MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (1966-71) TV photo archive

New York: CBS-TV, 1966-1971. Set of 23 vintage original black-and-white photos, of which thirteen are 7 x 9″ (18 x 23 cm) and ten are 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm). Twenty-two have promotional text, in most cases affixed; in three cases, text is loose but present. A few have holograph printing notations, overall near fine.

Mission: Impossible was a classic espionage television series financed and produced by Desilu Productions that aired on CBS for seven seasons from September 17, 1966, to March 30, 1973.

Created and initially produced by Bruce Geller, the show chronicled the exploits of a small team of covert government agents, known as the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), and their sophisticated methods of deceiving, manipulating and thwarting, amongst others, hostile Iron Curtain governments, third-world dictators, corrupt industrialists and crime lords.

In most cases, the action lasted right to the final seconds. A dramatic device frequently used at the end was the sound of a gunshot or a scream in the distance as the target is killed by his associates as the IMF team makes their getaway. Most often they leave in a nondescript panel truck, with the episode ending in a freeze frame. In one particular episode, the team escapes in a van after leaving a secret underground enemy base that is destroyed by a series of explosions. In the 1980s revival, this format was altered with the addition of a tag scene showing the IMF team regrouping (often still in disguise) and walking away. From the middle of the second season onwards, Jim Phelps often makes a quip. (Wikipedia)