Mission: Impossible (often referred to as Mission: Impossible: The Original Series) is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). For most of the show's run, Peter Graves played Jim Phelps, the IMF leader.

The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973. It returned to television, as a revival, for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990 and later inspired a popular trio of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise in the 1990s and 2000s.

The theme music, composed by Lalo Schifrin, is widely considered to be one of the most iconic television themes.

Series overview

The series, which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller, follows the missions of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), a team of secret agents employed by the United States government. The team is sent on covert missions to combat dictators, evil organizations, and (primarily in later episodes) crime lords. On occasion, the IMF is also shown conducting unsanctioned, private missions on behalf of its members. The exact branch of the government overseeing the IMF is never identified, and in the 1980s revival it was suggested the IMF is an independent agency (as the FBI is legally bound to operate only within the U.S.A. and the CIA is likewise bound to only conduct its business outside the U.S.A.) until the first film which was made at the Langley, VA headquarters of the CIA. The IMF Director answered to "the Secretary," who the mission voice said "would disavow any knowledge of your actions" in the event "you or any of your IM Force" were to get "caught or killed," but exactly which secretary was never indicated.

IMF leaders

The leader of the IMF, presumably with the official title of Director, was initially Dan Briggs (played by Steven Hill); he was replaced (for reasons never explained on the show) after the first season by Jim Phelps (Peter Graves), who remained as the leader for the remainder of the original series and again in the 1988-90 revival.

Hill, an Orthodox Jew, had to leave on Fridays at 4:00 to be home before sundown. He was not available until sundown the next day. Although his contract allowed for taping interruption due to religious observances, the clause proved difficult to work around due to the taping schedule. By the end of the first year, both parties agreed to release him from his contract. He was replaced by Peter Graves at the beginning of the second season.

Briggs and Phelps were the only "full-time" members of the IMF, and they were charged with forming mission teams made up of "part-time" agents who came from a variety of professions and walks of life. Briggs/Phelps chose his operatives based upon whether they had a particular skill to contribute to the mission. There was a core group of three or four agents who were regularly chosen, but the episodes do not always feature the same regulars, and many episodes feature one-time "guest star" agents who are assigned based upon a unique skill.