The man you see here is Dan Briggs. He is the director of the IMF (Impossible Missions Force), but his role as the team leader went up in smoke like so many reels of magnetic tape after the first season of Mission: Impossible. Turns out that Steven Hill is an observant Orthodox Jew and would not shoot after 4 pm on Fridays until sundown on Saturdays. This put a strain on his relationship with the seies and the other six seasons were led by Peter Graves as Jim Phelps.
Before recently being able to watch this first season of Mission: Impossible I had only heard the name Jim Phelps, but twenty-odd episodes later, I was hooked on Dan Briggs. Steven Hill played the role with a great subtlety, and the Peter Graves I knew was Captain Over.
This week I made the inevitable transition from Briggs to Phelps, jumping to season three due to circumstances beyond my control and I have to say...Peter Graves is allright so far. The first episode I watched, he disguised himself as a boisterous American Tourist in Europe and I felt like I was watching the caricature of Peter Graves that I knew from his more recent films: I was a bit nervous after that episode.
Now I've finished the first disc, and I think this will work out for the next six seasons. It is very different, but the returning supporting cast helps keep the familiarity high.
Same to same,
Capt. Hendry
