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The Best Episodes of Mission: Impossible Season 1

Every episode of Mission: Impossible Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Mission: Impossible Season 1!

The Best Episodes of Mission: Impossible Season 1

Mission: Impossible is an American television series that chronicles the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force....
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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 1 - The Killer
    7.2/10(124 votes)

    #1 - The Killer

    S1:E1

    When an IMF team leader is assassinated, Jim Phelps comes out of retirement and assembles a new team to bring the killer to justice.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Arthur Weiss

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  2. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 2 - The System
    7.2/10(86 votes)

    #2 - The System

    S1:E2

    The team must force a mobster to turn evidence against his partner and mentor.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Robert Hamner

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  3. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 3 - Holograms
    7.2/10(82 votes)

    #3 - Holograms

    S1:E3

    The IMF must lure a canny drug lord on to U.S. territory so he can be arrested for his crimes.

    Director:Kim Manners
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 4 - The Condemned
    7.2/10(83 votes)

    #4 - The Condemned

    S1:E4

    The team must free a falsely-condemned prisoner - former IMF techno-genius Barney Collier.

    Director:Cliff Bole
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 5 - The Legacy
    7.6/10(80 votes)

    #5 - The Legacy

    S1:E5

    When the sons of four Nazis come together to recover a fortune in gold and create the Fourth Reich, the team must infiltrate the group and locate the gold.

    Director:Kim Manners
    Writer:Allan Balter

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  6. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 6 - The Wall
    7.2/10(68 votes)

    #6 - The Wall

    S1:E6

    A East German doctor makes money by tricking political refugees into paying to use his escape route, and kidnaps a diplomat's daughter to prevent the reunification which would make his services obsolete. The IMF must rescue the girl, who is trapped on a life support machine with time running out.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 7 - The Cattle King
    7.3/10(65 votes)

    #7 - The Cattle King

    S1:E7

    The IMF teams up with Australian aborigines to bring down a superstitious cattle king and arms dealer.

    Director:Michael Vejar
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 8 - The Pawn
    8.0/10(77 votes)

    #8 - The Pawn

    S1:E8

    When a Russian scientist and chess player decides to defect, Nicholas must take his place under the watchful eyes of the KGB while the rest of the team gets the scientist and his daughter out of the country.

    Director:Brian Trenchard-Smith
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 9 - The Haunting
    7.2/10(73 votes)

    #9 - The Haunting

    S1:E9

    When a rich young sociopath kills a Middle Eastern princess and her father threatens war, the IMF must bring him to justice.

    Director:Michael Vejar
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 10 - The Lions
    6.9/10(66 votes)

    #10 - The Lions

    S1:E10

    A king's son returns to his Asian country to take the test that will confirm him as the king, but his uncle, a rabid anti-American, has rigged it so that he can fail, so the IMF must rig it back.

    Director:Rob Stewart
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 11 - The Greek
    6.4/10(63 votes)

    #11 - The Greek

    S1:E11

    Jim and Grant must get close to a Greek billionnaire who runs a black market drug ring, and turn his partners against him.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 12 - The Fortune
    7.8/10(70 votes)

    #12 - The Fortune

    S1:E12

    A team member is killed on solo assignment against the wife of a mentally-weak exiled dictator, and the others resolve to bring them both to justice.

    Director:Rod Hardy
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 13 - The Fixer
    6.9/10(61 votes)

    #13 - The Fixer

    S1:E13

    A Washington journalist uses his connections to gain information to blackmail politicians, posing a threat to the U.S.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 14 - Spy
    7.9/10(60 votes)

    #14 - Spy

    S1:E14

    An ex-MI6 agent sells lethal chemical weapons and the IMF must team up with a Russian spy whose people also want to eliminate the threat.

    Director:Rob Stewart
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 15 - The Devils
    7.9/10(63 votes)

    #15 - The Devils

    S1:E15

    A rash of insanity among diplomats requires Jim to go undercover as...the Devil, to get the goods on a British lord in charge of a Satanic cult.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 16 - The Plague
    6.9/10(61 votes)

    #16 - The Plague

    S1:E16

    An industrial spy prepares to sell a vial of bacteria, unaware of how virulent it is if accidentally released.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 17 - Reprisal
    7.4/10(61 votes)

    #17 - Reprisal

    S1:E17

    A deranged ex-IMFer targets retired IMF agents, killing them and framing Jim Phelps for the crimes. The IMF gives Jim only a little time to prove his innocence before they must turn him over to the authorities.

    Director:Rob Stewart
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 18 - Submarine
    7.1/10(65 votes)

    #18 - Submarine

    S1:E18

    A retired admiral prepares to sell a computer virus that can sink any naval vessel, but the plan goes awry when he destroys the computer ""cure"" before the IMF can get it. Now they must force the admiral to reveal the ""cure.""

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Mission: Impossible Season 1 Episode 19 - Bayou
    7.4/10(64 votes)

    #19 - Bayou

    S1:E19

    The IMF must use voodoo rituals to break up a white slavery ring run by a sadistic Louisiana bar owner and millionnaire.

    Director:Don Chaffey
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"The Killer" is the best rated episode of "Mission: Impossible" season 1. It scored 7.2/10 based on 124 votes. Directed by Cliff Bole and written by Arthur Weiss, it aired on 10/23/1988. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "The System".