Mission: Impossible - What if they tried it again on TV
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Mission: Impossible - What if they tried it again on TV
I thought about this in the MI Season 2 DVD thread in the DVD Talk section:
What if they (probably CBS I'd assume) put Mission: Impossible back on the air, do you think it would work and who would you like to (reasonably) see in the cast?
One of the reasons I like the original series is that, for the most part, they were self-contained episodes with no season long story-arch. As a template, it'd be like CSI. Even with the MK story on CSI, that still doesn't dominate every episode. Oh, and like CSI, I want it to be more of a suspense-drama than action-adventure like the movie franchise.
As for cast, I liked Liev Schreiber so much that he'd make a good Rollin Hand-esque character, sort of the point man of the group. If Las Vegas were cancelled, then maybe Vanessa Marcil as the eye candy. I'm not sure who'd play the IMF leader, though.
What if they (probably CBS I'd assume) put Mission: Impossible back on the air, do you think it would work and who would you like to (reasonably) see in the cast?
One of the reasons I like the original series is that, for the most part, they were self-contained episodes with no season long story-arch. As a template, it'd be like CSI. Even with the MK story on CSI, that still doesn't dominate every episode. Oh, and like CSI, I want it to be more of a suspense-drama than action-adventure like the movie franchise.
As for cast, I liked Liev Schreiber so much that he'd make a good Rollin Hand-esque character, sort of the point man of the group. If Las Vegas were cancelled, then maybe Vanessa Marcil as the eye candy. I'm not sure who'd play the IMF leader, though.
#2
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by TheMovieman
What if they (probably CBS I'd assume) put Mission: Impossible back on the air, do you think it would work and who would you like to (reasonably) see in the cast?
Last edited by rfduncan; 02-23-07 at 07:59 AM.
#3
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
CBS revived it once in '89 or '90. I don't know if today's audiences have the attention span for a show this complex. You pretty much have to watch every second with undivided attention. Remember how people slammed the first movie for being too complex to follow, yet is far less complicated than the average episode. They had to dumb down the sequels for mass appeal. They would have to find some pretty good writers too. Alot of the old show's scripts were written by the same guy, William Read Woodfield, he was also the script consultant for scripts by other writers. Maybe he's still around.
#4
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by TheMovieman
What if they put Mission: Impossible back on the air... who would you like to see in the cast?
#5
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
^ lol, I did think of that and then... oh, yeah.
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
But the name "Mission: Impossible" is still a viable name and if there was quality behind it, it could be a hit, but sadly I think they'd make it closer to the movie and throw tons of money for it per episode that it would probably only last one season. It'd have to get (per week) CSI-like numbers (21-24m) and I don't think it'd be able to sustain that.
If it were me, I'd go low key with it, get recognizable (but cheap) actors, use the budget for sets/locations and high end writers.
If it were me, I'd go low key with it, get recognizable (but cheap) actors, use the budget for sets/locations and high end writers.
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: NYC
Posts: 17,015
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd love to see something like this. Mostly episodic in nature, but with overarching plotlines (say, a season-long mystery) that culminate at certain points, like season finales. Produce it with a reasonable budget (I want helicopters every now and then, dammit). Have it largely be cloak and dagger with occasional action scenes, but every now and then have action episodes. Build a core team of characters that the viewers care about. Don't kill them too often (they are, after all, the best at what they do), but every now and then shock the audience.
I'd watch it.
I'd watch it.
#11
DVD Talk God
It was actually ABC that revived the show back in 1988. They brought back Peter Graves as Phelps and casted Phil Morris (Greg Morris' son) I believe it lasted 2 seasons and they ended up killing off one of the main characters in Season 2 before the show was eventually canned.
#13
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by Goldberg74
It would be too expansive to produce, but I would watch it.
#14
DVD Talk God
I read an article that said the ABC revival from 1988 was shot entirely on location in Australia because of high costs to shoot it in the U.S.
#15
The ABC revival in the eighties actually came about in response to the writers' strike. Some execs had the brilliant idea of bringing back old shows and recycling scripts as a way of getting around the strike, and Mission: Impossible was the only one that actually got off the ground. For fans of the original, in addition to Peter Graves and Phil Morris, Greg Morris guest-starred in one episode, and Lynda Day George appeared in a second season episode, both reprising their roles from the original.