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address, and the number of the key they wanted to use (1 through 7). Any postcard without all three of these elements was discarded, and another one was drawn to replace it. The host tried the viewer's chosen key on the prize wonderland first, and the viewer won it if he was able to open its lock. If not, he tried the key on the other prizes until he found the one it unlocked, and the viewer won that prize.
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prize, one of which was a large package personalized to match the contestant's interests, and the prizes (or pictures of them) were behind glass doors secured with padlocks. The contestant had to make a choice to play again in the hope of earning more keys; or to stop, choose the appropriate number of keys, and win whatever prizes they unlocked.
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Two different formats were used during the broadcast run of the series. In one format, the cash bonus was $ 1,000, and the host kept drawing one card at a time and awarding prizes until a viewer won the prize wonderland. In the other, the bonus was $ 500 and the host only drew one card; if the viewer
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Once per episode, home viewers were given a chance to play for seven different prizes, six small ones and a "prize wonderland" that consisted of a prize package, a fur stole, and a cash bonus. Each prize corresponded to one of seven keys as in the main game. Viewers sent in postcards with their name,
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The board consisted of a 70-space path and three spinning dials marked "Steps," "Bonus," and "Penalty," each of which could display a value from 1 to 10 and was controlled by a separate button. Each dial was only illuminated when the button to stop it was pressed, revealing the number on which it had
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The final space on the path was marked "Keys." If the contestant spun a number on the "Steps" or "Bonus" dial that was greater than or equal to the number of steps needed to reach it, they won the game and earned the right to choose one key from a group of seven. Each key corresponded to a different
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All question spaces on the board were of the same type or category, which changed from one game to the next. Examples of categories included filling in the middle initial of a famous person's name; stating whether a given animal lived on land, in air, or in the sea; and naming the missing celebrity
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Only three episodes are known to exist among collectors – Episode #9 of the original KTLA version (September 22, 1960), an ABC episode from July 12, 1962, and a second episode from KTLA. A complete ABC episode from May 24, 1963, was discovered on audio tape in March 2010.
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The contestant answered a question. A correct response allowed them to play from that space on their next turn, while a miss forced them to back up to the last Safe space they had passed. If the contestant landed on a previously answered question, it was counted as a free
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Contestants left the show after deciding to stop, earning all seven keys and winning every available prize, or failing to complete the path within 15 turns. In this last case, they forfeited all their keys and received only a consolation prize.
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stopped. A solo contestant attempted to travel the entire length of the path within 15 turns. On each turn, they stopped the "Steps" dial and advanced the number of spaces shown.
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428:. Although the status of the KTLA versions remain unknown, the ABC tapes are believed to have been either destroyed or reused as per network practices at the time.
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was struck a large blow when NBC began a new 55-minute series at 2:00 PM (followed by a five-minute newscast) –
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holds two episodes along with a clip from a KTLA blooper reel (described as "a box is stuck from the game show
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On April 3, 1961 the series began airing on ABC at 2:30 PM Eastern (1:30 Central), replacing the short-lived
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was moved one last time to 12:00 noon (11:00 AM Central). The show was now up against the long-running soap
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returned to KTLA on April 6. After another nine months, the series took its last bow on
January 15, 1965.
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in the slot. Within the next three months, the new word-association game from
Goodson-Todman wore down
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was shifted away to a morning slot on April 1. ABC ceased programming at 2:30/1:30 for five months.
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on NBC, and was beaten soundly in the ratings until it finally admitted defeat on March 27, 1964.
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did not win the prize wonderland, he demonstrated the correct key by using it to open that lock.
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While CBS stopped programming at 11:30/10:30 for nearly a year, NBC introduced its new
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The contestant stopped the "Penalty" dial and backed up the number of spaces shown.
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television game shows to air daily in nighttime. The ABC version aired in daytime.
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packing to 11:00/10:00 on
September 6. Narz would host the syndicated version of
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The contestant stopped the "Bonus" dial and advanced the number of spaces shown.
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originally aired locally in Los
Angeles on KTLA Channel 5 (now an affiliate of
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297:(which had not programmed at 2:30 since August 1959, following the disastrous
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aired from
September 12, 1960, to January 15, 1965; initially on Los Angeles'
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Despite running for five seasons, the series is believed to be
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Having spent a turbulent three years on the national schedule,
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Spaces along the path could be one of the following types:
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went to 11:30 AM (10:30 Central/Pacific), replacing the
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507:American Broadcasting Company original programming
316:. CBS and Linkletter would have the last laugh –
214:The contestant immediately took their next turn.
179:The first KTLA series was one of the few non-
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522:1965 American television series endings
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517:1960 American television series debuts
35:Host Jack Narz with twin contestants.
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489:UCLA Archive: "Seven Keys" Blooper
16:1960 American TV series or program
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460:May 24, 1963 episode (audio only)
437:UCLA Film and Television Archive
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340:. Now facing the five-year-old
360:repeats on August 30 and send
346:on NBC and daytime repeats of
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398:on CBS and the popular game
320:ended on March 29, 1963 and
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512:1960s American game shows
293:and local programming on
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471:UCLA Archive: Seven Keys
300:Court of Human Relations
176:before ending on KTLA.
109:(1960–1961, 1964–1965)
401:Your First Impression
388:On December 30, 1963
356:managed to cease the
313:The Merv Griffin Show
306:On October 1, 1962
161:Snakes and Ladders
122:September 12, 1960
279:. Despite facing
251:Broadcast History
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77:Country of origin
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408:KTLA (1964–1965)
385:in the ratings.
368:from 1973-1978.
337:Yours for a Song
283:'s mega-popular
256:KTLA (1960–1961)
238:Home-viewer game
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132:January 15, 1965
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98:Original release
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277:Road to Reality
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378:Missing Links
375:-hosted game
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366:Concentration
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362:Concentration
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343:Concentration
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172:and then on
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90:Running time
59:Presented by
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358:Millionaire
286:House Party
114:(1961–1964)
72:Jack Powers
69:Narrated by
54:Carl Jampel
501:Categories
447:References
441:Seven Keys
373:Ed McMahon
332:Bert Parks
261:Seven Keys
181:syndicated
166:Seven Keys
154:hosted by
147:Seven Keys
136:1965-01-15
126:1960-09-12
93:30 minutes
85:Production
51:Created by
23:Seven Keys
426:destroyed
218:Question:
187:Game play
156:Jack Narz
152:game show
63:Jack Narz
45:Game Show
474:Archived
352:on CBS,
206:Penalty:
318:Griffin
134: (
130: –
124: (
119:Release
103:Network
265:The CW
200:Bonus:
334:game
221:move.
212:Safe:
41:Genre
443:").
435:The
414:Keys
390:Keys
383:Keys
354:Keys
328:Keys
322:Keys
308:Keys
170:KTLA
107:KTLA
295:NBC
291:CBS
289:on
174:ABC
112:ABC
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