Rotten Tomatoes
Suggestions will appear as you start typing. Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Season 1 – Mission: Impossible

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Mission: Impossible Sep 1966 Drama Mystery & Thriller Action Adventure Crime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
81% Tomatometer 26 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A group of extraordinary spies, each experts in their own fields, belong to the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) -- first headed up by Daniel Briggs and later overseen by Jim Phelps. The IMF is a government agency that undertakes only the most hazardous of espionage missions. The beginning of each episode featured the now-famous tape-recorded message outlining the latest task for the group to tackle. Popular during the Cold War, the group's missions usually centered on overthrowing the government of some small communist country causing problems for the free world. The IMF crew included disguise expert Rollin Hand, charmer Cinnamon Carter, electronics technician Barney Collier, strong man Willy Armitage and, in later episodes, disguise-master Paris.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

Mission: Impossible — Season 1

Mission: Impossible — Season 1

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A taut, suspenseful spy saga, Mission: Impossible ignites with stylish photography, innovative stories, and a strong cast.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Jerry Coffey Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com Aug 31, 2026
"Mission: Impossible" shapes up as a solid entry in the suspense-intrigue field. Go to Full Review Ben Gross New York Daily News Aug 31, 2026
Steven Hill gave an appealing performance as the leader of the daring band and he was aided by an able cast. Go to Full Review Bettelou Peterson Detroit Free Press Aug 31, 2026
Never did any real suspense develop. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Sep 9, 2026
3.5/4
Let’s not give Tom Cruise all the credit. Long before the wildly popular film series, there was the wildly popular television series. Go to Full Review Chuck Wheat Tulsa World Aug 31, 2026
"Mission Impossible" is a fine piece of work. Go to Full Review Ray Oviatt Toledo Blade Aug 31, 2026
A tricky yarn, almost too tricky for viewing habits of many TV watchers, I suspect. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Max W @MaxthorWoo Jan 9, 2024 The individual episode setups are remarkably clever and entertaining, offering a glimpse into the earliest origins of the spy elements in the film series, each TV episode brings unique surprises. See more Kim T @Kimchi871 Oct 14, 2023 Fantastic spy show of the late 60's to early 70's Which inspired Tom cruise's mission impossible films. Like the films this had mask pulling , people pretending to be other people but unlike the films it was a mind game. I recommend it. See more Read all reviews
Mission: Impossible — Season 1

