SYNOPSIS
Along with his handpicked a team of covert operatives (each equipped with their own unique skills) mastermind Jim Phelps carries out executive orders to infiltrate, destabilize or destroy plans of the Enemy. The Impossible Missions Force use every trick in the book: high-tech gadgets, hypnosis, sleight of hand and of course those iconic rubber mask revelations!
CRITIQUE
Though the missions seem more predictable than impossible by season five, the innovative spy series kept viewers enthralled while continuing to carve its niche in classic TV history. MI’s volatile architect Bruce Geller was sparring so much with Paramount and CBS that he found himself actively banned from the studio lot! (Don’t feel bad for the guy. Aside from collecting residuals in absentia as ex-producer, Geller was also busy running a little cop show called Mannix.)
Brought in to replace Geller was producer Bruce Lansbury, whose stint on the innovative cowboy/thriller/comedy series The Wild, Wild West seems to have been an inspired (perhaps inevitable) choice to keep the MI machine running smoothly. However Lansbury quickly took the pragmatic path.
By 1970 Mission was already feeling some hardening of the creative arteries. Instead of rejuvenating the premise Lansbury chose to go with the familiar. Thus MI plots nearly abandoned their international flavor, concentrating on local Mafia-busting (a.k.a. “the Syndicate”) and injecting the team with more personal backstories — ostensibly, to make them more identifiable with home viewers. Of course, this diluted the original theme of presenting the MI team as cogs of an elite international spy machine; each possessing a unique personal skill but wholly expendable in the bigger picture. (i.e. “Should any member be caught or killed…the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.”)
Speaking of expendability, Martin Landau’s replacement Leonard Nimoy appears to have settled comfortably in his role as the “house” magician/disguise artist Paris. More importantly — at least to this viewer, aged 12 at the time — was Barbara Bain’s replacement: Leslie Ann Warren. Clearly, Bain’s exotic feminine charms could hardly be duplicated, so Lansbury went with the “youth and perkiness” card. And being a hip 70s gal, Warren went without a bra — thus replacing Julie Newmar (and her body-hugging 60s Catwoman costume) as the fantasy girl of my adolescent dreams!
While it hardly mattered to me at the time (is this too much personal information?) Peter Lupus — as IMF’s muscle, Willie — was ceremoniously phased out of the show. Stepping in was team doctor, played by Sam Elliot. Yes, that Sam Elliot… currently recognized for roles such as the grizzled mentor, the grizzled cowboy, the grizzled army General and original grizzled Ghost Rider. Well, back in ’71 Elliot was just ungrizzled beefcake. With his doctoral presence unable to heal the rift left by Lupus’ departure, CBS quickly repaired the mistake and brought back Willie to perform more heavy lifting.
Season 5 presents a hipper, newly-recorded theme song and often dispenses from opening with its infamous tape recorder scene (“this message will self-destruct in five seconds… Good luck, Jim!”). In fact some episodes begin with the mission already in play, filling in the pre-story elements as the plot thickens.
Among the best 5th season shows are:
The Killer
The IMF team is confounded while pursuing a superstitious hit man (Robert “Wild West Conrad) who literally makes plans according to the role of dice. Unable to predict his moves, they have to create the contents a fictional hotel — right down to embroidered towels and stationary pads — between the time the killer gets off his plane and arrives by cab!
The Innocent
In which the ethics of the IMF are challenged by a conscientious objector whose special computer skills are required to thwart a chemical warfare scheme. Connelly, a hippie drop-out (don’t ‘cha just love those old phrases!) questions the duplicitous and deadly tactics of the ostensible “good guys,” possibly giving them more grief than the enemy.
Hunted
In one of the few international stories, Barney (Greg Morris) is wounded in an unnamed apartheid-following country… trapped there because he arrived in the guise of a white man!
The Merchant
Classic character actor George Sanders, in one of his final roles as a suave arms dealer, is given the classic “sting” treatment by the IMF team as they con him out of a cool five million during a high-stakes casino poker game. (Interesting side-note: Sanders wrote his lines on tiny “cheat sheets” which he hid in his palms to glance at.)
The Party
The IM Force must penetrate a seemingly innocuous social party to engage the hazy memory of a counter-agent who purposely had himself hypnotized — to suppress his knowledge of secret codes… codes which can be used to negotiate the release of a downed US pilot. The Party in title is actually a pun, because the agent’s own political party is out to assassinate him before he can reveal the information.
THE VIDEO
Mission: Impossible is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen format. As always, the prints are lush and sharp. The show had the highest production values of any series on the air at the time and it shows. Canny viewers will be able to spot some recycled props and sets.
THE AUDIO
Mission Impossible is presented in English DD 5.1, English DD 2.0, and Spanish DD 2.0 Mono. Frankly, there's not much an engineer can do with the sound of old mono TV shows by way of digital magic, but the show does sound pretty darn good for its age. Optional subtitles include English, Spanish and Portuguese.
THE EXTRAS
Absolutely nothing. Sadly, this part of the mission is a total failure.
FINAL THOUGHT
The absence of the Landaus (Martin and Barbara Bain) no longer seems relevant as the MI train keeps chugging along, providing more easily-digestible stories that prove entertaining nonetheless — and Leonard Nimoy’s fans another reason to catch their star in his last continuing TV role.
