Mission: Impossible - The Second TV Season

At last, the much anticipated second season of Mission Impossible. This is where Peter Graves takes over from Stephen Hill as Jim Phelps. Although Mr. Hill did a fine job, I would venture to say that most of us who remember the series place Mr. Graves as the head of the MI force. For those of you who think of MI based on the Tom Cruise movies, this is entirely different (and much, much better). The television series is NOT comprised of a bunch of "flash/bang" scenes slapped together in a two-hour film clip designed to make a buck. The TV series was an intelligent attempt (which succeeded for the most part) in portraying a highly specialized and trained group of individuals working for a top secret government department who got missions which were otherwise; well, impossible. They would accomplish this through a meticulous and clever plan, which in most instances involved conning the enemy involved. There were few car chases or gun battles in these episodes (unless the MI force planned them in advance), yet each installment was captivating as we would watch the plot unwind and the bad guy get his just dues. Yes, we know that by the end of the hour the IM force is going to be successful in its mission each time - but what is so fascinating is how they do it (we are privy to only part of the plan each time at the beginning of the show). The plots often have more twists than a pretzel and are believable (with a couple of exceptions). Very few of the installments were "losers", which made the TV series well above average overall. The program lasted for seven seasons and outlasted all of the other "spy programs" (such as `The Man from U.N.C.L.E', `I Spy', `Get Smart', etc) during the 1960's spy program craze. If you haven't yet seen the original television program, do yourself a great favor and try one of the two sets soon available (Season One is available right now). Sit back in your favorite chair with your friends or family and prepare to be delighted. I'll bet you'll find the episodes are like Lays Potato Chips - can't watch just one. Highly Recommended ~P~ Episodes from Season Two include: Season 2, Episode 1: The Widow Original Air Date: 10 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 2: Trek Original Air Date: 17 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 3: The Survivors Original Air Date: 24 September 1967 Season 2, Episode 4: The Bank Original Air Date: 1 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 5: The Slave: Part 1 Original Air Date: 8 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 6: The Slave: Part 2 Original Air Date: 15 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 7: Operation 'Heart' Original Air Date: 22 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 8: The Money Machine Original Air Date: 29 October 1967 Season 2, Episode 9: The Seal Original Air Date: 5 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 10: Charity Original Air Date: 12 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 11: The Council: Part 1 Original Air Date: 19 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 12: The Council: Part 2 Original Air Date: 26 November 1967 Season 2, Episode 13: The Astrologer Original Air Date: 3 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 14: Echo of Yesterday Original Air Date: 10 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 15: The Photographer Original Air Date: 17 December 1967 Season 2, Episode 16: The Spy Original Air Date: 7 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 17: A Game of Chess Original Air Date: 14 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 18: The Emerald Original Air Date: 21 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 19: The Condemned Original Air Date: 28 January 1968 Season 2, Episode 20: The Counterfeiter Original Air Date: 4 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 21: The Town Original Air Date: 18 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 22: The Killing Original Air Date: 28 February 1968 Season 2, Episode 23: The Phoenix Original Air Date: 3 March 1968 Season 2, Episode 24: Trial by Fury Original Air Date: 10 March 1968 Season 2, Episode 25: Recovery Original Air Date: 17 March 1968

With its second season (1967-68) Bruce Geller's "Mission: Impossible" hit its stride. This was the season in which ace writers William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter took the series' reins in hand and never let go (until, sadly, about eight episodes into the third season). With Woodfield and Balter creating scripts and editing all others, the classic "M:I" format was set: The Big Con, rigged by the "Impossible Missions Force," in which the heaviest of heavies ended up undermining or eliminating one another. This is also the season in which Peter Graves first (and seamlessly) took over as team leader Jim Phelps, Martin Landau committed himself to the series as the indispensable cast member he was, and all five regulars--Graves, Landau (as Rollin Hand), Barbara Bain (Cinammon Carter), Greg Morris (Barney Collier), and Peter Lupus (Willy Armitidge)--came together in every episode as an inseparable team. This season also gave us some of the series' finest and most memorable episodes: "The Seal" (a "Topkapi" caper starring a trained tabby), "The Council" (a stellar two-parter, recut and released in Europe as a feature, "Mission: Impossible vs. The Mob"), "The Photographer" (the IMF stages, for a traitorous audience of two, the end of the world by nuclear destruction), and "The Killing" (a ghost story done up in splendid "Mission" style). Emmy Nominations and Awards abounded. Two final notes: First, this is television that has to be watched and paid attention to. It is utterly entertaining and engrossing, but treats viewers as intelligent beings who can follow intricate plotting that is highly visual, with minimal exposition. Second: Forget the recent, self-indulgent Tom Cruise spectacles and return to the original. This, and this alone, is "Mission: Impossible" as Bruce Geller created it. And it's a doozy.

