Mission: Impossible

M:I is probably my favorite tv show; at least the only one I will consistantly watch reruns of. I never play the Hill versus Graves game as each actor brought unique characteristics to the show. The same with Martin Landau as Rollin Hand and Leonard Nimoy as Paris. I will say that though Linda Day George and Lesley Anne Warren are good actresses, they never measured up to Barbara Bain for talent and sheer class. I think my favorite episodes are "A Cube of Sugar", "The Seal" (with the cat as an integral part of the plan, "The Heir Apparent" and "The Mind of Stefan Miklos". It's very hard to pick favorites though, because each episode has its' own quirks and charms.

What made M:I stand out is that it depended not on gimmicks and special effects but on the talent and believability of the actors. The props and makeup were also believable. I think that's why the movies don't measure up to the original series. Add in the ridiculous plot line that Jim Phelps could ever be the bad guy and they've completely lost it. The second movie would have been alright if it hadn't been a Mission: Impossible knock-off. The writers and producers forgot that there was an M:I team, not a single player.

All in all, Mission: Impossible set the standard for all other series of this sort, and few have come close to the bar, and none have surpassed it.

I could watch this show 24hrs a day!!! All of the episodes were well done(168). Mission Impossible was such a great show to watch, it was so full of action & suspense, it kept me glued to my couch. Peter Graves was excellent in the role of Jim Phelps, along with the other cast members over the 7seasons that it ran. The late Greg Morris who played Barney was the only cast member to be in all 7seasons. (Graves was in 6) Greg Morris walked out of the Mission Impossible movie starring Tom Cruise after the first 40mins calling it Blasphemy!!! I agree with you Greg, it was a real disapointment to show. Why make Jim Phelps the bad guy? I was glad that 6 laser discs were released from the show. Now that DVD is here I hope that all of the shows will come out soon on this great format. Mission Impossible is the best show Ever!!

I have got to hand it to the people behind the original Mission Impossible series. Their pilot episode was bound to hook people. Mission Impossible was a winner from the start.

The Impossible Missions Force were a team of agents with no emotional attachments who went on secret missions usually against organized crime or rogue nations. They did not go in and use guns or fists to fight a problem-the name of the game was manipulation, deception, trickery, fraud, you name it. The agents were in fact anti-heroes who stooped to the level of the bad guys themselves. But I still loved them for it.

It would be unfair to reveal any of the intricate details of the plots for the series but let's just say they were clever. Mission Impossible was a show that required a viewer's full attention-you simply couldn't switch onto an episode halfway through and expect to know what's going on. Mission Impossible was clever throughout it's entire run. The IMF always had a plan which had to be strictly adhered to for it to be a success. They used every mean trick in the book to bring the bad guys down and they always slipped away at the end without the bad guys ever finding out who they were. In fact, quite a few episodes involved the bad guys falling out with each other after believing the other one was out to get him when in fact it was the IMF who had set it all up.

A clever show indeed-highly recommended.

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.

I fondly remember back in the late sixties and early seventies anxiously awaiting and then enjoying each episode of "Mission: Impossible", from the opening montage to the final credits. As far as I know, no other show has (before or since) come up with anything as clever as the opening montage, where certain clips from that week's episode were shown as the theme song played, before the showing of the pictures of the stars of the show. It was always fun for me to try to pick out the scenes as the show progressed (they always looked more dramatic in the montage than they did in the actual episode). The shows were always well written and the cast did an excellent job of portraying a crew that were all good at their jobs and that even enjoyed their jobs, dangerous though they were.

And the music! Lalo Schifrin's music was excellent!