--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, AgentBP11@a... wrote:
> I wish I could watch it regularly. All I have are the columbia house tapes to
> watch the show! I can't wait for the series to come to dvd! (I hope!)
>
> Bart (back to lurking mode..)

I'll publish each week the 5 episodes the channel run.
***This tape will self-dfestruct in ten seconds***

Th.

I wish I could watch it regularly. All I have are the columbia house tapes to
watch the show! I can't wait for the series to come to dvd! (I hope!)

Bart (back to lurking mode..)

Find here links about the IMF:
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~gnudawn/mission/links.html
***This tape will self-dfestruct in ten seconds***

Th.

Attention, attention:

To all IMF fans,

Amazon.com sells 19 used copies of
"The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier"
by Patrick J. White.
***Please dispose of this recording as usual***

Thomas

> > I have the chance to watch the show on a regular basis,
> > meaning 5 eps a week on my cable TV and I'm in the middle
> > of season 5.

Next stop: Thursday (December 11, 2003) at 23:25.
with "The Catafalque", starring John Vernon,
another best IMF guest actor.

***This tape will self-dfestruct in ten seconds***
Th.

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki" <filigrane@h...>
wrote:
> I have the chance to watch the show on a regular basis,
> meaning 5 eps a week on my cable TV and I'm in the middle
> of season 5. Tonight at 22:25, I will watch "The Field".
> I will write a brief comment about it.

Now back to "The Field".
Among my favourite one from that season.
It's the companion piece to "The Missile".
The plot is about the destruction of an Eastern Europe
nuclear missiles-laden satellite by penetrating a plant
located in the middle of a mine field on an island.
The subplot deals with an American physicist (actor Denny Miller)
who works for the Eastern block and kills his girlfriend who know
too much and who is a sent agent to keep an eye on his activity.
Manipulation's notes:
Jim uses an anesthesic ring on the American defector and then
Doug injects a drug on him to simulate the symptoms of a heart attack
(cold sweat, pain in the arm) to make him talk and confess the details
of his murder.
Later on, Inspector Koder (Milton Selzer), who can identify the real
American scientist and unmasks Paris' cover, is pushed by
Phelps (disguised as a military) in the stairs and then is given a jab by
Doug's ring to sleep.
The guest cast is fabulous: Barry Atwater, H. M. Wynant, Milton Selzer.
Music supervisor Kenyon Hopkins--formerly a composer--recycle
Lalo Schifrin's "The Killer", "Takeover", Richard Markowitz's "The Bunkers",
among other things.


> ***This tape will self-dfestruct in ten seconds***
>
> Th.

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "Charles Novins"
<taxslave@f...> wrote:
> I wanted to add:  There was also I SPY and THE AVENGERS, both of
> which had the "light side" always present in their themes.  But if
> you wanted your "spy" dramas undiluted with humour, MI was really the
> best, with perhaps SECRET AGENT a close second.  But overall, there
> was no "close second" to MI.

Danger Man was soaked with McGoohan's harsh irony.
It was a one-man show, serious but not as minimalistic and tense as
MISSION.
***This filmstrip will self-destruct when you stop the machine***

Th.

I have the chance to watch the show on a regular basis,
meaning 5 eps a week on my cable TV and I'm in the middle
of season 5. Tonight at 22:25, I will watch "The Field".
I will write a brief comment about it.
***This tape will self-dfestruct in ten seconds***

Th.

I wanted to add:  There was also I SPY and THE AVENGERS, both of
which had the "light side" always present in their themes.  But if
you wanted your "spy" dramas undiluted with humour, MI was really the
best, with perhaps SECRET AGENT a close second.  But overall, there
was no "close second" to MI.

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "Charles Novins"
<taxslave@f...> wrote:
> --- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
> <filigrane@h...> wrote:
> > My theory about "Mission: Impossible" is that this is the last part
> > of a three parts' jigsaw puzzle.
> > Here's the line:
> > 1. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
> > 2. "The Wild Wild West"
> > 3. "Mission: Impossible"
> > This is, in fact, the same show, but with a different mold.
> > ***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***
>
> CHARLES NOVINS:
> I wouldn't agree.
>
> The first two were humor-based in a very real sense.  They were
> essentially spoofs of James Bond, which was itself a spoof.
>
> MI was instead deadly serious and unflinchingly original.  There was
> nothing like MI before it, and in its wake lies a complete genre of
> films and video derived therefrom (apart from series #2 and the
> films).  See, for example, any number of hi-tech heist films such as
> THE ITALIAN JOB, OCEANS ELEVEN (the remakes, of course), THE
SCORE,
> and many more.  Moreover, there is a genre of "con" films that also
> owe IM a debt.  The grandaddy is HOUSE OF GAMES and the latest,
> greatest incarnation is MATCHSTICK MEN.
>
> There is a direct line, if you are looking for such things, from
> SECRET AGENT to THE PRISONER, both with Pat McGoohan.  But the only
> connection of MI to any of them is that the topic was spies.