Wonderful Old TV show

"Mission Impossible" represents intelligent TV. If this is the first time that you are watching these episodes, maybe you may become a little bored because you can't quite follow what they are doing to achieve their goal. Don't let this discourage you. What made "Mission Impossible" such a great show is when you watch that particular episode again. When "Mission Impossible" started to be shown in syndication later in the seventies, it was great to see an episode that you already saw and know of it's successful conclusion. These are the kinds of shows that you will enjoy watching over and over. If you've already watched all of Season One of "Mission Impossible", wait a few months and start watching them again. Start of with the episode that you enjoyed the most. You'll see what I mean about watching it with a new perspective. Watching it and knowing how it will end. This show was just one of the best shows on television. Anyway....about the quality of this DVD release. The picture quality is excellent for it's time and it's even mastered in 5.1 audio. The opening theme never sounded so good. Has anyone noticed that Mission Impossible, and various other TV shows from the 1960's look and sound better than the TV shows put on DVD from the late seventies and the eighties? I have a theory. I think sometime during the seventies, someone created a low cost film that Hollywood decided to use to save money. The quality of the picture may have looked about the same, but perhaps that particular film quality has a much shorter shelf life and the quality of the finished film starts to deteriorate within just a few years. Check it out for yourself. If you collect television series DVD's, compare the picture qualities of your favorite sixties shows with your favorite shows of the eighties. For instance, "Mission Impossible", "I Dream of Jeannie", and "Star Trek" all look a lot better of DVD than "WKRP in Cincinnati", "Welcome Back, Kotter", and even "Married with Children". Even some of the later seasons of M*A*S*H got a little fuzzier then the first few seasons. You know, I could be wrong. It's just a theory. But check it out for yourself. I see a pattern of diminishing video quality as shows drift from the sixties up to and through the eighties. Does anyone else see this? Can anyone out there say that I'm right?

Expose the real things hidden in government spy networks.

I really like this series. It has action and a good set of characters. It is better than the first season, as Peter Graves enters the picture, as well as Landau being a permanent player. You can tell it is from the 70's but it is entertaining without the gore and violence seen so much today. I was glad to get the subtitles beginning this season, as Season 1 did not contain them.

Great series and now can watch it anytime.

As a young boy growing up during the Cold War era- when air raid drills were routine -I couldn't wait to get home to watch this program. The fear of Soviet spies or a nuclear holocaust were very real and added to the intensity of this show, especially episodes like "The Photographer" where the IM force creates a haunting panorama of a destroyed landscape to, once again, psychologically fool their adversary. Granted, by today's film standards some of these visual effects are mediocre or even poor, but again, the story lines and actors did a great job within the limits of technology and their budgets. Even the now famous "Mission Impossible Theme" is so catching and perfect. However, I found it very interesting that this show, which often targeted the Soviets, slightly plagiarized that haunting melody from the Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Listen to the first movement of his Seventh Symphony and you'll here that deep pulsating bass line. Interesting. However, this season has many episodes that I remember from my distant childhood and they did not disappoint. Therefore, despite the dated FX or extremely slow pace in some episodes, since they had to fill up an hour program, Mission Impossible was well written and was a template for many movies in the future...not to mention a school for many directors and actors. Highly recommended.

Absolutely fantastic maybe my most favourite series out of everything I've ever watched thankyou

There are 7 discs containing 25 episodes altogether. Each story is a thriller yet full of drama. Although some stories are related to the Cold War era, they are still entertaining & enjoyable. The product arrived in good shape, and the audio-visual quality is outstanding. I recommend this to every Mission Impossible fan, and it may spur me to buy additional ones to complete my collection.

La calidad del audio y video es muy buena. Se puede ver que los actores están sudando cuando están filmando en el estudio debido a las luces tan intensas que se requierían en esa época. Muy satisfecho con la compra.

IT'S ALL GOOD

Temporada completa con el doblaje español latino original de la serie, además los discos están serigrafiados.