Yes, the Cruise movies have some flash and are very much their own thing, but the original TV show has some charm that you may have missed. Here’s everything you need to know to start your own impossible mission.
What was the Mission: Impossible TV show, anyway?
Mission: Impossible, created by Bruce Geller, debuted in 1966 on CBS. It was produced by Desilu, the company founded by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. Lucy had a direct hand in green-lighting Mission: Impossible and some other little show called Star Trek. The series centered on the adventures of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), secret agents tasked with protecting the public from all manner of threats. Mission: Impossible quickly gained a following thanks to its catchy theme (by Lao Schifrin), snappy pace, elaborate fashion, exotic locations (often just fancifully dressed studio sets), smart dialogue, Cold War plots, and character chemistry. Also, super-cool were the episode intros, with images from what was to come flashing by during the opening theme (along with the iconic burning fuse), and the makeup, with the main characters, often sporting – and then peeling off – masks that enabled them to fool the bad guys. And, of course, viewers loved the audiotapes that delivered the team’s latest assignment, warned that the IMF team would be disavowed if caught, and then self-destructed, literally melting on screen. The core characters in season one included Dan Briggs (Steven Hill), the IMF team’s leader; Rollin Hand (Martin Landau), the “man of a million faces” and noted escape artist; Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain), an actress and model; Barnard Collier (Greg Morris), referred to as Barney, an electronics whiz; and William “Willy” Armitage (Peter Lupus), the group’s tall and strong muscle. After season one of Mission: Impossible, Hill departed and Peter Graves assumed the role f Jim Phelps, the team’s new boss. Landau and Bain eventually exited, while Lesley Ann Warren, Leonard Nimoy, Susan Day George, and Sam Elliott joined the show over the course of its seven-year run. Shows don’t run seven years for no reason. Mission: Impossible delivered the goods. It was entertaining and stylish, with often intricate plots. Like many series, it wasn’t quite as good in its later years, as the producers sought to cut costs. Still, the show made its mark and is fun to revisit. If you want to sample M:I, several of the best episodes include “Operation Rogosh” (with guest star Fritz Weaver), “The Cardinal” (with guest star Theodore Bikel), “The Submarine” and “The Carriers,” which guest stars George Takei from Star Trek and finds the IMF team racing to thwart a bacteriological attack on the U.S. Hell, Takei and Landau even wear protective masks! All seven seasons of Mission: Impossible are available now on CBS All Access; try it free for a week. (This will become Paramount+ in March.) Years later, in 1988, ABC rebooted Mission: Impossible, with Graves back as Phelps, leading a new team. Phil Morris, the son of Greg Morris, played the son of his father’s old character, and Greg Morris popped up for a cameo (as did Lynda Day George). The series was OK at best and vanished after two seasons and 35 episodes.
Where Can You Stream the Mission: Impossible Movies?
You know a long-running film series is still pulling the right strings when the most recent installment generates its best reviews and biggest box office. Fallout elicited uniformly positive reactions from critics and audiences alike and grossed just shy of $800 million dollars worldwide upon its release in 2018. Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, will be released (Covid permitting) in 2021 and 2022, and we’re stoked to accept those missions. This article will self-destruct in five seconds.
