The Man and the Challenge
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| The Man and the Challenge | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Adventure fiction |
| Starring | George Nader |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 36 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Ivan Tors |
| Running time | ca. 25–26 mins. |
| Production company | Ivan Tors-Ziv Television Programs |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 12, 1959 – June 11, 1960 |
The Man and the Challenge is an American adventure fiction television series about a scientist who tests problems of human survival. It stars George Nader and aired on NBC during the 1959–1960 television season.
Synopsis[edit]
Dr. Glenn Barton is an athlete, explorer, adventurer, and former United States Marine who has become a physician and a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, a United States Government agency that designs and conducts experiments to study human endurance and its limits.[1][2] His wide-ranging curiosity and interests suit him well for his assignments, which involve him testing equipment and personnel under conditions of extreme stress in a variety of research areas. He frequently subjects himself to the tests before allowing others to participate.[2] Emergencies often arise which force Barton or his test subjects to go past the limits of previous tests in an attempt to save the situation.[2] Lynn Allen is his assistant.
Cast[edit]
- George Nader...Dr. Glenn Barton
- Joyce Meadows...Lynn Allen
Production[edit]
The Man and the Challenge was an Ivan Tors-Ziv Television Programs production, and Ivan Tors produced the series.[1] Episodes were filmed at Ziv Studios in Hollywood.[3] Each episode tells its story in a semi-documentary format.[citation needed] Alternate sponsors were Winston cigarettes and the Chemstrand Corporation.[3]
Episodes were filmed on location rather than in a studio. Experts from government agencies coached the actors about activities with regard to specific subjects.[4]
Broadcast history[edit]
The Man and the Challenge premiered on September 12, 1959, and 36 episodes were produced.[1][2] It aired on NBC on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time[1][2] against ABC's Leave it to Beaver and CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive. The show was cancelled after a single season, and its last new episode was broadcast on June 11, 1960. Prime-time reruns of The Man and the Challenge then aired in its regular time slot until September 3, 1960.[1][2]
Episodes[edit]
| No. overall | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Sphere of No Return" | Andrew Marton | Lee Erwin | September 12, 1959 | |
| Barton joins two other man in testing human stamina in a balloon at very high altitudes. After one of the men panics and fails the required standards, a woman replaces him — and the other man reacts negatively to her assignment to the balloon crew. Guest stars: Paul Burke, Raymond Bailey, Keith Vincent, and Frank Kirby. | |||||
| 2 | "Maximum Capacity" | Unknown | Unknown | September 19, 1959 | |
| To determine the best way to train people for high-security jobs in the Arctic, Barton sends two men into the Arctic to test their endurance in extreme levels of cold and isolation. Guest stars: James Best, Mike Masters, Robert Conrad, Paula Raymond, and Robert Karnes. | |||||
| 3 | "Odds Against Survival" | Unknown | Unknown | September 26, 1959 | |
| Barton investigates the human capacity for living for an extended period in a small enclosed space, starting with an underwater habitat. Guest stars: Robert Clarke, Bethel Leslie, and Whit Bissell. | |||||
| 4 | "Sky Diving" | Unknown | Unknown | October 3, 1959 | |
| The U.S. Government is interested in the effects of gravity on potential astronauts, so Barton goes to France to study it by learning free-fall parachuting from Suzanne and Georges Bolet, a brother-and-sister skydiving team. Guest stars: Danielle Aubrey, John Van Dreelen, and Alberto Morin. | |||||
| 5 | "Experiments in Terror" | Unknown | Unknown | October 10, 1959 | |
| David Mumford is a brilliant, well-known scientist who holds a grudge against Barton, so he and his secretary plot to kill the unsuspecting Barton and make it look like his death was an accident. Guest stars: Otto Kruger, Julia Adams, and Logan Field. | |||||
| 6 | "Invisible Force" | Unknown | Paul King | October 17, 1959 | |
| An official from Washington, D.C., asks Barton to form a clandestine athletic unit to free three Americans being held captive in a hostile country. Guest stars: Debra Paget, William Conrad, Carol Thurston, and Patrick Waltz. | |||||
| 7 | "Escape from Nepal" | Unknown | Unknown | October 24, 1959 | |
