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51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE #4: Enter Paris the Great!, January 31, 2008
You step into the fourth season (1969-1970) of "Mission: Impossible", produced by two men: Stanley Kallis from season 3 and newcomer Bruce Lansbury (former "Wild Wild West" producer) who brings with him writer Ken Pettus, and, above all, it's creator Bruce Geller's final input before his departure. Witness if you will two paramount changes: a new master of disguises named Paris (played by Leonard Nimoy) and a legion of female agents but only one appear almost regularly (six times): Tracey (played by Lee Meriwether aka Bruce Geller's protégée) and she gives her best performance as fortune-teller Mrs. Vinsky in the three parter "The Falcon". You'll find three top episodes: "The Controllers, Part I & II" (guest starring David Sheiner and Dina Merrill), "The Falcon, Part I, II & III" (a superb monarchist and adventure story written by scripts genius Paul Playdon and guest starring John Vernon, Diane Baker and Noel Harrison), "Submarine" (guest starring Stephen McNally), and a selection of good ones: "The Crane", "Fool's Gold", "Gitano", "The Choice", "Orpheus" (written by scripts genius Paul Playdon and guest starring Albert Paulsen and Jessica Walter), "The Numbers Game", "The Code", "Robot" (guest starring Malachi Throne and Larry Linville), "The Double Circle" (guest starring Anne Francis). Actor Leonard Nimoy shines in three episodes: "The Code" as Che Guevara-like revolutionary El Lider, "The Falcon" as flamboyant magician Zastro, "The Choice" as Rasputine-like charlatan Emile Vautrain. Supported by producer Bruce Lansbury, writer Laurence Heath introduces private episodes centered around the love affair of IMFers: Paris ("Lover's Knot") and Barney ("Death Squad"). The music scores are very strong, especially two: "The Controllers" composed by Jerry Fielding and "Submarine" by Lalo Schifrin.
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33 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jim, if any of your IM force is caught or killed the secretary.., January 29, 2008
Have watched the first two seasons so far. Gorgeous prints and sound. Remarkable how a mid-sixties show holds up and doesn't come across dated. Imagine the great writers this show employed because every week for seven years they wrote a one hour sting movie!In this fourth season Martin Landau left the show and was replaced by Leonard Nimoy just off the cancelled Star Trek series ( dumb Paramount executives! )His character was named Paris. Ironically, Martin turned down the Spock character and here we now have Nimoy replacing HIM on Mission Impossible!.. By the way Paramount, do we have to thank the ghost of Lucille Ball ( cause it was created by Desilu) for not screwing the public on the price by splitting it into two half seasons and charging the same price as an entire series like you have with Gunsmoke, Rawhide and the Untouchables? Shame on you. You should stop this practice immediately. We have only so much money to spend on DVD's. The Untouchables is four years, Rawhide is eight, and Gunsmoke is twenty. Please stop! PLEASE!!!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mission: Impossible Goes In New Directions, October 29, 2008
Season Three of Mission Impossible had major upheavals in which the main writers of the series abruptly quit. The show survived this by brining in Paul Playdon as lead writer and Stanley Kallis as Producer. Season Four began with even more potentially damaging changes as Martin Landau and Barbara Bain also abruptly left the show. To replace Landau's "Rollin Hand" character who wore masks and impersonated other people, Leonard Nimoy was brought in as "Paris" (we never learn his first name). Nimoy is not the actor Landau is, and he complained later that he was not given enough challenging roles, but he was adequate. His best performances were in the episodes "Gitano" and "The Code" which otherwise were not among the best stories. Later in the season, lead writer Paul Playdon left the show due to exhaustion, along with Producer Stanley Kallis. In spite of this, the show continued to make fine entertaining episodes, in spite of the fact that no single leading lady actress was brought in to replace Barbara Bain's "Cinnamon Carter" character.
In two especially good episodes, "The Crane" and "The Submarine", the IM Force has to race the clock as intensive police cordons are zeroing in on them while they have to deceive a leader of a police state or break an "unbreakable" prisoner. On the whole, this season has as many fine episodes as do the preceding seaons, in spite of the difficulties the cast and crew faced. Highly recommended.
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