11 replies to this topic

[TheREAL008]

Thanks to the magic of Netflix (not a plug) I'm able to watch the entire 60's run of Mission Impossible. I'm about 4 or 5 episodes in and I'm liking it . I also honestly had no idea that Martin Landau was ever associated with MI before either, he kinda resembles Timothy Dalton...but just a little bit.

For those who remember the show, what are your thoughts/feelings about it? Is it worth watching? I somewhat remember a remake of the show in the mid to late eighties, but as it happens, I can't remember much of it, considering I was 9 or 10 at the time.

[doublenoughtspy]

I'm surprised you didn't know about Landau - he and Barbara Bain were arguably more famous than any of the other team members in the first couple seasons.

Bain beat out Diana Rigg for the leading actress Emmy in 66-67.

So are early seasons of the show worth watching? Yes! I actually like the first season best of all, with Steven Hill as the team leader, before Peter Graves took over.

Tight plots, great action, wonderful acting, cool gadgets, great theme music, etc. etc.

I enjoyed the late 80s revival as well.

[Mr. Blofeld]

So are early seasons of the show worth watching? Yes! I actually like the first season best of all, with Steven Hill as the team leader, before Peter Graves took over.

Funny story about that, as told by Wikipedia:

As an Orthodox Jew, Hill had to leave on Fridays at 4 p.m. to be home before sundown and was not available until sundown the next day. Despite Hill's advance warnings, the show's producers were unprepared for his rigid adherence to the Sabbath, and on at least one occasion Hill left the set while an episode was still in the midst of filming. Although his contract allowed for filming interruptions due to religious observances, the clause proved difficult to work around due to the production schedule and as the season progressed, an increasing number of episodes featured little of Dan Briggs.

Hill had other problems as well. After cooperatively crawling through dirt tunnels and repeatedly climbing a rope ladder in the episode "Snowball in Hell," in the following episode ("Action!") he balked at climbing to the rafters via a stairway with railings, as was called for in the script, and locked himself in his dressing room. (This incident was unrelated to any religious observances of Hill's.) Unable to come to terms with Hill, the producers re-shot the episode without him (another character, Cinnamon Carter, listened to the taped message, the selected operatives' photos were displayed in "limbo", and the team meeting was held in Rollin Hand's apartment), and reduced Briggs' presence in the five episodes left to be filmed to a minimum. As far as Hill's religious requirements were concerned, line producer Joseph Gantman simply had not understood what had been agreed to.

According to Desilu executive Herb Solow, once William Shatner burst into his office, claiming "Steve asked me how many Jews worked on Star Trek. He was recruiting a prayer group of ten guys to worship together on top of the studio's highest building and only had six Jews as far from Mission. He asked if I would come and bring Nimoy and Justman and you." (Nimoy later replaced Martin Landau on Mission: Impossible.)

Hill was replaced, without explanation to the audience, after the first season by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps.

[Baccarat]

I'm a big fan.

Season 1 is a bit of an anomaly in that the team is led by Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) and not Jim Phelps. Despite some cool episodes, Season 1 is inevitably overshadowed by other seasons due to Hill's replacement, who became synonymous with the role of IMF team leader, and the show. Mission: Impossible really hits its stride in Season 2 with the arrival of Peter Graves as Phelps, and most fans consider Season 3 to be the show's zenith. Seasons 4 and 5 are a little bit uneven due to the coming and going of cast members and the fact that, despite some great peformances, Leonard Nimoy (fresh off the cancelled Star Trek) never quite seems happy in the role of Paris. Seasons 6 and 7 are actually my favourites, although many fans would not agree. The more elaborate "overseas" plots of the Landau and Nimoy years make way for mostly domestic storylines that pit the IMF team against The Syndicate. This "law-enforcement" angle is far from mundane, and as a result the show takes on a noticeably tougher and more realistic edge.

Every season is absolutely worth your time as each contains some of the best episodes in the entire series.

[TheREAL008]

Thanks everyone! I'll definitely be investing more into this show.

[Napoleon Solo]

Coming in late on this, but another thought. When you watch shows from the first three seasons, keep an eye out for those episodes written by William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter. Bruce Geller created M:I, but Woodfield and Balter sort of re-created it. In Geller's pilot, the IMF actually goes in and steals two atomic bombs. Woodfield and Balter turned IMF schemes into elaborate con games.

Barbara Bain, while accepting her second M:I Emmy, included the Woodfield-Balter team in her acceptance speech.



Woodfield and Balter were promoted to producers in season 3 but had a fight with executive producer Geller. So they quit, but not before doing one more two-parter.

[Brian Flagg]

While I consider Mission: Impossible's third season to be its finest, my preference is for seasons six and seven, when the IMF took on organized crime, aka "The Syndicate", aka "The Organization." My favorite character is Barney Collier (Greg Morris), so he gets to do more in those years, as well. I also find the musical underscore to be superior and I have a weakness for those early '70s fashions.

As far as I know, I'm the only M:I fan who prefers the Syndicate Years over the "Fauxreign Accents" era.

[Brian Flagg]

With the exception of a few hardcore old timers here, the Mission: Impossible series--either the original or the 1988 remake--doesn't get much attention at CBn like the Tom Cruise franchise does, which is a shame. Maybe this will change, seeing as there's even a new thread for the Roger Moore era of The Saint. It gives me some hope!

Anyway, some time ago I came up with my season rankings for each Mission: Impossible season and my top ten for each season as well as my pick for each year's "worst" episode...perhaps I'll post them here after I've had a few drinks...

[Napoleon Solo]

Saturday is the 45th anniversary

http://hmssweblog.wo...ries-disavowed/

[00Kevin]

I've seen a few epps of the old show and find them very enjoyable. while it is disappointing that many elements of the TV show were forsaken in the films (mainly making phelps the villian), I grew up with the tom cruise films and will be sure to check out the midnight screening. here's what i think of the films:

-The first film was the best, I've a big fan of Brian De Palma and I think he really captured the feel of a tense espionage game, expecially the segment in prague, plus i love the danny elfman score.
-The 2nd film was hugely disappointing, it was just an attempt to cash in on a stupid fad: the 90's chinese action style, i'm not a fan of john woo; also one of Hans Zimmer's weakest scores.
-MI3 was a big improvement. An engaging story with fine directing from JJ Abrams and a fine score from Michael Giacchino. all M:I films should be at least this good.

Which brings us to Ghost Protocal, I'm pleased that Brad Bird will direct (I though the Incredibles was fantastic) and Giacchino will return to score, from the trailer the plot and action seem good enough. But anyone who saw the trailer knows that something is not quite right, The Mission Impossible theme uses a rare 5/4 time signature and M:I scores should have a very distinct sound to them...the trailer was defaced with a totally out of place Eminem rap; I like Eminem's work, but it simply does not fit in something like Mission: Impossible, who ever chose to put that song in that trailer should be kept as far away from the franchaise as possible. Hopefully the music in the final film will be miles away from that of the trailer (as you can tell, i've very passionate about something like this, but it won't stop me from seeing the film)

Edited by 00Kevin, 16 September 2011 - 07:15 PM.

[trs007]

On a related note---the revival TV series is hitting the DVD circuit at the end of November.

[killkenny kid]

On a related note---the revival TV series is hitting the DVD circuit at the end of November.

Great news, thank.