Dynamo1
Head of the Swing Shift
"Good morning, Mr. Briggs." With those words, 40 years ago tomorrow, on the first self-destructing message, Mission: Impossible premiered. September 17, 1966, CBS aired the first episode of a new series that would run seven years, come back in the late eighties with mostly a new cast for two more years, and then attempt arevival on the big screen with three movies produced by and starring Tom Cruise, who was only four years old when it all started.
Most people do not remember that there was a different team leader before Jim Phelps (Peter Graves, star of a new Geico commercial). The first year, Steven Hill, known as the District Attorney Adam Schiff on the first ten years of Law & Order, played Dan Briggs. Other cast members in the first season included Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), the lovely Barbara Bain (Cinnamon Carter), the late Greg Morris (Barney Collier), and Peter Lupus (Willy Armitage). And one man, heard in almost every episode but never seen, is Bob Johnson, the voice on those tapes, records, and other types of recordings for both series.
Mission: Impossible was produced by Desilu studios, owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Many famous faces appeared as regulars or guests throughout its run. Leonard Nimoy, Spock on Star Trek (which allso came from Desilu and recently had its 40th anniversary), played agent Paris for two seasons. Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955 and star of Time Tunnel and Barnaby Jones, played Tracey in eight episodes. Some guests, like the late John Vernon, Dean Wormer in Animal House, would play several characters over the years. And Wally Cox, the voice of Underdog and regular on Hollywood Squares, appeared in the very first episode.
Season one of the original series is finally coming out on DVD in early December. Since none of my 75 or so cable channels has aired it in years, I preordered it. If you have never seen it, you might like to watch it. You won't find as many explosions or crazy stunts as the movies. But if you like an actual storyline with some suspence, this is the show for you. Good luck, board members.
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Most people do not remember that there was a different team leader before Jim Phelps (Peter Graves, star of a new Geico commercial). The first year, Steven Hill, known as the District Attorney Adam Schiff on the first ten years of Law & Order, played Dan Briggs. Other cast members in the first season included Martin Landau (Rollin Hand), the lovely Barbara Bain (Cinnamon Carter), the late Greg Morris (Barney Collier), and Peter Lupus (Willy Armitage). And one man, heard in almost every episode but never seen, is Bob Johnson, the voice on those tapes, records, and other types of recordings for both series.
Mission: Impossible was produced by Desilu studios, owned by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Many famous faces appeared as regulars or guests throughout its run. Leonard Nimoy, Spock on Star Trek (which allso came from Desilu and recently had its 40th anniversary), played agent Paris for two seasons. Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955 and star of Time Tunnel and Barnaby Jones, played Tracey in eight episodes. Some guests, like the late John Vernon, Dean Wormer in Animal House, would play several characters over the years. And Wally Cox, the voice of Underdog and regular on Hollywood Squares, appeared in the very first episode.
Season one of the original series is finally coming out on DVD in early December. Since none of my 75 or so cable channels has aired it in years, I preordered it. If you have never seen it, you might like to watch it. You won't find as many explosions or crazy stunts as the movies. But if you like an actual storyline with some suspence, this is the show for you. Good luck, board members.
This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds.
*Light fuse. Cue theme* Theme music