Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television series created and initially produced by Bruce Geller, chronicling the missions of a secret government team known as the Impossible Missions Force. In its first season, the team is led by Dan Briggs (Steven Hill), while Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) assumes command for the remaining seasons. A defining trait of the show is the briefing given to Briggs or Phelps on a recording that self-destructs, followed by Lalo Schifrin’s iconic theme music. The series aired on CBS from September 1966 to March 1973, then returned for two seasons on ABC from 1988 to 1990, with Graves remaining in the cast. It later inspired a popular series of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.