MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

       The Impossible Mission Force is a secret agency of American Intelligence.
       The basis behind the organization was that there were many assignments deemed so impossible which still needed to be attempted but since their likelihood of success was so small, the 'official' intelligence departments of the government were loathe to attempt them. If a band of unofficial agents, not connected to any branch of the government, were to try and fail, deniability would be available.
       Exactly to whom the members of this elite squad answered was never stated. The terms of each mission laid out in the taped briefings, clearly indicated that the 'Secretary' would disavow any caught or killed agent. This would leave out the CIA or NSA or FBI since they were run by Directors. Both the State Department and the Department of Defense are viable possibilities, especially since most of the missions were against enemies of a foreign nature. However, many of the later operations were against domestic enemies, particularly the 'Syndicate'.
       The procedure behind each mission was basically the same. The team leader would be directed somehow to a never-repeated location where the assignment would be given. A taped message which would self-destruct shortly after play concluded was accompanied by whatever documentation was needed, usually a small group of photographs. It was up to the team leader to devise a plan to accomplish the goal. Who his team members would be was up to him, chosen from a group of volunteers who were all highly skilled in one field or another. The leader would choose the team members, brief them on their assignments, and then go into action.
       While the team leader had a decent number of candidates from which to choose, and would on occasion use a new one, it became obvious that he had a trusted set that he went to over and over. Each of these people must have been very successful in their own right or highly compensated by the IMF team because they were pulled away for a dangerous mission at a moment's notice many times each year.

       The first twenty-plus documented missions were lead by Dan Briggs, a fairly plain looking, non-descript man who nevertheless possessed an incredible mind for planning incredible schemes and for being able to shift to equally ingenius plan-b's when things went wrong. Briggs was generally calm under any circumstance but on occasion he was not adverse to letting his feelings show, if only momentarily.
       As the series progressed, Briggs stopped leading the team and was no longer part of the action. It was never stated what the reason was and there was no indication that he had been disavowed in any way. He simply stopped running the team.
       He was replaced by a silver-haired man of equally impressive planning capability, the handsome and sophisticated Jim Phelps. Phelps' good looks and charm allowed him to mold himself effortlessly into any role. He could be a movie producer scouting a new location or an investment banker on the trail of a good buy. He could charm the ladies and back-slap the men with equal aplomb all the while keeping an eye on everything happening around him and listening via earplug to his teammates.
       Every good undercover team needs a gorgeous, seductive femme fatale to lure men to their doom, smooth-talk secrets from the shyest stranger, and on more than one occasion slip a mickey into a glass. For almost half of the documented adventures, that part was filled by the former model, Cinnamon Carter. She had a sultry look that could memorize the coldest dictator and a set of lips that begged to be kissed but which would only allow it if she got her way. As alluring as she definitely was, she showed on many occasions that she was as strong willed as any of her male colleagues and, when captured a time or two, she held up under very unpleasant circumstances. Upon her departure from the team, she was replaced with the raven-haired beauty known only as Tracey who worked a score of missions. After her there was golden-locked Lisa Casey and the ultra-sophisticated Mimi Davis.
       A good disguise is invaluable in an undercover case. The IMF team went far beyond the normal use of fake mustaches and wigs, however. Using the skills of true geniuses in the arts, they were able to create facial masks which were virtually undetectable unless extremely close-up. Added to that the skill to learn to mimic a person's voice and physical patterns and the team had someone who could not only sneak into the enemy camp, they could replace a key member with a look-alike to destroy from within. The quick-change artist known as the 'Man of a Million Faces', Rollin Hand, was the inside disguise man for many of the earlier missions. When he left the team, he was replaced the 'The Great Paris', a magician whose real name was never disclosed.
       Technology, always advancing at a fantastic pace, was constantly an intrical part of any of the plans. It was vital to easedrop or display a holographic image or turn the lights or heat on or off on cue from a distance. Smoke and mirrors were never enough; magnets and acoustics and light shows and much, much more were required. Handling all of that while squeezing through incredibly tight ventilation shafts and crawl spaces and drilling inside walls and so on was Barney Collier. Collier was not only a certifiable genius for the devices he understood and created, he was also an expert at forgery and could create documents good enough to fool virtually anyone.
       Finally, all the equipment that was used often weighed a ton and that meant someone strong had to be there to cart it into place and, when a suspect or a corpse needed hefting, it was the strongman's job to do it. Willy Armitage was that muscle for virtually every mission that Briggs and Phelps led. Generally a man of few, if any words, Armitage was a great man to have at your back with brawn was needed, whether it was lifting a great weight or punching a nose. It also fell to Armitage to help procure the many things needed for the job, not an easy task to do in foreign countries with little notice or support.

       The IMF team fought dictators, would-be world dominators, mad scientists, assassins, hitmen, gangland leaders, and the occasional dirty politician or law enforcement official. They did so without fanfare or recognition. They had to because they did not exist and could and would be disavowed in an instant.


