Mission: Impossible (1971) – The Merchant, and Blind

Season five of Mission: Impossible came to an end on 17 March, 1971 with The Merchant. Written by Harold Livingston, the episode marked the final appearance of both Dana (Lesley Ann Warren) and Paris (Leonard Nimoy). Phelps (Peter Graves) allows himself to be captured so that he can ingratiate himself with Armand Andressarian (George Sanders)…

Mission: Impossible (1971) – The Catafalque, and Kitara

Paul Playdon wrote Catafalque, which first aired on 6 February, 1971, and features John Vernon as Ramone Fuego, who gets manipulated by the IMF in an attempt to get sensitive information into the hands of the American government. And while most of the story is really engaging, as Phelps (Peter Graves) and his team set…

Mission: Impossible (1971) – The Field, and Blast

The IMF team, led by Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) has a tough assignment this time with The Field. Written by Wesley Lau from a story by Lau and Judy Burns, it first aired on 23 January, 1971. An enemy nation has control of an island in the Adriatic, and they have turned it into a…

Mission: Impossible (1971) – Cat’s Paw, and The Missile

Things get personal for Barney (Greg Morris) this week as I dig into some more assignments from Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series on blu-ray. Cat’s Paw was written by Howard Browne, and first aired on 9 January, 1971. Barney’s older brother is murdered for getting too close to a high tech criminal organization, which…

Mission: Impossible (1970/1971) – The Hostage, and Takeover

Sometimes, your cover is just too good. Paris (Leonard Nimoy) finds that out in the first few minutes of The Hostage. Written by Harold Livingston, this episode first debuted on 19 December, 1970. The IMF is working south of the border again, and Paris has been posing as a hotel magnate that has agreed to…

Mission: Impossible (1970) – The Rebel, and Squeeze Play

Mark Lenard guest stars in The Rebel, that sees the IMF team in a south of the border country, attempting to contact some rebels and recover information from them, when things go sideways, and Dana (Lesley Ann Warren) and a couple of the revels are captured (one of whom has the information they need). The…

Mission: Impossible (1970) – The Amateur, and Hunted

Hey look! Sam Elliott is back as Doug (yay!). And Anthony Zerbe returns as a guest star (yet again) in The Amateur. Written by Ed Adamson, this episode first aired on 14 November, 1970. Working undercover in an East European country, the IMF team have unexpected trouble when a bar owner, Eric Schilling (Zerbe) with…

Mission: Impossible (1970) -Butterfly, and Decoy

Phelps (Peter Graves) and his IMF team (with Willy (Peter Lupus) back) head to Japan in Butterfly. Written by Eric Bercovici and Jerrold L. Ludwig from a story by Sheldon Stark, it first aired on 31 October, 1970. There’s some uncomfortable things that go on in this episode as the characters pose as various Japanese…

Mission: Impossible (1970) – Flight, and My Friend, My Enemy

Hey look! Sam Elliott is in the title credits, Willy (Peter Lupus) is nowhere to be seen, and John Colicos is back as a guest star in Flight. Written by Harold Livingston from a story by Leigh Vance, this episode first premiered on 17 October, 1970. A coup is going to be attempted on a…

Mission: Impossible (1970) – The Innocent, and Homecoming

This week, we have a pair of episodes that feature a couple of recognizable guest stars, who went on to become series regulars on M*A*S*H, and The Innocent features a cool new title music arrangement, and it took me a moment to recognize him, but Sam Elliott as IMF agent Doug. Written by Marc Norman…