Question for all the fans: which actress did you prefer? And could you pick your favorite episode for each episode. I prefer Bain, and thought her best work was in "The Exchange". but I am curious for all opinions. Thanks.
the best that you can do is fall in love
I can't put my finger on which episode would be my favorite because there's just so many tremendous episodes, but I prefer Barbara Bain. But from an eye candy standpoint, I'd have to go with Linda day George and I really liked her too.
shareI'd go with Barbara Bain. Her experience as an actress came through with so many of her performances. The Sort Tailed Spy from Season 1 at the top of the list. Close tie for seconds from season 3 were The Heir Apparent and The Exchange.
shareI agree with you there. I'm not sure about the short tail spy episode. That one kinda fell flat for me. I found it hard to sympathize with her character for falling in love with an assassin. But her performance was good. She was amazing overall.
shareBarbara Bain. As a couple of posters have already pointed out she has several excellent episodes. To be quite honest, her acting was so far superior to George's. Even though George was more attractive on the surface, Bain had this sexual magnetism that oozes from every one of her pores.
BTW, I would take Lee Merriweather and Barbara Anderson after Bain and before George. That's just one man's opinion.
Art makes the disturbed comfortable and the comfortable disturbed.
I'm beginning to feel sorry for Lynda Day George. She's not a bad actress at all. Very fine. Bain is just better. I like all her episodes here, that everyone else picked. To be different though, I thought she was a hoot in The Glass Cage.
shareI would also have to cast my vote for Barbara Bain. I don't know which episode with Bain was my favorite. But I know which scene was.... it was the scene in the Pilot (I think we all know which one I am thinking of)
shareI'm beginning to feel sorry for Lynda Day George. She's not a bad actress at all. Very fine. Bain is just better. I like all her episodes here, that everyone else picked. To be different though, I thought she was a hoot in The Glass Cage.
I'd go with Barbara Bain. Her experience as an actress came through with so many of her performances. The Sort Tailed Spy from Season 1 at the top of the list. Close tie for seconds from season 3 were The Heir Apparent and The Exchange.
I am flattered that you quoted me. Thank you. The Short Tailed Spy isn't on very many "favorites" lists. From my "girlie" perspective (just kidding guys), put yourself in Cinnamon's shoes. It was killing her inside to be forced to make the choice she did, but in the end, she was the consummate professional IMF team player. That came through in Bain's performance.
shareI'll go with Barbara Bain. She was the best leading lady the series ever had. That being said, Lynda Day George in my opinion runs second. She didn't project the same level of maturity and experience that Bain did, but she was far more confident and certainly more at ease than Lesley Ann Warren was during her time on the show.
shareThank you onwards, I always thought that Lesley Ann Warren and Leonard Nimoy bogged down the 5th season. Although it was really cool to see Sam Elliott, even he was really unpopular with the fans back then.
Art makes the disturbed comfortable and the comfortable disturbed.
I was a kid in the 1960s and had a huge crush on Barbara Bain. Somehow she mixed alluring and sophistication together to make an interesting role in the series. When she is on the screen, her allurement automatically grab your eyes.
I think Lynda Day George's look comes off too strong in that aspect. She's beautifully gorgeous and I also had a crush on her as well but had they toned her looks down more, she might have worked better in the series.
As for Lesley Ann Warren, I had a crush on her as well from her Cinderella stint ... BUT not in the series at all. I thought with that straight stringy hair, hardly any make-up was the ugliest I had ever seen her. They seemed to do with her what they should have done with Lynda Day George.
So for me, no one ever topped Barbara Bain in the series.
Outside of plastic surgery you can't make Lynda Day George look ugly. You can't fight the force of nature. 
shareI'm glad so many mentioned The Short Tail Spy. It was different for sure but Bain was magnificent. I also agree with those who say Leonard Nimoy and Lesley Ann Warren were totally wrong for the show.
