Mission: Impossible (1966)

Series	Mission: Impossible (First Series)
Created by	Bruce Geller
Original run	1966 to 1973
Next	Mission: Impossible (1988)

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). In the first season, the IMF leader is Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill, then in the second season, the team gets a new leader: Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves. He remains the IMF leader until the end of the series.

The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, with seven seasons and 171 episodes. After another 15 years, though, the series would return with two additional seasons and then later would inspire a popular trio of movies in the 1990s and 2000s. Each episode deals with the IMF performing a mission, usually with world leaders, rogue figures and in later episodes the mob underworld or known by the IMF as "the Syndicate". In most cases, the object of the mission was to eliminate the target by means of deception or elaborate means to convince the target that he is at another location or time has passed (either forward or backward), or to recover a valuable item which if fallen to the wrong hands of the target, would alter the government of a country. Sometimes the target would be a subordinate of a leader and the IMF must convince the leader that his subordinate is not on his/her side. The ultimate result of the missions are usually the target's disgrace among his associates, a secretly taped confession of the target, the target being shot by his own people, the target arrested by the police, or the recovery of the valuable item while trapping the target in a locked chamber. As this end result happens the IMF team members stealthy leave the area, usually in a vehicle although at least one time two IMF members left in a boat and some other episodes simply show the team members leave the building.

With a few exceptions, the formula for each Mission: Impossible episode is the same each week for the first 4 seasons. Beginning with Season 5, an prologue was added to each episode.

Tape Scene

Considered to be among the most iconic moments of television, the tape scene is the first sequence of Mission Impossible. Briggs/Phelps is shown accessing a tape recorder with a manila envelope which contains pictures of the target(s) and other individuals who are affected by the target's actions. Usually the tape and envelope are in a store, where Briggs/Phelps exchange codes by casual conversation with the store owner - - thus the owner leaves so Briggs/Phelps can access the tape. Other times the tape is located in a parked car, telephone booth (where certain coins must be deposited in sequence to unlock the phone), a photo booth, fire alarm box, boat, darkroom, toll booth, movie theater, skating rink, or cigarette machine. Sometimes a phonograph, film reel or telescope was used instead of the tape while in one instance Briggs received the instructions of his mission on a business card (in the Season 1 episode of "Memory"). Some tape sequences from Season 2 onward were reused more than once as stock footage for different episodes.

The recorded voice for all episodes was done by Bob Johnson and is as follows:

Good morning Mr. Briggs/Phelps. The man you are looking at is ... Your mission, should you decide/choose to accept it is to ... As always, should you or any of your IMF force be caught of killed; the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self destruct in 5/10 seconds (or "please dispose this tape in the usual manner"). Good luck Dan/Jim.

The tape itself is played backwards as the mission instructions are disseminated to Briggs/Phelps. At the end of the tape sequence when the tape "self destructs", smoke emits from the recording so as to render it useless to anyone who may find it. When the instructions are to simply dispose the tape, Briggs/Phelps would throw it into an incinerator, or use other means to render the recording useless.

Exceptions to the tape sequence were usually "off-book" missions - - unsanctioned personal missions initiated by the IMF, usually to save a fellow team member or to save a personal friend - - such as Briggs saving the daughter of his friend who was about to testify against a mobster during his criminal trial. Sometimes an ongoing mission suddenly becomes "off -book" when an IMF member is captured or shot by the target, such as Cinnamon Carter or Jim Phelps in the respective Season 3 episodes "The Exchange" and "Nicole". In Season 1 "Action", Cinnamon Carter retrieved the tape and it's instructions at a women's spa instead of Briggs (who was played by Steven Hill). This was because Hill, an Orthodox Jew, was getting more and more uncooperative with the crew during filming, he slowly was written out of the series in the final 5 episodes.

