The Ransom

I'm a big fan of first season episodes of a classic old series: so often, an episode gets away with things/fails to adhere to the usual format.

In future years, these blips would happen less and less.

I love that they had no "mission" from on high.

William Read Woodfield did an outstanding job writing this episode, most original and an inspiration to future writers. Woodfield was a popular writer, however his work as a photographer is legendary as he shot rare, candid pictures of such iconic stars as Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe. Some of these photos are now considered priceless treasures.

Here, the story centers around Briggs and his confrontation with a devious gent, well played by William Smithers. This man, remarkably, knows about the IMF team and that Briggs is the leader, certainly a first in the series! He makes him an offer he cannot refuse; hand over a witness (with incriminating information) who he will naturally kill... or someone Briggs knows will get the axe. Talk about a blind bargain, right?

This is creative writing 101, and not to be missed, played out in some very tense scenes with some very good acting by the supporting cast. Woodfield must have really burned the midnight oil, and why he eventually got promoted to producer. Does not get any better than this.

Steven Hill, as always, is great as the leader and its a shame he was eventually fired from the series due to religious beliefs. He would not work after sunset, no matter what, which created a lot of problems for the shooting schedule. This is his show here and one not to miss.

From Season 1 1966. Paramount/CBS dvd restored disc set. The season 1 box sets are very reasonable in price and make a great gift.

This episode is one of a handful that has no introductory mission. Instead, Briggs is shooting pool when a gangster, Egan, approaches and announced his gang has kidnapped a friend of Briggs' daughter--and they'll kill her unless Briggs' team springs an important witness against Egan from police custody. While Briggs knows the witness will be killed and cannot allow that, he also knows that the team needs to at least go through the motions of kidnapping the guy in order to give them a chance to get the girl.

"The Ransom" is one of the better episodes--mostly because it didn't stick to the tried and true formula. It also had a really neat ending--one that was awfully exciting and clever. Well worth seeing.

As others have pointed out, this one doesn't start with a tape, but with a gangster who kidnaps the daughter of one of Briggs' friends as a hostage to be exchanged for a stool pigeon being held under police guard so he can't testify before a grand jury. Like many of the Briggs episodes, this one includes a lot of improvisation, because matters don't proceed exactly according to plan. It also features a doctor who is obviously a "regular" IMF partner, although he appears only in a couple of episodes. It's tight, suspenseful, and keeps you guessing.

One negative. The actor playing the girl's father isn't as believable as I'd have liked. He seems to go between trying to call the police despite Briggs' warning that doing so will guarantee his daughter's death and trusting Dan and his crew without the emotional depth to make the transition believable. Still, the deviation from the standard formula is refreshing. MI did a few episodes like this during its run. I'd have liked a few more. But I don't want to take anything away from this little story. It's a winner.

If you thought Tom Cruise overdoes it with the face masks in the Mission Impossible movies. You ain't seen nothing yet.

The Ransom is the most cinematic in storytelling. As a desperate crime boss Frank Egan (William Smithers) kidnaps the daughter if Briggs friend.

Egan wants the Mission Impossible team to abduct Augie Gorman from police custody. He is due to testify against Egan.

Daniel Briggs finds himself having to save two lives and also figures that Egan plans not to leave any witnesses behind.

It makes you wonder just what the IMF would had done to Egan for coercing its crew for nefarious ends.

There are some good bits here as Briggs and others try to take Augie away.

I did think Willy posing as a motorcycle cop could had just stop Egan going any further. It would had robbed the finale from a thrilling moment.

William Smithers looks very cool with his dark shades. In the early 1980s he became famous for being one of the suspects in the Who Shot JR storyline in Dallas.