James Bond & Friends

Join us as we watch the second half of 2015's Spectre together as a group experience.  We complete our SPECTRE odyssey as the second half picks up in Tangiers. Along the way, we ponder how much budget could have been saved with some cheese and a string, David gives packing advice, ponder promotions at Blofeld's call centre and question his paint choice, witness the world's biggest gender reveal, i...

The panel reviews the original first edition artwork by Kenneth Lewis and the UK quad poster by Dan Goozee. Along the way they discover ‘70s wallpaper, panning for gold, Chekhov’s gun, narrowly avoided dramatic readings, missing rockets, salad spoilers, taxonomy rabbit holes, and space tuxedos. Covers discussed Sean's picks Pan cover 1 Pan cover 2 Peter's pick (US Spanish paperback) David's picks...

Join us as we watch the first half of 2015's Spectre together as a group experience.  Is the first half of Spectre better than the second? We break this four-act oddity in the franchise into two parts for this watchalong. Along the way, we ponder Bond's choice of phone contacts, discover an unlikely IT guy, Madeleine's 'meet cute' story, volunteer Bill to watch all the publicity material again, an...

Join us as we watch the next two episodes of James Bond Jr together as a group experience.  For this episode, we resurrect an oft-forgotten relic of the canon - James Bond Jr - as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Whether you grew up seeing it on TV, or have never watched it before, we over-analyze the contents of the third and fourth episodes and ask the questions nobody has before, s...

What tone and iconography did 'From Russia With Love' set for Bond marketing?  The panel reviews the original UK quad poster and bring to the table some other posters used to promote the 1963 film, many of which riff on the original artwork by Renato Fratini. Along the way, they discover misplaced weaponry, the size of Pierce’s silencer, visits to the ‘talkies’, Ben’s new glasses, the multi-Bond t...

Which movies did the Bond celebs select in their communal Top 5?  For this episode, author Mark O'Connell joins us to explain his project to survey cast members, crew, authors, academics, and experts from the world of James Bond on their personal top five 007 adventures. We count down the results and compare to how the general public voted, and exclusively reveal the film that didn't quite make th...

What is the legacy of Richard Chopping on Bond's look and feel?  The panel takes a look at the first edition of 'From Russia, With Love' by Richard Chopping. Why is it such a striking piece of art and how did covers that followed it emulate it? Then, each panelist introduces another dusk jacket or cover art for the same title worthy of praise, or merely of interest.  Along the way, the panel disco...

What alternative James Bond histories would we most like to see?  For this episode, the panel wonders what could exist with a single twist of fate in James Bond history. Take a peek into worlds that didn't happen as we explore the butterfly effect of the 007 timeline. We are joined for the first time by author Mark Edlitz whose latest book 'The Lost Adventures of James Bond' uncovers unmade, unsee...

What will be the impact of yet another delay to No Time To Die? For this episode, the panel examines the unsurprising news that MGM issued yet another delay to No Time To Die, pushing the film back to October 2021. Will this hold with Bond being the first big film out this year, or should we really expect it in 2022? What other curve balls could we see between now and then, and will Ana de Armas b...

The alternative side of Bond’s sound.  This week we interview four musicians who together contributed to the 2020 album of James Bond cover songs, 'Not From Where I’m Standing'. Organised by David Gedge of The Wedding Present, the new album involves Gedge’s colleagues and friends from 35 years in the music business.  Join us as Gedge and friends recount the origins of the album, some challenges of...

Join us as we watch the first two episodes of James Bond Jr together as a group experience.  For this episode, we resurrect an oft-forgotten relic of the canon - James Bond Jr - as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Whether you grew up seeing it on TV, or have never watched it before, we recap the history of the project before diving in at the deep end with the first two episodes: 'The...

What were our Bondian highlights of 2020 and what are we looking forward to in 2021? For this episode, we pull up our armchairs in front of the fire and chat about the year that has passed, trying to pick out some Bond-themed highlights in a 2020 that was challenging for almost everyone on the planet. Which film would we each pick to celebrate the holidays? And as we get ready to ring in a new yea...

We asked 100 James Bond fans...  Taking a break from our usual discussion & watchalong format, we play Family Feud (or Family Fortunes, depending on where you're from) with returning champions Lisa Funnell and Ben Williams battling Bill Koenig and David Leigh in the grand final for the 2020 title. The peanut gallery is joined by Phil Nobile Jr. and Paul Atkinson to chip in answers they miss. Who c...

