Mission: Impossible - Season 1

Mission: Impossible premiered in September 1966 on CBS and the first season ran for 28 episodes until April of 1967. Developed by Bruce Geller, the show was originally envisioned as a heist film which assembled a team of required specialists. The series rode the espionage wave that started with the James Bond series in the early sixties which also spawned series like The Avengers, I Spy and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
Almost every episode followed the same sequence, with Impossible Missions Force team leader Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) receiving his instructions from innocuous sources, like photo booths or antique shops, and then assembling a team from his folio of dossier photos. Some or all of the regulars are then selected, with a few guest stars sprinkled in as IMF members with specific skills necessary to the mission, like safe-cracker, doctor, or acrobat. 
The show started out with only four regular cast members, team leader Dan Briggs, model Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain), electronics expert Barney Collier (Greg Morris), and strongman Willy Armitage (Peter Lupus). Martin Landau, who played actor, impressionist, and master of disguise Rollin Hand was always listed as a special guest star, due to Landau's unwillingness to sign a television contract which might restrict his ability to accept film roles. Landau had originally planned to make only a few appearances, but Steven Hill's numerous absences forced the writers to expand the role of Rollin Hand to compensate, making Landau the de facto lead actor. Producers and Landau, who was married to Barbara Bain at the time, were eventually able to reach a compromise, with Landau signing one year contracts each season. 
Season 1 was the only season for Steven Hill, who was unceremoniously fired at the end of the season. As an Orthodox Jew, Hill was unable to work on the Sabbath (sundown on Fridays til sundown on Saturdays), which was a condition the producers had agreed to when he was cast. The producers soon realized just how restricting those conditions were, which forced them to reuse footage, reduce Briggs' role, and hire guest actors to play roles Briggs would've played on missions, driving up costs. The show's constant shooting delays were exacerbated by Hill's absences, and Hill was often moody and difficult to work with. To top it all off, network executives didn't particularly like him, so it was hard to justify keeping him. As the show never did much to develop the characters, the departure of Briggs was never explained, nor was the ascension of his replacement Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) in Season 2. Hill then effectively retired from show business for the next decade, finally reemerging in 1977 and playing small roles in films and television shows before he was cast in Law & Order.
The first season was popular with critics, winning Emmys for Best Dramatic series and Writing Achievement in Drama. Barbara Bain won the first of her three consecutive Emmys for Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series for playing Cinnamon Carter (one for every year she was on the show), and Martin Landau won a Golden Globe for Actor in a Television Series – Drama, despite technically not being a real cast member. Creator and writer Bruce Geller won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and the third episode, "Operation Rogosh," went on to win the Edgar for Best Episode in a TV series. Ratings were not as good as hoped, especially for a show as critically acclaimed (and expensive), prompting CBS to move the show from its original Saturday night time slot to one on Sunday night for Season 2, where it found a larger audience. 
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=Handguns=
==CZ 38==
Daniel Briggs (Steven Hill) uses a CZ 38 in "Pilot" (S1E01). Willy Armitage (Peter Lupus) and Cinnamon Carter (Barbara Bain) uses it as well.
== Becker & Hollander Beholla ==
The same chrome-plated Becker & Hollander Beholla is seen throughout the first season.
 
 
 
 
 
==Luger P08==
Luger P08s are seen throughout the first season.
 
 
 
==Walther P38==
Various characters use Walther P38s throughout the season.
 
==Colt Detective Special==
First generation Colt Detective Specials are seen often in the first season.
 
 
==Colt Cobra==
Colt Cobras are seen throughout the series.
 
==Colt Model 1903/1908==
Colt Model 1903/1908s are seen throughout the season.
 
 
==Beretta M1934==
Beretta M1934 pistols are seen throughout the season.
 
 
==Smith & Wesson Model 10==
A police officer (uncredited) fires a Smith & Wesson Model 10 in "A Spool There Was" (S01E09). A policeman (Richard Angarola) draws his S&W 10 in "Fakeout" (S01E12).
 
 
==Colt Official Police==
Colt Official Police revolvers are seen throughout the season.
==Colt Police Positive==
Colt Police Positive revolvers are seen throughout the season.
 
