Mission Impossible - The Complete First Season
The Mission Impossible DVDs

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With its combination of Cold War villains and James Bond-like techno-gadgets, Mission: Impossible was an instant hit when it premiered on September 17, 1966. Airing Saturday nights at 9:00 on CBS, the series was the brainchild of creator/producer Bruce Geller, whose formula for seven successful seasons included a well-chosen ensemble cast, noteworthy guest stars, and a flexible premise that inspired clever plots twists and a constant variety of "international" locations (mostly filmed on a studio backlot). This seven-disc set includes all 28 episodes of season 1, the only season to feature Steven Hill as Dan Briggs, leader of the top-secret counterintelligence team known as Impossible Missions Force (IMF). As the no-nonsense Briggs, Hill (better known for his later role on Law & Order from 1990 to 2000) began each episode by sneakily retrieving the dossier and recorded instructions (voiced throughout the entire series by uncredited actor Bob Johnson) for the IMF's latest assignment. "Your mission, should you decide to accept it" and "this recording will self-destruct in five seconds" quickly became pop-cultural catch-phrases, as Briggs routinely selected his preferred teammates based on their mastery of practical skills. With "special appearance" billing for M:I's first three seasons, Martin Landau played master-of-disguise Rollin Hand; his off-screen wife, Barbara Bain, played top-model and undercover seductress Cinnamon Carter; Greg Morris brought hip coolness (and racial diversity) to his role as electronics expert Barney Collier; and Peter Lupus played handsome hunk Willy Armitage, adding IMF muscle to Briggs' brainy strategies.

As a Desilu production based at Paramount Studios, Mission: Impossible shared guest stars, production personnel, locations, and even occasional sets with the original Star Trek. Fans of both shows will enjoy spotting these crossover details (including George Takei's appearance in "The Carriers," a first-season highlight), and this season's other stand-out episodes include the "Pilot" (featuring Wally Cox as an ace safe-cracker), "Operation Rogosh," "A Spool There Was," "Action!," "The Train," and "The Traitor." Whether they were toppling dictators, rescuing doomed prisoners, foiling despots, or framing Mafia kingpins, the IMF agents were consistently blessed with taut, well-written plots, many unfolding with minimal dialogue and highly visual schemes that demanded (and rewarded) the viewer's close attention. Although Steven Hill eventually left the series (as an Orthodox Jew, he preferred not to work on the Jewish Sabbath, as M:I required), his single season set the stage for M:I's long-term popularity, with Peter Graves (replacing Hill as "Jim Phelps") leading the IMF from 1967 to 1973. And while Paramount has again neglected to offer DVD extras with this set, the episodes look and sound just about perfect, with a parade of guest stars including Carol O'Connor, Simon Oakland, Fritz Weaver, Nehemiah Persoff, Barbara Luna, Vic Tayback, and a host of other '60s TV regulars. Your mission--and you shouldn't hesitate to accept it--is to enjoy this classic series all over again! --Jeff Shannon

 

Season 1 (1966–1967)

