Mission: Impossible

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This article is about the American TV series which aired from 1966 to 1973. For information on the more recent movies of the same name, see Mission: Impossible (film). For the games based on the franchise, see Mission: Impossible (video game).

Mission: Impossible is the name of an American television series which aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to September 1973. It returned to television for three seasons from 1988 to 1990.

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Series overview

The series was written, created, and produced by Bruce Geller. It featured stories about Impossible Mission Force (IMF), a team of secret agents employed by the United States government. The team is sent on covert missions to fight dictators, evil organizations, and crime lords.

Although a Cold War element was present throughout the series, the actual "Cold War" between the United States and the Soviet Union was not directly mentioned over the course of the series. However, in the early years many of the targets appeared to be the leaders of Slavic or Baltic countries; major named enemy countries included the "European People's Republic" and the "Eastern European Republic". Additionally, fictitious, Slavic-seeming languages were used; police vehicles were often labelled as such with words such as "polǐiçia"; and "pőĮįia". Uniforms of the target regime frequently included peaked caps, jackboots, and Sam Browne belts, hinting at connections with Nazi Germany or the Warsaw Pact.

The IMF was also assigned to bring down corrupt politicians and dictators of Third World countries unrelated to the Cold War, such as a particularly brutal practitioner of apartheid, as well as organized crime figures, corrupt businessmen and politicians in the U.S.

It followed the adventures of Dan Briggs (Season 1) and Jim Phelps (Seasons 2-7) and the team of agents they led on various missions. Each episode of the series began with the team leader receiving a secret, pre-recorded message containing his mission. These recordings were always placed in an inconspicuous, secret place. Each message would then self-destruct, usually by spontaneous combustion, in order to leave no evidence of the mission. Briggs or Phelps would then choose his teammates for the mission from a group of candidates' photographs and bios, and they would prepare an elaborate plan. In early episodes, Briggs/Phelps would receive orders on everything from phonograph records to slide-tape projectors, (in some cases Briggs or Phelps was asked to destroy the tape in 'the usual manner'). The 1980s series used miniature compact discs almost exclusively. There were a handful of exceptions to the tape recording from the secretary - in a couple of cases the mission was already underway and something went wrong, in others it was a personal matter where a teammember asked his colleagues for unofficial assistance. Peter Graves, (who played the role of Jim Phelps) once said the entire season's worth of "tape scenes" were usually filmed all at once prior to production of the rest of the episodes, and that he never knew which tape scene would appear with which episode until broadcast.

Certain team members were masters of disguise and were able to replace a member of the target's staff, sometimes even the target himself, by donning an elaborate latex mask and makeup. Image:TVGuideMissionImpossible.jpg Mission: Impossible is still recognized for its innovative use of music. Composer Lalo Schifrin wrote several distinctive pieces for the series. The main title sequence provided previews of key scenes from the episode (this in itself was a first for U.S. television), with the cuts timed to the beats and measures of the theme tune, while an animated burning fuse moved across the screen. Most episodes included fairly long dialog-free sequences showing the team members—particularly electronics expert Barney Collier—making technical preparations for the mission, to the accompaniment of another easily–recognizable tune called "The Plot." Lalo Schifrin also wrote a theme piece for each main character and the sound track for each episode incorporated variations of these throughout. The series had great impact on film and TV music. Before Mission: Impossible, a common compliment for film and TV music was "it worked very well but never got in the way or called attention to itself." Mission: Impossible was largely responsible for changing that.

Mission: Impossible is the longest-running espionage television series ever produced for U.S. television. Reruns of the episodes are still shown daily on some TV stations. A North American DVD release of the series has yet to occur, but there are occasional reports that Paramount Pictures is considering doing so, possibly in conjunction with the upcoming release of the third feature film in the M:I franchise. Most recently, the website TV Shows on DVD reported that Paramount has tentatively scheduled a DVD release of at least the first season during the spring of 2006.[1]

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Revivals

In 1980, media reports indicated that a reunion of the original cast was in the planning stages, for a project to be called Mission: Impossible '81. Ultimately this project was delayed into 1982 and 1983 (with the working title suitably updated) before being cancelled altogether.

