Okay... first off, if anyone outside of Canada ever thought they saw a cheap game show, they were never in the Great White North during the 1970's. Grand prizes included toaster ovens, dinner for twos, and the cash sometimes almost went to triple digits. Included below are some clips from some of the cheesiest games ever played on television.
The Premier Episode of the Mad Dash
Check out Alex Trebek's 'fro in Pitfall (admittedly this show had a budget)
Definition actually lasted until the 80s, but still brings the cheese
Pay Cards was produced in Canada and syndicated to the US... so you know it was good!