The Troubleshooters (1959 TV series)

The Troubleshooters is an American adventure television series about a construction team that takes on difficult jobs around the world. It stars Keenan Wynn and Bob Mathias and aired on NBC during the 1959–1960 television season.

The Troubleshooters
GenreAdventure
StarringKeenan Wynn
Bob Mathias
Robert Fortier
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducersFrank P. Rosenberg
John Gibbs
Running timeca. 25 mins.
Production companiesMeridian Productions
United Artists Television
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 11, 1959 (1959-09-11) –
April 1, 1960 (1960-04-01)

Synopsis

Kodiak is a construction engineer who for five years has served as the chief troubleshooter for the Stenrud Corporation, a heavy construction firm.[1][2][3] The work has taken him throughout the United States and around the world to solve difficult problems that crop up in construction projects ranging from highways to dams to skyscrapers to airports to nuclear facilities.[2] The pace of the work has begun to wear on him, and he has begun a slow program of training his assistant, construction engineer Frank Dugan, to replace him eventually.[2] The two men are very different: Kodiak is an older, grizzled, gruff, and brawny veteran of construction work, while Dugan is young, more socially adept, well-educated, soft-spoken, and innocent.[2] As they travel around the United States and the world to troubleshoot problems on construction sites, they learn from one another: Kodiak becomes more civil and Dugan gets stronger and more assertive.[2] Scotty, Skinner, Jim, and Slats are members of their construction crew who frequently work with them on their projects.[2]

Cast

Production

The Troubleshooters was a Meridian Productions-United Artists Television production,[3] the first network television show produced by United Artists.[1] Frank P. Rosenberg and John Gibbs produced the series,[1] and Robert Altman was among its episode directors.[3]

Broadcast history

The Troubleshooters premiered on September 11, 1959, and 26 episodes were produced.[1][2][3] It aired on NBC on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.[1][2][3] The show was cancelled after a single season, and its last new episode was broadcast on April 1, 1960.[3] Prime-time reruns of The Troubleshooters then aired in its regular time slot until June 17, 1960.[1][2]

Episodes

SOURCE [3][5][6][7]

