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At long last, Mission: Impossible! - Page 6

post #151 of 383
12/9/06 at 11:57pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Alden
There's a movie series? I'm only half kidding. I saw some of the first movie and it was a complete POS which had no relation to what MI was about whatsoever and Tom Cruise is about as believable in the role as Danny Devito would be. I seriously doubt anyone who likes the movies would have any interest in the series and vice versa.
That's probably true in general, and definitely true in my case (I haven't see any of the films). But it would help sales if a decent number of the movie-only crowd picked up the set on a blind buy, assuming some relationship. At least that's what I hope happens, if only to increase the chances of more full-season releases.
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post #152 of 383
12/10/06 at 3:25am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ollie
Does anyone have any insights as to why this isn't being better distributed and displayed, especially given that it's a studio release and not an independent one? I would think that Paramount would want to capitalize on the tie-in to the movies. There's a prominent display of MI-III DVD's at every retailer I've visited in recent weeks.

Thoughts?

I have these thoughts:

The first season of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE went largely unnoticed by the public-at-large. The show's greatest successes came in the second year and beyond in the Peter Graves era. The series aired its first year on Saturday evening, and though that night was not yet the dumping ground it is today, the audience levels even then were noticeably lower than on other nights of the week. The series did reasonably well in the ratings, kind of middling, and because of critical acclaim and buzz was renewed for a second year. CBS had enough faith in the show to move it to a prime Sunday slot when the Peter Graves-era launched.

As a result of this, and the fact that that first season was shown sparingly in syndication, relatively few people have fond memories from the Steven Hill/Dan Briggs-led year. It's my opinion that Paramount simply wanted to get this first year out there, not necessarily with a lot of fanfare, so that perhaps it could launch a bigger effort around season two and beyond. Those who are fond of the Peter Graves episodes might notice the "Complete Second Season" designation and check out the first, but at least they wouldn't be blindly picking up season one thinking they're getting the Mr. Phelps episodes.

So it's possible that this stealth campaign to get season one out there might in fact be a stroke of marketing genius. Or it could be a total disaster on Paramount's part!

I, for one, can't wait to see these season one episodes. Santa Claus has already obtained this set for me and on Christmas Day it'll be mine!

Harry
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post #153 of 383
12/10/06 at 5:25am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Harry, good food for thought ideas about the marketing guesses. I hope this one sells since I want more seasons. "Santa's on his way" I was going to put this one on Santa's list but I couldn't wait on this one.

Mike Alden: (Tom Cruise/Danny Devito) Well-said. I'm one of the smaller-crowd fans of this series that remember S1 so this one was an automatic-buy for me. I agree that it wasn't as popular or as well-remembererd as the "Peter Graves" years.

I've watched the 1st ep and.....WOW! Awesome Xfr and that opening theme's "timeless"
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post #154 of 383
12/10/06 at 5:39am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Haha! Santa has it in his brown sack for me too! Along with other 70's TV goodies!!
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post #155 of 383
12/10/06 at 7:36am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Situation is just confined to MI, CBS is releasing Gomer Pyle this week and there is not one ad for it in any of the Sunday Papers, look like another online order. It looks like CBS might be the studio we remember most in the End for abandoning Shows.
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post #156 of 383
12/11/06 at 11:20am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

What would have made the M:I movie a slight bit better would have been something very simple....
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Instead of having Jon Voight be the traitor as Mr.Phelps. They should of had Tom Cruises character (Ethan Hunt) be Mr.Phelps. Instead they make a sentinmental favorite character with great name recognition and make him the bad guy.
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post #157 of 383
12/11/06 at 12:12pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

I'm not sure anything could have made the first M:I movie better. Trying to pull in the old fans with Mr. Phelps and then...gotcha. "Bet you didn't see that one coming." Still seems like a cheap trick.

Season one is just great. Currently watching "Old Man Out, Part II". Just excellent, except the calliope music is driving me nuts. I was amazed at the recap for this episode, about 5 and a half minutes. Good stuff all around. Got my 13 year old son interested in this. He can't wait til we sit down and go through more episodes.
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post #158 of 383
12/11/06 at 1:03pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Doug,

I remember that calliope playing too long from the original airing of that 2-parter. That's the only thing that I wasn't too keen about with those eps.

