Hi Tatia and Russ!
At its best I like Mission: Impossible very much. It is one of the few TV shows from that era that I watch today. I watched a lot of TV in the sixties (not so much today). Most of those shows provide, at best, a short rush of nostalgia, but I can't hang in there very long. I Spy, of course, is in the first (select) group. The Man from UNCLE is in the latter group.
I agree with Russ that there are many aspects of Mission: Impossible that are silly. For me, the silliest is the way the folks in other countries speak English, only with accents usually not found in nature. If I could change one thing about the show, I would have them drop the accents. It's understood they are working in a foreign country. We are happy to believe the IMF team can speak their language perfectly. Just speak unaffected English as if we in the viewing audience have the use of a magic translator. You do get used to the accents though sometimes, particularly in the case of Leonard Nimoy in his time on the series, they approach the outré.
In the best Mission: Impossible episodes there is a cleverness to the plotting and a cool visual style that I really like. You are watching and wondering: Why are they doing that? What's Barney up to in that elevator shaft? Why is Cinnamon acting so guilty? Is that supposed to happen? And then it all comes together and it can be exhilarating. I particularly like it when the target of the scheme realizes in the end he's been tricked into doing the IMF's bidding, and sees them in the final moment with all disguise and pretense stripped away.
Not all, or even most of the Mission: Impossible episodes attain that lofty standard and then they fall flat. The recurring characters are essentially indistinguishable and spend most shows inhabiting other "fake" characters. Other than the fact that they seem to like each other and will risk their lives for each other, there isn't much interest there. I Spy had a number of substandard or even silly scripts, but Kelly and Scotty are always a joy to watch. So when I'm exiled to a desert island for crimes against propriety, I'll take my I Spy DVD collection, but Mission: Impossible may not make the cut.
As Tatia mentioned, it's rare to watch a Mission: Impossible and not encounter someone who also made an I Spy appearance. The last Mission: Impossible I watched was an episode called "Terror" from season four. It featured both David Opatoshu and Ron Feinberg who played Rudy Zugman and Cesare respectively in "Tonia". The episode also featured Arlene Martel who never graced I Spy, but co-starred with Robert Culp in the wonderful "Demon with a Glass Hand" from The Outer Limits. You are probably wondering how this could get even better. It does because I also discovered (thanks to IMDB) another actor to put on the I Spy - Mission Impossible - Star Trek triptych.
Over three years ago now, Herbie and I, in tag team fashion, found all the actors we could who appeared on all three shows.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/172251/thread/1118474955/Off+the+wall+trivia+question
Here is the final list we arrived at:
Warren Stevens
Antoinette Bower
Byron Morrow*
Arthur Batanides
David Opatoshu
Madlyn Rhue*
Ricardo Montalban
George Takei
Michael Strong
Roy Jenson
Michael Forrest
Malachi Throne
Lawrence Montaigne
Marianna Hill
Robert Sampson
I put asterisks on those actors whose Mission: Impossible appearances were in the post Martin Landau/Barbara Bain era. However, much as the asterisk next to the 61 home runs Roger Maris hit in 1961 was eventually removed, there is an executive committee meeting scheduled to hear arguments about removing these asterisks. I'll pass along the findings. Anyway, we can add one more name to the list: Makee K. Blaisdell, also known as: Makee Blaisdell, Blaisdell MaKee, Blaizdel MaKee, Blaisdell Makee, Blaisdel Makee, Blaizdell Makee, Blaizdel Makee, Blaisdel McKee and Blaizdel McKee. He appeared in "Return to Glory" as "sniper", and two Star Trek episodes: "Space Seed" (as Spinelli) and "The Changeling" (as Singh). In the Mission: Impossible episode I just saw he got to play "guard". Welcome to the club Makee, or whatever your name is.
Jimmy
