Mission: Impossible (TV Series) Wheels (1966) User Reviews

Relatively weak

[ingemar-4 · 6/10 · 5 September 2010]

The plot may be convoluted and far-fetched in many MI episodes, but this one just doesn't work. The risks are way too big more than once, the timing is unreasonable. That makes it more a parody of itself than a thriller. Acting is perfectly OK but not on par with the best, probably since the script is weak.

So, why doesn't it work? Several reasons:

• How can they ever expect to break into jail like that and have enough time to analyze the voting machines? - You just can't find a look-alike to Martin Landau anywhere. His looks are very unique. - How can they expect to be alone with the voting machine for even a second? Again, they rely on time that can't reasonably exist at all. - How can they know that nobody looked at the count and wrote it down during the voting? - How will the poor salesman react when people ask about his severe illness? Won't that be a great help in any suspicions for a plot (which they already suspect)? And the medic treating Greg Morris also knows there was some kind of shady business, as well as the people in the real ambulance. - Won't the man helping to bring in the stretcher feel the weight of Morris?

That's plenty of holes in the plot. I want a bit less for a top episode, and maybe some smart re-planning for unexpected turns (like "Old man out" and "Operation Rogosh").

Pleasingly "Bad"

[JANMAYFEB1 · 8/10 · 3 February 2018]

Ditto to the implausible aspects of this episode, as recognized by the other reviewers. However, I feel this is an instance of something being so bad that it is actually good. Cinnamon is a consummate intellectual and a very savvy professional. It is actually humorous to watch her try to pull off the gullible, injured female. Her persona is "pitiful" and in a contradictory way "cautious and watchful". The cops in this episode can barely believe her story because she does not authentically appear to be wounded. I love Mission Impossible, but I always find myself laughing through this episode because it is almost like a comedy sketch. Perhaps if I were watching it in 1966, it would come across differently. But in 2018 the flaws, contradictions, and unbelievable components of the episode are unintentionally funny.

Great appearances by...

[bobbyf · 18 June 2007]

In this episode, we find our agents trying to keep a potential despot from rigging an election. They are not charged with altering the outcome, but with keeping the outcome honest by undoing the mechanisms put in place by the corrupt candidate, played by Mark Lenard. We also see Percy Rodriguez as the candidate's puppet police captain. His presence is imposing and he adds a bit of dread for how he might discover our agents whenever he is on screen. The suspense is added to in this episode as Barney, the only agent capable of manipulating the machines to accurately report the vote, is shot and it is uncertain as to whether or not he can complete the mission. Lenard and Rodriguez - both Star Trek alumni as well - are great as the diabolic duo in this installment. For me, the idea that the IMF agents were charged with keeping the election honest - even if it meant the less-favored party might win - was compelling.

STEP RIGHT UP AND VOTE HERE!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 10 July 2023]

The early episodes of this iconic series unquestionably set the tone for what was to come. Mission: Fake out the bad guys big time. Never was there such a show on tv at the time, and for that matter, even in later years. Looking back in reruns, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE was also a dark comedy to a point, especially when the villains really, really got burned --- and that's what we all so waited for. And, you have to admit, the series paraded some genuinely egotistical, arrogant SOB's.

Here, the IMF team has the mission to stop a rigged election in a small country. This would be a common plot as the series continued, and fun to watch the team (via the Desilu, later Paramount backlot) chew up the international scenery. You had to love the disguises, particularly Martin Landau (as Rollin) here donning a blonde wig and European accent. This eventually lead to the famous face make-over segments, where Rollin would painstakingly mold, design and wear another person's face, usually the diabolical villain or one of his closest associates.

Popular dramatic actor Percy Rodriguez, a staple in so many cop shows in the 60s and 70s, plays the notorious Captain Trez here. Watch him sweat it out. The original IMF leader, Steven Hill (as Briggs), was very convincing in his role and a terrific actor, however religious beliefs kept him from working after sunset, so many scenes had to be re-worked around his personal schedule. He was absent (or had a very small part) in a few episodes, either as reprimand or producers just couldn't fit him in. This was a growing problem. To this day, 50 years later, I still wonder how he was hired in the first place? Didn't anyone ask? And when he was fired from the show at the end of the first season, it was a BIG Hollywood story and, even, the fate of the series hung in the balance for awhile.

This opened the door for a new front man, that being Peter Graves. Yes, he worked nights!!

The opening scene wher Briggs parks his car at the woodmill, looks to be like the Desilu backlot mill where all the tv sets were actually constructed. A rather clever touch, and when you come down to it very cost-effective as the backlots were used again and again (so much that you began to recognize the place as though you worked there yourself!) SEASON 1 EPISODE 7 restored box set, CBS/Paramount 2006.

Every episode is amazing

[Imthebadest · 10/10 · 12 January 2022]

I was born in 1973 and now am 48 years old.

I watched this show when I was a child. From 2020-2022 the only shows I watch over and over again are Mission impossible, Gunsmoke and Sea quest.

This particular episode of Mission impossible is amazing and the aesthetically brilliant backgrounds and characters pull you into the 1960s and the show itself.

Anybody who says this show or episode is bad need not post on this comment section.

Tv today even with special affects can never live up or entertain like Tv and movies from the golden years.

Epic and magical... Don't hesitate 2 watch this episode or program if you have never watched it.

So amazing.

Some of the greatest actors of all time.

A surprisingly bad episode from an otherwise great season 1

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 3 February 2014]

Even the best show occasionally has a bad episode--and "Wheels" is definitely that. However, remember that apart from this one, the series, particularly season one, was spectacularly good.

This time around, the mission takes them to a Latino country where there is an upcoming election. However, it appears that the ruling Nationalist Party is not about to just hand over control to the more popular Liberty Party--and they'll rig one of the voting machines so that the election will swing their way. So, the team must sneak in and fix the machine before the election is complete to make things fair (though I have no idea why they don't cheat a little to help the Liberty Party). Their plans are interrupted, however, when Barney is shot. He ain't dead--but it's not going to be easy for an injured Barney to complete the job.

So why is this episode so bad? Well, it's not because the episode is generally slow--which it is. No, it's because during the mission they meet Rollin's identical double!! Miguel Cordova is exactly like Rollin and the audience is supposed to fall for the old identical stranger cliché! An identical stranger, by the way, that just happens to be in the right place at the right time!! Duh.

Pictures are a thousand words

[bornagain710-331-212635 · 10/10 · 2 July 2021]

Pictures on the wall of the jail are supposed to represent political figures of the fictional country but they are semi famous figures in Latin American history such as Juaquin Murietta an infamous bandit. And possible Latin American 40's movies stars.

Wheels

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 8 April 2024]

Donald Trump's favourite Mission Impossible episode.

Daniel Briggs and his IMF team have to deal with rigged voting machines in the small Latin American country of Valeria.

The despotic ruler has made sure that all the opponent votes are undercounted. Barney Collier their electronics expert thinks it is possible to get access to the voting machines and fix them.

Only he gets seriously wounded. Now the team has to improvise. Meanwhile Rollin Hand has to impersonate a voter, luckily he finds one that looks just like him.

This one is just a little too silly. A staged accident of an ambulance. I was so happy random members of the public were not seriously injured when the ambulance crashed into a shop.

A polling station where no one else was waiting to vote. The police captain was suspicious about something but he was happy for fake paramedics to close the voting booth curtain. So they could deal with an ailing voter.