in two different countries, but this is even more rare.
The late :( Geoff Edwards did the same format in 2 countries too, he guest hosted chain reaction in the US for 4 weeks (I think) and later did the Canadian chain reaction.
+bluebear1985 One thing I just read about was where someone was able to host the same show in both English and French, at the same time! In 1978, there was a special bilingual edition of the Canadian collegiate quiz show, "Reach For the Top", and its French language counterpart, "Genies en herbe", where Alex Trebek switched between the two languages throughout.
Here's the full episode: ici.radio-canada.ca/premiere/emissions/grands-lacs-cafe/segments/chronique/27921/alex-trebek-francais-jeopardy Trebek did a great job, seamlessly switching between English and perfect French.
seeing the contestants walking along the game board like that, puts me in mind of two game shows where the same thing happeneds: the kids game "Shenannigans," and {the adult} "Video Village."
I wonder if they have the same tax laws for game shows like they have in America where everything you win is added to your personal income. If you play games in California, there is the game show that you have to pay first before you get your prizes.
A personal favorite show of mine to watch on YT and one of the best for sure One question I would love to know if anyone on here remembers...how much did that couple end up winning in cash and prizes because to win $620 or so in the game they had to complete is one of the most mind blowing things I think I ever saw for a Canadian show NOT called "Pitfall" or "The new Chain Reaction"
+louis tenore Indeed it was. There was one question that mentioned about where the poppies blow, between the crosses row on row. Those are a couple of lines from the poem "In Flanders Fields", which is recited on November 11, Remembrance Day in Canada, every year to commemorate those who fought in the great wars.
Yes. There is a mention at the show's end of Champlain Productions, which was a unit of CFCF-TV, Channel 12 (now branded as CTV Montreal), where "Beat the Clock" was produced for several years, perhaps in the same studio, with Nick Holenreich as the announcer after Gene Wood became host.
On another episode (seen elsewhere on RU-vid), a ticket or contestant plug mentioned 405 Ogilvy Avenue in Montreal, which is exactly where CFCF was located at the time.
not a total long shot I would think, Game TV aired an episode where a couple had $600 and still stood a chance to hit double money largely because there was a $250 space on the board.
There was at least one because I remember a team getting $1240 cash. I always wondered how much cash Pierre carried for each game, though because they went to commercial before he counted it all.
erikdraven1731 Most I ever saw him count out was $420 on the season 1 finale. and they barely got it in before the commercial started, plus the bulk of it was counted while the camera did a wide shot, maybe he didn't have enough cash and they were trying to cover it up. but that doesn't seem like much.......