I think the trio is connected by the art of disguises and by the fact that
the same craftsmen work on them.
Speaking about the art of disguises, it is the modern-day version of the
doppelganger workhorse in the precise case of the IMF.
But you're right about the detail of the tone that differentiate the first two
from the IMF.
In a way and in my way, Leslie Stevens (creator of "The Outer Limits") and
Bruce Geller are connected by the use of technology and far out concepts
of entertainment.
The feature film "The Sting" blatantly steals from the IMF concept of fooling.
***This tape will automatically destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

To all fans,

Amazon.com sells 19 used copies of "The Complete Mission: Impossible
Dossier" by Patrick J. White.
***Please dispose of this recording as usual***

Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
<filigrane@h...> wrote:
> I used to watch the new series but it looked pretty dull and so
uninspired and besides a lot of scripts were remakes of the original
episodes.

CHARLES NOVINS:
This may have been its saving grace, actually.  Even the original
show began to sputter after seven years

THOMAS RUCKI:
But it is a pity that Tom Cruise turned the Mission concept into his
own ego game and advantage. He even disregarded the original one.

CHARLES NOVINS:
Worse, he disrespected it.  The first film's handling of Phelps was
both inappropriate and foolish, on every level, including
dramatically.

THOMAS RUCKI:
> If you don't know the real show, the movies are okay, otherwise,
it's a blasphemy.

CHARLES NOVINS:
I agree with this.  I enjoy film #1 as a thriller, especially the
train-helicopter bit.  But it has precious little to do with IMF
proper.  I think film #2 is less worthy overall, for any purpose.  It
is written by the Star Trek team and looks and feels like a weak
episode from the franchise.

Bruce Geller's second show was "Mannix" whose first season (1967-1968)
kept the IMF elitist concept via Intertect, a technological-oriented agency
lead by his mysterious head, named Lew Wickersham (Joseph Campanella).
***Please dispose of this recording in the usual manner***

Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
<filigrane@h...> wrote:
> My theory about "Mission: Impossible" is that this is the last part
> of a three parts' jigsaw puzzle.
> Here's the line:
> 1. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
> 2. "The Wild Wild West"
> 3. "Mission: Impossible"
> This is, in fact, the same show, but with a different mold.
> ***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

CHARLES NOVINS:
I wouldn't agree.

The first two were humor-based in a very real sense.  They were
essentially spoofs of James Bond, which was itself a spoof.

MI was instead deadly serious and unflinchingly original.  There was
nothing like MI before it, and in its wake lies a complete genre of
films and video derived therefrom (apart from series #2 and the
films).  See, for example, any number of hi-tech heist films such as
THE ITALIAN JOB, OCEANS ELEVEN (the remakes, of course), THE SCORE,
and many more.  Moreover, there is a genre of "con" films that also
owe IM a debt.  The grandaddy is HOUSE OF GAMES and the latest,
greatest incarnation is MATCHSTICK MEN.

There is a direct line, if you are looking for such things, from
SECRET AGENT to THE PRISONER, both with Pat McGoohan.  But the only
connection of MI to any of them is that the topic was spies.

All episodes start with the usual tape scene and the recorded voice
except a small number of them:
From season 1, Dan Briggs is forced to kidnap a key witness by a mobster
in "The Ransom".
Season 2 had two odd ones, first "The Condemned", a friend of Jim Phelps is=

sentenced to death for an uncommitted murder. The best one is "The Town"
in which Jim Phelps is on holiday, stops by a small town's gas station and =

