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.
...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.