Mission: Impossible

Mission: Impossible is an American television property conceived and originally produced by Bruce Geller, detailing the missions of the covert government unit known as the Impossible Missions Force. In the series debut season, Dan Briggs (Steven Hill) leads the team, while Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) assumes command in later years. A defining element of the show is its briefing ritual: assignments relayed to Briggs or Phelps via a self-destructing recording, followed by Lalo Schifrin's distinctive score. The program aired on CBS from September 1966 to March 1973, and later resurfaced for two ABC seasons from 1988 to 1990 with Graves remaining in the cast. The franchise subsequently spawned a hit line of feature films starring Tom Cruise, beginning in 1996.