Bond By Numbers

Just six weeks before "Die Another Day" hit theatres, a lesser-known commodity was getting its own release. Starring Matt Damon as Robert Ludlum's amnesia-stricken assassin, "The Bourne Identity" would knock the socks off audiences with a new style of action that shifted sands and set a fresh standard for spy thrillers. Well, it's "3 Non Bonds" season again on the show and, what's more, our very o...

In July of 1943, as Allied forces planned desperately for Mediterranean access into Europe, Britain's Naval Intelligence were spearheading an intrepid operation, a bait-and-switch of colossal consequence. Commander Ian Fleming, serving as personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, helped to encourage the intricate planning for what would soon become Operation Mincemeat. In this epis...

In his second continuation novel, John Gardner returns Bond to the USA and reunites readers with some canonical staples. Motivated by a recent spate of airline hijackings with potential SPECTRE links, Bond is sent by M to investigate an ice-cream magnate from Texas whose guarded compound and general milieu reeks of suspicion. But the decision to resurrect Fleming's narrative ghosts comes with heft...

In recognition of Bond's 60th Anniversary on the big screen we brew up and sit down for a casual chat about "Dr. No", reflecting on the enduring features and legacy of the film that started it all.

So it's time we finally put things right... nearly four years of 007 podcasting have come and gone without a proper ranking of the EON songs and that's just not good enough! Upon discovering this egregious oversight, we recently set about remedying things for the whole darn world. So here it is - the BBN Bond Song Rank-a-thon! Predictably (...ridiculously?), science and scoring govern our contest...

So yeah, we know... months have passed since the final chapter in Daniel Craig's 007 sweep premiered worldwide. But, like succulent lamb left to stew in its own juices before being glazed, skewered and coupled with caviar, our impressions are finally ready for serving! The long-awaited (...at least by us) follow-up to our NTTD impressions episode has arrived. It feels good to be back behind the wh...

Inspired by Ian Fleming's 14 books and textured further by dozens of collaborators, the 25-film franchise we know and love possesses a wealth of spin-off material for the ambitious story developer. Now that Amazon holds the reins of the MGM Bond wagon, it's not unlikely that we could soon see expansion into television and short series projects. In our first "What If?" of Season 4, we brush the dus...

An ousted nuclear scientist with a Braveheart complex looks for revenge in John Gardner's "Licence Renewed", the first Bond novel of the 1980s and the focus of our first episode this new season! From fixed horse races to holographic bedrooms, we portion out the narrative goods and take a fruitful look down the "literary gun barrel" at the start of Gardner's tenure with this wild whirlwind adventur...

For our final episode of the series, we combine (and recline) our forces in real-time camaraderie over 1981's "For Your Eyes Only", Sir Roger's fifth outing as 007 and 00-Chapman's selection for Watch Party #3. Together, we negotiate some of the franchise's most opulent locales and nifty scenes. Don't like biathlon or figure skating? That's alright, FYEO also offers car chases, keel-hauling, subma...

Happy Holidays, Bond fans! In this episode, our second seasonal soiree, we serve up more games, discussion and trivia with a festive Bond flavour. Flick on the tree lights and switch off your brains, grab some grog and come join us for fatuous fun: Christmas may only come once a year but you can replay our foolish Holiday special as much as you like!

With the release and revelations of "No Time to Die" finally in the world's rear-view mirror, talk is properly heating up about how and with whom "James Bond Will Return". Here, we prognosticate together and add our eager voices to the discussion, issuing favourites, follies and some dark-horses contenders!

At long last, the wait for Bond 25 is over! Now that they've all seen "No Time to Die", Josh, Scott and Jeff bridge the Atlantic gap with conversation and first impressions of Daniel Craig's final outing as 007. SPOILER ALERT: chat on the film's plot and features starts at 8:20.

In our second watch party of the season, we invite you to synchronize your MGM lions (@21:09) and groove casually with us through the waves and rhythms of 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me". Upheld by many as his best and most stylish outing as 007, Sir Roger's third Bond adventure was directed by YOLT helmsman, Lewis Gilbert, and contains a dynamic mix of action, humour and megalomaniacal pageantry th...

