Why the Original ‘Mission: Impossible’ Cast Hated the Movie Reboot

Long before Tom Cruise was hanging off airplanes and jumping motorcycles off cliffs, Mission: Impossible was a hit television series about a team of secret agents pulling off some pretty elaborate plans. The original show premiered on CBS on Sept. 17, 1966, making this year its 60th anniversary. Steven Hill led the first season as Dan Briggs, with Barbara Bain, Martin Landau, Greg Morris, and Peter Lupus among the familiar faces on his team.

Peter Graves joined in Season 2 as Jim Phelps and quickly became one of the stars most closely associated with the show. He stayed through the rest of its original seven-season run and even returned as Phelps when Mission: Impossible was revived in 1988.