''The Man and the Challenge'' is an American

adventure fiction Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of Romance (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction. History In t ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

about a scientist who tests problems of human survival. It stars

George Nader George Garfield Nader, Jr. (October 19, 1921 – February 4, 2002) was an American actor and writer. He appeared in a variety of films from 1950 to 1974, including ''Sins of Jezebel'' (1953), ''Congo Crossing'' (1956), and ''The Female Animal'' ...

and aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

during the 1959–1960 television season.

Synopsis

Dr. Glenn Barton is an athlete, explorer, adventurer, and former

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

who has become a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and a

research scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosophica ...

for the Institute of Human Factors, a

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

agency that designs and conducts experiments to study human endurance and its limits.McNeil, Alex, ''Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition'', New York: Penguin Books, 1996, , p. 512.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, , p. 633.The Classic TV Archive The Man and the Challenge (1959-60) Accessed 19 November 2020
/ref> 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. 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. Lynn Allen is his assistant.

Cast

...Dr. Glenn Barton *

Joyce Meadows Joyce Meadows, born Joyce Johanna Burger (born April 13, 1933) is a Canadian-American film and television actress. Life and career Meadows was born in Arrowwood, Alberta, moving with her family to Montana and then California. She worked as a ...

...Lynn Allen

Production

''The Man and the Challenge'' was an

Ivan Tors Ivan Tors (born Iván Törzs; June 12, 1916 – June 4, 1983) was a Hungarian playwright, film director, screenwriter, and film and television producer with an emphasis on non-violent but exciting science fiction, underwater sequences, and s ...

Ziv Television Programs Ziv Television Programs, Inc. was an American production company that specialized in productions for first-run television syndication in the 1950s. History The company was founded by Frederick Ziv in 1948 and was a subsidiary of his successful ...

production, and Ivan Tors produced the series. Each episode tells its story in a semi-documentary format.

Broadcast history

''The Man and the Challenge'' premiered on September 12, 1959, and 36 episodes were produced. It aired on

on Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

against

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's '' Leave it to Beaver'' and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

'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.

Episodes

SOURCE tv.com The Man and the Challenge - Season 1
/ref>

References

External links

*
''The Man and the Challenge'' Episode 19 "The Windowless Room" on YouTube

''The Man and the Challenge'' Episode 30 "The Dropper" on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man and the Challenge American adventure television series 1959 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s American television series 1960s American television series Black-and-white American television shows NBC original programming Television shows set in the United States English-language television shows Works about scientists