I've only watched the 1st ep of this set since I'll probably be viewing the set with someone else and I want to make it last a while....like a fine wine
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post #159 of 383
12/11/06 at 9:00pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug Wallen
Just excellent, except the calliope music is driving me nuts.
Calliope music was one of the most emotional things about The Twilight Zone episode "Walking Distance" (one of the series' finest).
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post #160 of 383
12/12/06 at 2:28am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

I remember that fall with all of the new shows I was watching, STAR TREK, TIME TUNNEL, I just wasn't ready for the more grounded-in-reality MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE right away. I skipped viewing the first episode, and hadn't considered looking at any of them. Since it aired on Saturday nights, and we had a summer cottage that we visited every weekend, I remember leaving the TV area and my sisters watching this new show. My recollections are fuzzy about whether or not they liked the first show, but I do recall them raving about the two-parter, "Old Man Out," and I remember that "damned calliope music" being incessant enough that I couldn't get far enough away from it.

It was to be a few weeks later that I finally sat down and watched one of these episodes, and from that point on I was hooked - and couldn't wait for the summer reruns to see what that calliope music was all about on this new show that I was excited about. I wasn't disappointed, and "Old Man Out", both parts, remains a favorite in my memory to this day.

I've always remembered Cyril Delevanti and his portrayal of the old Cardinal too. Every time I saw him in shows and credits after that, I remembered the "Old Man Out" episode. At the time of the episode, he looked so frail and old, yet he continued for years in other roles. It's funny how our brain zooms in on some of these things.

I'll be anxious to relive it all over again when Christmas arrives and the new DVD set with it.

Harry
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post #161 of 383
12/12/06 at 8:00am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff#
Calliope music was one of the most emotional things about The Twilight Zone episode "Walking Distance" (one of the series' finest).

It wasn't as repetitive in "Walking Distance"; btw, one of my favorite TZ eps.

I did enjoy "Old Man Out" but my son and I were ready to cut the volume down the final time that music started up. So far I am very pleased with this set. I am finding it hard to pace myself. Having not seen thsi show in so many years, the desire is to rush through them. I really want to enjoy them and am trying to watch one or two a night. It seems like I'm losing the battle.

Just we hope the next set is out within the next 6 months or so.
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post #162 of 383
12/12/06 at 8:16am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
It wasn't as repetitive in "Walking Distance"

Calliope music is no more repetitive in this TZ outing than any other tv episode or movie that featured a merry-go-round for a one scene show-stopper, actually. (e.g. "Strangers on a Train")
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post #163 of 383
12/12/06 at 9:52am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

First season was actually my favorite. I always liked Briggs better than Phelps who I felt was too bland. Funny because I also was a fan of first season Mannix as well with their different format.
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post #164 of 383
12/12/06 at 10:01am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Mike A: "Ditto" on that for both series. I know that the "Graves" years of the series were more well-known, but I always liked that "silent-language" communication that Steven Hill had with Barbara Bain and the other team members, as well as his overall portrayal of the team leader. I thought that Peter Graves did a good job having to replace Hill, but I felt that the "intangible" that I mentioned earlier was missing from Graves' style in the role. However, I'll be buying more seasons as soon as they get here
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post #165 of 383
12/16/06 at 10:48pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Heh, color me as a Peter Graves fan, although I'm finding these pretty good too. Definitely some rough moments in the pilot, but that's not terribly surprising. Just finished watching Old Man Out, and not sure it's really going to be a favorite as it seems to be for some people here (sorry, even for MI, there's a limit to the believability stretching, and the "impossible to break out of prison" with the pitifully easy locks to pick are just a shade too far). Plus I just can't really seem to bring up any real emotional attachment to the old man, who quite frankly seems to have been played by a rag doll. But still, very enjoyable so far.

This show predates me, so all I ever saw it in reruns. Quite frankly, it may have actually be the attempted reincarnation of it that got me watching the original episodes.

Can't watch the first movie. It's a perfect example of why old tv shows should not be made into movies, and what they did with certain characters is just plain criminal in my mind. Second movie is ok as a movie, but easily could have been a movie that had no real ties to MI too. Haven't seen third.

BTW, that IS Peter Graves as the voice giving the mission instructions in this season, isn't it?
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post #166 of 383
12/17/06 at 3:33am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by GarySchrock
BTW, that IS Peter Graves as the voice giving the mission instructions in this season, isn't it?

No. The actor who gave the voice instructions throughout the TV series is a man with the forgettably common name of Robert Johnson. If you want to SEE him, check out the STAR TREK first pilot, "The Cage" or its series-version "The Menagerie". Mr. Johnson plays the heavy-set transporter officer and with his dulcit tones announces, "Mr. Spock, the system is coming on again!" as the Talosians beam up Captain Pike after his ordeal.

