Doomsday (Mission: Impossible)

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Doomsday is an episode of the television series Mission: Impossible.

Contents 1 Tape scene: 2 Summary: 3 Cast and details: 4 Stock music:

[edit] Tape scene:

Recycled scene from "The Diplomat" with an additional and unused footage to start with.

[edit] Summary:

In order to obtain fast funds ($4 million) to help his dying industrial empire, Carl Vandaam sells a two megatons hydrogen bomb costing less than $600,000--which contains a cylinder of stolen plutonium 240--to three nations in a private biddin inside the main building of Vandaam Industries Limited. Jim, Cinnamon and Rollin step into the purchase competition to annihilate Vandaam's goal while Barney sneaks into and substitutes the precious cylinder at his own risks.

[edit] Cast and details:

European Industrialist Carl Vandaam and his assistant Dr. Thorgen, Ervil Kura and his bodyguard Marko, General Wo Lien Te and Dr. Liu, Banker Mr. Helm, Vandaam's Chief Security guard are played by director Alf Kjellin and writer Wesley Lau, Arthur Batanides and Sid Haig, Khigh Dhiegh and Philip Ahn, Arthur Peterson, Scott Walker--the name Vandaam sounds Dutch and Thorgen sounds Swedish, besides Vandaam is the character name used in Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest".

The Vandaam building features three types of elevator: one regular which reads "Floors 1 thru 7" and one private for the big brass called "Tower Elevator", guarded by two armed sentries, and another one called "Executive Elevator" used exclusively by Vandaam.

The bidders are divided in three countries: South America (General Castillo), Eastern Europe (Kura and Marko, associated with Cinnamon) and Asia (General Wo Lien Te and Dr. Liu).

At the penthouse floor (PH), Vandaam with Dr. Thorgen, opens the bidding with the three nations' representatives and invite them to take the elevator to see the actual bomb. At the basement, Dr. Thorgen switches off the four vertical (A, B, C, D) and horizontal (1, 2, 3, 4) "Photoelectric Cells" of the "Security Panel". Dr. Thorgen removes the "implosion casing" and test it on a radiation-proof glass booth to validate his contents: a first remote arm removes the cape, a second arm removes the plutonium cylinder, activates a Geiger counter that indicates the high radioactivities level, close the cylinder and trigger the decontamination procedure via a sprinkler system. The bidders leave and return to Vandaam's penthouse for the first round of biddin that is won by General Wo Lien Te ($3,25 million), then the second round by General Castillo ($4,5 million) so the Asian side asks to watch the specifications to call their government but Rollin-as-General Castillo reacts suddenly and threatens to withdraw his bid to save Barney. Dr. Thorgen goes back to the basement and gets his clipboard but witnesses the fragments of ceiling on the bomb and calls security! Vandaam receivs a call from Dr. Thorgen and goes down to the basement. Dr. Thorgen witnesses Barney's remaining pulley in the conduit. Both men check the contents of the empty cylinder in the radiation booth. A security man finds evidences that a robber uses the ventilation. Vandaam calls security and orders a massive investigation and closes all exits. Vandaam asks Dr. Thorgen to put back the empty cylinder for the biddin. Sentries search the second floor… Vandaam's Chief guard finds Barney's character name and goes to the "Patent Purchasing" (seventh floor) on the spot. The Asian bidders leave when Cinnamon receivs a call from Jim-as-Mr Collins at Vandaam's office. The third round occurs and Kura wins ($6 million) and General Castillo quits. A security man inspects the elevator top room. At the penthouse, Marko delivers the $6 million that Vandaam stores in his safe. Cinnamon asks to see again the bomb as well as Kura despite Vandaam's refusal, they take the elevator back to the basement and Cinnamon grabs her hand bag and presses the jewel of her golden lighter that triggers the destruction by incineration of the safe's bank notes. Dr. Thorgen dismantles the bomb, Cinnamon asks to see the "implosion casing" and test the "plutonium cylinder" but Vandaam confesses the theft. Kura orders to get his money back and Marko threatens with a gun. Vandaam opens the safe and discover ashes!!! Cinnamon takes the French leave and gets down to the ground level and warns the Security men about the death of their boss. They all go up and one sentry remains to watch Cinnamon pretending to feel weak, Barney opens the closed doors of the elevator and slaps the man in the rear.

Jim, accompanied by Cinnamon and Willy, goes to the Helm Bank to make a $3 million deposit and asks Mr. Helm to organize an appointment with Mr. Kura; Jim negociates a commercial agreement with Kura to finance the buying of the bomb and adds his $3 million to Kura's $3 million. Jim receivs a distress call from Barney and calls Cinnamon. Jim returns to the bank to get his $3 million briefcase that Willy swallows with his large black case and switches it by a tricked one (containing bobby trapped bank notes) that he gives to Marko asking for Kura's fund. Jim and Willy as Municipal gardener arrive by car at Vandaams and start the hard labour: Jim sprays a tree with an extinguisher while Willy digs the ground with a shovel.