| A new drug called U2-21 is intended to increase a human's ability to retain oxygen at high altitudes, and to see how well it works, Barton puts a group of mountaineers through a rigorous test in the Rocky Mountains before sending them to the Himalayas for a final test. Guest stars: Myron Healy, John Maxwell, and Joan Granville. | |||||
| 8 | "Border to Border" | Unknown | Unknown | October 31, 1959 | |
| To prove that a team can overcome obstacles which one man cannot handle alone, Barton enters two jet pilots who are antagonistic toward each another in a Mexican auto race in which they face a grueling challenge from a professional driver. Guest stars: Edward Kemmer and Don Kennedy. | |||||
| 9 | "Trial By Fire" | Unknown | Unknown | November 7, 1959 | |
| Barton and two newly-married geologists go to an active volcano to test a new type of fire suit — and almost lose their lives. Guest stars: H. M. Wynant and Joyce Taylor. | |||||
| 10 | "White Out" | Unknown | Unknown | November 14, 1959 | |
| Hoping to develop a way to freeze astronauts to help them withstand interplanetary travel, Barton travels to Antarctica and researches hypothermia by reducing the body temperature of two doctors. Guest stars: Jan Shepard, Philip Terry, and Don Eitner. | |||||
| 11 | "The Breaking Point" | Unknown | Unknown | November 28, 1959 | |
| Barton conducts a test in which a volunteer is subjected to psychological torment while sealed in a cell for 30 days in order to find his breaking point. Guest stars: Alfred Ryder, John Marley, and Tony Monaco. | |||||
| 12 | "Jungle Survival" | Unknown | Unknown | December 5, 1959 | |
| Barton travels to the Amazon Basin to test jungle survival techniques while searching for four missing aviators. Guest stars: Dean Harens, Mike Masters, and Marcia Henderson. | |||||
| 13 | "I've Killed Seven Men" | Unknown | Unknown | December 12, 1959 | |
| Barton selects a ski patrol sergeant as the subject of an experiment to see how long a human can last without sleep. Guest stars: Lin McCarthy and Jean Allison. | |||||
| 14 | "Man Without Fear" | . | Unknown | December 19, 1959 | |
| Barton administers a dose of an experimental mixture of chemicals intended to reduce fear in humans called LSD to a firefighter at the scene of a raging forest fire to see if it will make him more courageous. The man exhibits greater bravery, but the experiment demonstrates that fear is a necessary part of courage. Guest stars: John Day, Tracey Roberts, Frank Gerstle, and Nick Nicholson. | |||||
| 15 | "The Visitors" | Unknown | Unknown | December 26, 1959 | |
| Barton and two of his associates use restricted U.S. Government property to test the best type of clothing for use on other planets. Guest stars: Bert Remsen, Fuzzy Knight, Robert J. Wilke, Len Lesser, and Jack Ging. | |||||
| 16 | "The Storm" | Unknown | Unknown | January 2, 1960 | |
| Barton is asked to clear the reputation of a marine scientist who died under mysterious circumstances. Guest stars: Fred Gabourie, Roberta Haynes, Lee Johnson, and Byron Morrow. | |||||
| 17 | "Killer River" | Unknown | Unknown | January 9, 1960 | |
| Barton rescues a pilot who became caught on a cliff above the Colorado River after parachuting from his plane. Guest stars: John Archer and Michael Keith. | |||||
| 18 | "Rodeo" | Unknown | Unknown | January 23, 1960 | |
| A female rodeo rider helps Barton investigate the effects of a new rocket belt. Guest stars: Ann Robinson, Myron Healy, Neil Grant, Larry Mann, and Chuck Parkerson. | |||||
| 19 | "The Windowless Room" | Unknown | Unknown | January 30, 1960 | |
| After an accomplished test pilot crashes his aircraft, he suffers from a self-induced paralysis that slowly destroys his career and marriage. Barton comes to his aid, using hypnosis to restore his confidence. Guest stars: Jack Ging, Sue Randall, Raymond Bailey, Doris Fesete, and Michael Keith. | |||||
| 20 | "Nightmare Crossing" | Unknown | Unknown | February 6, 1960 | |
| Barton uses a difficult crossing in a small boat to test candidates for command positions aboard spacecraft. Guest stars: Keith Larsen, Tony Monaco, Mike Keene, Pat McCaffrie, and Jack Catron. | |||||
| 21 | "The Lure of Danger" | Unknown | Unknown | February 13, 1960 | |
| To test his theory that individuals who crave danger may subconsciously want to destroy themselves, Barton goes to the bullfights in Mexico. Guest stars: Miguel Landa, Felipe Turich, Abel Franco, Robert Mercy, and Edward Colmans. | |||||
| 22 | "Recovery" | Unknown | Unknown | February 20, 1960 | |
| After one of Barton's experiments ends in tragedy, a newspaper columnist criticizes his handling of it. Guest stars: Eloise Hardt, John Archer, and Jack Catron. | |||||
| 23 | "Buried Alive" | Unknown | Unknown | February 27, 1960 | |