No.
overall 		Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1"Liquid Death"UnknownUnknownSeptember 11, 1959 (1959-09-11)
Kodiak and Dugan face a landslide and challenges from indigenous people as they travel through the mountains of Venezuela to deliver supplies. Guest stars: Abel Fernandez and Eddie Firestone.
2"Disaster"UnknownUnknownSeptember 18, 1959 (1959-09-18)
Alternative title "The Law and the Profits." During the construction of a tunnel on a storage farm in California, Kodiak fires a young college student working a summer job for being drunk at work. A fistfight ensues in which Kodiak flattens the young man, who subsequently files an injury claim. Guest stars: Peter Miller, Dabbs Greer, and Dennis Cross.
3"The Widow of Elbow Bend"UnknownUnknownSeptember 25, 1959 (1959-09-25)
Alternative titles "The Widow at Elbow Bend" and "Trouble at Elbow Bend." While building a highway, Kodiak's crew encounters an elderly woman who is armed with a rifle and is an excellent shot, and Kodiak must figure out a way to deal with her. Guest stars: Jeanette Nolan, Ken Clark, Jack Herrin, and Stafford Repp.
4"The Lower Depths"UnknownUnknownOctober 2, 1959 (1959-10-02)
Dugan hires an underwater foreman in Kodiak′s absence — but the man is ill, and his poor health could lead to disaster. Guest stars: Norbert Schiller, Suzanne Lloyd, and Wayne Morris.
5"Tiger Culhane"UnknownUnknownOctober 9, 1959 (1959-10-09)
A man who is a construction worker during the day and a boxer at night joins the construction crew and causes trouble among the men. Guest stars: Dan Blocker, James Westerfield, Charles Horvath, and Owen Bush.
6"Moment of Terror"UnknownUnknownOctober 16, 1959 (1959-10-16)
During the construction of a hydroelectric plant in the Pacific Northwest, escaped convicts kidnap Kodiak and place the town in danger. Guest stars: Harry Townes, Rayford Barnes, Harry Bartell, and Abby Shelton.
7"Gino"UnknownUnknownOctober 23, 1959 (1959-10-23)
While trying pull off the theft of the company payroll, a construction worker goes to great lengths to frame a young motorcycle thief for the crime. Guest stars: Marc Cavell and John Larch.
8"Pipeline"UnknownUnknownNovember 6, 1959 (1959-11-06)
The construction crew encounters difficulties while laying a pipeline in a Middle Eastern country when local rebels plot to assassinate the country′s king. Guest stars: Ruta Lee, Eugene Iglesias, and Jason Wingreen.
9"Trapped"UnknownUnknownNovember 13, 1959 (1959-11-13)
Kodiak and Dugan have only a short time to save a boy trapped in a deep crevice. Guest stars: Elisha Cook, Bryan Russell, Dee Pollock, and Anne Benton.
10"Downrange"UnknownUnknownNovember 20, 1959 (1959-11-20)
The corporation sends Kodiak to speed up a construction project on a missile range, but after arriving he finds that the project foreman is more interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman than with work. Some sources claim this episode was broadcast on November 27, 1959. Guest stars: Charles McGraw, Noreen Nash, Patricia Crest, and Forrest Compton.
11"The Big Squeeze"UnknownUnknownNovember 27, 1959 (1959-11-27)
While constructing a dam in Canada, the crew becomes involved in a controversy between a religious sect that wants the dam and farmers who do not. Some sources claim this episode was broadcast on November 20, 1959. Guest stars: Forrest Compton, Judy Crowder, Gregory Morton, Alan Reed, Jr., Paul Sorensen, and Edgar Stehli.
12"Tunnel to Yesterday"UnknownRay BradburyDecember 4, 1959 (1959-12-04)
During a drilling project in Bavaria, Kodiak discovers an underground fortress inhabited by Germans who do not know that World War II has ended. Guest stars: Werner Klemperer, Erika Peters, and Albert Szabo.
13"The Chain"UnknownUnknownDecember 11, 1959 (1959-12-11)
After Dugan learns that the crew has inadvertently begun construction on private property without permission, he must reach a settlement with the owners — and it could be costly. Guest stars: Rebecca Welles, Charles Boaz, and Wayne Tucker.
14"Trouble at the Orphanage".UnknownDecember 25, 1959 (1959-12-25)
Alternative title "Swing Shift." While in Greece on a construction job, Kodiak investigates a minor theft. His investigation leads him to an orphanage whose fresh water has been cut off, so he decides to intercede and build a well for the orphans. Guest stars: Fintan Meyler and Bart Bradley.
15"The Mountain That Moved"UnknownUnknownJanuary 1, 1960 (1960-01-01)
The United States Government and the Government of Canada have agreed to work together on a huge oil exploration project which will require the detonation of an atomic bomb. During construction of a tunnel in which the bomb will detonate, a religious zealot calling himself "the savior of the world" brings the work to a halt, and Kodiak and Dugan are sent to the site to deal with him. Guest star: Abraham Sofaer.
16"High Steel"UnknownUnknownJanuary 15, 1960 (1960-01-15)
A member of a Native American tribe known for the ability of its men to work without fear on tall buildings faces the challenge of acrophobia — and worries that he may suffer more than just a wound to his pride. Guest stars: Marc Lawrence and Francy Scott.
17"Harry Maru"UnknownUnknownJanuary 22, 1960 (1960-01-22)
A Japanese deserter is determined to sabotage Kodiak's construction project. Guest stars: Howard Caine and James Shigeta.
18"The Big Blaze"UnknownUnknownJanuary 29, 1960 (1960-01-29)
While Kodiak is developing an oil field for the ruler of a country in South America, he is forced to take rebels prisoner when they interfere with the project. In response, the rebel forces kidnap Kodiak. Guest stars: Chana Eden and Perry Lopez.
19"Headhunter Road"UnknownUnknownFebruary 12, 1960 (1960-02-12)
Headhunters interrupt a road construction project in an East Asian jungle. Guest stars: Joseph Ruskin, Frank de Kova, Nina Martinez, and Manning Ross.
20"The Town That Wouldn't Die"UnknownUnknownFebruary 19, 1960 (1960-02-19)
After living in a small town by the Mississippi River for two years during a construction job, construction workers and their families decide they want to settle down there permanently. They need protection from floods, however, so they ask Kodiak to let them use the company's equipment to build levees. Guest stars: Ken Lynch, Charles Aidman, and Lillian Buyeff.
21"Incident at Rain Mountain"UnknownUnknownFebruary 26, 1960 (1960-02-26)
Against Kodiak's orders, Dugan joins the search for the survivor of a plane crash. Guest stars: Madlyn Rhue, Sam Gilman, Anne Loos, and Tom Palmer.
22"Senorita"UnknownUnknownMarch 4, 1960 (1960-03-04)
Kodiak travels in the highlands of Central America on a burro that turns out to be more trouble than expected and makes the journey even more arduous. Guest stars: Al Ruscio, Rene Kroper, and Julian Rivero.
23"The Landmark"UnknownUnknownMarch 11, 1960 (1960-03-11)
An American Civil War monument lies in the path of Kodiak's and Dugan's road construction job. Guest stars: Louise Fletcher, Ron Hayes, and Renny McEvoy.
24"No Stone Unturned"UnknownUnknownMarch 18, 1960 (1960-03-18)
Kodiak and Dugan travel to South Vietnam to intervene after a stranger harasses natives working on a flood control project. Some sources claim this episode was broadcast on March 25, 1960. Guest star: Jacques Aubuchon.
25"Fire in the Hole"UnknownUnknownMarch 25, 1960 (1960-03-25)
Kodiak's and Dugan's effort to rescue miners trapped by a cave-in turns into a contest of brains against brawn. Some sources claim this episode was broadcast on March 18, 1960. Guest stars: Rhys Williams and Joan Vohs.
26"The Cat-Skinner"UnknownUnknownApril 1, 1960 (1960-04-01)
Alternative title "The Carnival." An accident occurs on a construction site, imperiling plans to hold a benefit for a disabled child. Guest stars: Richard Eyer, Edgar Buchanan, and Lou Krugman.

References
  1. McNeil, Alex, Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present, Fourth Edition, New York: Penguin Books, 1996, ISBN 0 14 02 4916 8, p. 866.
  2. 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, ISBN 0-345-39736-3, p. 1067.
  3. The Classic TV Archive The Troubleshooters (1959-60) Accessed 20 November 2020
  4. Lentz, Harris (May 4, 2006). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005. McFarland. p. 125. ISBN 9780786424894 – via Google Books.
  5. The Troubleshooters (1959–1960) Episode List Accessed 21 November 2020
  6. The Troubleshooters - Season 1
  7. tvguide.com Troubleshooters
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