Dossier Sequence

The second sequence is the shortest and simply shows Briggs/Phelps in their respective apartments using a black leather binder with the words "Impossible Missions Force" engraved on it. Briggs/Phelps would look over photos of IMF team members, selecting only those suited for the mission (usually the regular cast) and putting aside the rejected photos. Briggs/Phelps would also select one to three additional IMF members (as guest stars) in a specific mission, usually an expert in the type of work needed to carry out the mission, such as a circus performer to stage an eye-opening show as to create a distraction to break out someone in prison nearby or a doctor to carry out an non-lethal injection to temporarily disable the target. Once done, Briggs/Phelps would leave the binder on the table. In later seasons, Phelps selected IMF quasi-mode orginizations, such as The Hartford and Globe Repertory Companies - - a team of up to twenty workers dedicated to a specific part of the mission, such as fake prison guards or acting as a crew of a submarine. Again, as in the tape sequence, the footage of some dossier sequences may appear in more than one episode. In Season 1, Martin Landau was credited as "Special Guest Star" as his dossier picture was shown (and, of course selected), however he was made permanent cast member for Seasons 2 and 3. In "Action" (when she recovered the tape), Carter is not shown selecting the IMF members, however her usual picture was already laid out anyway - - thus she would technically be the first and only IMF team member to "select" herself in the dossier sequence. Beginning with Season 3, the dossier sequence was used less often until it was eliminated by the end of Season 4.

Apartment Sequence

The third sequence involves what is called "The Plan"; the selected IMF members meet in Briggs/Phelps apartment to discuss the logistics of their mission. Each member would be assigned to a specific task as they iron out any loose ends to their mission. The apartment's furniture has shades of black and white giving the initial appearance that these scenes were shot in black and white (actual footage was shot in color). Briggs/Phelps would confer with each member as to how their part of the mission would be carried out, often with a demonstration of their gadgets to be used - - from simple devices like a ring which sends a signal to melt currency when activated or a rigged deck of cards to more complex settings such as a staged film or special wheelchair which secretly holds a person inside; a nod to Q branch showing gadgets to 007 in the James Bond films. Usually Barney or Willy would tell Briggs/Phelps that the equipment needed would be "already ready" or there would be little or no difficulty in carrying out a specific event. It is implied that the IMF has unlimited resources at their disposal; often they are obtained almost immediately, given the urgency and timeliness of their missions. Each IMF member is informed on what their responsibilities are, as well as being appraised of the other team members’ responsibilities. Any possible setbacks in carrying out their plans were addressed in this sequence.

The Mission

The IMF members now set off to perform the mission, which involves various degrees of complexity: uniforms needed (usually guard uniforms), type of equipment needed (vehicles, machines, etc), forged documents (passports, letters, etc.) and in many instances, makeup and disguises. Part or all of the IMF team members arrive at the target's residence or work location in a non-descript vehicle or car, with the rest of the group joining them within the location, albeit somewhere else nearby. Electronic equipment was supplied by Barney Collier, with Willy Armitage usually helping Barney with some heavy stuff. Rollin Hand (and later the Great Paris) supplied the makeup to instantly change their faces to look like the target themselves or someone else. In one instance, Rollin Hand would be disguised as a mobster (who was already captured and drugged by other IMF members) then convinces the mobster's subordinates to perform plastic surgery to make him look like someone else to avoid detection by police after the mob "killed" Graves (actually the makeup was peeled off to show Rollin while Graves survives the attack by hiding in an underground bunker). Phone calls were usually rerouted to IMF team members for either wiretap purposes or to "send" a crew over to fix a problem encountered by the target while in other instances a secretly taped recording of the target's (or his subordinates) confession . The IMF also used phony TV and radio broadcasts to "convince" the target that something happened already, a ruse by the IMF in tricking the target. Complex jobs were even handled by the IMF, such as a warehouse to stage a simulated train ride, ensuring train "derailment" and "hospital". Other complex methods were a machine which makes counterfeit currency, a large "jail" complete with a simulated execution chamber, and even a submarine with fake crew members. Targets (or their underlings) were sometimes captured by the IMF and quickly replaced by Hand/Paris with their likeness, including their voices dubbed to make other people appear that they look real. In early episodes, the painstakingly detail of applying makeup was show, however as the series progressed, most viewers were accustomed to see the disguises anyway so the detail was left off. Other mechanisms such as elevators and cars were usually placed under the IMF's control while many missions involve crawling under tunnels. Sometimes two IMF members played "husband and wife", or "father and daughter", usually with Cinnamon Carter playing the female fatale to distract the target. The visual instructions on what each member (in most cases with Collier because of his electronics experience) does (such as setting up equipment, splicing a reel, etc) take up most of the episode's time, while the viewer does not know the outcome or result until towards the end when the IMF completes the set-up and executes their final moves on the target. Most of the IMF crew has impersonated the following: Government agents, police officers, doctors, bank guards, truck drivers, weapons dealers, jail guards, inmates (on purpose to get closer to the target or to free someone else from jail), chess players, gamblers, mobsters, food service workers, investors, electricians, repairmen, actors, film crew, wardens, sheiks, museum curators, Nazi members, news reporters, taxi drivers, and protesters.

