Mission: Impossible
Failure impossible.
Mission: Impossible (1966-1973)
Seasons: 7,
episodes: 171
Average rating:
7.8/10
14 172
Production
Status
Completed
Creators
Scenario
Leigh Vance
Author
Producer
Robert H. Justman
Actors
Peter Graves
Jim Phelps
Greg Morris
Barney Collier
Steven Hill
Daniel Briggs
Barbara Bain
Cinnamon Carter
Peter Lupus
Willy Armitage
Lynda Day George
Lisa Casey
Martin Landau
Rollin Hand
Bob Johnson
Man on Tape (voice)
Short description
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.
Seasons
| Season | Episodes | Release date | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 1966-09-17 | 6.4 | |
| 25 | 1967-09-10 | 5 | |
| 25 | 1968-09-29 | 5.1 | |
| 26 | 1969-09-28 | 6.3 | |
| 23 | 1970-09-19 | 6.5 | |
| 22 | 1971-09-18 | 6.2 | |
| 22 | 1972-09-16 | 6.4 |
What's left behind the scenes
- For several years, the series was not shown in syndication because viewers had become so accustomed to seeing Peter Graves (1926-2010) as the group leader, Jim Phelps, that during reruns, they reacted negatively to the leadership role of Dan Briggs, played by Stephen Hill (1922-2016). (Syndication is the sale of the rights to broadcast the same television projects to multiple broadcasters simultaneously).
- When the order for the next mission played on the reel-to-reel tape recorder, the 'rewind' function was used. This was done because the tape moved too slowly in 'playback' mode.
- Martin Landau (1928-2017) and his then-wife Barbara Bain left the series' cast after the third season amid a scandal caused by a refusal to increase their salaries.
- Many episodes feature an arch with metal gates—in the series, this is typically the entrance to a prison. In reality, it is the main entrance to the Paramount Pictures Studios grounds where the filming took place.
- Excluding the 1988 sequel series, 'Mission: Impossible' (1968-1973) became the longest-running spy series in the English language. Its seven seasons comprise a total of 171 episodes. Currently, the second longest is the British series 'The Avengers' (1961-1969) with 161 episodes.
- The same actors and actresses often appeared in different roles. John Vernon, for example, played Colonel John Joseph Strom, General Ramon Sabatini, Ramon Fuego, and Norman Shields in various episodes. William Windom appeared on screen as Paul Mitchell, Stu Gorman, Alex Cresnik, and Milos Pavel. This was common practice for long-running series of the 1960s.
- Episodes set in other countries were frequently filmed on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
- Greg Morris (1933-1996) and Peter Lupus were the only cast members to play their roles throughout the entire series. However, in the fifth season, Lupus was frequently replaced by Sam Elliott.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
