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->''"The following program, although edited for television, still may contain some objectionable material. The producers feel that alone should be enough to make you stay tuned to this channel."''
-->Disclaimer shown before the each episode.

->''"This authentic Early American bee smoker worth nine dollars and eighty-four cents, or any one of these other exciting, nearly-great prizes might be taken home by our contestants. And we have something horrendous in store for their unfortunate loved ones. All this and much, much less tonight on '''The Cheap Show'''! And here's the host of '''The Cheap Show''' — the only man we could find who'll work this cheap; the man who '''actually believes''' that his check is in the mail, Mr. Dick Martin!"''
-->Opening spiel, as read by '''Charlie O'Donnell'''.

GameShow that ran in weekly syndication from 1978-79 with Dick Martin of ''Laugh-In'' fame as emcee. Two teams competed, with Martin asking questions to a thr-oh, sorry, ''two''-celebrity panel. The team "in control" then picked one of the two given answers; a correct pick awarded you a point (and a [[BlatantLies great prize]] such as [[{{Squick}} Dick's toenail clippings]]) and one of your opponents got covered in slime, while a wrong answer gave your opponent the point and toenails while ''your'' teammate got covered in slime.

The first team to reach 20 points won the game and moved on to The Semi-Colossal Prize Sweepstakes Finale, in which the show's mascot (a large rat named Oscar the Wonder Rodent) determined the couple's (real) prize by crawling into one of 12 holes in a spinning wheel. If the team correctly predicted that hole, they also won a car.

''The Cheap Show'' was a parody of low-budget games, with embarrassingly-cheap "prizes" and the most obvious GoldenSnitch format ever — ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, in other words, although that was the point.
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!!This show provides examples of:
* AccidentalMisnaming: One running gag had Dick calling Wanda by some other name - Winda, Zelda, Lila, [[OddNameOut Fillmore]]...
* AffectionateParody: ...Although the "Affectionate" part could be argued against.
* TheAnnouncer: Charlie O'Donnell, no stranger to the genre that was being mocked (particularly the "cheap" prize descriptions, almost certainly intended to parody his role on ''Series/WheelOfFortune'').
* BitingTheHandHumor: Most of Dick's comments, especially his monologue. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], in that the show pretty much asked for it.
* BonusRound: The Semi-Colossal Prize Sweepstakes Finale, where Oscar the Wonder Rodent ran around on a wheel with 12 holes representing actual and legitimate prizes while it was spinning, and the first hole he went into determined what prize would be won. If the couple could correctly guess where he'd go, they'd also win the grand prize of an actual, legitimate new car! [[note]](Granted, it was a Chevy Chevette, one of the cheapest cars of that era...but it was still a legit new car.)[[/note]]
* CatchPhrase: "Remember, it's not whether you win or lose — it's how much it costs you!"
* ConsolationPrize: Some were described between Rounds 1 and 2, and more following the BonusRound. As with the endgame, these prizes were genuine.
* CoveredInGunge: More than likely the first American game show example - if you lost a round, your loved one got something dumped on top of them, or a PieInTheFace.
* CreditsGag: Such as "Oscar's Wardrobe by MOTHER NATURE".
* GoldenSnitch: An intentionally absurd example - the first two questions were worth one point each, while the final question was worth 20 points. 20 points were required to win the game.
* HalfHourComedy
* LovelyAssistant: Wanda (Janelle Price), a dim-bulb ditz who talked in a very stilted/robotic manner. Oh, and men in drag.
* LuckBasedMission: The outcome of the BonusRound depended entirely on Oscar's behavior.
* {{Mascot}}: Oscar, the Wonder Rodent.
* OpeningNarration: Quoted at the top of this page.
* TakeThat: Toward low-budget games and those who ran them.
* {{Zonk}}: The main-game "prizes", typically worth little or nothing because they were complete junk, such as a broken hair dryer or a one-way ferry trip to an island 500 yards offshore.
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