Mission: Impossible

Due to the 1988 writers' strike preventing new scripts from being written, ABC decided to launch a new series by using updated scripts from the original Mission: Impossible series.

According to Patrick White's book The Complete Mission Impossible Dossier, the series was originally planned to be a true remake with new actors playing original characters like Rollin Hand and Cinnamon Carter; however, just before filming, the characters were rewritten as original creations, with the exception of Jim Phelps.

To reduce production costs, the series was filmed in Australia rather than America; the first season was shot at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, and the second season in Melbourne, with production costs in Australia in 1988 being 20 percent lower than in Hollywood.

The new Mission: Impossible became one of the first American commercial network programs filmed in Australia and featured many Australian actors in the cast.

Grant Collier, the son of Barney Collier, was played by Phil Morris, who was the real-life son of Greg Morris; the character was specifically written to be Barney's son to take advantage of this father-son relationship.

The character played by Lynda Day George, who originated Lisa Casey in the original series, was given the surname Casey and first name Lisa in the new series because there was another agent named Casey Randall in the new show.

In the series, unlike the original, the team frequently had to deviate from their initial plan during missions and improvised by using their equipment in unforeseen ways.

When the series moved to Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in the second season, it had to compete with NBC's The Cosby Show and A Different World, ratings dropped rapidly, and this change was described as a disaster.