I really liked Mission Impossible on TV as a kid.

I liked it ok, but it was kind of tame and buttoned down compared to Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Wild West. Apart from the name, the movie franchise has nothing to do with.

Ah yes, 'Open channel D,' and all that. Yes, enjoyed that too. The Wild (Wild) West was shown in the UK from 1968 and I only remember it very vaguely. Apparently it was on a Sunday and on ITV. Back in those days there were 3 TV channels, no repeats and no recording (Oh, and broadcasting only started after about 4:00 in the afternoon. Children's broadcasts were 5:00 to 6:00) and the BBC often scheduled their big drama series on a Sunday evening, along with (in our house) mandatory regulars such as Songs of Praise. As I would also be busy with my weekend's homework for Monday morning, I probably never saw it.

I always liked the Mission Impossible denouement best. Barbara Bain walking across the hotel reception as the villain is escorted away in handcuffs. She nods to Leonard Nimmoy's guide-dog who pulls off a latex mask to reveal that it's Martin Landau - again.

I forgot that transparently idiotic latex mask schtick originated with the series.

Landau had an awesome role in Fight The Future (xfile movie). Also something where he had an evil twin. Ah yes, a Columbo episode. He played a tv chef. With an evil twin.

Of course nothing came close to Thunderbirds, fuck yeah!

Thunderbirds. Also, Fireball XL5 and Supercar and Stingray and .........
The single most amazing thing about all of these, without exception, is that a shitty little bunch of puppet operaters from the UK, led by Gerry Abrahams (Anderson) with his wife, Sylvia, could so perfectly recreate an American culture and environment, on a trading estate in Slough. 
British production companies have never done it again.

Gerald (Gerry) Anderson realised that the big money was in selling these astonishingly inexpensive shows to the US. To do this, he recreated American culture with breathtaking skill. My guess is that he thought that US was KOOL!!! Also, 20 years after WW2 when it was obvious that only the US had the dosh to do very expensive things, he was one of the few UK peeps to notice the fact. So scifi about UK space efforts is quaint and dated (even with US stars like Quatermass) whereas Thunderbirds was the future.

It was obviously the inspiration for Team America World Police, and that's all the pedigree I need.

We watched this (MI:DRPO) again on dvd last night. It hasn't acquired a patina.