From what I've read, Mr. Johnson would come down to the MISSION production set ever few weeks and record a bunch of instruction tapes for the next few episodes.

Harry
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post #167 of 383
12/17/06 at 8:41am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Who was the voice that gave Phelps his instructions on the self-destructing laserdiscs in the new Mission series in the late 1980s?
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post #168 of 383
12/17/06 at 7:23pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Who was the voice that gave Phelps his instructions on the self-destructing laserdiscs in the new Mission series in the late 1980s?

That was also Robert Johnson. The man of a thousand monster voices figured prominently in the old "The Outer Limits" ("Don't Open 'till Doomsday", "Fun and Games", "Counterweight", "Corpus Earthling" and many others). I've always liked his distinct commanding voice. It was Robert Justman who recommended Johnson to M:I series creator Bruce Geller.
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post #169 of 383
12/19/06 at 7:23pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Harry-N
No. The actor who gave the voice instructions throughout the TV series is a man with the forgettably common name of Robert Johnson. If you want to SEE him, check out the STAR TREK first pilot, "The Cage" or its series-version "The Menagerie". Mr. Johnson plays the heavy-set transporter officer and with his dulcit tones announces, "Mr. Spock, the system is coming on again!" as the Talosians beam up Captain Pike after his ordeal.

Thanks. I might just have to pop that in and take a look.
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post #170 of 383
12/20/06 at 11:47am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

I'm really enjoying reading this thread! This Season 1 set is on my Xmas list and I can't wait to start watching these episodes. Let's hope these sell well so we get all the seasons, as well as the 80's version of the show.
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post #171 of 383
12/24/06 at 10:54pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Picked this up for my Mom for Christmas. She is going to be THRILLED. Look forward to seeing a few episodes with her...
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post #172 of 383
12/25/06 at 10:54am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Santa left Season One under the tree, and we watched the pilot episode today. Great stuff! Nice transfer - better than the show's ever looked before!

Harry
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post #173 of 383
1/5/07 at 1:27pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

I have watched the first eight episodes of this series - fantastic. The video quality is absolutely superb. I don't really understand why these 50s and 60s series look so good and most of the stuff from the 70s and 80s look awful in comparison. Does it have anything to do with the fact that the earlier stuff was shot on film and later shows were shot on video tape?
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post #174 of 383
1/5/07 at 7:43pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug^Ch
Does it have anything to do with the fact that the earlier stuff was shot on film and later shows were shot on video tape?
I think it has more to do with many later shows being *edited* on videotape. Many shows done in the 80s and 90s would have still been shot on 35mm film, but lost resolution when they were transferred to video to edit the final broadcast master, which still would have been considered good enough resolution for broadcast at the time they went out. The original, unedited 35mm film might no longer exist, or it might be cost-prohibitive to try to recreate the show from scratch from the original elements.
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post #175 of 383
2/14/07 at 9:54am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Any idea when Season 2 is coming out? According to AmazonUK, it's being released on May 7 in Region 2 land. I'd assume it's on the same schedule in the US. Season One is as entertaining as I remembered (from seeing the later season, that is, since I never saw the Dan Briggs year in syndication), and the picture and sound quality is fantastic, making up for the total lack of extras.
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post #176 of 383
2/14/07 at 11:28am

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

I can't wait for season 2 either.
On a German website there was even region 2 cover art already - looking very much like season 1, just in blue instead of yellow - and including Peter Graves of course. It was totally pretty.
I hope we'll get that version for region two as well! I neeeeeeeeed it.
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post #177 of 383
2/14/07 at 12:05pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

That's weird this was found on play.com

Mission Impossible: Season 2
Pre-order
Due for release on 12/03/2007

Different release dates?? Which one is correct?
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post #178 of 383
2/14/07 at 4:13pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Apparently it's out 12 April in region 4.
Here is the EzyDVD listing. It even shows the cover art Ralf mentioned, with blue colour scheme and Peter Graves. And I think it looks better than the season 1 art.
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post #179 of 383
2/15/07 at 4:56pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seymour Uranowitz
But it would help sales if a decent number of the movie-only crowd picked up the set on a blind buy, assuming some relationship.

I'm sure that's what they were hoping for when they initially used the movie logo for the box set. But someone obviously talked them out of it.
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post #180 of 383
2/15/07 at 7:46pm

Re: At long last, Mission: Impossible!

play.com is headquarted in britian,ezydvd.com in australia which means
it probably won't come out at the same time here
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