Game Show 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 great prize such as 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 Golden Snitch format ever — Exactly What It Says on the Tin, in other words, although that was the point.
This show provides examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: One running gag had Dick calling Wanda by some other name - Winda, Zelda, Lila, Fillmore...
- Affectionate Parody: ...Although the "Affectionate" part could be argued against.
- The Announcer: 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 Wheel of Fortune).
- Biting-the-Hand Humor: Most of Dick's comments, especially his monologue. Justified, in that the show pretty much asked for it.
- Bonus Round: 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
- Catchphrase: "Remember, it's not whether you win or lose — it's how much it costs you!"
- Consolation Prize: Some were described between Rounds 1 and 2, and more following the Bonus Round. As with the endgame, these prizes were genuine.
- Covered in Gunge: 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 Pie in the Face.
- Credits Gag: Such as "Oscar's Wardrobe by MOTHER NATURE".
- Golden Snitch: 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.
- Half-Hour Comedy
- Lovely Assistant: Wanda (Janelle Price), a dim-bulb ditz who talked in a very stilted/robotic manner. Oh, and men in drag.
- Luck-Based Mission: The outcome of the Bonus Round depended entirely on Oscar's behavior.
- Mascot: Oscar, the Wonder Rodent.
- Opening Narration: Quoted at the top of this page.
- Take That!: 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.