In 1988, the American fall television season was negatively affected by a writers' strike that prevented the commissioning of new scripts. Producers, anxious to provide new product for viewers but with the prospect of a lengthy strike, went into the vaults for previously written material. Star Trek: The Next Generation, for example, used scripts written for an aborted Star Trek series proposed for the 1970s. The ABC network decided to launch a new Mission: Impossible series, with a mostly new cast (except for Peter Graves who would return as Phelps), but using scripts from the original series, suitably updated. To save even more on production costs, the series was filmed in Australia; the first series in Queensland, and the second series of episodes in Melbourne. Costs were, at that time, some 20 percent lower in Australia compared with Hollywood. The new Mission: Impossible was one of the first American commercial network programs to be filmed in Australia.

The new series was not a hit, but it was produced cheaply enough to keep it on the ABC schedule where it could be thrown against the popular "Cosby" show as a sacrificial lamb. The new "M:I" ultimately lasted for two years; the writers' strike was resolved quickly enough that only a few episodes were actual remakes.

In one episode of the original series, one mistake caused Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) to be exposed and captured by the villains, and Jim Phelps prepared a plan to rescue her. Another episode had Willie caught by the 'bad guys' at the beginning and the episode revolved around how to rescue him. But in most episodes, his schemes worked to perfection. This formula was largely repeated in the second Mission: Impossible series of the 1980s, though the writers took some liberties and tried to stretch the rules somewhat. One episode of the later series featured the only occasion in which a regular IMF agent was killed on a mission and subsequently disavowed. The 1980s series also had IMF agents using technology that nearly pushed the series into the realm of science fiction, such as one gadget that could record dreams.

The revived series included special appearances by several 1960s–70s IMF veterans, including an appearance by Greg Morris as Barney; Morris' son, Phil Morris, played Barney's son in the new series.

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Series cast

In alphabetical order:

Note: The cast changed considerably throughout the program's seven-year run, so not all of the characters listed above appeared at the same time, and even regular cast members did not always appear in every episode, depending upon the mission. The most enduring cast members were Morris and Lupus who appeared in all seasons, while Graves appeared in all but the first season.

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Notable guest stars

  • Edward Asner as George Simpson (1 episode)
  • Carl Betz as General Yuri Kozani (1 episode, Season 4) and Dutch Krebbs (1 episode, Season 7)
  • Eric Braeden as Andrei Fetyakov (1 episode, Season 1) and Colonel Markus von Frank (1 episode, Season 2), both credited as "Hans Gudegast"
  • Lloyd Bridges as Anastas Poltroni alias Ted Carson (1 episode)
  • Joseph Campanella as Dr. Helmut Cherlotov (1 episode, Season 1) and Captain Miklos Cherno (1 episode, Season 2)
  • Joan Collins as Nicole Vedette (1 episode)
  • Wally Cox as Terry Targo (pilot)
  • Bradford Dillman as Paul Shipherd (1 episode, Season 2) and Larry Edison (1 episode, Season 6)
  • Anne Francis as Gillian Colbee (1 episode)
  • Don Francks as Nicholas Groat (1 episode, Season 2) and Major Alex Denesch (1 episode, Season 4)
  • Vincent Gardenia as Vito Lugana (2 episodes, Season 2) and Lewis George Parma (1 episode, Season 3)
  • Arthur Hill as Janos Passik (1 episode)
  • Pat Hingle as R.J. McMillan (1 episode)
  • Steve Ihnat as Stefan Miklos (1 episode) and Colonel Alex Stahl (1 episode)
  • Fernando Lamas as Roger Toland (1 episode, Season 3) and Ramón Prado (1 episode, Season 4)
  • Mark Lenard as Felipe Mora (1 episode, Season 1); Colonel Luis Cardoza (1 episode, Season 2); Aristo Skora (1 episode, Season 3) and Colonel Barkram (1 episode, Season 5)
  • Larry Linville as Captain Gulka (1 episode, Season 3); Alexi Silensky (1 episode, Season 4) and Colonel Leo Orlov (1 episode, Season 5)
  • Peter Lorre Jr. as Kadi (2 episodes)
  • Monte Markham as Tosk (2 episodes)
  • Darren McGavin as J. Richard Taggart (1 episode)
  • Lee Meriwether as Anna rojak (2 episodes, Season 3) and "Tracey" (6 episodes, Season 4)
  • Ricardo Montalban as Gerard Sefra (1 episode)
  • Edmond O'Brien as Raymond Halder (1 episode)
  • Simon Oakland as Jack Wellman (1 episode)
  • Vic Perrin as Dr. Ira Drake (1 episode, Season 1); Cheever (2 episodes, Season 2); the owner (1 episode, Season 3); Anton Massik (1 episode, Season 4) and the voice of Peter Stone
  • Pernell Roberts as Chief Manuel Corba (1 episode, Season 4) and Boomer (1 episode, Season 7)
  • Sugar Ray Robinson as Wesley (1 episode)
  • Bo Svenson as Karl (1 episode)
  • George Takei as Roger Lee (1 episode)
  • Vic Tayback as Man in Car (1 episode, uncredited, Season 1); Sergeant Gorte (1 episode, Season 3)
  • Malachi Throne as Ambassador Brazneck (1 episode, Season 1) and deputy premier Gregor Kamirov (1 episode, Season 4)
  • Cicely Tyson as Alma Ross (1 episode)
  • Fritz Weaver as Imry Rogosh (1 episode, Season 1); Erik Hagar (1 episode, Season 2); Emil Skarbeck (1 episode, Season 3) and George Berlinger (1 episode, Season 6)
  • William Windom (actor) as Deputy Premier Milos Pavel (1 episode, Season 1); Alex Cresnic (1 episode, Season 2); Stu Gorman (1 episode, Season 6) and Paul Mitchell (1 episode, Season 7)
  • Paul Winfield as Klaus (1 episode)
  • Anthony Zerbe as David Redding (1 episode, Season 2); Colonel Helmut Kellerman (1 episode, Season 3); Colonel Alex Vorda (1 episode, Season 4); Erik Schilling (1 episode, Season 5) and Reese Dolan (1 episode, Season 6)
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Revival cast

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Quote

The mission briefing heard at the start of every episode would usually begin with "Good morning/afternoon, Mr. Phelps" (or "Mr. Briggs" in the first season), followed by a brief description of the situation. The message usually ended with, "Your mission, should you decide to accept it..." followed by the mission goal(s) described as briefly as possible. The recording then ends with: "As always, should you or any of your I. M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions." Depending upon the method of message delivery (phonograph record, compact disc, filmstrip projector, trick telescope, etc.), the voice would advise that the recording was about to self destruct, usually within five or ten seconds.

These briefings were read by voice actor Bob Johnson in the original series and the 1988 revival, but the identity of the character was never revealed, nor was his face ever shown. The film Mission: Impossible revealed for the first time the name of the person behind the messages, Eugene Kittridge, although in the film version this role was filled by Henry Czerny. In the second film, the voice behind the messages was given the name Swanbeck and was played by Anthony Hopkins (who did not appear in the credits).

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Related items

Several original novels, including two aimed at young readers and published by Whitman Books, were written in the late 1960s.

Four paperback books were issued by Popular Library from 1967 to 1969. The first was named Mission Impossible, and followups were Code Name: Judas, Code Name: Rapier, and Code Name: Little Ivan.

Dell Comics published a comic book on a sporadic schedule that lasted from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, although less than a dozen issues were actually published.

In 1979, Scott Adams released Mission Impossible, a text adventure game that placed the player in the role of a secret agent trying to save the world. Evidently Adams did not have the rights to the name as the game was quickly reissued under the modified name Impossible Mission and later Secret Mission.[2] Beyond the title, the game had no overt connection to the TV series.

In 1991, video game designer Konami created a Nintendo Entertainment System game called Mission: Impossible, based on the revived series. The game is considered quite well-crafted and challenging. After the 1996 movie, several other games bearing the series name have also appeared, but the general consensus is that their quality is somewhat low, as if the games were made to quickly capitalize on the renewed franchise without delving into scenario possibilities presented by the series. For all the games, see Mission: Impossible (video game).

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Feature films

So far, the television series has also spawned three films, starring and produced by Tom Cruise:

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Though these films were very profitable, many fans felt they ignored the elaborate plotting that was a significant feature of the TV series, and that they focused too much on star Tom Cruise rather than on the team aspect of the series. However, the first movie was far closer to the spirit of the original series than the second one. Reversing the idea of the series, the movies' villains tended to know the whole plan, rather than the IMF. Fans were also upset that one of the main characters from the TV series was exposed as a traitor in the first movie. (As a result, several actors from the original TV series declined invitations to make cameo appearances in the films.) A third film is in post-production and scheduled for a May 5, 2006 release.

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External links

fr:Mission impossible he:משימה בלתי אפשרית (סדרת טלוויזיה) ja:スパイ大作戦 no:Mission: Impossible sv:På farligt uppdrag zh:虎膽妙算

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