Mission Impossible: The Complete Series review by Bobby Blakey
Before Tom Cruise brought his mega franchise Mission Impossible to the big screen in 1996 the property was a TV series that ran for 7 seasons from 1966-1973. The series starred Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Steven Hill, Peter Lupus, Greg Morris, Barbara Bain, Leonard Nimoy, Lesley Ann Warren, Barbara Anderson, Lynda Day George and Sam Elliott. Now Paramount and CBS are bringing the complete series home on Blu-ray for the first time ever.
Mission Impossible follows the Impossible Missions Forces (IMF) is a government agency of extraordinary spies assigned to do the most dangerous espionage missions. Each episode starts with the famous tape-recorded message detailing the upcoming, exciting mission, from overthrowing corrupt leaders to exploiting dangerous crime lords. The IMF crew consists of the leader, first Daniel Briggs then later Jim Phelps, and spies with different areas of expertise, from disguise experts to electronics technician.
This series was before my time, but I remember catching reruns with my
dad when I was a kid and really being enthralled with their missions. Most notably would be the various disguises and how the intricate ways they played out. Over the years I got away from watching the show and it wasn’t until the big screen film adaptation kicked off this massive franchise did I get interested all over again. Since then I watched episodes here and there, but never had the chance to dive fully in until now with this great new set.
After making my way through the series with older eyes, nostalgia and the backing of the film franchise I found a new appreciation for it all over again. This time it wasn’t just the cool stuff, but the detail in which each episode is crafted to form almost mini-movies. Sure not every episode worked and there are some dated things here, but I really did enjoy it. I always love these older shows getting to see young actors before their prime as well as iconic ones doing their thing.
Throughout its run it has many changes in cast and overall style at times, but I still had a blast. I prefer the earlier seasons of the series, but still enjoyed them all. This collection features all 7 seasons on 46 discs and looks great. If you choose to take on this mission then grab your copy of the Mission: Impossible The Original TV Series when it hits Blu-ray on December 1st from Paramount and CBS Home Entertainment.
