Bond By Numbers

Revered by many fans and critics alike, 1963's From Russia With Love ushered in a retinue of slick canonical tropes and features without compromising its cold-war storytelling. Sean Connery reprises his 007 role as the realities of "franchise" come into focus. Join your BBN hosts as they punch tickets and settle first-class passengers into a thorough and sometimes controversial tour through this impactful sophomore instalment. From SPECTRE island to Gypsy camp, Bucharest to Venice's Grand Canal, your comfort and enjoyment is assured. All aboard!

In this third companion episode, Scott and Josh share their thoughts on three more Fleming texts. First up, and markedly different from the film, is short story "From A View to a Kill" where Bond reminisces on becoming a man in Paris before lending his expertise in the investigation of a murdered dispatch driver. Discussion on "Thunderball" gets the central billing, highlighted by a female character written with welcome care and complexity. Intrigue and autobiography mix in "Octopussy", the final text covered before your hosts close shop with a reflection of Fleming's final days.

Wise to the last, Roger Moore couldn't leave 007 until his bond baked a quiche, stole a fire truck and hung perilously from a blimp. Enter 1985 and "A View to a Kill", EON's canonical answer to the computer and steroid action of the era. But just how much of Moore's swansong is a burgeoning vessel of hot smelly air? Can it withstand the electromagnetic pulse of the critics? Join Scott, Josh and Jeff as they negotiate the gears of the BBN machine across the terrain of this infamous instalment. From deep-dives on ski warfare and microchip crime to the implausibility of caviar-laden backpacks, your hosts have got you covered. Soft-shell crab, anyone?!

"...Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink." When Coleridge revised his Ancient Mariner in 1834 he couldn't have known he was forecasting Thunderball's controversial "production-bloat to audience-nourishment" ratio... or could he? Were the Romantic Poets the first Bond critics? Hmm, the suggestion holds more water than you might think because here we are, 185 years later, grappling with the paradox of the Thunderball experience. Is Connery's 4th outing sodden, spectacular or somewhere in between? Whatever your impression, $9 million to spend in 1965 spelled "epic" so find your flippers and sharpen your spears, we're diving in! Bond By Numbers takes on Thunderball!

The title won't be the only thing about this 007 adventure that jumps out to grab you. Running against Sean Connery's controversial remake of Thunderball, "Octopussy" offered audiences a lot of outrageous spectacle for their money. Ever want to see Q fly a hot-air balloon festooned with liquid crystal closed circuit cameras? How about a crocodile submarine infiltrate a girl-powered island of octopus cult devotees? Or maybe flicking antennas at man-crushable henchmen while straddling Beech Model-18s in mid-flight is more your thing? Whatever your fancy, chances are that EON's 13th official James Bond instalment will serve you up something palatable. So, come along! Hop in the Tuk Tuk with your hosts as they negotiate the ins and outs of Roger Moore's penultimate performance!

Okay, so a caveat: the recordings here aren't ideal. Sorry about that. In addition to occasional skype signal drops with FYEO, the BFG's then-sinus infection did feature uniquely to antagonise his usual dulcet tones in parts of The Man With the Golden Gun. We've tried to edit around these things. The conversation speaks for itself, however, and we hope you'll enjoy the book reviews as we aim to offer info about these canonical films. If you didn't check out the first Literary Gunbarrel Ep, every five or six films we'll take a breather and share newly-edited content from an earlier show on Fleming's books to keep in-line with the review sequence of BBN. We ranked each original text out of 25, based on the ANGLE acronym (Adversaries/Allies, Narrative, Girls, Locales, Equipment). In this episode, we make reference to three great books that should be on the shelf of any 007 fan wanting to know more about the writer and literary character: The Man With The Golden Typewriter (Ed. Fergus Fleming, 2015), Goldeneye: I

Patricide, boat chasing, parahawks, caviar farming, oil pipelines, buzz-sawed BMWs, revenge-napping and a nuclear sub out to destroy Istanbul: is that your idea of explosive fun or a 00-plot headache? Some say the Bond producers didn't know when to stop in party-planning for Y2K with this film, Brosnan's penultimate, while others guffaw at the very notion of a bond film without excess baggage. Wherever you sit on the fence, one thing is certain: The World is Not Enough offers the BBN panel a "crude" and spectacular volume to refine! Join Scott, Josh and Jeff as they get down to business on the context, content and controversy of EON's final Bond adventure of the millennium.