witness an assassination scheme by communist infiltrators and he's
reduced to silence via a drug.
Season 3 contained only one personal episode, "The Exchange" where
Cinnamon Carter is caught, mentally tortured by East Germany officials--the=
y
played with her sole psychological weakness, claustrophobia.
Season 4 had two others without rituals episodes: "Lover's Knot" where Pari=
s
falls in love with an enemy agent and "Death Squad" in which Barney kills
his fiancé' agressor who is the brother of the local police chief.
From season 5, producer Bruce Lansbury renewed the series and tried to
humanize the characters and launched seven odd episodes:
"Homecoming" (Jim comes back to his home town when a local serial killer
acts), "The Rebel" (Jim is wounded in the course of a South America's
assignement and must achieve his purpose), "My Friend, My Enemy"
(Paris is abducted, brainwashed and trained to kill Jim Phelps by Soviet
agents), "The Innocent" (Barney is contaminated by a plague during
a mission in the Middle East), "The Amateur" (Dana Lambert poses as a
waitress in a nightclub and serves as a informer to obtain a secret weapon)=
,
"Cat's Paw" (the brother of Barney is assassinated and Barney wants his
revenge), "The Hostage"  (after an assignement, Paris is kidnapped by a
revolutionary front against a human ransom).
Season 6 contained no departure from the series format.
Last but not the least, season 7 had one played and directed by Peter Grave=
s
titled "Kidnap" in which Jim Phelps is locked up in a basement by ex-mobste=
r
enemies.
***This tape will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

"Mission: Impossible" had a total of seven producers.
According to creator Bruce Geller, the best years were Joseph Gantman's
years (season 1 & 2). Why it is supposed to be the best ones because the
budget was seemingly unlimited, Geller supervised all the scripts, directors
had the freedom to reshoot.
For most fans, actor Martin Landau's regime (seasons 1-3) was the peak
of the show.
When Paramount swallowed Desilu, it lead to the chaotic season 3,
meaning three different producers:
first six episodes with the winning couple of writers William Read
Woodfield/Allan Balter, then two episodes with writer Robert H. Thompson
and finally Stanley Kallis who did the biggest amount of episodes (15).
At the end of season 3, the fabulous couple Landau/Bain left the boat.
Season 4 carried on with Kallis but Paramount decided to send one of their
man in mid-season to renew the formula and to keep the budget down:
entered Bruce Lansbury, who rescued another weird espionage show,
"The Wild Wild West". At the end of this transitory season,  creator Geller
was out but you'll find his onscreen credits as executive producer
until season 7.
In the course of season 5 and despite Bruce Lansbury, writer Laurence Heath
produced six episodes. Same thing went to season 6.
Last but not the least, associate producer/director Barry Crane became the
last producer and even during his new regime, writer Heath gave us a single
episode on his own.
"Good Morning, Miss Carter. This is Miklos Klaar, the head of Cinefot Studios,
one of the largest behind the Iron Curtain..."
--Culled from "Action!" (season 1); the only non-Briggs tape scene.

Thomas

My theory about "Mission: Impossible" is that this is the last part
of a three parts' jigsaw puzzle.
Here's the line:
1. "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
2. "The Wild Wild West"
3. "Mission: Impossible"
This is, in fact, the same show, but with a different mold.
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Th.

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki" <filigrane@h...>
wrote:
> Here is the usual ritual, what is your top ten episodes?
> And then try, your top ten per season?
> I'm looking for a first answer to react and post mine.

I repeat: need a first list, please?
And explain your choice, briefly.
The Secretary thanks you.

> ***This tape will self-destruct in five seconds***
>
> Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki" <filigrane@h...>
wrote:
> Saison 1
> 1. Don Ellis (1): "A Cube of Sugar"
> 2. Gerald Fried (1): "Odds on Evil"
> 3. Walter Scharf (2): "Old Man Out Part I & II", "The Ransom"
> 4. Lalo Schifrin (9): "Mission: Impossible", "Memory", "Operation Rogosh", "A
> Spool There was", "Fakeout", "Elena", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "The Carriers",
> "The Short Tail Spy"
> 5. Jack Urbont (1): "Wheels"
>
> Notes: Lalo Schifrin's IMF pilot reminds snippets from previous scores:
> "Dark Intruder" (1965), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." [a season 1 episode
> titled: "The Fiddlesticks Affair", 1965],  and "Jericho" (1966).
> "Operation Rogosh" is a tense martial composition and the finest of all
season
> 1 scores by Schifrin that will be recycled until the 1970's seasons.
> Gerald Fried gives us a Greek score inspired by Jules Dassin's "Topkapi".
> Notice that both Fried and Scharf worked for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.".
> Walter Scharf also did one score for "The Wild Wild West": the Spanish-like
> season 3 "The Night of the Assassin".
> The world of the espionage series is so small!
> Notice again, the presence of an authentic jazz trumpetist: Don  Ellis
> who will compose one of the best 1970's thriller: "The French Connection".
> For the anecdote, one season 5 episode integrates a Marseille
> gangster family plot: "Squeeze Play".
> Wilbur Hatch is the first music supervisor of the series; he also works
> on "Star Trek".


