Pilot

Pilot
Series	Mission: Impossible (First Series)
Season	1
Episode	1
Airdate	September 17, 1966
Written by	Bruce Geller
Directed by	Bernard L. Kowalski
Guests	Martin Landau Wally Cox
Previous episode	None
Next episode	Memory
Episode list	Season 1

Pilot was the series premiere of Mission: Impossible.

Cast

Starring

• Steven Hill:
  • as Dan Briggs (alias Mr. Barry)
  • as Rollin Hand (disguised as Mr. Barry)

Also Starring

• Barbara Bain as Cinnamon Carter (alias Mrs. Linnear)
• Greg Morris as Barney Collier
• Peter Lupus as Willy Armitage

Guest Star

• Martin Landau:
  • as Rollin Hand
  • as Rollin Hand (disguised as Mr. Linnear)
  • as Rio Dominguez

Special Guest Star

• Wally Cox:
  • as Terry Targo
  • as Terry Targo (disguised as Mr. Linnear)

Tape scene

Dan meeting with the record clerk, and accidentally Suzie, before receiving his mission briefing

Dan Briggs arrives at 3rd Ave. Odd Lots by elevator. He asks for a special recording, collector's series, but the woman he speaks to, Suzie, is unsure if they have such an item. Her boss arrives, and advises Suzie that he'll handle the situation, and she leaves.

Clerk: Exactly what recording were you looking for?

Dan: Pavane in G, by Ernest Vaughn of the Ban Symphonic Orchestra, 1963.

Upon hearing the name, the clerk shuts the door, reaches behind his desk, and pulls out a red record. He hands the record to Dan, who thanks him, and then the record clerk leaves the office. Dan then opens and unseals the record and places it on a record player within the office, adjusting the record when it begins playing music to hear the mission briefing.

During the briefing, he looks at an image of General Dominguez that were provided in the record case, as well as a map of Santa Costa

Rio Dominguez

Santa Costa

Mission briefing

The record decomposed after one minute

Good morning, Mr. Briggs.

General Rio Dominguez, the dictator of Santa Costa, makes his headquarters in the Hotel Nacionale. We've learned that two nuclear warheads furnished to Santa Costa by an enemy power are contained in the hotel vault. Their use is imminent.

Mr. Briggs, your mission, should you decide to accept it, would be to remove both nuclear devices from Santa Costa.

As always, you have carte blanche as to method and personnel, but, of course, should you or any member of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.

As usual, this recording will decompose one minute after the breaking of the seal.

I hope it's welcome back, Dan. It's been a while.

Dossier scene

Dan sits down in his apartment (actually his customary residential quarters inside an IMF "safe house," the location of which is never specified) where he opens his IMF folder:

Unknown agent (Producer Bruce Geller)
Discarded

Rollin Hand
Accepted

Unknown agent
Discarded

Terrence "Terry" Targo
Accepted

Barnard Collier
Accepted

Unknown agent
Discarded

Cinnamon Carter
Accepted

Unknown agent (picture unseen)
Discarded

William Armitage
Accepted

Apartment scene

The team discusses their plan. (l-r) Dan, Willy, Cinnamon, Rollin, Terry, and Barney

In Dan's apartment, Barney, Cinnamon, Terry, Rollin, and Willy, are all playing poker. Terry stops Rollin from palming some coins when he "calls," before it's revealed that they all had cheating hands (notably, Rollin's five pair). They quickly get up when Dan enters the room.

Dan goes around the room, revealing that:

• Rollin will impersonate General Dominguez;
• Barney will tamper with the TV camera and microphone and rig a fireworks display in front of the hotel;
• Terry will remove the warheads from their container in the hotel vault, which he will also break out of.
• Willy will be in charge of transporting the 200 pound warheads from the vault by hand.
• Cinnamon will do "what comes naturally."

Mission

Dan and Willy arrived in Santa Costa together, with Willy serving as Dan's driver and manservant. Barney posed as an exterminator, with his electronics equipment hidden underneath animal extermination equipment. Dan had identity papers and reservations as "Mr. Barry," which allowed him entry into Hotel Nacionale.

Once he arrived at the hotel, Willy took the two large trunks out of the car, in preparation for placing them within the Hotel's vault. Cinnamon and Rollin arrived together as "Mr. and Mrs. Linnear."

Dan and Willy go to the vault, which is guarded by Colonel Alisio and five other members of the Santa Costa military. Willy carries the two large trunks into the vault and exits. After the vault is secured and closed, Terry exits the trunk and gets out his safecracker tools and starts to crack the safe. Over in the corner is the warheads. Terry does not know the combination he'll have to wait until the other members of the team break Dominguez who is in his stateroom.

Out in the lobby Willy reports back to Dan that the locks are color-coded and only Dominguez knows the combination.

Cinnamon creates a diversion in the lobby by dropping her purse so Dan can bug the phones. Rollin then opens up his suitcase and out pores a colony of mice. The colonel calls the exterminator not knowing he's actually talking to Barney who is in his truck outside.

Cinnamon then impersonates the operator and patches the bugged phone calls to Barney outside in his truck.

Back in the vault Terry is still setting up his safe cracking equipment and gets ready to bust out.

Now in her room Cinnamon pays the bellhop and closes and locks the door. Now that nobody can bother them Cinnamon and Rollin take off their disguises and unload their gear from their suitcases and Rollin begins his transformation by putting on his latex mask and becoming General Dominguez.

Back in the vault Terry almost has the combination he needs to get out of the vault and starts work on the tumblers so he can open the door.

Back outside in the lobby Barney talks to the colonel requesting permission to enter the generals room and look for mice the guards try to stop him but he gets permission to start his search.

Back in the vault Terry finally has the combination and begins the process of opening the vault. Out in the lobby the clerk doesn't know that the vault is starting to open. With his work complete Terry puts his tools away and gets back inside the trunk and waits for Willie to get him out.

In the lounge the colonel tells Willy and Dan that the speech was moved to tomorrow which means they will have to change their plans.

In the vent Barney sets up his equipment to prevent the general from delivering his speech.

Back in the lounge the colonel ask Cinnamon for Rollin's whereabouts she tells him that he's asleep.

Back in Cinnamon's room Rollin of course is not asleep he is watching tapes that Cinnamon brought with her in her suitcase showing Dominguez's most recent speech. He also puts the final touches on his identity mask so he can impersonate the general.

Dan and Terry look at their watches at the same time it is now 11 o'clock it is time to get Terry out of the vault.

Cinnamon goes back to her room. Rollin is still putting on his identity mask. He reaches for his revolver thinking that it's a guard coming in. When he sees Cinnamon approaching he puts the revolver down and finishes putting on his identity mask. When the makeup is complete Rollin Hand is now General Dominguez now they have to kidnap the real general and get the code out of him to remove the warheads in the vault.

Back in the lobby Dan and Willy go to the vault to remove Terry and the steamer trunks and take him to Cinnamon's room and work out their plan.

It is now time to kidnap Dominguez. Rollin impersonates Mr. Linnear with Cinnamon pushing the wheelchair. She creates a diversion by having the guards look at her slip so Rollin can impersonate General Dominguez. Rollin now disguised as General Dominguez rebukes them and allows Dan and Willy into the Executive Suite upstairs. Cinnamon continues to distract the guards Rollin then tells them to send Cinnamon up to the Executive Suite in about 10 minutes. Dan and Willy punch the guards and hide them away in the steamer trunks. Terry is then removed from the trunk in preparation to accept General Dominguez. Terry picks the lock Dominguez comes out realizes something is up and slams the door on Terry's fingers breaking them he can no longer be a safe cracker. Rollin punches Dominguez and then they load him into the trunk. IMF has to come up with Plan C. Terry's fingers are now broken he is no longer of use to the Impossible Mission Force.

Down in the lobby they are continuing to set up for the speech. Barney runs a wire out of the window to the garden outside this will be part of the fireworks display in the finale.

Willy removes the guards for the room and IMF begins preparations for plan C. Cinnamon knocks on the door it is time for her to do what she does best.

Plan C will be divided up into four parts.

• Dan will go into the Vault with Dominguez to break him and get the combination to the warheads.
• Terry and Rollin will impersonate Mr. Linnear so Cinnamon has to sneak into the lobby and steal a time card.
• Cinnamon will do what she does best and make it look like she is having an affair with Dominguez so Rollin can put on his identity mask.
• Rollin will impersonate Dominguez until the speech is interrupted by Barney.
• Barney will plant a bugging device in the vent so Rollin does not have to do the speach.
• After the speech is interrupted Rollin will impersonate Dan so Willy can get the suitcases out of the vault and IMF can escape.

The plan is now in motion. Dan and Willy smuggle Dominguez and Terry out of the executive suite in the steamer trunks and take them to Cinnamon's room so Terry can get out and Dan can get in.

Up in the vent Barney sets up his bugging device. He needs to be ready when the speech is interrupted.

Minutes later, Rollin now disguised as Dominguez has to use Cinnamon as bait. The plan Cinnamon will make it look like she is having an affair with Dominguez so Rollin can put on his mask. The Colonel comes in and is worried about the guards. He mentions the intelligence briefing the real Dominguez had that morning. Fearing that his cover might be blown Rollin turns towards the bedroom door. Cinnamon comes out wearing nothing but a towel. Thinking that Cinnamon is having an affair with General Dominguez the colonel leaves the room and Rollin locks the door. The colonel just took the bait and the plan worked.

Back in Cinnamon's room Dan starts to break the general to get the code. Terry tells Dan the plan is going to backfire. There is no room in those steamer trunks for oxygen tanks or Terry's safe-cracking equipment. Since they are taking Dominguez with them into the vault instead of 12 hours of air they're going to have just six minutes of air which means Dominguez will have to give them the code and they'll have to get out of the vault quick or they will suffocate.

In the lobby Cinnamon steals the time card and distracts the clerk.

Back in Cinnamon's Room Terry tells Dan how to operate the safe-cracking equipment and Cinnamon knocks on the door to give Dan the time card. Dan stamps the card and then Cinnamon takes it back to the clerk.

in the vault Willy drops off Dan and Dominguez and then leaves the vault so it could be locked. Dan ungags Dominguez who starts calling for help. The clerk is sitting at the counter reading a pin-up magazine and Dan tells Dominguez that the clerk cannot hear him. He also tells him don't waste his breath because they have 6 minutes to get the codes for the warheads and then get out of the vault.

Back in Dominguez's Executive Suite Rollin is practicing for the speech.

Outside Barney sets up his mortars for the fireworks display.

Dan cracks the safe to give them air. Dominguez still won't talk saying that he will give IMF amnesty in exchange for the missiles not being fired at the United States. Dan tell him that's not going to work because Dominguez will still use them on any of the US allies in NATO.

Back in Dominguez's Executive Suite Rollin preps Dan's mask so he could put it on after the speech.

Dominguez still won't talk. If he does not give Dan the code he will have Willy take him out of the vault, and leave Dominguez in there to die. Also Dan tells Dominguez if he does not give him the code he will turn all of the tumblers on the crate; which has a thousand combinations. If Dan gets it wrong they go up in a mushroom cloud.

Back in Dominguez's Executive Suite the Colonel knocks on the door the speech starts in 20 minutes Rollin tells them to come back in 10.

The speech starts and Barney jams the broadcast this gives Rollin enough time to get back upstairs and change his mask.

Back in the vault Dominguez still won't talk, and Dan starts turning tumblers. Dan guesses that the combination is green white blue. Finally Dominguez talks the combination is not green white blue that is red white and blue which are the colors of the United States and France. Dan gets the code right releases the lock and removes the warheads.

Back outside in the lobby now that the plan has worked Barney and Rollin get ready to exfil. Rollin heads upstairs to change his mask. The colonel get suspicious​ and Rollin forgets to lock the door minutes later the colonel goes inside just as Rollin is changing and Rollin knocks him out.

Cinnamon and Terry plan their escape with Terry disguised as Mr. Linnear.

Back at the vault Rollin and Willy remove the two steamer trunk from the vault and they also exfil.

Barney waits outside in the van for both teams to exit the vault.

Cinnamon brings her case into the vault and Dan and Dominguez hide inside of the trunk. Cinnamon's case in reality contains an oxygen tank, Dan's jacket, and a bomb so they can blow the door open.

Barney sets off the fireworks to mask the explosion and Dan hitting the clerk on the back of the head.

Dan walks out the door as the colonel recognizes him thinking that he just walked out. Then the colonel realizes something is up goes to the vault finds the clerk knocked out and Dominguez bound and gagged inside the trunk. He unties Dominguez and starts ordering troops after IMF.

A plane arrives to pick up IMF and the warheads. IMF gets inside their plane and heads back to the States. Rollin throws the mask on the ground and boards the plane just as the troops show up.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Featuring

• Harry Davis as Alisio
• Paul Micale as Desk Clerk
• Patrick Campbell as Day Vault Clerk
• Fredric Villani as Night Vault Clerk
• Joe Breen as Loft Manager

Uncredited

• Josh Adams as New Guard
• Makee K. Blaisdell as Soldier
• Sondra Blake as Suzie
• Vic Dunlop as Head Waiter
• Bob Johnson as Voice on Tape
• Eddie Paskey as Steve
• David Renard as TV Floorman
• Martin Walker as Lobby Guard
• an unknown actor as the Record Clerk

Parodies

Like many popular TV shows, "Mission: Impossible" has been spoofed:

• On the Sandy Duncan Show, Sandy played an actress with a bit part on Mission: Impossible who keeps flubing her lines and ruins the scene. Peter Graves guest starred as himself.
• In the Get Smart episode "Impossible Mission", Max gets his orders from a tape recorder which blows up a bus locker but not itself. The tape recording warns Smart that if he refuses to accept the mission he'll be fired. Then, in a parody of the "Dossier" scene, Smart rejects entertainer Tiny Tim and Alfred E. Newman of Mad Magazine.
• Mad Magazine did a parody called "Mission: Ridiculous" in which Phelps and the IMF team pull off another Impossible mission even though the tape recording blows up a movie theater soda fountain.
• In a Cracked magazine parody, the tape recorded message informs Phelps that he and his team are out of date and are all fired.
• In the Josie and the Pussycats episode "Never Mind a Mastermind," Melody is mistaken for a spy and is given a pair of wooden shoes which deliver a secret message and then self destruct.
• In the teaser of Inspector Gadget, the bumbling Gadget receives a message from the "Chief" which always self destructs the "Chief."
• In a parody of both Mission: Impossible and Get Smart on the cartoon spoof The X-s, spy Mr. X receives a shoe phone message which then self destructs.
• In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Spy Buddies," SpongeBob and Patrick get an assignment through a recorded message in a Krabby Patty which self destruc