A man walks into a record store, requests a specific album, is given a place to test the record, and then, while listening to his vinyl, receives a secret message, assigning him a do-or-die mission. Yes, this describes a scene featuring Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) in the 2015 film Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, but it’s also the first scene of any Mission: Impossible thing, ever. The original series, which debuted on September 17, 1966, was one of two new adventure series from Desilu Studios that year, both of which were produced and sold to different networks by producer Herbert F. Solow. Today, Mission: Impossible — created by Bruce Geller — celebrates its 60th anniversary, oddly, in the shadow of the other Desilu show sold by Solow — Star Trek.
Here’s why 60 years later, the classic Mission: Impossible remains watchable, pivotal, and strangely underrated.