The first three seasons were by far the best IMO
the best that you can do is fall in love
Another for Barbara Bain.
She is a magnificent actress. I've always liked her. It helps to know that Bruce Geller said when he thought of the character of Cinnamon Carter he had Bain in mind. I loved her in the episodes mentioned but I also loved her in "A Spool There Was", a first season episode and the only mission we got to see her do a solo with Rollin Hand (then husband, Martin Landau). A very exciting and romantic mission for them. Also, in the third season there was an episode where they do a cabaret act together that was REALLY wonderful. Sorry, I can't remember the name. But Cinnamon can do it all!
Bain in a slam dunk. She won Emmy's for each of the three seasons she did Mission. She acted circles around LD. LD is prettier, but when it comes to acting there is no comparison for me.
shareBain without a doubt. And LD was pretty but BB was absolutely beautiful!
My favorite of her episodes, and there are many, but I loved her and Rollin in "Illusion", Season Three.
Bain all the way. 100%.
shareBarbara Bain by a long shot. She was everything a female spy should be. Beautiful, smart, sexy, resourceful (her appearance in the pilot wearing nothing but a towel proves that) and had gorgeous clothes.
I had a of problems with Lesley Warren. The age difference between her and the rest of the cast was too pronounced. It seemed like season five was "take your daughter to go spying with you day"
Lynda Day George was so much better. I liked her. She was no Barbara Bain, but then, who is?
Apologies in advance. This is an unusual post and way OT. It concerns the OP on this thread Moon_and_New_York_City.
Most posters here recognize my screen name and the accompanying Peter Graves photo. There are a group of us who have been posting here on Mission:Impossible for a long time. We call ourselves "the old timers."
I have PM'd a lot of the old timers from this board to discuss the finer points of Mission: Impossible which may not interest many newer folks who now post here.
Moon was among those I PM'd. I hope I'm not betraying a confidence, but in one of those PM's, he mentioned he was battling cancer. You can check his history and you will see he has not posted on IMDB since March 21, 2015. I have PM'd him at least three times since last year with no response.
Does anyone know of or about Moon offline? I'd just like to know if we have lost a friend and one of the old-timers? Thanks for your kind patience and any response.
Lima 2, I have only been posting since late June 2016. Unfortunately, I have seen any postings from anyone named Moon. I hope that he's okay. I wish I could help.
I Lived in Ireland from October 1967 through April 1969. At that time, the only American tv shows that were on Irish tv were Green Acares and Hee Hawks. When I came back to the U.S., the first tv show I saw was Mission Impossible. I've been a devoted fan ever since. It would be an great honor to be considered an Old Timer.
I hope that you're able to find out what happened to your friend.
This tape with self-destruct in five seconds.
Barbara Bain. Does anyone else think she would have been excellent in Topkapi replacing the lead actress? The way, as Cinnamon, she seduces the bad guys into helping her mission along. she would have worked brilliantly in Topkapi.
shareIn answer to your question about Topkapi ... yes. She would have been brilliant.
In Topkapi, I believe you are referring to Melina Mecouri. She had solid theatrical creds, especially after Never On Sunday. I'm not sure if she was typecast in those kinds of roles, or she chose to take those kinds of roles, but she only played variations of the same character after that.
Barbara Bain on the other hand basically played different character roles every week. She was allowed to display her acting range.
Yes, I did mean Melina Mercouri. I couldn't think of her name at the time of my last post. It was when seeing ODDS ON EVIL repeated last week, the scene where Cinnemon meets Nehemiah Persoff's villian, how she looked in that fabulous outfit and hat, reminded me of Melina at the start of Topkapi, for some reason.
shareBarbara Bain!
shareReading through the comments, it seems a clean sweep for Barbara Bain. :-) She was a top actress at the time, and MI was lucky to have both her and Landau attached to the series.
Lynda Day George was average, and I suspect more often chosen because of her eye candy factor than the weight of her acting.