Back in September 1966, I was wowed by a new program called Mission Impossible on CBS. Back in those days, a TV season included way more episodes (25 or more!) than today’s truncated TV seasons. This DVD box set holds all 28 episodes from the first season of Mission Impossible. I loved the planning and execution of what was essentially a caper each week. This group, with each member possessing a special skill, meticulously planned a complicated mission to accomplish a goal.
I thought casting Greg Morris as the group’s “tech specialist” was cutting edge for the Sixties. Loved Martin Landau’s brilliant disguises. And, of course, like most 17-year-olds of that time, I had a crush on Barbara Bain.
Mission Impossible lasted for seven seasons and I remember enjoying every one. Sure, the formula got a little stale in the last season, but I enjoyed the format and the cast right up until the end of the series. Were you a fan of the Mission Impossible TV series? Did you have a favorite character? GRADE: A-
It wasn’t my favorite show, but yes I was a fan. Favorite character? That’s easy. Martin Landau’s Rollin Hand.
Jeff, we could have used the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE team during last night’s riots. A peaceful demonstration in Buffalo turned violent when part of the crowd set fires and destroyed the floral display in front of City Hall. Why attack flowers?
A lot of these people really are the proverbial “outside agitators” and anarchists just out to cause as much trouble as possible. They arrested two sisters from the Catskills for throwing a molotov cocktail at a police car in Brooklyn that, fortunately, did not ignite.
Jeff, unfortunately peaceful protests can be hijacked by violent groups. One expert on FACE THE NATION said that it would takes between 5 and 20 people in a crowd to ignite violence, burning, and looting.
Also, while this is going on and Trump is egging on the violence, no one is paying attention to Covid or masks or social distancing.
Jeff, Trump is all about distraction.
I remember enjoying it, not sure about a favorite character, probably as Jeff Says, Rollin Hand. I also remember Peter Graves
I feel like Leverage was an updated version of this, though with amateurs, not government agents. I enjoyed that show, and see they are rebooting it.
Maggie, I was a fan of LEVERAGE, too. I’m a fan of the Caper genre. Sadly, most of the reboots and production in Hollywood are on hold until the coronavirus is dealt with.
Since the show started during my college years my viewing of it was pretty sporadic, but I did like it a lot. And for the most part I’ve enjoyed the movies. My favorite characters were Landau and Bain. The one thing no one can ever forget about the show was that incredible theme by Lalo Schifrin. I wonder how much money Schifrin has made on that over the years?
Michael, you’re right about that MISSION IMPOSSIBLE theme song. Jazzy!
I know I watched it on occasion but it was never a favorite show. I was away at college during much of it’s original air time.
Steve, I watched very little TV when I was at College. The Jesuits at Marquette University required students to read a book a week…and then write an essay on it. This was good practice for Graduate School.
We were big fans too. Just amazing to produce 25 plus shows of 50 minutes plus (not as many commercials then). How did they ever do it?
Clearly they are people in the crowds whose purpose is to create mayhem. It was true in the past but even more so now.
Patti, the production schedule for TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s routinely turned out 25-35 episodes per season. Most of today’s TV shows only produce 12-18 episodes. Costs have gone up. I agree with you on the agitators who use the crowds to create mayhem. But now we have the complication of the coronavirus on top of it. How many of those people protesting in Minneapolis will come down with covid-19 as a result of their actions?
When I Love Lucy started in the early ’50s, they were doing THIRTY-NINE shows a year! Granted, half hour comedy but still.
Jeff, exactly! I LOVE LUCY with 39 shows per season and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE with 28 hour-long episodes demonstrate a whole different network TV model than today’s limited seasons.
I liked the show, and watched whenever i could. I liked Greg Morris the best, his tech stuff was always cool.
Rick, at the time, casting an African-American as a technician was ground-breaking. Greg Morris, like Nichelle Nichols of STAR TREK, advanced the prospects of minority actors.
I watched several of the first season on dvd a few years ago and was surprised at how slow the pace was. The planning out of their capers was just as intricate as I remembered, but compared with some shows on today, it almost felt like slow motion.
Steve, you’re right. The pacing of the missions in SEASON ONE are glacial compared with later seasons.