This list is based on Patrick J. White's Companion book.
According to Jon Burlingame, author of "TV's Biggest Hits":
"In all, Schifrin scored a total of twelve episodes, including
three in the first season and one or two for most succeeding years. (...)"
***Please destroy this recording by the usual method***

Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "Charles Novins"
<taxslave@f...> wrote:
> --- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
> <filigrane@h...> wrote:
> > Apart from the original 1966 series, what do you think of
> > the new series and the movie versions?
>
> CHARLES NOVINS:
> About the movies, the less said, the better.  The second series was
> creditable, but certainly never up to the qualty of the original.  By
> contrast, New OL is hardly worth a look.

Thomas RUCKI:
I used to watch the new series but it looked pretty dull and so uninspired
and besides a lot of scripts were remakes of the original episodes.
The cast was terrible and un-expressive. The new IMF lacked of class
and innovation; the music was really poor and it had that video style
that I didn't like.
Concerning the movies, I watched them all. But it is a pity that
Tom Cruise turned the Mission concept into his own ego game
and advantage. He even disregarded the original one.
None of the original chemistry was alive.
This is now a "Mission: Cruise" instead of "Mission: Impossible".
If you don't know the real show, the movies are okay, otherwise,
it's a blasphemy and therefore Cruise deserves a stone cold electroshock
treatment as James Daly in "Shock". ;¬ )
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
<filigrane@h...> wrote:
> Apart from the original 1966 series, what do you think of
> the new series and the movie versions?

CHARLES NOVINS:
About the movies, the less said, the better.  The second series was
creditable, but certainly never up to the qualty of the original.  By
contrast, New OL is hardly worth a look.

Saison 1
1. Don Ellis (1): "A Cube of Sugar"
2. Gerald Fried (1): "Odds on Evil"
3. Walter Scharf (2): "Old Man Out Part I & II", "The Ransom"
4. Lalo Schifrin (9): "Mission: Impossible", "Memory", "Operation Rogosh", "A
Spool There was", "Fakeout", "Elena", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "The Carriers",
"The Short Tail Spy"
5. Jack Urbont (1): "Wheels"

Notes: Lalo Schifrin's IMF pilot reminds snippets from previous scores:
"Dark Intruder" (1965), "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." [a season 1 episode
titled: "The Fiddlesticks Affair", 1965],  and "Jericho" (1966).
"Operation Rogosh" is a tense martial composition and the finest of all season
1 scores by Schifrin that will be recycled until the 1970's seasons.
Gerald Fried gives us a Greek score inspired by Jules Dassin's "Topkapi".
Notice that both Fried and Scharf worked for "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.".
Walter Scharf also did one score for "The Wild Wild West": the Spanish-like
season 3 "The Night of the Assassin".
The world of the espionage series is so small!
Notice again, the presence of an authentic jazz trumpetist: Don  Ellis
who will compose one of the best 1970's thriller: "The French Connection".
For the anecdote, one season 5 episode integrates a Marseille
gangster family plot: "Squeeze Play".
Wilbur Hatch is the first music supervisor of the series; he also works
on "Star Trek".
***Please destroy this recording by the usual method***

Thomas

Here is the usual ritual, what is your top ten episodes?
And then try, your top ten per season?
I'm looking for a first answer to react and post mine.
***This tape will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