| Barton experiments with yoga to see if it is helpful in averting tragedy. Guest stars: Robert Gothie, Robert Bice, Don Eitner, and Don Harvey. | |||||
| 24 | "Recondo" | Unknown | Unknown | March 5, 1960 | |
| After four escaping convicts kidnap a warden's daughter and take her with them as a hostage, Barton devises a way to free her unharmed. Guest stars: Jack Harris, Marianna Hill, Arvid Nelson, Jay Douglas, and Bern Bassey. | |||||
| 25 | "Flying Lab" | Unknown | Unknown | March 12, 1960 | |
| Barton flies an airplane into a hurricane without informing part of the crew as an experiment to see how fear induced by ignorance of causes can affect human performance. Guest stars: Keith Vincent, Jack Hamilton, Robert Knapp, and Page Slattery. | |||||
| 26 | "Hurricane Mesa" | Unknown | Unknown | March 19, 1960 | |
| Barton conducts a test on a pilot to prove to him that he can still have an important function when he is switched from flying to a desk job. Guest stars: Jack Ging and Robert Bice. | |||||
| 27 | "Astro Female" | Unknown | Unknown | March 26, 1960 | |
| Barton pits four women against four men to prove that women can perform as well as — and perhaps better than — men as astronauts. Guest stars: Maureen Leeds, Adrienne Hayes, Joan Granville, and Ethel Jensen. | |||||
| 28 | "The Extra Sense" | Unknown | Unknown | April 2, 1960 | |
| Barton parachutes from a high precipice to demonstrate that emotional stress promotes telepathy. Guest stars: Frank Maxwell and Paul Comi. | |||||
| 29 | "Man in the Capsule" | Unknown | Unknown | April 9, 1960 | |
| Barton conducts a test of a survival capsule by locking two men in it while it floats on the surface of the ocean for three days. Guest stars: Darryl Hickman, Fred Beir, Dick Jeffries, and Donald Gamble. | |||||
| 30 | "The Dropper" | Unknown | Unknown | April 23, 1960 | |
| A psychopathic killer has rigged the trunk of his car to eject logs onto the highway to kill or injure pursuing motorcycle policemen, so Barton develops a new drug that speeds up human perception so that the motorcycle policemen can maneuver out of the way of the deadly debris and apprehend the killer. Guest stars: Jack O'Brien, Arthur Heller, Jerry Summers, Tyler McVey, Howard McLeod, and Mike Masters. | |||||
| 31 | "High Dive" | Unknown | Unknown | April 30, 1960 | |
| An attractive female Olympic high diver helps Barton test a theory about the cause of a loss of equilibrioception. Guest stars: Olive Sturgess, Charles Alvin Bell, Michael Keith, Vernon Rich, and Charles R. Keene. | |||||
| 32 | "Daredevils" | Unknown | Unknown | May 7, 1960 | |
| In the belief that the secret to survival lies in chemical reactions in the human body, Barton puts the top suit driver through an extremely dangerous test. Guest stars: Don Kennedy, Christine White, Ted Knight, and Doris Fosette. | |||||
| 33 | "Shooter McLaine" | Unknown | Unknown | May 21, 1960 | |
| Ignoring his own physical limits and Barton's warnings, a scientist misreads important test instruments, almost killing Barton. Guest stars: John Milford, Mala Powers, Dick Rich, and Charles Tannen. | |||||
| 34 | "Early Warning" | Unknown | Unknown | May 28, 1960 | |
| Barton fears that a single-minded scientist could be working himself to death. Guest stars: Philip Ober, Bethel Leslie, Andy Thompson, and Marshall Kent. | |||||
| 35 | "Breakoff" | Unknown | Unknown | June 4, 1960 | |
| Barton tries to help a pilot who experiences excessive anxiety at high altitudes. Guest stars: Karl Swenson and Miranda Jones. | |||||
| 36 | "Highway to Danger" | Unknown | Unknown | June 11, 1960 | |
| Barton researches the phenomenon of highway hypnosis by subjecting himself to driving conditions that have killed five truck drivers. Guest stars: Karen Scott, Hank Patterson, and Barney Biro. | |||||
Critical response[edit]
Critic Jack Gould summarized an episode of The Man and the Challenge as "Quickie hokum" in a two-paragraph review in The New York Times[5] He also commented that the episode "began at 8:30 and for some reason persisted until 9."[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 512.
- ^ a b c d e f Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (Sixth Edition), New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 633.
- ^ a b "This Week (Cont'd)". Ross Reports. September 7, 1959. p. 76. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
- ^ Beacham, Ingrid (March 19, 1960). "Big Challenge: To Keep Going Ahead". The Napa Valley Register. California, Napa. p. 20. Retrieved February 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Gould, Jack (September 14, 1959). "N. B. C. Offers Saturday Night Series Starring Henry Fonda in Western". The New York Times. p. 59. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
