"Mission: Impossible" (1966) TV series 1966-1973

Creator:

Bruce Geller

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

17 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Failure impossible.

Plot:

An elite covert operations unit carries out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure, death or capture.

Plot Keywords:

Mission | Deception | Superspy | Self Destructing Message | Sweaty Face

Awards:

Won 3 Golden Globes. Another 10 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Greg Morris	...	Barney Collier (168 episodes, 1966-1973)
Peter Lupus	...	Willy Armitage (158 episodes, 1966-1973)
Bob Johnson	...	Voice on Tape (158 episodes, 1966-1973)
Peter Graves	...	James Phelps (143 episodes, 1967-1973)
Barbara Bain	...	Cinnamon Carter (77 episodes, 1966-1969)
Martin Landau	...	Rollin Hand / ... (76 episodes, 1966-1969)

Also Known As:

Misión imposible (Argentina) (Spain: Castilian title) (Venezuela) [es]
Missão Impossível (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Epikindynes apostoles (Greece) [el]
Geheime opdracht (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Kobra, übernehmen Sie (West Germany) [de]
Missió impossible (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Mission impossible (France) [fr]
Missione impossibile (Italy) [it]
Unmöglicher Auftrag (West Germany) [de]
Vaarallinen tehtävä (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

50 min (168 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | UK:U (some episodes) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Desilu Productions

Trivia:

During the fifth season, Willy (Peter Lupus) was replaced in some episodes by Doug (Sam Elliot).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Multiple episodes set in European countries have Barney working on electrical wiring to achieve the team's aim, yet the switchgear, outlets, and other equipment depicted is North American.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Voice on Tape: As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. Good luck, Jim. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Dead Talk Back (#7.3)" (1994)

There'll never be another show like that!

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!