Remember Dan Briggs? Revisiting the First Mission: Impossible

The spy series Mission: Impossible first premiered on CBS on September 17, 1966, introducing audiences to secret agent Dan Briggs. Steven Hill portrayed Briggs for the show's inaugural season before his departure. The franchise later achieved a significant transition to the big screen, with Tom Cruise's debut of the film series occurring 30 years after the TV show's initial broadcast.

The original review from September 19, 1966, noted that while the premiere episode sparked some initial nervousness, the series promised suspense and action. It commended producer-writer Bruce Geller's teleplay and director Bernard Kowalski's execution.

The show featured the "Impossible Missions Force" tasked with international skullduggery, including a plot to retrieve nuclear warheads from a fictional Caribbean dictatorship called Santa Costa. The team included specialists like Martin Landau, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, and Wally Cox.

Praise was given to the series' continuous action, high production values, and creative storytelling devices, such as smuggling a character inside a case. The review also highlighted the performances of the cast, the menacing presence of Harry Davis, and the significant contributions of Lalo Schifrin's music and John Alton's cinematography.