Season 1

1. Richard Anderson (The Psychic)
2. Barry Atwater (Elena)
3. Arthur Batanides (The Frame)
4. Oscar Beregi (Old Man Out Part I & II)
5. Lee Bergere (The Legacy)
6. Sorrell Booke (Shock)
7. Lloyd Bridges (Fakeout)
8. Joseph Campanella (The Reluctant Dragon)
9. J. D. Cannon (Action!)
10. Booth Coleman (The Train)
11. John Colicos (The Reluctant Dragon)
12. Wally Cox (Mission: Impossible)
13. John Crawford (The Legacy)
14. James Daly (Shock)
15. Donald Davis (Zubrovnik's Ghost)
16. Albert Dekker (The Short Tail Spy)
17. Cyril Delevanti (Old Man Out Part I & II)
18. Joe DeSantis (The Frame)
19. Valentin De Vargas (Elena)
20. Richard Devon (A Spool There was)
21. Bill Fletcher (The Legacy)
22. Michael Forest (The Reluctant Dragon)
23. Hans Gudegast (The Short Tail Spy)
24. Sid Haig (Fakeout)
25. Donald Harron (The Legacy)
26. Gunnar Hellstrom (The Legend)
27. Arthur Hill (The Carriers)
28. Pat Hingle (The Confession)
29. Noah Keen (The Train)
30. Eartha Kitt (The Traitor)
31. Gail Kobe (The Trial)
32. James Lanphier (Operation Rogosh)
33. Mark Lenard (Wheels)
34. Paul Lukather (The Trial)
35. Barbara Luna (Elena)
36. Lin McCarthy (The Ransom)
37. Paul Mantee (The Psychic)
38. Joe Mantell (The Ransom)
39. Monte Markham (Old Man Out Part I & II)
40. Joe Maross (The Frame)
41. Frank Marth (The Traitor)
42. Mort Mills (The Frame)
43. Nico Minardos (Odds on Evil)
44. Lawrence Montaigne (Odds on Evil)
45. Ricardo Montalban (Snowball in Hell)
46. Simon Oakland (The Frame)
47. Carroll O'Connor (The Trial)
48. David Opatoshu (The Trial)
49. Woodrow Parfrey (The Diamond)
50. Albert Paulsen (Memory)
51. Vic Perrin (Shock)
52. Nehemiah Persoff (Odds on Evil)
53. Percy Rodriguez (Wheels)
54. Joseph Ruskin (Old Man Out Part I & II)
55. William Schallert (The Train)
56. Milton Selzer (The Psychic)
57. David Sheiner (The Confession)
58. Kent Smith (The Confession)
59. William Smithers (The Ransom)
60. Abraham Sofaer (Elena)
61. Leonard Stone (Memory)
62. Michael Strong (The Trial)
63. Barry Sullivan (The Psychic)
64. George Takei (The Carriers)
65. Malachi Throne (The Traitor)
66. John Van Dreelen (The Diamond)
67. Fritz Weaver (Operation Rogosh)
68. Rhys Williams (The Train)
69. William Windom (The Train)
70. William Wintersole (Old Man Out Part I & II)
71. Claude Woolman (The Legacy)
72. Ben Wright (The Legend)

Notes: Find here a legion of actors that everybody can
easily identify from their various parts in many classic 1960's series.
Anyway, I can't resist to comment about some of them.
You can see the face of the now famous Control Voice from
"The Outer Limits", actor Vic Perrin.
The father of Jeff Bridges, Lloyd Bridges is here.
"Star Trek" fans will be charmed to see George Takei in one the series' best
episodes, "The Carriers".
The guest actors that appear many times on MISSION:
Barry Atwater (5), Arthur Batanides (6), Oscar Beregi (2), Lee Bergere (2),
Joseph Campanella (2), John Colicos (3), Booth Coleman (2),
John Crawford (4), James Daly (2), Joe DeSantis (3),
Valentin de Vargas (3), Richard Devon (3), Bill Fletcher (2),
Hans Gudegast (2), Sid Haig (8), Gunnar Hellstrom (2), Noah Keen (3),
Mark Lenard (4), Paul Lukather (2), Barbara Luna (2),
Paul Mantee (2), Joe Maross (5), Frank Marth (2), Mort Mills (3),
Nico Minardos (2), Lawrence Montaigne (2), David Opatoshu (3),
Woodrow Parfrey (2)

--Special mention to: Albert PAULSEN (5), aka one of Mission's best foes--

Vic Perrin (5), Nehemiah Persoff (3), Percy Rodriguez (3),
Joseph Ruskin (5), Milton Selzer (4), David Sheiner (5),
William Smithers (2), Leonard Stone (4), Michael Strong (4),
Malachi Throne (2)

--Special mention to: Fritz WEAVER (4), aka one of Mission's best foes--

William Windom (4), William Wintersole (5), Claude Woolman (2),
Ben Wright (2)
***Please destroy this recording by the usual method***