We asked 100 James Bond fans...  Taking a break from our usual discussion & watchalong format, we play Family Feud (or Family Fortunes, depending on where you're from) with Calvin Dyson, Phil Nobile Jr, Lisa Funnell, and Ben Williams in two teams hoping to make it through to the grand final. Who can best guess the results of the top 100 answers from an MI6 survey of James Bond fans? Play along and...

We asked 100 James Bond fans...  Taking a break from our usual discussion & watchalong format, we play Family Feud (or Family Fortunes, depending on where you're from) with Mark O'Connell, Sean Longmore, David Leigh, and Bill Koenig in two teams hoping to make it through to the grand final. Who can best guess the results of the top 100 answers from an MI6 survey of James Bond fans? Play along and...

Join us as we watch 1964's Goldfinger together as a group experience.  Is the iconic film still the gold standard or are parts of it due for smelting down? Along the way, we discover Oddjob's bad fridge habits, effective grannies, why Gillette's not the best a man can get, nerve gas sponsorships, deckchairs for nuke watching, a suspicious Walgreens photo order, questions from insurance agents, the...

Were the 1980s a golden era for independent women in the Bond film series?  For this episode, we reflect on the Bond Women of the 1980s, who were far from the gun-arm hanging damsels in distress the series had been criticized for in earlier decades. From the crossbow-wielding Melina set out on a mission of revenge, and ending with Pam’s strong-willed CIA pilot, we pick over the characters of the '...

For this episode, the panel remembers the life and career of the original big-screen James Bond - Sir Sean Connery - who died on this day at the age of 90 at his home in the Bahamas. We are joined for the first time by author Lee Pfeiffer who wrote the book on Connery's films and shares personal stories of meeting the man. We also dive into Connery's lesser-known film catalogue to recommend some m...

Join us as we watch 1965's Thunderball together as a group experience.  For this episode, don your orange wetsuit, grab a spear gun, and cue up your copy of Thunderball as the panel chats over the film in real-time with observations, trivia, insights, and irreverence. Along the way, we discover grieving orphans, personalized hotel doors, a sweaty Vargas, Pinder's woodworking, and wonder where the...

It just happened again. How do we feel about the latest news of another delay? For this episode, the panel dives into the breaking news that No Time To Die has been delayed again, this time to April 2nd, 2020. When was this decision made? How has MGM handled the ill-fated campaign reboot? Given the big marketing push over the past week, how will this go down with the fan base? Is April next year e...

If you apply the 'Death of the Author' theory to the James Bond books, what are you left with? For this episode, the panel delves into the concept of 'Death of the Author' in the context of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels. Is it now practically impossible to read the books independent of the bias created by the reader's knowledge of Fleming? If you remove the author from the reading of the text, i...

Join us as we watch 1973's Live And Let Die together as a group experience.  For this episode, don your tactical turtleneck, grab a bourbon (no ice), and cue up your copy of Live And Let Die as the panel chats over the film in real-time with observations, trivia, insights, and irreverence. Along the way, we discover suspicious grapes, bad grouting, Calvin's disapproval of psychics, Linda McCartney...

What do we think of the new No Time To Die trailer and relaunched marketing campaign? For this episode, the super-panel shares their views on 'Trailer 2' and how the film is being re-positioned after the delay from April to November. We also tackle the sticky issue of the push to release in an uncertain world, a new poster, and a big clanger from Universal in Europe. The recording took place on Se...

Join us as we watch 1983's Octopussy together as a group experience.  For this episode, don your floppy shoes, grab a red nose, and cue up your copy of Octopussy as the panel chats over the film in real-time with observations, trivia, insights, and irreverence. Along the way, we discover underage drivers, a gameshow set, zooming boobs, Brian Blessed's pirate brother, two-dozen Star Wars cast membe...

Join us as we watch 1985's A View To A Kill together as a group experience.  For this episode, don your velour tracksuit, grab a quiche, and cue up your copy of A View To A Kill as the panel chats over the film in real-time with observations, trivia, insights, and irreverence. Along the way, we discover Bavarian factory guards, a model maker massacre, a hot tub dipping chair, creepy kids bedrooms,...