The Mission

Episode aired Nov 3, 1985
PG
46m

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer3:37

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Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Horror Mystery Sci-Fi Thriller

A courageous young World War II gunner and aspiring cartoonist, trapped in the belly gun of a B-17 aircraft with the landing gear destroyed, has only his imagination as a force that might be... Read allA courageous young World War II gunner and aspiring cartoonist, trapped in the belly gun of a B-17 aircraft with the landing gear destroyed, has only his imagination as a force that might be able to save him.A courageous young World War II gunner and aspiring cartoonist, trapped in the belly gun of a B-17 aircraft with the landing gear destroyed, has only his imagination as a force that might be able to save him.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.7/10

1.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
This was the very first "stereo surround sound" broadcast by NBC. While many homes were not equipped with the surround decoder to play it back with the required rear channel speakers, manufacturers such as Fisher came out with rear channel amp/decoders to complete the rear sound effects.

Goofs
The plane appears to be flying a mission at night or in very heavy overcast. The Eighth Air Force flew Daylight missions over Europe for Precision Bombing. Night Time missions were flown by the RAF Bomber Command. if the weather was heavily overcast, the mission would have been scrubbed.

Quotes
Jonathan: Well, sir, what we have before us is a real dilemma. You gonna fly your last mission with a green gunner or the jinxed one?

Connections
Edited into Amazing Stories (1986)

Soundtracks
The Army Air Corps Song
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Crawford
Whistled by various cast members

User reviews15

Review

Featured review

3/10

A good wartime thriller spoilt by a stupid ending

THE MISSION is one of the better known episodes of the AMAZING STORIES TV show, which is down to the fact that it was directed by no less than Steven Spielberg. I saw it as part of the anthology film AMAZING STORIES: THE MOVIE, where it was paired with the one featuring Christopher Lloyd as a wacky teacher. THE MISSION is a WW2 adventure set entirely within a bomber plane as an American crew find themselves caught up in a life or death situation with seemingly no solution.

I have to say that this episode looks quite good on a low budget. There are a lot of effects, a lot of smoke and explosives, and a decent cast to boot. Both Kevin Costner and Kiefer Sutherland are present here before they hit the big time in their careers. I liked the plot, which is simple and allows the viewer plenty of thinking time to try and work out a solution - a bit like a detective story. What a pity, then, that Spielberg absolutely ruins things by including one of his mawkish, sentimental endings which turns the whole thing on its head and comes off as completely laughable. It was so ridiculous that I was frankly repulsed by the whole thing.