Cinnamon poses as PhD. Dr. Elizabeth Norris, Mr. Collins' nuclear physicist and the scientifical consultant of Kura; Cinnamon was a biochemist in "The Photographer".

Rollin replaces a South American dictator named General Castillo: we only see a picture during the apartment scene that reminds Dominguez from the pilot.

Barney poses as engineer Henry Rohwer from Rohwer Product Development to enter Vandaam's Research Division and works as a blue collar thief inside Vandaam's elevator shafts; he does all the dirty work: risky travelings into shafts to do elevator shifts, uses a pulley to descend to the bomb and open it whereas it is protected by a series of electric eyes; when Barney goes up the pulley starts to break and leaves pieces on the bomb; being exposed by Dr. Thorgen looking for his clipboard, chased by the security and obliged to hide under an elevator shaft at the strength of the arms and suspended in the void of the storeys. Here's the detail of Barney's activities: Barney drives to the Vandaam building and an appointment with the "Patent Purchasing" to sell an invention stored in his black briefcase; the security receptionist tells him to go to the seventh floor at room 706; inside the elevator cabin, he opens the ceiling to reach the top, puts on his working outfit (blue overall, black leathered gloves, harness to support the briefcase, an empty cylinder stored in his pants' pocket), climbs to the top of the greasy elevator shaft, reaches the elevator machine room, walks fast in the outdoor top floor to stop at the "Executive Elevator" which he picks the lock on; he goes down to the private elevator shaft and unscrews the grid of the ventilation shaft to avoid the arrival of the elevator cabin containing Vandaam, Dr. Thorgen and the three groups of bidders. The elevator skims past him. Inside the ventilation shaft, Barney watches, through the grid, the disassembly of the bomb by Dr. Thorgen surrounded by the bidders; after the departure of the death makers, Barney installs the pulley to the upper pipe, removes the grid, gets down and unscrews the metal panel of the bomb and switches the cylinder. He goes up to the ventilation but the pipe starts to break and falling fragments of ceiling drop on his face and on the bomb. Barney borrows the elevator shaft to reach the top elevator room but Vandaam goes down at this very moment so Barney is obliged to catch up the metal beam of the ceiling and he is supended in the void. He finally succeeds in returning to the execs elevator room and walks back to the regular elevator room, goes down to the seventh floor and picks the lock on Room 704 to phone Jim to get a piece of advice--Jim orders Barney to come back to the tower elevator. A security man searches the elevator shaft so Barney goes under the cabin and he is suspended in the void again. Barney goes down to reach the ground level.

As in "Snowball in Hell", find a radioactive element and here plutonium 240. Take a special attention to the leading foe who is bumped off by a pistol: see the distorted close-up of Marko's gun and Kura's close shot in the same frame followed closely by Cinnamon waiting for her Tower elevator, hearing the detonation and go. Notice the name Kura which is reminiscent of another season 3 foe named Kuro in "The Play". This episode features no dossier scene hence the appearance of the IMF logo at the start of Act I.

[edit] Stock music:

• "Operation Rogosh" (Barney drives to the Vandaam building; Barney climbs the regular elevator shaft; the security man searches the seventh floor's shaft and Barney is suspended in the void) • "The Heir Apparent" (Barney walks in the top outdoor floor of the building and reaches the door of the "Executive Elevator" room; Barney goes down to the execs elevator shaft; Barney switches the plutonium cylinders; Barney goes up and receivs falling fragments of ceiling coming from the broken upper pipe; Barney goes down to the elevator shaft) • "The Mind of Stefan Miklos" (in his flat, Kura smokes a cigar while watching Cinnamon; a security man enters the elevator room in the top floor; Vandaam is obliged by Kura and Cinnamon to show the bomb again) • "The Cardinal" (Dr. Thorgen closes the bomb room) • "The Exchange" (Barney goes down to the bomb thanks to his pulley; Barney is suspended at the top of the penthouse floor) • "The Contender" (General Castillo threatens to withdraw his bid to avoid Dr. Thorgen to get the specifications; Barney calls Jim) • "Live Bait" (Vandaam ordes Dr. Thorgen to get the specifications; Dr. Thorgen opens the bomb room, sees the fragments of ceiling and calls security; Vandaam receives a security call; Dr. Thorgen checks the ventilation shaft and witnesses the pulley; Vandaam checks the radiation level of the empty cylinder and calls Security; Barney goes down to the regular elevator and stops at the seventh floor as planned; Vandaam opens the safe filled with ashes)