The Man and the Challenge

195930m

The Man and the Challenge is a 36-segment half-hour television adventure/science fiction series which ran new episodes on NBC from September 12, 1959, to June 11, 1960. It starred George Nader as Dr. Glenn Barton, a research scientist for the Institute of Human Factors, an agency that conducted experiments designed to measure human endurance for the United States government. The series was produced by Ivan Tors. Nader's costars included Jack Ging as Dan Wright, Michael Masters as Bill Locke, the Canadian-born Joyce Meadows as Lynn Allen, and Michael Keith as Matt Adams. The episodes focused on various individuals setting world records of strength, endurance, and mastery of various difficult skills. The program also featured appearances by Bethel Leslie as Eleanor Beck in "The Early Warning", Ted Knight, as Dr. Herter in the episode "Daredevils", and Raymond Bailey, in the role of Dr. Kramer on the series opener "The Sphere of No Return". Joining Knight in that segment was Paul Burke.

Seasons

36 Episodes • Premiered 1959

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 1: The Sphere of No Return

1. The Sphere of No Return

In order to test human stamina at high altitudes, Barton and two other men go up in a balloon. When one panics and fails the required standards he is replaced by a woman which draws a hostile response from the remaining pilot.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 2: Maximum Capacity

2. Maximum Capacity

Barton sends two men into the frozen north to test their endurance in extreme levels of cold and isolation. He wants to determine the best way to train men for high security jobs in the Arctic.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 3: Odds Against Survival

3. Odds Against Survival

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 4: Sky Diving

4. Sky Diving

To study the effects of gravity on potential astronauts, Barton goes to France to learn free fall parachuting from a brother-and-sister team of skydivers: Suzanne and Georges Bolet.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 5: Experiments in Terror

5. Experiments in Terror

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 6: Invisible Force

6. Invisible Force

In a hostile country, three Americans are being held captive. Barton is asked by a Washington official to form a clandestine athletic unit to free them.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 7: Escape to Nepal

7. Escape to Nepal

In order to test the U2-21 drug which supposedly increases a man's ability to retain oxygen at great heights, Barton puts a group of mountaineers through a rigorous test in the Rockies before sending them to the Himalayas for a final test.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 8: Border to Border

8. Border to Border

Two antagonistic jet pilots are entered into a Mexican auto race to prove that a team can overcome obstacles better than any single person could.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 9: Trial by Fire

9. Trial by Fire

Barton enters an active volcano to test a new type of fire suit. He nearly loses his life in the experiment.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 10: White Out

10. White Out

Barton researches hypothermia in Antarctica by reducing the body temperature of two doctors. He hopes the experiment will lead to an understanding of how to freeze astronauts to withstand certain aspects of interplanetary flight.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 11: The Breaking Point

11. The Breaking Point

A volunteer is sealed in a cell for 30 days and is subjected to psychological torment in order to determine his breaking point.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 12: Jungle Survival

12. Jungle Survival

Glenn Barton is sent on a dual mission: test survival techniques in the Amazon Basin and determine the fate of four lost fliers.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 13: I've Killed Seven Men

13. I've Killed Seven Men

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 14: Man Without Fear

14. Man Without Fear

Barton uses a chemical names LSD-25 on a firefighter. The chemical removes fear, but raging forest fires prove that fear is a necessary part of courage.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 15: The Visitors

15. The Visitors

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 16: The Storm

16. The Storm

Glenn Barton is asked to clear the reputation of a man who died mysteriously.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 17: Killer River

17. Killer River

On a cliff above the Colorado River, Barton rescues a parachuted pilot.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 18: Rodeo

18. Rodeo

Barton investigates the effects of a new rocket belt at a rodeo.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 19: The Windowless Room

19. The Windowless Room

A crack test pilot crashes his aircraft. After the crash he experiences a self-induced paralysis that slowly destroys his career and marriage. Barton restores the pilot's confidence by using hypnotic techniques.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 20: Nightmare Crossing

20. Nightmare Crossing

Barton tests candidates for command positions in space.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 21: The Lure of Danger

21. The Lure of Danger

Barton looks individuals that subconsciously want to destroy themselves. He wants to learn why some men desire death.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 22: Recovery

22. Recovery

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 23: Buried Alive

23. Buried Alive

Barton experiments with Yoga to show that it can be helpful in adverting tragedy.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 24: Recondo

24. Recondo

A warden's daughter is held hostage by four escaped convicts.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 25: Flying Lab

25. Flying Lab

Barton performs and experiment to show that ignorance and fear cause lack of efficiency.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 26: Hurricane Mesa

26. Hurricane Mesa

Barton conducts a test on a pilot to prove that he can be switched successfully to a desk job.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 27: Astro Female

27. Astro Female

Barton puts four women against four men in order to prove that woman can equal and perhaps surpass males as astronauts.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 28: The Extra Sense

28. The Extra Sense

In order to prove that emotional stress promotes telepathy, Barton parachutes from a high precipice.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 29: Man in a Capsule

29. Man in a Capsule

Barton conducts a survival test on the surface of the ocean.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 30: The Dropper

30. The Dropper

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 31: High Dive

31. High Dive

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 32: Daredevils

32. Daredevils

Barton puts the king of syut drivers through an incredibly dangerous test believing that the secret to survival lies in body chemical reactions.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 33: Shooter McLaine

33. Shooter McLaine

Barton almost dies when a scientist ignoring his own physical limits and Barton's warnings misreads important test instruments.

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 34: Early Warning

34. Early Warning

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 35: Breakoff

35. Breakoff

Still image for The Man and the Challenge season 1 episode 36: Highway to Danger

36. Highway to Danger

Barton researches highway hypnosis by subjecting himself to driving conditions that have killed five truck drivers.

Cast

Photo of Jack Ging

Jack Ging

Dan Wright

Photo of Joyce Meadows

Joyce Meadows

Lynn Allen

Photo of George Nader

George Nader

Dr. Glenn Barton

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