Mission: Impossible is an American television series that was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicles the missions of a team of secret government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs, played by Steven Hill; Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, takes charge for the remaining seasons. A hallmark of the series shows Briggs or Phelps receiving his instructions on a recording that then self-destructs, followed by the theme music composed by Lalo Schifrin.
The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned to television for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, retaining only Graves in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.
The Code 6.0
Air date: 1969-09-28
Overview: In order to stop an invasion and shatter an alliance between two countries, the IMF team must photograph and break a code in a matter of minutes.
The Numbers Game (aka: The Key) 6.0
Air date: 1969-10-05
Overview: The team tries to get a deposed dictator to divulge his Swiss bank account number by tricking him into believing World War III is about to begin.
The Controllers (1) 6.0
Air date: 1969-10-12
Overview: Jim and a female agent pose as scientists who have invented a new drug in order to replace a real drug that turns people into willing slaves.
The Controllers (2) 6.5
Air date: 1969-10-19
Overview: As Barney taints the water system with a mind-numbing drug, Jim is captured and put on trial, where he must discredit an enemy scientist.
Fool's Gold 6.5
Air date: 1969-10-26
Overview: Paris poses as a counterfeiter in order to gain access to a safe and destroy millions in phony money, as well as the plates used to make it.
Commandante 6.0
Air date: 1969-11-02
Overview: An imprisoned priest is about to be executed, so Jim and Willie pose as U.S. religious workers who are willing to trade guns in exchange for his safety.
Submarine 6.5
Air date: 1969-11-16
Overview: Upon his release, a prisoner plans to fund neo-Nazis with stolen money. So a submarine voyage is simulated in order to transport him to his contact.
Mastermind 6.0
Air date: 1969-11-23
Overview: As Barney Collier attempts to break into a safe that contains an incriminating file, Paris convinces a mob figure that he can read the mind of his double-crossing boss.
Robot 6.5
Air date: 1969-11-30
Overview: A country is unaware that its premier is dead and that a double is about to appoint a successor. So Barney Collier concocts a mechanical man to take his place.
The Double Circle 6.5
Air date: 1969-12-07
Overview: An art lover is made to believe he can own a priceless work of art, but it is really a plot to retrieve a valuable formula from his impenetrable safe.
The Brothers 6.5
Air date: 1969-12-14
Overview: A Middle Eastern king needs to be restored to the throne. So a medical operation is replicated where he will seemingly donate his kidney to his murderous brother.
Time Bomb 6.0
Air date: 1969-12-21
Overview: The IMF team has to try and gain access to a nuclear reactor complex, where a terminally ill officer plans to detonate an atomic bomb.
The Amnesiac 6.0
Air date: 1969-12-28
Overview: Jim Phelps poses as an amnesia victim in order to retrieve a stolen isotope, one that could make nuclear weapons affordable to any country.
The Falcon (1) 6.0
Air date: 1970-01-04
Overview: Paris masquerades as Zastro, a magician who has come to entertain during an arranged wedding between the king's sister and a ruthless usurper.
The Falcon (2) 6.5
Air date: 1970-01-11
Overview: With the king's sister rescued during the wedding, the team now turns its attention to the true heir, who's locked up in prison.
The Falcon (3) 5.0
Air date: 1970-01-18
Overview: Just as Jim Phelps and the others unwittingly become caught up in a royal power struggle, a bomb goes off, seriously injuring Paris and revealing his disguise.
Chico 6.5
Air date: 1970-01-25
Overview: Two halves of a microfilm add up to one dangerous list for the agents it will incriminate. But Barney plans to use a trained dog to retrieve it.
Gitano (aka Toys) 6.5
Air date: 1970-02-01
Overview: A 12-year-old king whose life is in danger is rescued by gypsies - Paris and Willie in disguise - and forced to dress up like a girl to fool his assassins.
Phantoms 6.5
Air date: 1970-02-08
Overview: A murderous dictator's belief in ghosts is used against him when Barney fashions a clever system that projects spirits of his dead victims before his eyes.
Terror 6.5
Air date: 1970-02-15
Overview: Jim and his team must infiltrate a prison in order to block the release of a ruthless Middle Eastern terrorist about to be pardoned.
Lover's Knot 6.5
Air date: 1970-02-22
Overview: While in London to break a spy ring, Paris develops feelings for the beautiful Lady Weston after he is cast as a jealous lover in a romantic triangle.
Orpheus 6.5
Air date: 1970-03-01
Overview: An unknown assassin must be stopped, so Barney infiltrates the foreign agency that employs him while Jim poses as a drug addict with information to sell.
The Crane 6.5
Air date: 1970-03-08
Overview: Jim and his team rescue a prisoner and place him in a spot his captors will never think to look - a conspicuous location right under their noses.
Death Squad 7.0
Air date: 1970-03-15
Overview: Barney kills a man in self-defense and is marked for execution by the victim's brother, a chief of police who heads a death squad.
The Choice 6.5
Air date: 1970-03-22
Overview: A duchess is under the powerful spell of a mystic, who notices his uncanny resemblance to Paris and plans to use him in a plot to ascend to the throne.
The Martyr 7.0
Air date: 1970-03-29
Overview: As a duplicitous dictator courts the young people of his country, Paris poses as the son of his predecessor, a martyred youth leader.