Title	Director	Original Airdate	#
Pilot	Bernard L. Kowalski	September 17, 1966	1x01
The Impossible Missions Force (IMF) must retrieve two nuclear warheads being kept in a hotel vault by a Caribbean dictator. Martin Landau "guest stars" as both IMF agent Rollin Hand and the dictator. The "hotel" exterior is the Los Angeles Griffith Park Observatory.
Memory	Charles R. Rondeau	September 24, 1966	1x02
An IMF agent with photographic memory allows himself to be captured in order to help discredit a politically connected mass murderer. This is the only "regular-format" episode in which the IMF does not receive its instructions via a recording - Briggs receives printed instructions on a card instead - and as such is the only "regular-format" episode in which Bob Johnson's voice is not heard.
Operation Rogosh	Leonard J. Horn	October 1, 1966	1x03
When an Eastern European agent (Fritz Weaver) plans a biological attack on Los Angeles, the IMF must trick him into revealing the type and location of his devices. They convince him it is three years into the future, and that he is on trial for being an American spy.
Old Man Out Part 1	Charles R. Rondeau	October 8, 1966	1x04
While the rest of the IMF team pose as a traveling circus, Rollin Hand gets himself put into an "inescapable" prison to try to rescue an elderly dissident scheduled to be executed within days, Catholic Cardinal Alexander Vossek. Vosseck is overtly based upon József Cardinal Mindszenty, and his high-profile imprisonment by a totalitarian government in the Eastern Bloc.
Old Man Out Part 2	Charles R. Rondeau	October 15, 1966	1x05
Continuation of previous episode.
Odds on Evil	Charles R. Rondeau	October 22, 1966	1x06
The autocratic prince (Nehemiah Persoff) of a small principality with a casino must be bankrupted before he can use his funds to buy weapons to attack a neighboring state. To accomplish this, the team uses a computer to predict the winning number in a roulette wheel (winning number displayed on a wristwatch), while also rigging a game of baccarat through the use of marked cards which can be seen with special contact lenses. This episode shares many similarities with Ian Fleming's Casino Royale.
Wheels	Tom Gries	October 29, 1966	1x07
Dan Briggs and his IMF team must "un-rig" an election in order to prevent a corrupt government from taking power. This episode guest stars Mark Lenard of Star Trek fame as an unscrupulous bureaucrat.
The Ransom	Harry Harris	November 5, 1966	1x08
When a friend's daughter is kidnapped by a crime lord, Briggs calls in his IMF team to rescue her. This is the first of several episodes in which the IM Force conduct "off-book" missions, and the only one that Dan Briggs led.
A Spool There Was	Bernard L. Kowalski	November 12, 1966	1x09
Rollin Hand and Cinnamon Carter pose as reunited ex-lovers in an unfriendly country in order to retrieve a spool of recording wire hidden by a dead agent.
The Carriers	Sherman Marks	November 19, 1966	1x10
The IMF infiltrates an artificial American town located behind the Iron Curtain where enemy agents are trained to act and think like Americans for an unknown mission. The concept of a simulated American town being used to train agents had previously been used in the Danger Man episode Colony Three and would later be used in the Alias episode, Welcome to Liberty Village. This episode also shares many similarities with Ian Fleming's novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Guest stars George Takei.
Zubrovnik's Ghost	Leonard J. Horn	November 26, 1966	1x11
In this "haunted house" episode, IMF agents Rollin Hand and Barney Collier pose as investigators of the supernatural in order to find out why a scientist believes the ghost of her dead husband is telling her to go behind the Iron Curtain.
Fakeout	Bernard L. Kowalski	December 3, 1966	1x12
Cinnamon Carter romances the ill-mannered leader of an international narcotics syndicate in order to fool him into crossing the border into a country where American authorities can finally arrest him.
Elena	Marc Daniels	December 10, 1966	1x13
In a South American country, a female IMF agent named Elena (Barbara Luna) begins exhibiting paranoid behavior, and Rollin Hand is assigned to find out why before she is assassinated as a precaution.
The Short Tail Spy	Leonard J. Horn	December 17, 1966	1x14
Briggs, Cinnamon, and Barney are tasked with protecting a Cold War scientist from two rival assassination bureaus determined to liquidate him before an important conference. When Cinnamon is assigned to seduce one of the assassins to prevent the killing, Briggs becomes worried that she might be falling in love with her target.
The Legacy	Michael O'Herlihy	January 7, 1967	1x15
In this "treasure hunt" episode, the estranged sons of Adolf Hitler's most trusted Nazi officers gather in Zurich, Switzerland, to locate Hitler's "lost fortune." IMF agent Rollin Hand infiltrates the Neo-Nazi cell whose members plan to uncover and use the latter $300 million legacy to launch the Fourth Reich.
The Reluctant Dragon	Leonard J. Horn	January 14, 1967	1x16
Rollin Hand and Barney Collier must convince a scientist to defect to the West and join his wife in the United States. This episode guest stars John Colicos of Star Trek fame as a ruthless security official.
The Frame	Allen Miner	January 21, 1967	1x17
The IMF team pose as caterers at a lavish get-together of crime kingpins, in an effort to discredit a gangster who has been having anti-crime elected officials killed in "accidents."
The Trial	Lewis Allen	January 28, 1967	1x18
Briggs poses as a would-be saboteur in order to orchestrate the downfall of an Eastern European secret police chief who plans to discredit the United States by convicting a US citizen of spying at a show trial.
The Diamond	Robert Douglas	February 4, 1967	1x19
When the dictator of an African nation announces plans to sell the world's largest uncut diamond in order to fill his own pockets, the IM Force sees a chance to destroy him.
The Legend	Richard Benedict	February 11, 1967	1x20
Briggs and Cinammon impersonate a former Nazi and his daughter who are invited to attend a reunion of aged Nazi leaders at the home of Nazi fugitive Martin Bormann who is planning the creation of the Fourth Reich. This episode shares many similarities with Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (1948) film.
Snowball in Hell	Lee H. Katzin	February 18, 1967	1x21
The IMF must recover or destroy a vital component for a nuclear weapon that is in the hands of an evil prison warden, and make sure that the warden does not give the formula to anyone else. Ricardo Montalbán guest stars as the warden.
The Confession	Herschel Daugherty	February 25, 1967	1x22
When the assassination of a U.S. senator by a Communist bloc agent threatens to lead to war between America and the Communist Bloc, Briggs and the IMF set out to prove the killing was actually orchestrated by the senator's principal backer.
Action!	Leonard J. Horn	March 4, 1967	1x23
An Eastern European filmmaker plans to release a film he created to falsely allege an American war crime in Vietnam; the IMF must prove the film to be a fake. Cinnamon Carter receives the recorded instructions in this episode, the only time in the show's history that someone other than Dan Briggs or Jim Phelps ever received the briefing. The character of Dan Briggs does not appear in the episode.
The Train	Ralph Senensky	March 18, 1967	1x24
The IMF team must simulate a train ride carrying a dying prime minister to a Swiss hospital, in order to convince the leader not to name a would-be dictator as his successor. Beginning with this episode, appearances by Steven Hill as Dan Briggs begin to be scaled back in preparation for his departure from the series.
Shock	Lee H. Katzin	March 25, 1967	1x25
When an American envoy is kidnapped and replaced by a disguised agent planning to assassinate a U.S. diplomat, the IMF must stop the assassination and elicit the whereabouts of the real envoy out of the enemy agent. A disguised Dan Briggs is played by James Daly for most of this episode.
A Cube of Sugar	Joseph Pevney	April 1, 1967	1x26
The IMF meets drug culture as Rollin and Cinammon infiltrate a prison to recover a kidnapped agent as well as a microchip hidden within an LSD-laced sugar cube.
The Traitor	Lee H. Katzin	April 15, 1967	1x27
Eartha Kitt guest stars as a contortionist recruited by Briggs to help discredit an agent who has defected to the enemy.
The Psychic	Charles R. Rondeau	April 22, 1967	1x28
Cinnamon poses as a psychic in order to convince a tycoon that his life is in danger, leading to a high-stakes poker game against Rollin Hand. This was the final episode in which Steven Hill appears as Dan Briggs.