Mission: Impossible

1966

Seasons & Episodes

  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
7.9| TV-PG| en| More Info
Released: 17 September 1966 Ended
Producted By: Paramount Television Studios
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin. The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.

Genre

Drama, Crime, Mystery

Watch Online

Mission: Impossible (1966) is now streaming with subscription on Paramount+

Director

Production Companies

Paramount Television Studios

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Mission: Impossible Audience Reviews

Konterr Brilliant and touching
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Cissy Évelyne It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Desertman84 Mission: Impossible is a television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons.The other casts includes Barbara Bain,Barbara Anderson,Greg Morris,Peter Lupus,Martin Landau,Leonard Nimoy,Lesley Ann Warren,Sam Elliott and Lynda Day George.A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin.The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973.The series follows the exploits of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), a small team of secret agents used for covert missions against dictators, evil organizations and (primarily in later episodes) crime lords. On occasion, the IMF also mounts unsanctioned, private missions on behalf of its members.The identities of the organization that oversees the IMF and the government it works for are never revealed. Only rare cryptic bits of information are ever provided during the life of the series, such as in the third season mission "Nicole", where the IMF leader states that his instructions come from "Division Seven"The TV show was a classic and it should have lasted longer than 7 season had it maintained its format of covert missions against dictators and evil organizations in foreign countries.But instead in the later seasons,it started to focus on gangsters and crime organization.This made the IMF just a regular police team which diminished the show somehow.But nevertheless,it will be one show that will be missed and it is just sad that even the revival of the TV series and Tom Cruise's film does not live up to it despite of the show being dated in terms of the technology used by the IMF.In summary,the original remains the best.
ramsfan A truly outstanding show, Mission Impossible featured a handful of government agents, each with a special talent, who used their skills to solve crimes too difficult for conventional law enforcement. Usually, these crimes involved rogue nations, corrupt officials and later in the series Organized Crime, referred to as "The Syndicate". Peter Graves (Mr. Phelps) portrayed the calm, cool leader of the IMF, or Impossible Missions Force and would report to a taped message in some isolated, non-descript location outlining the task or "mission" to be performed. From there, the team would meet and collaborate on the execution of their plan.This show was impressive in every way, from the intricate plots to the acting to the production values, which were unparalleled in 1960's television. The attention to detail was phenomenal and allowed the viewer to sit totally engrossed on just how the villain/s would get their comeuppance. Such detail and the straightforward approach by the characters also made every mission- however far-fetched- believable. Great, too, were some of the show's episodic villains- John Vernon, Anthony Zerbe, Fritz Weaver, and others- whose performances were both convincing and enjoyable during "Mission's" run.Creator Bruce Geller once said he wanted "Mission" to be worth the time of an intelligent person. He succeeded in that regard, but it would be interesting to see if a detail-oriented show like this would fly today, as the average TV viewer's attention span lasts about 10 minutes. "Mission Impossible" is as good a show that ever ran on network television and a unique entry into CBS's fine programming over the years.
TxMike I was in college in 1966 when "Mission Impossible" came onto TV and it was a very popular series. Along with "Batman and Robin" and "Laugh In", it was one of the weekly shows we all put into our study schedules. The DVDs now out are very nice, with good colors and very sharp video transfers. The soundtrack is even selectable as the original mono, or a 5.1 surround mix. My public library has the DVDs now and I am re-watching some of these old episodes.Clearly, the memory of how sophisticated the show was is better than the show itself. The sets and characters are a bit cheesy, as were most shows in the 1960s, and the IM group pulling off the impossible mission are not as slick as I remember them.Still, those of us who enjoyed the original series will get a big kick out of seeing some of these episodes again, being quite different from the Mission Impossible movies of recent years. Also, younger fans of the movies will get a kick seeing the original TV series.
jchrister This series kept me awake all through the late sixties and seventies. This is one of the few TV-series that still can compete with those that are made today. Almost every episode kept a very high quality. This specially considering that the crew made a total of 168 episodes!! Unfortunately the first season starring Steven Hill as the team leader Briggs weren't the best episodes in the series. The series reached a top level when Peter Graves entered the scene as the new team leader, Mr Phelps. This series were able to continue almost without violence. Instead every plot was masterfully written with a great variation in the almost genius plots. I absolutely will look forward to see the rest of the series in the stores in the near future.