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Bruce Geller

Creator

Leonard J. Horn

Director

Charles R. Rondeau

Director

Bernard L. Kowalski

Director

Richard Benedict

Director

Lee Katzin

Director

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Sep 17, 1966 Pilot Members of the Impossible Missions Force utilize their unique talents to obtain a Caribbean dictator's two nuclear warheads. Details Episode 2 Aired Sep 24, 1966 Memory Briggs schemes to overthrow a tyrannical Balkan regime by having a man impersonate a dead agent and discredit the dictator. Details Episode 3 Aired Oct 1, 1966 Operation Rogosh The IMF races to learn the location of a secret device an enemy agent (Fritz Weaver) plans to use to destroy a U.S. city. Details Episode 4 Aired Oct 8, 1966 Old Man Out Disguised as a carnival troupe, the IMF plans to rescue an Eastern European freedom-movement head from prison. Details Episode 5 Aired Oct 15, 1966 Old Man Out The IMF's plan to rescue a cardinal from prison needs quick revision when he is moved to solitary confinement. Details Episode 6 Aired Oct 22, 1966 Odds on Evil Rollin takes on a prince (Nehemiah Persoff) in a gambling challenge to bankrupt his efforts to purchase arms for an invasion. Details Episode 7 Aired Oct 29, 1966 Wheels The IMF must prevent the pro-Eastern elements in a foreign country from rigging a Parliamentary election. Details Episode 8 Aired Nov 5, 1966 The Ransom An underworld czar facing indictment holds a girl hostage to force Briggs to kidnap the state's prime witness. Details Episode 9 Aired Nov 12, 1966 A Spool There Was Rollin and Cinnamon are assigned to recover a recording-wire spool containing details of an enemy chemical-warfare project. Details Episode 10 Aired Nov 19, 1966 The Carriers The IMF team needs a bacteriologist (George Takei) to prevent a hostile regime from using germ warfare. Details Episode 11 Aired Nov 26, 1966 Zubrovnik's Ghost Barney, Rollin and a spiritualist journey to Austria to prevent an American scientist from giving information to the Soviets. Details Episode 12 Aired Dec 3, 1966 Fakeout Briggs, Barney and Cinnamon must lure a major drug kingpin (Lloyd Bridges) out of a nation so he can be extradited legally. Details Episode 13 Aired Dec 10, 1966 Elena Rollin investigates a Latin American informant's bizarre behavior, which threatens her country's security. Details Episode 14 Aired Dec 17, 1966 The Short Tail Spy The IMF must foil an aspiring foreign leader's plan to assassinate a scientist who defected. Details Episode 15 Aired Jan 7, 1967 The Legacy To find Hitler's hidden fortune, the IMF races a band of young Neo-Nazis intent on creating a new regime; guest Lee Bergère. Details Episode 16 Aired Jan 14, 1967 The Reluctant Dragon Rollin and Barney travel into Eastern Europe to aid a scientist to defect and join his recently-escaped wife in the West. Details Episode 17 Aired Jan 21, 1967 The Frame Dan and the team infiltrate a mob meeting to stop the plans of a crime czar murdering government officials. Details Episode 18 Aired Jan 28, 1967 The Trial The head (Carroll O'Connor) of an Eastern European nation's secret police plans to take over by putting an American on trial. Details Episode 19 Aired Feb 4, 1967 The Diamond An elaborate ruse aims to retrieve a huge diamond from a prime minister and return it to his deprived people. Details Episode 20 Aired Feb 11, 1967 The Legend Briggs and Cinnamon infiltrate a gathering of top Nazi leaders who are planning to organize a new version of the Third Reich. Details Episode 21 Aired Feb 18, 1967 Snowball in Hell The team races time to retrieve a container of nuclear material from a sadistic penal-colony commandant (Ricardo Montalban). Details Episode 22 Aired Feb 25, 1967 The Confession The IMF must prove the murder of an American senator by a communist trade delegate was not sanctioned by the killer's nation. Details Episode 23 Aired Mar 4, 1967 Action! A movie-studio head from a hostile nation plans to show a manufactured film of American Vietnam-War atrocities to the press. Details Episode 24 Aired Mar 18, 1967 The Train The IMF uses techniques of movie illusion to convince an ailing prime minister that his successor plans to become a dictator. Details Episode 25 Aired Mar 25, 1967 Shock The IMF uses psychological pressure to learn the plans of an enemy agent (James Daly) impersonating a captive U.S. operative. Details Episode 26 Aired Apr 1, 1967 A Cube of Sugar A hostile security chief captures an American agent, unaware he carries secret information on a hidden computer microcircuit. Details Episode 27 Aired Apr 15, 1967 The Traitor Briggs, Rollin and a circus performer (Eartha Kitt) enter the Soviet embassy to replace secret documents with forgeries. Details Episode 28 Aired Apr 22, 1967 The Psychic Cinnamon poses as a psychic to lure an industrialist into a poker game to retrieve top-secret NATO information he possesses. Details

More Like This

View All
The Wild, Wild West % 100% The Wild, Wild West Watchlist Scarecrow and Mrs. King % % Scarecrow and Mrs. King Watchlist Airwolf % 44% Airwolf Watchlist Planet of the Apes 55% 90% Planet of the Apes Watchlist The Dukes of Hazzard % % The Dukes of Hazzard Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Mission: Impossible — Season 1

Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible View more photos

Season Info

Director
Leonard Horn, Charles Rondeau, Bernard L. Kowalski, Richard Benedict, Lee H. Katzin, Allen H. Miner, Joseph Pevney, Herschel Daugherty
Creator
Bruce Geller
Executive Producer
Bruce Geller
Screenwriter
William Read Woodfield, Ellis Marcus, Robert Lewin, Laurence Heath, Judith Barrows, Edward J. Lakso, Julian Barry, Chester Krumholz, Jerome Ross, Allan Balter
Network
CBS
Rating
TV-PG (V)
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Original Language
English
Release Date
Sep 17, 1966
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings