Mission: Impossible (TV series): Difference between revisions

{{quote|''[[Once an Episode|Good morning, Mr./Ms. Troper.]]''}}

 

 

With a few rare exceptions every episode followed the same outline: First, a prerecorded briefing informs the team leader, Jim Phelps, of the target, what needs to be done to him, and why. Second, Jim assembles his team and the viewer gets to see a selected but [[Unspoken Plan Guarantee|mostly uninformative subset of their planning and briefing]]. Thirdly, the mission -- usually a [[The Caper|caper]] or [[The Con|con]] -- is executed, sometimes with real or bogus crises along the way. Finally, the team reassembles in a convenient panel truck and drives off as the target confesses, turns state's evidence, or slowly cools in a spreading pool of blood.

When Hill became increasingly difficult to work with<ref>As one of the few Orthodox Jewish actors in Hollywood, Hill was unwilling to abide by the show's production schedule, as it stipulated that he work on the Sabbath and after sundown of Friday when he was committed to being in prayer (source: ''The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier'' by Patrick White).</ref>, he was gradually written out of the series; when he was replaced by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps in Season Two, the classic cast was set. Other cast changes followed; with Landau and Bain leaving at the end of Season Three, Landau replaced by [[Leonard Nimoy]], fresh from the recently cancelled ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'' (which Landau turned down to do ''MI'' instead), and Bain by an assortment of leading ladies, culminating in Lesley Warren as the waif-like Dana. An ill-advised attempt at writing out Peter Lupus in favor of a medical doctor team member played by a pre-cowboy-stardom [[Sam Elliott]], until the producers realized how popular Willy was. An attempt was eventually made to invigorate the leading lady role by casting Lynda Day George as Casey, who was both the leading lady and the [[Master of Disguise]], but by then the series was on its last legs. One final cast tweak in the final season saw George temporarily replaced by ''[[Ironside]]'' veteran Barbara Anderson while George was on maternity leave.

 

 

All but invented [[Latex Perfection]] and the [[Master of Disguise]], and originated many of its own unique tropes, not the least of which is its most famous and most parodied elements, "[[This Page Will Self-Destruct|this tape will self-destruct in five seconds]]" and "if you or any member of your MI Force are caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions." Interestingly, early seasons only used the self-destructing tape on occasion, with other methods such as melting vinyl records and hidden recordings being used more frequently. A growing number of episodes as the series went on omitted the tape scenes altogether, sometimes featuring missions joined in progress, or "[[A Very Special Episode|personal missions]]" where an IMF member goes off-book.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]

* [[The Voice]]: Two, in fact. Any disembodied voice you hear that isn't telling Mr. Phelps about the mission is probably professional announcer Vic Perrin.

* [[We Do the Impossible]]: Rather appropriately.

* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]]: In the series, the team was often sent to the vaguely named [[People's Republic of Tyranny]]. Other locations included the nation of "San X" in South America or the Caribbean Sea. Whenever the mission was in the [[United States]], the city or state was rarely named beyond "Western" or "Central". Any named nation, used for a mission in Africa, was never a real nation. Finally, Western Europe was referred to as a friendly or neutral nation.

** One first season episode, "A Spool There Was", featured a recording method that was pretty much already on the way of becoming zeerust even at the first broadcast.

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{{reflist}}

[[Category:Action Adventure Series]]

[[Category:The Sixties]]

[[Category:Crime and Punishment Series]]

[[Category:TV Series]]