The BEST episodes of Mission: Impossible (1988) season 1

Every episode of Mission: Impossible (1988) season 1, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Mission: Impossible (1988) season 1!

In this update of the original 60's series, Peter Graves returns as Jim Phelps, head of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). Brought out of retirement by the death of his successor and protege, he brings together a team of four skilled operatives and leads them as they travel the globe conducting "impossible" covert missions for the U.S. His new team consists of Nicholas Black, master of disguise; Max Harte, self-trained soldier; Grant Collier, technological genius and son of former IMFer Barney Collier; Casey Randall, femme fatale (and killed in action in episode 1.10), and Shannon Reed, another femme fatale and former newscaster and Secret Service Agent.

Last Updated: 8/18/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Ended
Share:
Spy
star
8.11
19 votes

#1 - Spy

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 3/18/1989

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.

Directors: Rob Stewart
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Reprisal
star
7.85
20 votes

#2 - Reprisal

Season 1 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/15/1989

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.

Directors: Rob Stewart
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Bayou
star
7.65
20 votes

#3 - Bayou

Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 5/6/1989

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

Directors: Don Chaffey
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Submarine
star
7.57
21 votes

#4 - Submarine

Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/29/1989

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.""

Directors: Colin Budds
Writer: Dale Duguid
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Cattle King
star
7.52
29 votes

#5 - The Cattle King

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/18/1988

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

Directors: Mike Vejar
Writer: Ted Roberts
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Lions
star
7.42
52 votes

#6 - The Lions

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 2/4/1989

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.

Writer: James Crown
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Killer
star
7.41
85 votes

#7 - The Killer

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/23/1988

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

Directors: Cliff Bole
Writer: Arthur Weiss
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Pawn
star
7.40
50 votes

#8 - The Pawn

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/15/1989

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.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Legacy
star
7.37
54 votes

#9 - The Legacy

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/26/1988

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.

Directors: Kim Manners
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Holograms
star
7.33
57 votes

#10 - Holograms

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/6/1988

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

Directors: Kim Manners
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The System
star
7.30
66 votes

#11 - The System

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/30/1988

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

Directors: Cliff Bole
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Fortune
star
7.29
51 votes

#12 - The Fortune

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/18/1989

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.

Directors: Rod Hardy
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Greek
star
7.28
50 votes

#13 - The Greek

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/11/1989

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

Directors: Colin Budds
Writer: Ted Roberts
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Devils
star
7.26
23 votes

#14 - The Devils

Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/25/1989

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.

Directors: Arch Nicholson
Writer: Ted Roberts
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Condemned
star
6.93
55 votes

#15 - The Condemned

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/20/1988

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

Writer: John Truman
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Wall
star
6.88
56 votes

#16 - The Wall

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 12/11/1988

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.

Directors: Colin Budds
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Haunting
star
6.76
55 votes

#17 - The Haunting

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/28/1989

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

Directors: Mike Vejar
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Plague
star
6.65
20 votes

#18 - The Plague

Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 4/8/1989

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

Directors: Colin Budds
Writer: Rick Maier
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Fixer
star
6.24
21 votes

#19 - The Fixer

Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/25/1989

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

Directors: Colin Budds
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV