Mission: Impossible

when this show is good--it is really good.

unfortunately, a bunch of episodes are big clunkers--not believable, slow moving, dry acting, etc.

look through the ratings and for the most part--watch just the episodes with 8 or more as a score. ones below that are likely (though not always) to put you to sleep or make you go--noone would buy that.

Grandpa Walton is a pre-Austin Powers version of Doctor Evil, who runs a town filledwith townsfolk who have all drunk the KoolAid, who learn to kill and are dispatched out to dispose of evil Soviets. Its almost distracting not to have Jim receive an assignment from the Secretary, sit in his super cool 60s pad andlook throughthe glossy stills of the regular cast, and discard the black and whites of the producers of the show and their families. My favorite, albeit super hokey part, is Rollin's ingenious creation of the mask from a melted plastic examination table cover - then his perfect imitation of Doc Walton. So perfect, in fact, the the doofus townspeople are completely fooled, andthe IMF is able to get away in their usual stylish fashion. Not my favorite episode, but has a flair all its own.

More important than the interesting premise, is the Fantastic Performance by Martin Landau! If he did not win an award for this episode, he definitely should have! Performed during a time when T.V. acting was definitely stiff and predictable, Mr. Landau gave everything he had as a condemned killer on death row. The viewer can FEEL the character's fear. The tears were REAL. Every bit of body language helped give even more credence to this very real performance. Thank you, Mr. Landau!



The plot holds one's interest. Very cleverly thought out. This is why I watch each and every episode in the order they were released - they just keep getting better and better.

Good morning, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, should you choose to accept it... These were the words spoken in every episode of the show (except for first season when it was Mr. Briggs). After lighting a long burning fuse and watching a lightning fast barrage of scenes from the upcoming episode, the mission was laid out. Usually involving a third world country, or dictator, or crime boss...it didn't matter. Listen to what has to be done and ask yourself, "How the hell are they going to do that?". Finding out will be one of the most nail-biting experiences ever, and one of the best hours you ever spent in front of a television screen. Forget the movies..for get Tom what's-his-name. This is the real deal. Sure it was made in the sixties, and is a little dated. Sure the people on it are not as attractive and perfect on the screen as they are today. Who cares? If you let that stop you from experiencing this show, you're a fool! The writers of the first three seasons must have gotten migranes from coming up with different twists, turns and surprises week after week. The solutions and methods for accomplishing the missions were often mind-bending, and as the title states...seemingly impossible. It's seems the writers would constantly throw obstacles and blockades in the path of the IMF, just to come up with ways around them to keep audiences entertained on a weekly basis. One downside to this is, you're gonna run out of ideas after a while. You just are. Consequently, from the fourth season on, the plots and missions became increasingly similar, the writers having to recycle older script elements, which ended up letting the viewer figure out the resolution well before episode's end. This was almost never a problem with the first three years. The show originally featured Steven Hill (Law and Order) as IMF leader Daniel Briggs. Hill left/was replaced for reasons pertaining to his lack of availability for his own religious reasons. He was replaced by the more familiar Peter Graves as Mr. Phelps from the second season, on. The classic backup team was Martin Landau, as former illusionist and master of disguise, Rollin Hand.. his wife Barbara Bain played former model and seductress/sex kitten Cinnamon Carter, Gregg Morris played Barney Collier, an electronics and demolition specialist..and Peter Lupus played former circus strongman Willy Armitage. You never knew what roles these agents were going to play from week to week, or how they were going to escape from the almost certain death situations they were placed in. As the message always said, if any of them were caught or killed, they would be disavowed. They were almost always caught at one time or another, but managed to get free or were rescued, just barely, and always in the nick of time. If it sounds cliched, than you have been watching any one of the many imitators this series spawned... this is the original, the one that set all the ground rules! After the three year run, Leonard Nimoy replaced Landau after Star Trek's cancellation, Bain having departed with her husband . No real replacement was instituted for Miss Bain, except for Lee Merriwether in a few episodes. The only two characters to remain on the entire run were Morris and Lupus. In 1973, the original show ended (a little too late, if you ask me) and was revived in the eighties with Graves once again heading the team. It didn't last long. Then came the movies...and believe me, the similarity to the classic was in name only. If you get a chance, check the show out on DVD. But like I said, you're gonna want the first three seasons..top notch material! If you're younger, it might take you a short while to get used to the cold war atmosphere, but not long, and it's worth the effort. And be advised..this is not a show for multitasking. This is one you MUST watch. You take a break, or get distracted, you're gonna miss something, and the experience will be shot. Otherwise, you'll love it. This computer will self destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim.

"The Seal", season 2, episode 9, of Mission: Impossible, is IMHO the best episode of this tremendously entertaining TV series. The intricacies of it are delightful, easy to understand and follow, but very clever. It really keeps you on the edge of your seat to the very last moment! My favorite part is when Rollin suddenly and inexplicably vanishes, to the consternation and total frustration of the bad guy!



Running a close second is "The Frame", season 1, episode 14. The way all the pieces fall together to bring down the bad guy is always the high point of every episode, but some are just a little easier to grasp and more satisfying if they look as if they could actually happen (with a little extra strength from Willie and some of those extra electronics touches that mere mortals could never really hope to achieve, but it's nice to dream!). This episode seems especially filled with those "hold your breath" moments. Gotta love it!

Classic Series The great series you grew up with and can enjoy again and again. No need to shoo the kids out of the room for these series, so go ahead and enjoy them with the whole family. Burke's Law SHOW TIME: Sat. 8:00 PM Meet Amos Burke - Los Angeles Chief of Detectives, and millionaire. This Rolls-driving, mansion-living, high-rolling detective solves murder cases when the well-to-do become ne'er-do-well. Combat! SHOW TIME: Wed. 7:00 PM Combat! depicts the exploits of a U.S. Army platoon fighting its way across Europe during WWII, following D-Day. It's a Great Life SHOW TIME: Sat. 3:00 AM Two ex G.I.'s Denny and Steve return home and take a room at the boarding house of landlady Amy Morgan, played by Frances Bavier of Mayberry fame, her conniving brother and beautiful daughter. The Lone Wolf SHOW TIME: Sat. 3:30 AM Michael Lanyard, better known as the Lone Wolf, is a charming sort of rogue, a European jewel thief with a soft spot for the dames. Mission Impossible SHOW TIME: Wed. 8:00 PM Mission Impossible premiered in 1966 and aired for seven years. Mission: Impossible chronicles the adventures of a secret government agency tasked with conducting covert missions, including freeing hostages, preventing wars and solving international myst Remington Steele SHOW TIME: Wed. 10:00 AM Laura Holt, a female private investigator invents a mythical male "boss" for her clients who don't believe a woman can achieve top results. When her creation shows up in the flesh, Laura finds herself attracted to the enigmatic young man. The Big Valley SHOW TIME: Sat. 6:00 PM The Big Valley is the Emmy®-winning saga of the Barkleys, set in 1870s California. They're a close-knit family, wealthy and prestigious, but use their power to help the less fortunate homesteaders who struggle for a piece of the new land. The Color Honeymooners SHOW TIME: Fri. 10:00 PM For the first time in over 30 years, the color episodes of "The Honeymooners" can now be seen exclusively on GoodLife TV Network. In 1966 Jackie Gleason moved his hugely-popular television variety show from New York to Miami, where 42 hour long versions

Yes, it is only television, sorry to dissapoint you. The chance that someone wearing two pounds of make-up on their face could fool anyone into thinking they are the Prime Minister of a foreign country....???? Come on , people, it's only t.v. , for crying out loud! If the CIA had the glamourous people working for it that the IMF team had/ has/ etc , they would not have stuffed up so many times, and the NSA has only half the imagination of the script writers for this show. Anyway, any time the events that lead up to the last ditch efforts to change governments or expose criminal behaviour etc , the security branches of USA government are too busy covering their backsides to effectively do anything remotely like the Mission Impossible crew. But the show itself is full of wild moments, and if you leave all critical faculties behind, and just go with the implausable wonder of it all, the show provides escapist drama and clever plotting.

I've gotten in to "Mission: Impossible" on DVD and have loved it so far. It really is like no other series, spy show or otherwise, I've seen. The attention to detail, the intricate plotting...I'm glad this aired when it did, because I don't think a show as cerebral as "Mission: Impossible" could survive today.



I've only watched Seasons 1 and 2 so far, so my only exposure has been to the "original" cast...Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Greg Morris and Peter Lupus, plus Steven Hill for one season. Not only is the writing (the elaborate cons) good, but the cast is terrific. Bain is smoky and seductive as Cinammon, and I like that she's an equal with the guys on the team, not just a damsel in distress. Morris and Lupus are the unsung heroes, given comparatively less to do but making the most of it with their asides and characterization. (And from watching "Police Squad!" I know how funny Lupus can be!) Landau is simply brilliant - why he didn't win an Emmy for this show I'll never understand. His vocal and physical disguises are always incredible and Rollin Hand is one of spy TV's best agents.



Then we come to Peter Graves - I know he IS "M:I" to many people, and Phelps has grown on me. But after watching Season 1 with Dan Briggs, I was sad to see Steven Hill go. I realize that he was notoriously hard to work with, but if I were the producers, I would have promoted Martin Landau to be the "head" of the team. I loved Hill's cool intensity and matter-of-fact planning. Graves works well though, and it is nice to see the team leader out in the field as often as he is (towards the end of Season 1, Hill basically appears long enough to get the assignment and disappears.)



Can't wait for Season 3 to come out...I have heard that the show suffers in quality once Bain and Landau leave. I can understand why it might - the cast of five works so well together the magic would be hard to duplicate with new blood!

After the genius Lalo Schifrin theme, most commonly, each episode would open with the leader of the Impossible Mission Force, going to different, odd locations to receive an assignment from "the Secretary". It was always made clear that if he chose to accept his mission and if he or any of his IM Force were caught or killed, any knowledge of them would be disavowed. Then the IMF leader, Dan Briggs and later Jim Phelps, would peruse a portfolio of agents to assist him. After a gathering of operatives and a brief discussion of the situation, the game was on.



It is one of those programs that is hard to follow if you haven't been watching from the beginning of the episode, even then it will sometimes leave you scratching your head. A nail biting climax was another trademark of the show. As the beads of sweat on Barney's brow increased, so did the tension. One of the keys to the success of "Mission:Impossible" was its fast pace, this might lead the viewer to miss the inevitable plot holes that seemed to work their way into each episode. The team were down the road and the case was closed before the villains or the viewers figured out they'd been had.



It was a very popular program when it originally aired and the title of the show became part of the cultural lexicon. And deservedly so, as some good acting, some tight scripts and taut direction made this a weekly joyride of an adventure for TV viewers and kept them tuning in.



If you enjoy good suspense and exciting action and understand that this program is 40 years old, it still holds up very well.

Mission Impossible is a very entertianing spy drama. The series, which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller, follows the missions of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), a team of secret agents employed by the United States government. The team is sent on covert missions to combat dictators, evil organizations, and (primarily in later episodes) crime lords. On occasion, the IMF is also shown conducting unsanctioned, private missions on behalf of its members. The exact branch of the government overseeing the IMF is never identified and in the 1980s revival it was suggested the IMF is an independent agency. The IMF answered to "the Secretary" but it was never indicated which secretary. I really enjoy watching this show and I think that it really hasnt dated.

Mission Impossible is all about a team of experts. Who must complete thier missions by any means nesscary. I saw the movie before the show. I think the show is better. Steven Hill is really good as Dan Briggs. All of the actors are good. The characters work together well. They always make diverson or some crazy way to complete it. The pilot is actually a really good episode. Shows how the show is gonna be and very interesting. The show has no action expect here or there. Its mostly being true spys as no one knows they are. I like how everyone has their own talent. I like the movies but the show is good. So in the a end a very good spy show.

I never tired of the set-up of this show (and judging from its enduring popularity, neither did a lot of other fans). From the opening scene of Mr. Phelps (I liked him better than the actor who played the IMF leader in the first season) receiving the dossier on the Impossible Mission of the week to the predictable warning that the Secretary would disavow all knowledge should any of the IM Force be caught or killed, I was enthralled week after week. And how cool was it that the tape always self-destructed? I never got tired of that either.



This was the very definition of a formulaic show: every week there was a mission so dangerous or implausible that it could not be accomplished by convential means; enter the IMF, a team of specialists who would devise an outrageous plan to pull it off using their peculiar talents. There was a master of disguise (Martin Landau was the best here, though the great Leonard Nimoy also played this role), a gadget whiz, an unbelievable strong guy (really!), a seductive beauty (ooooh, Ginger- call me sometime, baby), and other specialists as needed. The plots were always excruciatingly suspensful and included unexpected twists, turns and cliffhangers. The production values were modest, but this viewer always willingly suspended disbelief even when the props and sets weren't the best. After all, money doesn't guarantee quality. Witness the Mission Impossible movie franchise. The movies were good, but I would stack this humble tv series up against them any day. This review will self-destruct in 10 seconds... cue theme music...Dun dun dundun, Dun dun dundun...

It is okay. I still like the movies with Tom Cruise. I like the most Mission: Impossible Number Three. It is really cool and I love it how it keeps me still wondering what the heck is the Rabbit's Foot? Is it a real rabbit's foot? Must find out. I hope they come out with a Mission: Impossible Number Four to tell me. I really would like to know. That would be so funny if they just suddenly said," It is a rabbit's foot!" That would be like a super awesome twist. I wish that would happen. Bye bye y'al!

The plots span a WIDE VARIETY of your typical “Good Guys” (The IMF Team) versus “Bad Guys” (Dictators, Mob Bosses, Mad Scientists, etc.) scenarios.



Over the many years of the series, the TEAM stopped murderers, terrorists, even entire governments from doing some rather nasty things. Considering all the REAL events on your typical TV news after over 30 years, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE was topical THEN and even more topical now!



MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE is the BEST of the genre, and I greatly enjoy seeing an occasional episode I've never seen before on our local “Retro” TV Station (KDOC-TV, Los Angeles). I hope to buy all the episodes on DVD someday for my collection, as it seems to me that nostalgia TV networks (TV Land, etc.) seem to overlook it..



The only other TV series I find even close to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE in level of quality and relevance is “La Femme Nikita”. I hope to write a review of that series soon on this site.

The boss of all bosses (Paul Stevens) is funneling all his accounts to Switzerland. The Impossible Missions Force is called upon to cut him off.



Stanley has stunning images, a man (Nicholas Colasanto) buried alive on the hideout's grounds and dug up by the IMF... a mask of Stevens so lifelike the camera can't believe its eye...



Colasanto is a skimmer put out of his chicanery and made to describe for Rollin's benefit the mannerisms of his former boss, who shares power with the council of the original title, comprising two capos with voting rights (Paul Lambert and Vincent Gardenia).



The essential transformation of Rollin into the boss is prepared early on by Martin Landau's study of Stevens, who returns the compliment later. Landau plays the boss with Hand's face, and also Hand as the boss with Hand's face, a double (triple) role, thanks to Cinnamon as a mob beautician on the one Hand, and a plastic surgeon on the other.



The game is to have the mob boss violate organization rules by ordering a hit on Senate Investigator Phelps without first holding a "council", which is to say a meeting and vote by top members of the organization, including the very senior Jack Rycher (Eduardo Ciannelli).



Stanley's commanding direction increases in brilliance to the end

Nice show. This 7-year series chronicled the adventures of the Impossible Mission Taskforce (IMF), a team of government spies and specialists who were assigned "impossible missions" by the unseen "Secretary". Although the cast varied over the years, the main characters included The Team Leader (Dan Briggs the first season, then Jim Phelps the other six), The Techno-Wizard (Barney Collier), The Strongman (Willy Armitage), The Master of Disguise (first Rollin Hand, then The Amazing Paris), and The Femme Fatale (Cinnamon Carter, Casey, Dana Lambert, Mimi Davis). The series is best known for its opening mission assignment (conducted by a pre-recorded tape), the theme composed by Lalo Schifrin, the leader's selection of mission agents from a dossier, the opening briefing, the intricate use of disguises and a typical "mask pulloff" scene near the end of most episodes, and the relative lack of characterization of the characters.

This 7-year series chronicled the adventures of the Impossible Mission Taskforce (IMF), a team of government spies and specialists who were assigned "impossible missions" by the unseen "Secretary". Although the cast varied over the years, the main characters included The Team Leader (Dan Briggs the first season, then Jim Phelps the other six), The Techno-Wizard (Barney Collier), The Strongman (Willy Armitage), The Master of Disguise (first Rollin Hand, then The Amazing Paris), and The Femme Fatale (Cinnamon Carter, Casey, Dana Lambert, Mimi Davis). The series is best known for its opening mission assignment (conducted by a pre-recorded tape), the theme composed by Lalo Schifrin, the leader's selection of mission agents from a dossier, the opening briefing, the intricate use of disguises and a typical "mask pulloff" scene near the end of most episodes, and the relative lack of characterization of the characters.

This was a groundbreaking series, brilliantly crafted, written and acted. Nowhere does it clunk along uncomfortably and after 40 years it's still a sharp, clever watch. I'm sorry they were allowed to call the Tom Cruise movies after it, because they have nothing to do with the original series and shouldn't be allowed to ride on the back of it. This was truly the birth of edge-of-the-chair television! Steven Hill was excellent as Dan Briggs in the first series, but I'm given to understand could not adjust his religious beliefs to successfully accommodate filming schedules, and Peter Graves, as his replacement, has gone on to be the famous face of the series. The team of Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris and Peter Lupus were, for my money, the best, and to them should go the honours for creating such a memorable programme.

This show is perhaps one of the best show that ever came out on television. The concept was very original at the time. The masks, the exploding message device. The creators of this show did a really good job. It went on for 7 years, this show was a big hit if it went on for that long. I really love watching this show, it's so cool. Even though it's a little old now, but it's still works. It still has its appeal. This show is so entertaining. If you've seen the Tom Cruise remakes, you'll love this show, because it originated from this classic show.

On the evening of september 1966 over the CBS television network, a hand struck a match and lit a fuse to a series that was like no other before it. At the expense of characterization, it presented plots so complex and sophisticated that audiences were challenged to follow them. Propelling these plots were treacherous saboteurs who would lie, cheat, steal, kidnap, subvert the media, destroy the property of innocent people, and break any civil and legal code that stood in thier way. They were the HEROES. The series broke with traditional TV techniques and helped expand and change the way television looked--and was looked upon. The fuse was lit by a man named Bruce Geller, and the story of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE starts.

This is just a classic show and is coming out on DVD on the 12 September 2006. more info on http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5754. This show is still way before my time but its still a classic. Sadly the show is coming out on region 1 format but i hope it comes out on region 2 as i live in the UK. Only one drawback is that only the first season is coming out to bigin with but thats still 28 episodes (1400mins) wow. As i havent seen the first season i will be up all night watching this. This means any one in Region 2 you will have to go buy a multi region DVD player.

I would love to see this great spy show come back. The movies are really good but would lkove to see it on the small screen. The casting would be a huge deal though because you would really need great actors to pull it off. This was more than a pretty good television series. As is normal with good television shows, this one did not last long enough. This is a show that I would suggest watching if you get the chance. Check the bargain bins at Wal-Mart, the online movies sites (Amazon.com and such) and all of the cable channels that run old shows. Nick at Nite and TV Land are great for theses kind of shows. They will even do a week long spot for shows that only had 6 or so episodes. Then you have your super stations. They run a bunch of old shows too. All in all a pretty good show that did not get a good enough chance. Sometimes it is a simple as the show it is up against. Look at Law & Order. It is one of the longest running shows on TV. They moved it to go up against Lost. After about 2 weeks of getting pounded in the ratings it was moved back to it's original time slot. Shows like this should be given more of an opportunity.

This is truely a dual role television show. Number one it's ESCAPE and Number two VERY CLEVER for its time. Yes, they did bring it back, but it's never the same as the original!This kept my interest for the entire hour...can't say that about many of shows in this 21st century!

This show was invented in 15 hundreds!! It's soo weird!! And what ugly people are in this stupid show?? And who names their show Mission: Impossible?? that sounds like a **-episode-** of a show or a movie!!! No but seriously who would WANT to watch this stupid excuse for a show??

This series was highly entertaining and way ahead of it\'s time. Leonard Nimoy, Martin Landau, Greg Morris and Peter Graves all pulled out excellent performances. The plots were intellectual and full of twists and suspense. The MI movies of recent years seem to rely more on action and explosions for their effect.

Boring, crummy, crappy, porr action that is not entertaining at all. This is not worth my time at all and would not be a must see for anyone who is looking for good action. For good action, try Teen Titans, FullMetal Alchemist, One Piece and Naruto. They are way better choices than this.

A super secret team which uses high technology and ingenuity to accept and complete missions which are so difficult and bizarre that they are deemed \"impossible.\"



What made this TV series so popular was that despite the array of \"impossible\" tricks the team utilised to solve these missions, the audience loved to believe in them. The storylines were innovative and interesting and no two plots were ever the same.



Even after all these years, one never gets tired of watching the reruns on TV. Compared to that, the two movies made based on this series are pale reflections of the originals.



Perhaps this series can be revived on TV using new actors and new story lines.

"Mission" is probably the most innovative show ever to hit TV. There was never any comic relief, unless you count the occasional one liner at the end of an episode. There was always a high level of mystery throughout any episode, with a sense of "How in the world are they going to do that?" Many episodes seem greatly lacking in dialog, but the visuals cover that lack of dialog in a way that makes it all come clear. Then there is the music. Some music is only percussion, or only piano, while some uses a full orchestra. The level of entertainment presented by "Mission" will always be hard to beat.

With the Cold War over, Mission: Impossible might seem dated, but it was one of the better spy shows of its time. Clever plots, dozens of twists, dire situations and chameleon-like characters made this show fascinating episode after episode.



From the mysterious opening tape which gave the IMF information about its latest mission (complete with photos of the people involved) to the resolution at the end, the show seldom lost momentum or intrigue as some good guys turned out to be less than heros and some bad guys turned out to be more victim than villian.



This show could probably be revived, but the formula would have to change somewhat. It's doubtful the quality of acting or writing would survive.