Mission: Impossible

[David V]

Sometimes, remakes of a TV show could be seen as struggling to satisfy fans of the original series or capture the original spirit of such. But is it always?

The "remake" of Mission: Impossible appeared in 1988, during the writers' strike. Peter Graves reprised his role as Jim Phelps. Phil Morris, son of Greg Morris, played Grant Collier who was in every way his father's son. Thaao Phenglis, of Days fame, played master of disguise and impersonation Nicholas Black. As a result of the strike, the first few episodes were remakes of the original with recycled scripts- however, the remainder of the episodes over the course of its two seasons were all originals.

I actually recorded most of the episodes and still have them on tape. If anything, it wasn't so much a "remake" of the series as it was a continuation. It was one of the best remakes for me because it stayed faithful to the original concept of the series, albeit updated with highly sophisticated technology bordering on sci-fi. Greg Morris and Lynda Day George even returned for guest roles- the former having a major role in the premiere of the second season. The only major cast change saw Terry Markwell (who was regarded as being a rather poor actress) being replace by Jane Badler, who did a much better job.

Furthermore, the 1988 series looks even better now when compared to the M:I movies which to most fans of the TV series represent a heinous betrayal of the concept and spirit of the series.