 
 
==Victoria Model 1911==
Cinnamon draws a Victoria Model 1911, a Spanish-built variant of the Colt Model 1903, similar to the Ruby, in "Fakeout" (S01E12.) Senko Brobin (Francis Lederer) takes Polya's (Kurt Kreuger) Victoria Model 1911 to crush some sugar cubes in "A Cube of Sugar" (S01E27).
==CZ 27==
Miguel de Ramos (Valentin de Vargas) draws a CZ 27 before Rollin Hand takes it away from him in "Elena" (S01E13).
 
 
 
 
==1934 Mauser Pocket Pistol==
A 1934 Mauser Pocket Pistol is used in "Shock" (S01E25).
 
 
 
=Submachine Guns=
==M1928A1 Thompson==
The M1928A1 Thompson is seen throughout the series.
==M3 "Grease Gun"==
The M3 "Grease Gun" is seen in the hands of the soldiers guarding the vault in "Pilot" (S1E01).
=Shotguns=
==Winchester Model 1897==
A detective (Walter Mathews) carries a Winchester Model 1897 in "A Ransom" (S01E08).
 
==Sawn-off Double Barreled Shotgun==
"Frank Egan" and a henchman (Ted Jordan) use a Sawn-off Double Barreled Shotgun in "A Ransom" (S01E08). A deputy (James Gavin is armed with one in "The Confession" (S01E22).
 
 
 
 
==Double Barreled Shotgun==
Anastas Poltroni/Ted Carson (Lloyd Bridges) pulls out a Double Barreled Shotgun in "Fakeout" (S01E12). Ed (Michael Pataki) confronts Barney with one in "The Psychic" (S01E28).
 
 
 
=Rifles=
==M1A1 Carbine==
A M1A1 Paratrooper Carbines with foregrips are used by various characters throughout the season. Some without foregrips are seen as well.
 
 
 
==Karabiner 98k==
German Karabiner 98k rifles are seen throughout the series, alongside Vz.24 rifles mocked up as Kar98k.
==Vz.24 (Kar.98k mock-up)==
In addition to genuine Karabiner 98k rifles, Czechoslovakian Vz.24 rifles visually-modified to resemble the Kar.98k appear several times throughout the season. The key features that identify them are the lack of a visible barrel band on the front sight mount, the shape of the rear sight leaf, two buttons on the rear sight elevator, and the lack of the handguard retaining ring and removable sight bed on the rear sight base. The straight bolt also suggests that these were built from Vz.24 rifles, but since it is an interchangeable part with the Kar.98k it is not a definite identifier. The stock, handguard and hardware appear to be genuine Kar.98k parts, which would be interchangeable with the Vz.24 as they both use the same standard-length Mauser 98-pattern actions.
==Parris-Dunn Dummy M1903 Rifle==
Guards in the fake prison are armed with Parris-Dunn "Victory" training rifles in "Operation Rogosh" (S01E03). Another guard is seen with one in "Shock" (S01E25) standing in for a real rifle. These were non-firing training rifles based on the Springfield M1903 produced for the US Army and Navy during the Second World War to free up actual rifles for front-line use.
==Arisaka Type 2==
Lazloff (Charles Maxwell) uses a Arisaka Type 2 in "Operation Rogosh" (S01E03). Willy Armitage manages to take it away from him.
==FEG Gewehr 98/40==
Police officers carry FEG Gewehr 98/40 with bayonets fixed in "Wheels" (S01E07). Briggs carries one while disguised as an officer.
==Remington Model 700==
Frederico (Paul Kent) takes aim with a Remington Model 700) in "Elena" (S01E13).
==Sporterized M1903 Springfield==
Moisev (Paul Lukather) uses a suppressed Sporterized M1903 Springfield in an assassination attempt in "The Trial" (S01E18).
==M1 Carbine==
The M1 Carbine is another frequently used weapon by foreign guards and soldiers in the series. In "Action!" (S1E23), actors portraying American troops in fake documentary footage are armed with the M1 Carbine. 
 
=Machine Guns=
==Browning M2HB Machine Gun==
Soldiers man Browning M2 machine guns in the Pilot episode.
=Other=
==Rubber Gun==
Frederick Rudd's (Gunnar Hellström) Colt Detective Special briefly turns into a rubber gun when he has to knock out a guard with it.
== Unknown carbine ==
Barney Collier uses an unknown carbine to propel a rocket in "Memory" (S01E02). It's basically the sixties equivalent of a Nerf gun.
Category:Television
Category:Espionage