All team members are trained to confront every variable in their missions; especially when one or more IMF members are about to be exposed. They can "talk their way" out of anything to convince the target (usually before and after commercial breaks). While at the target's location, they are also trained to be aware about the target recording their phone calls or being videotaped - - often with a slow and deliberate manner in their voice so that the other IMF member receiving the telephone call will adjust their identity at a moment's notice. Such case of adjusting identity is the Season 3 episode "The Town" when Rollin Hand calls "Mrs. Phelps" (Carter) to let her and "Little Willy" to come over to save Jim Phelps who was temporarily paralayzed by a rogue doctor working with the entire town on an assassination attempt in Los Angeles. The critical part of evey mission is psychology, how to use it against the target and to ensure that the IMF members remain calm - - assessing every situtuation with the possible outcome(s). In some cases, the IMF must be aware what the target may do as a trap. In Season 3, Episode 16 "The Glass Cage", Carter impersonates a high level prison official who calls the target's bluff when he hires two prison guards to make it look like the real prison offical enters the office which Carter and the target are engaged in a conversation. As the target "claims" that the real prison official enters the office with her escort, Carter identifies them as imposters and . Every move the IMF team makes must be played with perfect timing and the right words to use against the target. Because the IMF is an independent agency operating outside the scope of any law-enforcment agency, killing anyone is strongly discouraged except in self-defense. Most confrontations between IMF members and their enemies often result in knocking the enemy out.

Conclusion

As the mission winds down, the IMF members slowly gather themselves together to exit quietly from the target's location(s), while other people discover the target's true intentions or the trap has been skillfully executed by the IMF. Usually when the last IMF member(s) leave the area, they do so while the target is about to be shot or arrested - - often hearing a gunshot in the background in the case of the target being killed off-screen by those who disbelieve him/her. The final scene usually consists of the IMF members getting into a car, truck, bus or any other vehicle then making their exit - - often undetected by anyone and without any dialogue.

Seasons

• Season 1 (1966 - 1967)
• Season 2 (1967 - 1968)
• Season 3 (1968 - 1969)
• Season 4 (1969 - 1970)
• Season 5 (1970 - 1971)
• Season 6 (1971 - 1972)
• Season 7 (1972 - 1973)

Cast

• Steven Hill as Dan Briggs (Season 1)
• Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter (Seasons 1 to 3)
• Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage (Seasons 1 to 7)
• Greg Morris as Barney Collier (Seasons 1 to 7)
• Peter Graves as Jim Phelps (Seasons 2 to 7)
• Martin Landau as Rollin Hand (Seasons 1 to 3)
• Leonard Nimoy as The Great Paris (Seasons 4 to 5)
• Lesley Warren as Dana Lambert (Season 5)
• Sam Elliott as Doug Robert (Season 5)
• Lynda Day George as Lisa Casey (Seasons 6 to 7)
• Barbara Anderson as Mimi Davis (Season 7)
• Bob Johnson as Voice on Tape (uncredited; Seasons 1 to 7)