       For many years, Jim Phelps was the leader of the IMF team which put down an incredible number of tyrants, mad scientists, underworld crime bosses, corrupt politicians and the odd assortment of crackpots and despots. Each time he received another mission, deemed impossible by the powers that be and strife with the likelihood of failure and disavowment for the actions, he came up with a plan and the right team to pull it off. As all plans go, they often needed adjustment when in the belly of the enemy and he was able to concoct a coherent viable Plan B.
       As all things must end, so did the time for the incredible group of operatives and their leader and retirement ended their escapades. Phelps handed to a successor the satchel filled with volunteers from which he chose the members for each mission. Who that new man was was never divulged as the saga of the IMF team found its finish. Almost a decade and a half would pass.
       The representative from the Secretary showed up on Phelps' doorstep with word that his replacement had, after many years of service, perished on a mission. There was no one ready or able to take his place. The IMF project would be put in mothballs unless Phelps came back and took control, at least as long as it took to train a new guy. Reluctantly the now aged silver-haired spymaster took command again, his first mission being to track down the one who killed the former leader.

       In the new IMF team the jobs to be performed remained much as they did in the first group.
       Nicholas Black was the master of disguise, able to create molded face masks so lifelike as to be almost undetectable. Adding in an incredible gift for mimicry and voice impersonation, he was able to be just about anyone he needed to be.
       The electronics and gadgetry that the IMF needed to use had increased tremendously over the years and keeping up with all that high-tech wizardry was Grant Collier, son of the original gadget-guy, Barney Collier. The younger man was not only great with doo-dads and behind the scene schenanigans but he also was quite a good actor so his role was heightened.
       The strong man needed to cart huge containers of whatever was needed was filled by Max Harte who added to his skill set with the fact that he was a very good pilot, useful for getting into and out of danger.
       Lastly, the femme fatale, so vital in virtually every mission to charm, distract, bedazzle, and bewilder, was handled by two different women. First was Casey Randall who handled her job remarkably until tragedy struck and she was killed, becoming the first member of a Phelps team to be disavowed. Her position was taken up by the equally capable and beautiful and intelligent Shannon Reed.

       The recorded number of the missions of this new team was considerably fewer than Phelps' first go-around but the world had changed quite a bit since he released the reins and Phelps found that he and his people had to think faster than before and be prepared to have everything change at a moment's notice. They were ready for it.

       I doubt you could find anyone who has read any spy series who has not seen, or didn't know quite well, the Impossible Mission Force. It lasted longer on television than any other spy series and provided several icons to American culture: theme music, self-destructing tape, disavowal, and doing the impossible.
       It was terrific. I loved it! As a teenager I followed the adventures week after week and though even I at time marvelled at how dumb the bad guys could be at times, it never was onerous enough to keep me from enjoying the show and coming back next week.
       Though you never got to know the background on any of the characters to speak of, you got their basic essences right away. Briggs and Phelps would come up with some Plan B at a moment's notice if needed. Collier could fix any device with chewing gum and spit (this was before the wonders of duct tape became as known as they are now). Woe to any bad guy, no matter what size they were, who tried to get past Armitage when he was set as a blocker. Do not look deeply into Cinnamon's eyes (or Tracey or Casey) lest you lose your will power. And do not trust anyone because no matter how well or how long you know them, they could turn out to be Rollin Hand or the Great Paris in disguise.
       The series was made first and foremost for television and it worked best there. The books are enjoyable add-ons to the television show. By themselves, they would not have made it but since they were never intended to stand on their own, they work reasonably fine. The same could be said for the comic books. Neither medium allowed for anything other than the standard but since the tv show limited itself to that, no harm done.

       I was a huge, gigantic, unabashed fan of the original series. Many of the last few years' missions were missed by me while serving in the military but my memory of the show and my appreciation for it never sagged. For that reason, I was ecstatic when I learned that the IMF team was again working behind the scenes to keep us safe. And the fact that it was being led again by Jim Phelps, played so fantastically by Peter Graves, made me even more excited.
       The show tried its best and did entertain me but it did not do well enough to survive more than two years. It was considered by many to be a failure. I disagree. First, the climate in the television industry had changed to an only-the-top-survives attitude. In the race to be the best, shows that were only good were thrown out in the hopes that maybe, just maybe the next one coming along would be the One. For the show to have made it not only through a first season but also a second was impressive.
       Add to that the fact that the schedulers of the series moved it from Sunday night where the older generation who knew the original would see it to Saturday when nobody watched much. They did this half way through the first season so many fans lost track of where (or more accurately, when) it was. Then in the beginning of the second season, it was moved to Thursday but put it up against the blockbuster The Cosby Show, almost a death blow. When ratings dived even further, they moved it back to Saturday nights. Bouncing time slots can kill any show.
       But even a rabid fan such as myself had to admit that the revival did not have the same spark that the original did. It was good. Just not good enough.

My Grade: B+

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