Mission Impossible TV Show

Mission: Impossible is a dramatic television series that originally aired on the CBS network. Each episode follows the missions of the Impossible Missions Force of covert operatives employed by the United States Government.

Fast Facts

1. Network: CBS
2. Original series aired: September 17, 1966 - March 30, 1973
3. Second series aired: October 23, 1988 - February 24, 1990
4. Original series starring: Peter Graves, Barbara Bain, Steven Hill, Martin Landau, Peter Lupus, Greg Morris, Leonard Nimoy, Lesley Ann Warren
5. Inspired by Topkapi
6. Title sequence: Peter Graves' hand holds the match

Cast Information

• Peter Graves as James Phelps
• Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter
• Steven Hill as Character Name
• Martin Landau as Rollin Hand
• Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage
• Greg Morris as Barney Collier
• Leonard Nimoy as Paris
• Lesley Ann Warren as Dana Lambert

Reviews

" Mission: Impossible had a sense of pizzazz common to the cinema of the mid-to-late '60s, though relatively new to television. A good portion of each episode relied on images instead of dialogue, and between the subjective camerawork and the propulsive Lalo Schifrin score — which made even moments of nothingness seem fraught with tension — Mission: Impossible was a concentrated dose of pre-counterculture cool. Rarely have guys in short hair and neat suits seemed so genuinely hip..."——Noel Murray¹

Quotes

Voice on Tape: "Your mission, should you decide to accept it... As always, should you or any of your IM force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."²

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