Mission: Impossible: The CBS Action Series Debuted 45 Years Ago

Many of today’s television viewers may not have ever seen a full episode of Mission: Impossible but they’re certainly familiar with the iconic theme song. Mission: Impossible debuted 45 years ago tonight on CBS.

The show ran for seven seasons, and inspired numerous parodies, a 1988 sequel series on ABC (as a reaction to an impending writers strike), and three feature films. A fourth movie, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, is due to be released on December 21, 2011. The trailer is posted below.

Mr. Phelps, played by Peter Graves, is the character most associate with the series but he actually didn’t join the series until the second season. The original leader of the team was Dan Briggs, played by Law & Order’s Steven Hill.

Happy birthday to the members of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), wherever you may be. This post will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

What do you think? Are you a fan of this TV series? Do you have a favorite character or episode?