Jack Ging
as Dan Wright
0%
0/36
The Man and the Challenge
1959
•
9.0
•
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure
•
30m
US
• English
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.
Cast
Episodes
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The Sphere of No Return
E1 30mIn 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.
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Maximum Capacity
E2 30mBarton 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.
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Odds Against Survival
E3 30mNo image
Sky Diving
E4 30mTo 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.
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Experiments in Terror
E5 30mNo image
Invisible Force
E6 30mIn 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.
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Escape to Nepal
E7 30mIn 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.
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Border to Border
E8 30mTwo antagonistic jet pilots are entered into a Mexican auto race to prove that a team can overcome obstacles better than any single person could.
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Trial by Fire
E9 30mBarton enters an active volcano to test a new type of fire suit. He nearly loses his life in the experiment.
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White Out
E10 30mBarton 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.
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The Breaking Point
E11 30mA volunteer is sealed in a cell for 30 days and is subjected to psychological torment in order to determine his breaking point.
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Jungle Survival
E12 30mGlenn Barton is sent on a dual mission: test survival techniques in the Amazon Basin and determine the fate of four lost fliers.
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I've Killed Seven Men
E13 30mNo image
Man Without Fear
E14 30mBarton 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.
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The Visitors
E15 30mNo image
The Storm
E16 30mGlenn Barton is asked to clear the reputation of a man who died mysteriously.
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Killer River
E17 30mOn a cliff above the Colorado River, Barton rescues a parachuted pilot.
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Rodeo
E18 30mBarton investigates the effects of a new rocket belt at a rodeo.
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The Windowless Room
E19 30mA 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.
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Nightmare Crossing
E20 30mBarton tests candidates for command positions in space.
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The Lure of Danger
E21 30mBarton looks individuals that subconsciously want to destroy themselves. He wants to learn why some men desire death.
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Recovery
E22 30mNo image
Buried Alive
E23 30mBarton experiments with Yoga to show that it can be helpful in adverting tragedy.
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Recondo
E24 30mA warden's daughter is held hostage by four escaped convicts.
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Flying Lab
E25 30mBarton performs and experiment to show that ignorance and fear cause lack of efficiency.
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Hurricane Mesa
E26 30mBarton conducts a test on a pilot to prove that he can be switched successfully to a desk job.
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Astro Female
E27 30mBarton puts four women against four men in order to prove that woman can equal and perhaps surpass males as astronauts.
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The Extra Sense
E28 30mIn order to prove that emotional stress promotes telepathy, Barton parachutes from a high precipice.
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Man in a Capsule
E29 30mBarton conducts a survival test on the surface of the ocean.
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The Dropper
E30 30mNo image
High Dive
E31 30mNo image
Daredevils
E32 30mBarton puts the king of syut drivers through an incredibly dangerous test believing that the secret to survival lies in body chemical reactions.
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Shooter McLaine
E33 30mBarton almost dies when a scientist ignoring his own physical limits and Barton's warnings misreads important test instruments.
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Early Warning
E34 30mNo image
Breakoff
E35 30mNo image
Highway to Danger
E36 30mBarton researches highway hypnosis by subjecting himself to driving conditions that have killed five truck drivers.
