Mission: Impossible 

An elite covert operations unit carries out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure, death or capture.

Creator:

Bruce Geller

Stars:

Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 16 wins & 39 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Greg Morris	...	Barney Collier 171 episodes, 1966-1973
Peter Lupus	...	Willy Armitage 161 episodes, 1966-1973
Peter Graves	...	James Phelps / ... 143 episodes, 1967-1973
Barbara Bain	...	Cinnamon Carter 78 episodes, 1966-1969
Martin Landau	...	Rollin Hand / ... 76 episodes, 1966-1969

Storyline

Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) is the head of a super-secret government agency, the I.M.F. (Impossible Missions Force), and is often given secret anonymous covert missions to attempt. Quite often, they are unmasking criminals or rescuing hostages. He picks his team depending on which tasks need to be done. One thing is vital on an Impossible Mission: the mission must be carried out in entire secrecy, often relying on high-tech equipment and elaborate deceptions.

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Plot Keywords:

stockings | pantyhosed leg | mission | disguise | deception | 

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Taglines:

Failure impossible.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 September 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mission: Impossible

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desilu Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min (168 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The main reason for Daniel Briggs (Steven Hill), and later Jim Phelps (Peter Graves), looking through the photos to select the various members of the team for each mission was that many of the early episodes would feature guest stars as members of the team. However, once it became apparent that the same members were chosen every time, the practice was eventually abandoned.

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Goofs

In multiple cases, Barney acts as a character such as a guard or an electrical worker in Eastern Europe. Since Eastern Europe had virtually no immigration from Africa during the 1960s, Barney's obvious African heritage would arouse immediate and very consequential suspicion.

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Quotes

Voice on Tape: Good morning Mister Briggs.

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Crazy Credits

Many episodes end with a freeze-framed pan-and-tilt shot of the IMF team's getaway vehicle, with series creator Bruce Geller's credit superimposed over the shot.

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Connections

Spoofed in The Ghost Busters: Which Witch Is Which? (1975)

User Reviews

One of the best US TV series' ever.

I have fond memories as a child of desperately awaited another re-run on Mission: Impossible to fill my Summer days. While a few episodes were little on the long-winded side, most of them were cleverly constructed mysteries. The actors always had to come up with new accents, characters, and mannerisms for each of their undercover roles, which added immense variety to the show. If the US can lay claim to something "James Bondian" it is indeed M:I. Lots of creative ideas and technique found their way into this show and I hope the entire series sees DVD release. However, I'm not some fanboy who can't stand change. I personally felt the movie was nowhere near as bad as the majority of reviews did. The plot kinda mirrored the complexity of the TV show, although making Jim Phelps a villain was a strange twist. Regardless, the TV series was a magnificent combination of good writing and excellent actors. You'll never see anything like this again witht he current state of network TV "pretty boy" pap. The attempt at ressurecting the series in the 80's was a bad idea, though. The new cast and "MacGuyver" style plots showed how the concept just didn't hold up to writers trying to spin it into modern times to furiously.