Mission: Impossible (1988 TV series)
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[edit] Series synopsis
After his protege was killed, Jim Phelps was called out of retirement and asked to form a new team and track down the one who killed his protege. His team consists of Nicholas Black, a disguise expert, Max Harte, the tough guy, Casey Randall, the obligatory female operative, and Grant Collier, the son of Barney Collier, the original technology expert. After finding the killer, Jim decided to stay on and keep the team together. Eventually, Casey was killed and she was replaced by Shannon Reed.
[edit] Background
In 1988, the American fall television season was hampered by a writers' strike that prevented the commissioning of new scripts. Producers, anxious to provide new product for viewers but with the prospect of a lengthy strike, went into the vaults for previously written material. Star Trek: The Next Generation, for example, used scripts written for an aborted Star Trek series proposed for the 1970s. The ABC network decided to launch a new Mission: Impossible series, with a mostly new cast (except for Peter Graves, who would return as Phelps), but using scripts from the original series, suitably updated. To save even more on production costs, the series was filmed in Australia; the first series in Queensland, and the second series of episodes in Melbourne. Costs were, at that time, some 20 percent lower in Australia compared with Hollywood. The new Mission: Impossible was one of the first American commercial network programs to be filmed in Australia.
According to Patrick White's book, the original plan was for the series to be an actual remake/reimaginging of the original series, with the new cast playing the same characters from the original series: Rollin Hand, Cinnamon Carter, et al. Just before filming began, White writes, the decision was made to rework the characters so that they were now original creations, albeit still patterned after the originals, with only Jim Phelps remaining unchanged.
[edit] Cancellation
After the end of the first season, ABC moved the show to the Thursday 8:00 p.m. timeslot, which proved to be a disaster for the show. Being forced to compete with NBC's The Cosby Show and A Different World, Mission: Impossible's ratings plummeted, and the show was canceled at the end of the second season.
[edit] Episode remakes
The series was originally planned to be a limited series. A new cast was hired to play the characters from the original Mission: Impossible, and the episodes were all going to remake original series scripts. This changed when Peter Graves returned to the role of Jim Phelps; the other characters were then renamed, and the show became a continuation of the original.
The new series was not a hit, but it was produced cheaply enough to keep it on the ABC schedule. The new M:I ultimately lasted for two years; the writers' strike was resolved quickly enough that only a few episodes were actual remakes. Most fans, however, agree that the series for most part stayed true to the concepts of the original (in stark contrast to the movies, the first of which was released in 1996).
[edit] Formula
The original series formula described above was largely repeated in the second Mission: Impossible series of the 1980s, though the writers took some liberties and tried to stretch the rules somewhat. Most notably, by the time of the revival series, the Impossible Mission Force (which was suggested to being an independent agency) was no longer a small, clandestine operation, but larger in scale, with references now made to IMF divisions and additional teams similar to the one run by Phelps. One episode of the later series featured the only occasion in which a regular IMF agent was killed on a mission and subsequently disavowed. The 1980s series also had IMF agents using technology that nearly pushed the series into the realm of science fiction, such as one gadget that could record dreams.
[edit] Format
[edit] The tape scene
In the 1980s revival, the message arrived on miniature optical discs, played on a disposable miniature video player with a built-in screen, which as usual would self-destruct after being played.
These briefings were read by voice actor Bob Johnson in the original series and the 1988 revival but the identity of the character was never revealed, nor was his face ever shown.
[edit] The apartment scene
The 1980s revival reinstated the "dossier scene" in the first episode when Phelps selected his new team, but since he kept the same team in subsequent episodes no subsequent dossier scenes were made.
[edit] The plan
In the 1980s revival, the mask-making process involved a digital camera and computer and was mostly automatic. Most episodes included a dramatic "reveal" near the end in which the team member would remove the mask.
[edit] Variations
In the 1980s series, former IMF agent Barney Collier was framed for a crime he didn't commit and the IMF team had to rescue him, leading to a reuniting of Barney with his son and IMF agent Grant Collier (in real life played by father-and-son Greg and Phil Morris).
[edit] Conclusion
In the 1980s revival, this format was altered with the addition of a tag scene showing the IMF team regrouping (often still in disguise) and walking away from the site of their concluded mission, often accompanied by a quip uttered by Jim Phelps.
[edit] Appearances from original IMF veterans
The revived series included special appearances by several 1960s–1970s IMF veterans, including appearances by Lynda Day George (George's character, Lisa Casey was not given a first name on screen until her appearance in an episode of the 1980s revival series) and by Greg Morris as Barney; Morris' son, Phil Morris, played Barney's son in the new series.
[edit] Revival cast
- Peter Graves as Jim Phelps
- Thaao Penghlis as Nicholas Black
- Antony Hamilton as Max Harte (credited as Tony Hamilton)
- Phil Morris as Grant Collier
- Terry Markwell as Casey Randall (early episodes 1988–1989 season)
- Jane Badler as Shannon Reed (1989 - 1990)
- Bob Johnson as Voice on Disc (voice only)
[edit] Trivia
- The hand that holds the match that lights the fuse in the title sequence of the original series is creator Bruce Geller's hand. In the 1980s revival, Peter Graves' face is shown, and it's his hand.
[edit] See also
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[edit] External links
- Mission: Impossible at the Internet Movie Database (1988 version)