Thomas

Season 1

1. Lewis Allen ("The Trial")
2. Richard Benedict ("The Legend")
3. Marc Daniels ("Elena")
4. Herschel Daugherty ("The Confession")
5. Robert Douglas ("The Diamond")
6. Tom Gries ("Wheels")
7. Harry Harris ("The Ransom")
8. Leonard J. Horn ("Operation Rogosh", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "The Short Tail
Spy", "The Reluctant Dragon", "Action!")
9. Lee H. Katzin ("Snowball in Hell", "Shock", "The Traitor")
10. Bernard L. Kowalski ("Mission: Impossible", "A Spool There was",
"Fakeout")
11. Sherman Marks ("The Carriers")
12. Allen Miner ("The Frame")
13. Michael O'Herlihy ("The Legacy")
14. Joseph Pevney ("A Cube of Sugar")
15. Charles R. Rondeau ("Old Man Out Part I & II", "Memory", "Odds on Evil",
"The Psychic")
16. Ralph Senensky (The Train)

Notes: Bruce Geller's friend, Bernard L. Kowalski directs the pilot as well as
two other episodes, meaning, a total of 3. Amongst the most prolific directors
of the season, we find first Charles R. Rondeau (5), Leonard J. Horn (5) who
films the absolute masterpiece "Operation Rogosh", and Lee H. Katzin (3).
Bernard Kowalski is no stranger to the espionage shows because he used to
work for "The Wild Wild West" season 1 and Charles Rondeau and Ralph
Senensky either. Daniels, Daugherty, O'Herlihy, Marks are "UNCLE" alumni.
Lewis Allen is known for his vintage Film Noir.
Both Horn and Katzin were gifted "Outer Limits" veterans.
Horn used to work with Balter and Gantman on "Voyage to
the Bottom of the Sea".
***Please destroy this recording by the usual method***

Thomas

Apart from the original 1966 series, what do you think of
the new series and the movie versions?
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

--- In Mission_Impossible_1966@yahoogroups.com, "thrucki"
<filigrane@h...> wrote:
> Season 1
>
> Story Consultants: William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter
> Script Supervisor: Allan Greedy
>
> 1. Judith et Robert Guy Barrows ("Snowball in Hell")
> 2. Julian Barry ("The Short Tail Spy")
> 3. Leigh Chapman ("Fakeout")
> 4. Bruce Geller ("Mission: Impossible")
> 5. Laurence Heath ("Wheels", "The Trial", "Shock")
> 6. Chester Krumholz ("The Reluctant Dragon")
> 7. Edward J. Lakso ("The Traitor")
> 8. Robert Lewin ("Memory", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "Action!")
> 9. Ellis Marcus ("Old Man Out Part I & II", "A Spool There was",
> "Elena")
> 10. Jerome Ross ("Operation Rogosh")
> 11. Mann Rubin ("The Legend")
> 12. William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter ("Odds on Evil",
> "The Ransom",
> "The Carriers", "The Legacy", "The Frame", "The Diamond",
"The
> Confession",
> "The Train", "A Cube of Sugar", "The Psychic")
>
> Notes: Apart from writer-creator Bruce Geller who only fashions
> the pilot, the most prolific writers are the couple William Read
> Woodfield and Allan Balter (10) who find the pretence trick for
> "The Train", followed by Laurence Heath (3), Ellis Marcus (3)
and
> Robert Lewin (3). This is writer Jerome Ross who manages to
> find the time warp plot in the masterpiece "Operation Rogosh",
> starring Fritz Weaver. Ross used to write once for "The Outer
> Limits": "The Man With the Power". Both Woodfield/Balter and
> Heath are going to produce in latter seasons.


Fans of "The Outer Limits" will notice the presence of
Allan Balter who initiate a rough "Mission: Impossible" script
titled "The Hundred Days of the Dragon" during the season 1
of this anthology show. The plot deals with an infiltration
attempt by Chinese communists who want to take over
America by replacing Officials of the State by one of them.
A Chinese scientist introduces a serum that is capable of
changing the features of the face thanks to a metallic mold.
This mold gimmick will become "Mission: Impossible" most
famous trick that is usually Rollin Hand's trade mark.
Speaking of the character of Rollin Hand played by Martin
Landau who also was a guest cast on "The Outer Limits" and
in "The Man Who Was Never Born", one of his two roles, Landau
is a protagonist that can change his physical appearance
by hypnotic suggestion.
It's no coincidence that these two shows play with the power of
illusion and by extrapolation the art of desguises.
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

Season 1

Story Consultants: William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter
Script Supervisor: Allan Greedy

