MISSION IMPOSSIBLE:
THE ORIGINAL TV SERIES (1966-1973)
Label: Paramount Pictures/CBS
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 8625 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Cast: Steven Hill, Barbara Bain, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Leonard Nimoy, Lee Meriwether, Lesley Ann Warren, Sam Elliott, Lynda Day George, Barbara Anderson
All 171-episodes of the original television series Mission: Impossible have been remastered for release on this 46-disc Blu-ray set. I must admit that previous to digging into this set I had never even watched one episode of the series. Not sure why that is, I do not recall it being re-run when I was a kid, but I remember watching Get Smart (1965-1970) quite a bit. That being said, I am a fan of the franchise films starring Tom Cruise, I have seen every one of them in the cinema and had a blast, and when I slipped this series into the Blu-ray player I was sucked right into this cold war era spy action of it all, right from the pilot episode I was hooked-in. The show follows a regular cast of cloak and daggers known as the IMF: Impossible Missions Force, consisting of characters who are experts in their fields: the Lead Agents (Steven Hill, Brighton Beach Memoirs) and Peter Graves (Airplane!) in the remainder), the Tech Expert (Greg Morris), The Muscle (Peter Lupus, TV's Police Squad!), The Master of Disguise (Martin Landau, Ed Wood), Paris (Leonard Nimoy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), Dana Lambert (Lesley Warren, The Limey), The Doctor (Sam Elliott) and The Femme Fatale (Barbara Bain, Space: 1999). Every episode is packed with action as this elite force risks their lives to complete their mission.
Audio/Video: All 171-episodes of Mission Impossible (1966-1973) arrives on a 46-disc Blu-ray set from CBS/Paramount in 1080p HD framed in the original full frame broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1. These are advertised as remastered but there's no mention of the source, but these were shot on film and look great, there's a decent amount of grain and it looks filmic within the confines of a TV production from the late-60's and early 70's. I will say that the series had great production values and the foreign locations which were probably shot in and around California look great and sell the exotic globe-trotting premise of the series. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. We also get French, Spanish and German mono audio on all the episodes, along with French, German and Spanish subtitles. The dialogue is direct and never heard to decipher, the effects
and score, including that awesome Lalo Schifrin score, are well-balanced. I have only made it through the first two seasons so far but I do not see any extras on this set, zilch, and there are none listed.
The 46-disc set comes housed in a individual card board slip-sleeves that fold-out that are adorned with images from the series with a handful of plot descriptions with redacted information to go along with the spy theme of the series. The discs slip into cardboard pockets which I am not a fan of, the discs were spilling all over the place as I was handling this set. The cardboard itself is flimsy and nearly all the spines of the slip-sleeves were somewhat creased during shipping. Additionally some of the disc pockets had wear and tear from the discs slipping around during shipping. All seven seasons get their own slip-sleeve which are housed inside an even more flimsy box that has more artwork and a cool cut-out that shows the numbered spines of the slip-sleeves, but that cut-out also diminishes the integrity of the packaging. The box is
itself is housed in an even flimsier slipcase, which also arrives with damage incurred while shipping. Visually it looks pretty sharp with a striking red, white and black motif with images of the characters, but this is a set that will absolutely self-destruct at some point after handling it for any length of time. I am already looking to create a custom artwork to move these over into keepcases to keep the discs safe. This packaging reminded me of that shite release of The Omen Collection on Blu-ray, it's that bad. Love the series, the transfers are excellent, but unfortunately that packaging is flimsy. I am hoping this is a limited edition set and at some pointit is re-releases in one of those cheapie multiple discs Epik Paks keepcases like we saw for Bonanza, The Twilight Zone and Tales From Darkside.
As I have already said, I love this series so far, the cast is stellar, the episodes are action-packed, and the locations and sets are cool. I still give it a recommend because of the quality and content of the series, but I am not pleased with the packaging choices being made for it.
