Mission: Impossible Revisited

My mom's staying with us for a few days until her apartment is ready, and since we get only local channels, I asked her the other night if she'd like to watch a movie on DVD. When I mentioned that I had the first disc of the first season of the original Mission: Impossible show (1966-1973), she said, "Let's watch that."

Now it's been at least twenty years (probably more) since I'd seen any of the original shows, so my expectations weren't too high. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised.

Sure, the technology is from 1966, which at that time probably was the cutting edge or close to it. Some of the tech stuff looks pretty funny today, but the way it's treated isn't. In fact, the way the show respects the tech and the audience is what makes it work.

One of the things that struck me about the show is its lack of unnecessary explanation. In each episode, you get the basic premise of the mission, the rough plan, and an execution of the plan (with lots of intangibles thrown in). What you don't get are a lot of lines like, "Hey, Bob! Jump out that open window and cut that fuse leading to that load of dynamite that's going to blow us all up in fifteen seconds! Good luck!" No, you have to keep up with what's going on and you have to pay attention to details. This was not a mindless show. (If mindless is what you want, just watch the Tom Crusie Mission: Impossible movies, if you can stand them.)

Only two actors worked for the entire run of the series: Peter Lupus (Willy Armitage) and Greg Morris (Barney Collier).

Willy was pretty much the guy that did the driving and the heavy lifting, which worked out well, since Lupus was a bodybuilder (a former Mr. Hercules). I remember seeing him in later seasons, an disgusted look on his face as Peter Graves says, "Okay, Rollin: You impersonate these four people on this mission. Barney: you rig up seventeen explosives timed to go off at 42-second intervals. Willie: you drive the truck." Lupus currently runs a nutrition company.

Greg Morris played Barney Collier, an electronics and computer specialist. His character was quiet, yet sharply intelligent, working well under pressure. (Morris's son played in the second TV installment of Mission:Impossible in the late 1980's.) It is reported that Morris hated the first Tom Cruise Mission:Impossible film that he left the theatre before the film ended. Morris died in 1996.

I didn't even realize that the first leader of the IMF was Dan Briggs, not Mr. Phelps (Peter Graves). Briggs was played by Steven Hill, who later went on to star in Law & Order from 1990-2000. Hill only appeared on the show for one season. An Orthodox Jew, Hill refused to work on the Sabbath and the producers wouldn't budge on the production schedule.

Barbara Bain played Cinnamon Carter, the head-turner/femme-fatale when one was called for. At the time, she was married to co-star Martin Landau. Bain and Landau also co-starred in Space:1999 (1975-77) before divorcing in 1993. Bain currently spends her time promoting and supporting charities, including literacy.

Martin Landau played my favorite character (and favorite character name) on the show, Rollin Hand, master of disguise and impersonation. Landau is best remembered for his Oscar-winning role as Bela Lugosi in the film Ed Wood. Landau is still working, most recently in an episode of Entourage.