Others say...

"Mission Impossible - The Fourth TV Season"
The fourth season of Mission: Impossible finds the series making a second major change in cast. After season one Stephen Hill was replaced by Peter Graves which was a very positive change. After the third season the team loses Martin Landau (Rollin Hand) & Barbara Bain (Cinnamon). To the best of my knowledge Landau wanted a big raise but CBS wouldn't give it; Bain quit in support of Landau, they were married at the time. So in season four Leonard Nimoy joins the cast replacing Martin Landau but no permanent replacement was made for Bain. I distinctly remember this change & looked eagerly toward the new season. I was a big fan of Leonard Nimoy after his portrayal of Mr. Spock from the legendary series Star Trek. I didn't have anything against Landau, I enjoyed his performances very much &, honestly, CBS made a wise decision in not attempting to replace Bain.

The fourth season of Mission: Impossible has a total of 26 episodes &, like any series, there are some good episodes & some weak episodes. The opening episode, "The Code" was a good choice for the premiere introducing the character Paris to the viewing public. "Numbers Game" is one of the team's most complicated efforts. "The Submarine" is even more elaborate. "The Falcon" is a three part episode that has no padding; this story is a strong one. I think that casting could have cast someone else in the role that Noel Harrison does, he's not the best actor in the world. It seems to me that with this episode CBS was making a conscious effort to appeal to younger viewers. "Gitano" has a young Barry Williams (Greg Brady from The Brady Bunch) portrays a 12 year old king. "Lover's Knot" might be the set's weakest episode in which the team goes to London. Paris falls for a foreign agent & doesn't like the consequences the lady will have to face. I'm not saying it isn't possible for an agent to become romantically involved but this was a VERY professional team. Some of it might be because I didn't feel that Nimoy was very convincing in this episode. "Death Squad" is an unique episode in the Mission: Impossible catalog; Barney is accused of Murder while on vacation with Jim in a Spanish speaking locale. It dispenses with the normal "Good Morning, Mr. Phelps..." bit & shows the team at their ad-libbing best having to create a plan on the spot. Pernell Roberts guest stars making his second appearance in a Mission: Impossible episode. Season four closes with "The Martyr" another weak episode that makes a strong appeal to younger viewers.

There aren't any bonus features unless you include subtitles. There is a warning that "some episodes may be edited from their original network versions" though, honestly, I can't tell. It's been a long time since I have seen these episodes. Of course this IS CBS/Paramount who became notorious with their release of The Fugitive, Season 2, Vol. 1. But the tampering as in the previous season releaes has been kept to a minimum.

"Not only actors got flushed"
Many fans will miss the presence of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain in this fourth season. They both added a very distinctive flavor to the show.

Replacing them were Mr. Spock... sorry, Leonard Nimoy... and a stream of guest actresses, some good, others very much of "guest star" stature or worse.

Nimoy starts out rough. His acting for the first handful of episodes is flat and insipid. Later, he starts to show more range and variety and it becomes interesting to see different sides of him. I suspect that this is at least in part due to bad directing in the early episodes. It doesn't take long for Nimoy to relinquish the title of worst actor among the regulars to Peter Graves.

Once the new cast hits its stride, it's back to being enjoyable, but Landau and Bain weren't the only ones who got dumped. So was plausibility.

In the first three seasons, the scenarios mostly tended to be built around highly improbable situations and confluences of favorable events, but while extremely unlikely, they were still plausible. In the fourth season, plausibility is thrown to the wind and you find our happy-go-lucky crew instantly writing 200-page books that pass muster when experts in the field read them and wielding sci-fi gadgets like holographic projectors. Sticking to the plausible made the first 3 seasons seem clever. Gone is the cleverness, replaced by cheap theatrics and so much divine intervention that the ancient Greek thespians themselves would cringe at the abuse.

It's still fun to watch, but it's a lower form of art than the previous seasons.

"M I the t-v series"
Interesting to see dial phones, lots of smoking and occasional drinking and of course all vehicles had no seat belts. But the extremely dated technology was overshadowed by the clever plots and were geographically usually in places you can't find on a map, Polonia? Costa Verde? looked like California to me

"Mission Imp Seas IV"
As with the other 3 seasons, this DVD set arrived in perfect condition and played every episode with out a glitch. One thing I wish -- a commentary on a few of the episodes, I realize it has been nearly 40 years, but most of the crew is still alive. Unlike Hogan's Heroes, where only Helga and LeBeau are able to discuss their memories of making the show. Even without, it is a great series to watch and watch again.

"Not bad at all"
Quality season...I think the first that has Leonard Nimoy (Dr. Spok from the old Star Treks) therein.