On DVD: Mission Impossible The Complete Second TV Season

Directed By Billy Ray

Starring Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Barbara Bain

For me, this is really when the Mission Impossible television series started.  I used to say that's because the white haired guy came in, when I was a kid.  I used to watch the reruns of this series, and from season two forward mostly, when I was growing up.  I'm looking forward to seeing just how well it holds up now.

The Season

That white haired guy, is Peter Graves as Jim Phelps, the new leader of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF).  Many preferred Steven Hill's more subdued performance as Daniel Briggs, but not me.  I think Phelps is a more kinetic character that better suits the fast pace and high energy execution of the series. I think many viewers from the era agreed because it wasn't until this season that the series really took off as a hit.

A formula was built in season one that continues with season two.  Mr. Phelps receives his mission, he reads it, it disintegrates, then he starts assembling his plan, and his team to execute said plan.  It's interesting that this series was so innovative in the way it was shot and cut for the era yet it stuck so tightly to a formula which was common for the era.  This season finds the team being fairly settled into the same returning guest stars each week.  Initially the plan was to have more variety in the guest stars but that didn't happen much in season two.

Each week the episode is like a mini heist film.  In the great heist films you know what the outcome is to be but that doesn't matter because the film isn't about the end, it's about the journey the characters take to get there.  We know in the first few minutes what the mission is but we don't know very much about how the mission will be executed.  Once the team is assembled what the plan is and what parts each member of the team will play are hinted at but never completely revealed.  So the fun of each episode is watching the elaborate missions carried out.

When you sit down to watch this box set you have to be ready for a real retro experience because it's definitely of the 60's, but the series had a bigger budget, better actors, and better writers than most other similar series of the era.  Because of that the suspense and intrigue still holds up almost 50 years later.  If you like spy movies then this box set is a no brainer.  For a 60's series Mission Impossible Season 2 is fast paced and quite edgy at times.  Oh, and maybe it's just me, but the women of the era, at least in this show, are quite attractive.  Maybe it's just cuz I kind of dig that 60's feminine vibe.  Suspend your disbelief, consider that every gadget you know and love doesn't yet exist in the era of this series and settle in for some good fun. 

8/10

The Video

The full frame transfer is surprising in quality considering the age of the series.  Colors vibrant and black levels are solid but grain is always an issue and there are occasional bits of grit on the transfer too.  Detail levels are also strong throughout the season.  It's not a series you'll demo your HDTV with but for its age Mission Impossible Season 2 looks great.

8/10

The Audio

The series was originally presented in a standard mono track and has been converted to a Dolby Digital mix.  It's a basic mix but it does and a little energy to match the energetic cutting of the video.  Dialogue, score, and sound effects are crisp and mostly distortion free.  A good mix for a classic series.

7/10

Packaging and Bonus Features

As with the season one release the box set comes in a thick glossy cardboard case.  While the case is attractive it seems like something more interesting could have been done with the case, something that would play into the retro spy show such as making the box look like the reel to reel that Mr. Phelps commonly received his missions on.

Here's the really disappointing thing, there are no extras, none.  There's so much opportunity for documentaries and featurettes for this series and we got nothing.  That's a real shame.

3/10

The transfer of the audio and video are fairly solid for such an old series but the lack of extras is nearly insulting.  Mission Impossible was such an influential series that it deserves the bonus features love.  Again as I said earlier, if you like spy thrillers, pick this up it's a great retro watch.

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

The Movie 8/10

The Video 8/10

The Audio 7/10

The Packaging and Bonus Features 3/10

Overall (Not an Average) 7/10

-Stephen Lackey