Music
From Mission: Impossible (1966-1973 Television Series) -CD
CBS: The First 50 Years - CD
Has Mission
Impossible Theme
Mission: Impossible - Music From The Original Motion Picture-
CD
100 Greatest TV Themes [BOX SET] -
4CDs
Has Mission Impossible Theme
For More
Peter Graves
See Fury
Whiplash
For More Leonard
Nimoy See: Star Trek
Also Leonard
Nimoy appeared in 3 episodes of
Wagon Train
Email Me for
info
External Links
TV Guide's Mission Impossible Page, with TV Listings, Photos,
Videos, Exclusive News and More. |
Mission Impossible Tidbits Mission Impossible Intro wav
"Your mission, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is...
As usual, should you or any member of your I.M. Force be captured or killed,
the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your existence. This tape will
self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim."
Poof! The tape
went up in smoke! However much or little people may recall of
Mission:Impossible, no one could forget the tension packed opening augmented by
Lalo Schifrin's jazzy theme music.
In the first season, it was "your
mission, Dan" as Steven Hill (real name, Solomon Krakovsky) played Daniel Briggs, leader
of the Impossible Mission Force. Reportedly, Hill's contract restrictions which
limited the days and hours he would work in order for the Orthodox Jew to
strictly observe his religion became a problem. In 1990, these limitations were
accomodated by producer Dick Wolf as Hill began his 10 year run as D.A. Adam
Schiff on Law and Order.
In the second season, the team is headed by
Peter Graves as Jim Phelps. Graves, brother of Gunsmoke star James Arness, is the leader we remember.
In the first seasons the self-destructing tape came with a packet of pictures
of potential agents to use on the assignment. Since Jim always picked the same
people, this seemed sort of silly and was eventually dropped.
The plots
were always very complicated and usually involved the overthrow of some
dictator or the theft of secret papers. In short, the kind of thing we imagine
the CIA really does but doesn't want to get caught doing. In later seasons,
having reorganized a significant number of third world nations, the Mission
Impossible Force turned its attention to crime syndicates in
America.
The original cast included Greg Morris as Barney Collier, the
electronics wiz, and Peter Lupus as Willie Armitage, the muscle. Barbara Bain
was the obligatory female agent, Cinnamon Carter.
Bain's real life
husband Martin Landau was cast as Rollin Hand, the master of disguise.
Originally this was to have been a brief appearance but his work so impressed
producers, that he was signed as a permanent cast member.
Things went
well for the first three seasons but then salary disputes with Paramount caused
Bain and Landau to be replaced.Star Trek was
finishing its run on the very next soundstage, which made Leonard Nimoy, who
looks a bit like Landau, available. (see box at right). In what must be Nimoy's
destiny, he was given another one word name, Paris, and assumed Landau's IMF
duties.
In Perry Mason terms, you now get
the Case of the Fleeting Females. Many women popped in and out to replace the
Emmy winning Barbara Bain.
They resurrected Mission Impossible in 1988
as a workaround to the then ongoing Writer's Strike. Based in Australia, they
used old scripts and a mostly new cast. Peter Graves returned as Phelps and
Phil Morris, Greg's real life son, took over as Grant Collier.
Today we
have the Tom Cruise movies. An enduring tribute to a unique show.
Passings Bob Johnson died in 1994 and Greg Morris died in 1996
of cancer.
|
Mission Impossible Trivia |
| The show was very expensive to produce. They used twice as
much film as any other show (movie length amounts). |
|
Mission Impossible Trivia |
| Tension and speed were hallmarks of Mission Impossible. One
technique they used was the quick insert of either a ticking clock or dripping
water. |
Mission Impossible 1 and 2 Set
The Movies |
Greg
Morris
Peter
Lupus
Martin Landau and
Barbara Bain
Leonard
Nimoy
|
Mission Impossible Trivia |
| Martin Landau turned down the part of Mr. Spock on
Star Trek (fascinating decision) and was replaced
on Mission Impossible by Leonard Nimoy, who accepted the role (wholly
logical). |
|
Mission Impossible Trivia |
Speaking of Star Trek, both shows
were originally projects of Desilu Studios. They were considered iffy due to
their uniqueness.
What studio head gambled on both risky productions?
Lucille Ball. |
|