1. Judith et Robert Guy Barrows ("Snowball in Hell")
2. Julian Barry ("The Short Tail Spy")
3. Leigh Chapman ("Fakeout")
4. Bruce Geller ("Mission: Impossible")
5. Laurence Heath ("Wheels", "The Trial", "Shock")
6. Chester Krumholz ("The Reluctant Dragon")
7. Edward J. Lakso ("The Traitor")
8. Robert Lewin ("Memory", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "Action!")
9. Ellis Marcus ("Old Man Out Part I & II", "A Spool There was",
"Elena")
10. Jerome Ross ("Operation Rogosh")
11. Mann Rubin ("The Legend")
12. William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter ("Odds on Evil",
"The Ransom",
"The Carriers", "The Legacy", "The Frame", "The Diamond", "The
Confession",
"The Train", "A Cube of Sugar", "The Psychic")

Notes: Apart from writer-creator Bruce Geller who only fashions
the pilot, the most prolific writers are the couple William Read
Woodfield and Allan Balter (10) who find the pretence trick for
"The Train", followed by Laurence Heath (3), Ellis Marcus (3) and
Robert Lewin (3). This is writer Jerome Ross who manages to
find the time warp plot in the masterpiece "Operation Rogosh",
starring Fritz Weaver. Ross used to write once for "The Outer
Limits": "The Man With the Power". Both Woodfield/Balter and
Heath are going to produce in latter seasons.
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas

---Original Message---

IMDb user comments for
"Mission: Impossible" (1966)

From Thomas Rucki (filigrane@...)

Date: 24 April 1999
Summary: The Theater of the Manipulation

"Mission: Impossible" is the most complex espionage series
ever conceived. What makes this show so unique?
It is its storyline, its characters, its visual style and its music:
a real trade mark. What I like the most is first the ritual:
the tape, the dossier and the apartment briefing,
then the fast-paced clips as credits, the character of Martin
Landau with his masks and gimmicks, the cinematography
(very quick cuts, extreme close ups as inserts, the use
of special lenses, pan-and-tilt shots, upside-down camera
shots, hand-held camera shots, optical zoom shots
as dramatic effects), the skillful montage, and finally,
the music and its various themes.
The show is an impeccable and Machiavellian play.
Every details are planned in advance to fool and get rid
of the enemy. Each scheming is tight and shocking.
I like the use of the time warp concept in "Operation Rogosh"
and the role of Fritz Weaver as the paranoid Soviet Union spy
trapped in a fake Russian prison which is in California.
I like the tension and the suspense created by silent actions.
Anyway, the whole show is about simulacrum.
The devious methods of the IMF agents are always delightful
and clever. Don't miss the best episodes:
"The Mind of Stephan Miklos", "Live bait" and "The interrogator".
This tape will self-destruct in five seconds, good luck!
---End of Message---

Thomas

Good morning,

As an introduction, find the list of all writers from season 1:

Story Consultants: William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter
Script Supervisor: Allan Greedy

1. Judith et Robert Guy Barrows ("Snowball in Hell")
2. Julian Barry ("The Short Tail Spy")
3. Leigh Chapman ("Fakeout")
4. Bruce Geller ("Mission: Impossible")
5. Laurence Heath ("Wheels", "The Trial", "Shock")
6. Chester Krumholz ("The Reluctant Dragon")
7. Edward J. Lakso ("The Traitor")
8. Robert Lewin ("Memory", "Zubrovnik's Ghost", "Action!")
9. Ellis Marcus ("Old Man Out Part I & II", "A Spool There was", "Elena")
10. Jerome Ross ("Operation Rogosh")
11. Mann Rubin ("The Legend")
12. William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter ("Odds on Evil", "The Ransom",
"The Carriers", "The Legacy", "The Frame", "The Diamond", "The Confession",
"The Train", "A Cube of Sugar", "The Psychic")

Notes: Apart from writer-creator Bruce Geller who only fashions the pilot, the
most prolific writers are the couple William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter
(10) who find the pretence trick for "The Train", followed by Laurence Heath
(3), Ellis Marcus (3) and Robert Lewin (3). This is writer Jerome Ross who
manages to find the time warp plot in the masterpiece "Operation Rogosh",
starring Fritz Weaver. Ross used to write once for "The Outer Limits": "The Man
With the Power". Both Woodfield/Balter and Heath are going to produce in
latter seasons.
***This recording will self-destruct in five seconds***

Thomas