Mission: Impossible

The Survivors - S2-E3

Continuity mistake: At the end, Rollin holds a rifle pointed straight at Stavak. When the shot cuts to a different angle, he's instantly holding the gun lengthwise and at a lower level. (00:46:35)

Jean G

The Bank - S2-E4

Continuity mistake: Cinnamon watches The Bank secretary get up and walk to the manager's door. After a cut, the woman is once again seated at her desk, stands and again approaches the door. (00:32:15)

Jean G

The Bank - S2-E4

Continuity mistake: When the two baddies are counting out the money stolen from their latest victim, the piles of currency change positions on the table between takes.

Jean G

The Seal - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: When Mr Phelps finishes choosing the mission candidates he closes the bag and puts it on the table. When they show us the bag with the IMF typing on it, it is now open again.

Scorpion99

The Seal - S2-E9

Continuity mistake: When the episode starts, Mr Phelps put a black cassette to listen, during the mission announcement, we can see that the cassette color is white and even the cassette player is different.

Scorpion99

Charity - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: The drink Cinnamon ultimately knocks off the edge of the pool table moves several inches between takes, and in one shot disappears altogether. (00:23:40)

Jean G

Charity - S2-E10

Continuity mistake: When Hagar's wife opens the Mercedes' trunk, the deflated silver mat is wrinkled and covers the entire space. When she picks it up, it's less than half its original size and has no wrinkles in it at all. (00:47:50)

Jean G

The Photographer - S2-E15

Continuity mistake: In the opening sequence, the tape giving Phelps his assignment is running backwards in some shots, isn't threaded properly in others, and in reverse angles, it's running twice as fast as it is in the previous shots. (00:02:30)

Jean G

Recovery - S2-E25

Continuity mistake: As Phelps receives his assignment, the amount of tape on the recorder changes several times between shots. So does the style/design of the plastic reels. (00:02:05)

Jean G

The System - S3-E15

Continuity mistake: Phelps takes the tape from the recorder's right-hand spindle. When he opens the acid vat, we can see the tape he just removed back on the recorder - but on the left spindle. The tape he then drops into the acid doesn't remotely resemble the one he pulled, and when he drops it, the recorder's left spindle, where the full tape was in the last shot and where the empty reel should be, now has nothing on it at all. (00:02:50)

Jean G

More mistakes in Mission: Impossible

Voice on Tape: Good morning Mister Phelps.

More quotes from Mission: Impossible

The Psychic - S1-E28

Trivia: Watch the drive-in theater marquis when Briggs drives in to pick up his assignment. It reads "Geller and Solow / Spend the Money" - an in-joke reference to producer Bruce Geller and Desilu executive Herb Solow.

Jean G

More trivia for Mission: Impossible

Show generally

Question: At the start of each episode of Mission Impossible Briggs or Phelps received details of the mission from a tape recording that was 'hidden in plain sight', say a telephone booth displaying a poster saying 'Telephone Out Of Order. Do Not Use'. So, what would happen if somebody went into the kiosk before Briggs or Phelps, picked up the telephone and got the secret message ahead of the Mission Impossible team?

Rob Halliday

Answer: We don't know what would happen because the show never addressed this issue. Any answer would be speculation. This is a TV show, and the plot is structured so that only IMF team will retrieve the secret message.

raywest

Answer: This is not really a serious question. When I posted this question I was fully aware that Mission Impossible is only a television programme. Like many espionage thrillers (Man From Uncle, The Avengers, James Bond) it is meant to entertain, it is never meant to be taken literally seriously. It was essential to the story that Briggs or Phelps received a secret message, which would give them a mission to accomplish. If they did not receive the message you would not have had the story. When I used to watch Mission Impossible it just used to amuse me to wonder what might have happened had somebody picked up the phone containing the secret message ahead of Briggs or Phelps. I even considered writing to a comedian and suggesting that they devise a comedy sketch in which this happened. My question was only meant to be a joke, that I posted to amuse people.

Rob Halliday

The Lucy Show or Here's Lucy did an episode of exactly this scenario.

More questions & answers from Mission: Impossible

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.