Mission: Impossible

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!

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 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.

One of my fondest memories of TV viewing in the late 60's and 70's, was the weekly hour of tension which Mission Impossible provided. There was the initial bewilderment of trying to work out how on earth the brief flashes of peculiar devices and tension-ridden confrontations could possibly be woven into a coherent plot. Next, there were the wonderfully mundane locations in which Peter Graves would retrieve the briefing materials and the tape which invariably dissolved in a cloud of smoke.

After all the introduction, the remaining fifty minutes was sometimes an anti-climax. More often, it was very satisfying to see the initial vignettes fitted jigsaw-pattern into the plot. Perhaps towards the very end of the series, the plots became a little stilted or physically impossible; but invariably entertaining.

Like most fans of the original series, I found the over-hyped film of the same name to be an facile and shallow work with no redeeming features. I would die happy seeing a film in which Martin Landau, Peter Graves, Greg Morris et al. emerge creaking from retirement to save the day, and as they so often did, drive off leaving thwarted villains to turn on each other.

I grew up watching this series and enjoyed it throughout its run. It was, of course, completely outrageous, but that was what made it fun. In the first years of the show, the MI team concentrated on espionage in foreign countries; later, they turned to the USA.

Although I loved Peter Graves in the show, I think Steven Hill brought an air of mystery to his character. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for the original cast of Hill, Landau, Bain, Morris, and Lupus. Bain was ahead of her time, an older woman playing a glamor girl. Lupus, whom I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing a few years ago, played a character of few words - in fact, people used to have contests counting his lines. He was quoted as saying if he ended up in one more tight space with Greg Morris, he was going to wind up engaged! This was a show where the cast changes seemed to work pretty well, Graves, Leonard Nimoy, and Linda Day George especially.

I have so many favorite episodes. One was Cinnamon's involvement with Eric Braedon in the days when he was Hans Gundegast, the psychic one about the bees, the William Shatner back in time episode, the episode with Robert Conrad - there were so many. Later on in the show, the missions would go wrong and Graves or one of the others would have to improvise - that was great.

As far as I'm concerned, the movies had nothing to do with this show. Very disappointing what they did with the Jim Phelps character. He was furious, and I don't blame him. Some things are sacred!