L'uomo e la sfida

I watched this series when it was on NBC (and I was 9) and a few years later when it had a brief syndicated run.

It made a huge impression on my 9-year-old self. I was already a fan of science fiction by way of Science Fiction Theatre (remember that sf was considered purely of interest to male audiences in those days) and this series was far closer to actual science--I don't think they thought they were reaching 9 year old little girls.

One episode in particular never left me--"Astro Female", which opened with the rescue of a woman who is the only survivor of a shipwreck; all the others, males, died, but the tough woman survived. This led to an exploration of women as astronauts, something the US never did until decades later. In an age where women on TV were almost invariably portrayed as emotional and weak, this show showed a different possibility that probably is part of why I am in a career in the sciences.

Beyond that episode, there were many others exploring human potential beyond the expected.

I'd love to see these episodes again. I'd buy them on DVD. I've gone and watched other series that I enjoyed, and usually I have been pleasantly surprised with how well they hold up, not just classics like Twilight Zone, but others like Route 66.

My father was a career Air Force man. So when Col. John P Stapp's famous rocket sled images appeared in the opening credits of THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE in 1959 I, as a 14-year-old, was immediately hooked.

...and George Nader was the perfectly-cast star. I loved the stories. It didn't matter they were off-center from science-reality, as we knew it then - in my mind, they were 'possible.' The ideas just fascinated me. That it was possible to live through an elevator fall - or that one could survive a marooning at sea by drinking the base nutrients from a raw fish squeezed through a torqued towel, made absolute sense in my young, formative mind - they still do.

I've often reflected on that series over the years, and now realize what a huge impression it made on my ultimate enrollment in the aerospace industry.

I appreciate what all of you have written in remembrance of George Nader and this wonderful TV series. Yes, the film world often brings heroes - but much more than that; 'ideas of quality' can shape and determine one's entire future. It certainly did mine - may you all have been so blessed.

So glad to find others who loved this show, too. No one I ever asked remembered the show. I found it inspiring as well. I was all psyched by science and space, too, and at the time wanted to be "the first woman geologist on the moon." I understand that position has not been filled, but I probably won't make it now ;-) I was in a science club in Niagara Falls, where Bell Labs tested their rocket belt. We were scheduled to see one of those tests, although I think the day we went it was postponed and we missed it.

Kudos to all of you who went on to pursue your dreams. Mine changed to the field of psychology, and I now work with adults who have AD(H)D as a coach. Many people who have ADD are the very ones who have become the adventurers and entrepreneurs, etc., who make a difference in the world and inspire us. It is very gratifying work.

My precocious cousin and I were avid watchers of this Friday (?) night show. The space programme was in its enthusiastic first blush, and was undoubtedly the inspiration for the series. I believe that my cousin turned to a lot of physical self-punishment under the inspiration of THE MAN AND THE CHALLENGE (younger and reckless at 12) to show that he too could "take it." It was from the series that I learned the term "human factors research." I was going to be a scientist, then.

Thinking back, however, I can see why the show was so short-lived. Some of the adventures were definitely contrived -- working from 40 years' memory -- and there were not enough interesting principals, even the hero. One could not delve TOO much into the science, and at bottom it had little mass appeal.

I watched The Man And The Challenge when it was first on in 1960 and was intrigued. I was born destined to become an electrical engineer so this program presented a scientific challenge each episode that challenged my future knowledge of physics. Finally a show that wasn't complete fluff like a talking horse or a guy married to a witch. A thinking adult man who was drastically challenged each week and had to save himself or the situation using scientific principles. I wanted to learn so bad! And I wanted to solve the puzzles before the show revealed the solution. This show has never been publicized since, but I always remembered it all these years, and could stump most everybody else who had never ever heard of it. I'd love to see a show today to see how it matches my recollections.