The wonderful Chris Wood (@bondonvinyl) returns in this special episode to discuss the music of "The World is Not Enough", arguably David Arnold's most ambitious effort as 007 composer. So come join us as we leisurely inspect the beats and braces of this varied score. From the boisterous Thames boat chase to the burning oil fields of Baku, we've got it covered like an inflatable ski jacket!

In this episode we look down the literary gunbarrel at "Colonel Sun", written by Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis) and published four years after Ian Fleming's death. Amis's compelling adventure comes on the heels of his successful non-fiction character-piece, "The James Bond Dossier" and marks the first "official" 007 fiction of a new era. So, hop aboard the good ship BBN and brandish your shades an...

If budgets, engineering and the many laws of physics were not factors to consider, how might you build your 007 dream home from the franchise's fabled sets, locations and interiors? An Atlantis En-Suite? How about an Octopussy boudoir? Throwing logic and planning to the wind, in this "What If?" we revive our trusty roulette and share blueprints for our Grand (Bond) Designs! So clear that empty lot...

Stanley Donen's cinematic kitchen was working hard in 1963: start with a pair of stars, thicken their stock with an ensemble cast, add a wallop of visual style, toss in a heavy helping of romantic comedy then add a pinch of international intrigue before finishing with a half-cup of irony. What's that make? A difficult film to categorize! Or, if you prefer, the "whoopie-cushion thriller" better kno...

For our second selection in the annual "3 Non Bonds" festival, we go behind the Iron Curtain with Paul Newman and Julie Andrews in Alfred Hitchcock's "Torn Curtain". Often pegged as one of the famed director's more conflicted works, this thriller possesses enough moments of intriguing espionage, quirky potpourri and technical chutzpah to nevertheless make a case for itself. So grab your passport a...

This season's "3 Non Bonds" Festival gets off to a great start with 00-Chapman's selection of "The Quiller Memorandum" from 1966. Directed by Michael Anderson, "Quiller" was penned by the renowned Harold Pinter and features a dynamic cast including George Segal, Senta Berger, Max von Sydow and the impeccable Alec Guinness. Looking for an understated neo-Nazi spy thriller set in divided Berlin? The...

Who doesn't like a good film festival? Our six cinematic Bonds sure do! From inspired screenings to banquet dinners, celebrity speakers to questionable pop-up bars, our first "What If?" of the series pulls out nearly all the stops and runs wild with this imaginative theme. So polish your shoes and grab your VIP passes - BBN proudly invites YOU to this red-carpet event!

Our "00-Origins" series officially gets off the ground here as Josh introduces the fascinating life and work of Sir Francis Walsingham. Queen Elizabeth I's "spymaster" is widely regarded as the progenitor of British espionage and without his involvements in such matters as the St. Bartholomew's Massacre, The Babington Plot and The Spanish Armada, the course of world history would have run much dif...

In this special episode, the multi-talented Chris Wood (Instagram's @bondonvinyl) joins BBN for a fun and furnished survey of John Barry's score to "Diamonds Are Forever". From Wint & Kidd killings to Moon Buggy misdemeanours, we put Barry's versatile efforts under the microscope here and celebrate the film's 50th anniversary in style! Jackpot!

In our first watch party of the season, we synchronize our MGM lions (@8:08 in) and saunter through the strokes of "Tomorrow Never Dies", Pierce Brosnan's sophomore outing and Josh's pick for the best Bond flick of the '90s. No need for social distancing here so grab your refreshments from the lobby and meet us inside! For our full review of the movie, check out S1:E11 from March 2019.

BBN marks the start of its third series with an overdue exploration into the style and many contributions of John Glen to the Bond franchise. His tenure as director encompassed the entire decade of the 1980s and his straight-ahead approach to action and storytelling left its impressive mark on several influential features. Join Josh, Jeff and Scott as they survey the legacy of Glen's career with 0...

Our season finale proudly presents a festive assortment of trivia, games and discussion as we try to send the ugliness of 2020 packing like a Max Zorin megabomb! So, Ho-Ho-Holster your PPKs and join us by the hearth for our marathon Holiday Special!