Don your snowsuits and wax your skis, Bond fans, it's time to cut edges around the slopes of "For Your Eyes Only"! A new decade brings in a new director as veteran Bond craftsman John Glen is handed control and helms his inaugural adventure. In a conscious effort to return sobriety to the series after visiting outer space in "Moonraker", Glen & Co. gravitate towards some key Flemingian sources for their script. But FYEO also famously introduces us to Bibi Doll, a plot-motivating parrot and a jarring lampoon of PM Margaret Thatcher... so how successful was it really? Join the BNB panel as they crunch pistachios and brave dizzy heights to bring you the answer!

So this exited the wash as our longest episode to date. Cubby's corner and critical reception for TMWTGG offered a lot of discussion in leadup to the main event. Jeff's context on the energy crisis of the early 70s was quite helpful in situating the film's secondary plot within the wider world (even if we all agreed it wasn't the story we wanted to be following). Throughout the course of the show, similar feelings are shared on TMWTGG, a film that could have been a knockout had the Mankiewicz first draft been permitted to breathe. Along the way we learn more than we ever needed (or wanted) about Josh's pubescent awakening via Maud Adams and come down on the same side about the sickening insertion of Sgt Pepper's Racist Bayou Man. Another "00GO" interview leaves its finalising appraisal and Scott reveals some source material connections, comparing Fleming's more interesting Goodnight to the script's myopic stereotype. Matt Parker's "Goldeneye" helps out again with some biographical info and Sir Roger's own "My

What do you get when you combine a stealth ship, the world's fastest no-look typing megalomaniac, shameless product placement, endless rounds of ammo and more techno-buzz than even Q can handle in his rent-a-Hertz crimson coat? It's Tomorrow Never Dies, of course, the 18th entry in the official James Bond series! In spite of some shortcomings and egregious call-backs, this film is full of surprises and freaky connections to real-world culture and curios. Join your hosts as they deconstruct the beats, the feats and the fake news (!) of Pierce Brosnan's unabashed second outing as 007.     

For Bond's 50th Anniversary in 2012, Sam Mendes was brought on board to help Craig & Co. deep dive into the complex relations of MI6 and the vengeful nerds it leaves behind. Join your hosts as they explore the finer points of surrogate maternal love and the many other features that help to make Skyfall a fan favourite. Don't forget your hairpiece and Heineken!

Sifting through the archives of our Ian Fleming series from 2016-17, we have pieced together a sample of our conversations based on the literary source material for the movies being discussed throughout BNB. Appearing every 6 episodes or so, these bonus shows throw chronology to the wind and are cut to follow the order of our BNB roulette, inviting you to learn a bit more about the stories behind the films. For this first bonus ep, we dive deep into the source material for The Living Daylights, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Goldfinger, Quantum of Solace, Diamonds are Forever and Casino Royale.

Now heralded as one of the best 007 actors, Daniel Craig was much maligned by the public and press when news of his replacing Pierce Brosnan was announced in 2005. "Casino Royale" ushered in a newly dark and gritty era for James Bond and solidified the "contemporary edge" that Barbara Broccoli was hoping for in steering the franchise forward. Join your hosts as they knead the dough on this quick-rising character reboot inspired by Ian Fleming's first novel. From pretentious first impressions to surprising grandmother interviews, Episode 8 has Craig's first appearance covered!

With 1971's "Diamonds are Forever", Bond producers encouraged moviegoers to forget the recent past of OHMSS's character arc and tragic love by resurrecting earlier moves and establishing a zanier tone. And how better to erase awkward feels than to bring Sean Connery back for the greasy and bling-studded stateside adventure? Not without its charms, DAF remains one of the series' more distracting entries that never fails to generate opinion. Join your hosts in rolling the dice around this complex conversation piece!

The fifth film to fall under BBN scrutiny, Quantum of Solace is a fast and angry action film. It may have withstood the Hollywood writer's strike and its lukewarm audience reception but can it survive being explored by our intrepid panel and the dreaded Granny-O interview?

"Do you expect me to talk...?" I sure hope so... and for over three hours, please, because Goldfinger is regarded by many fans as the top Bond film of the franchise! Aware of their responsibility, the BBN hosts navigate the glittering vaults of this 24-carat classic with dutiful care and enthusiasm.

Just in time for the holidays, the trio ponder the mysteries of Christmas trees, Swiss locales and, of course, George Lazenby's sole and controversial outing as James Bond. Scott, Josh and Jeff cut powdered shapes around the slopes of Peter Hunt's neatly structured cult classic.    

Josh and Scott welcome back Jeff the Roommate and scare the living daylights out of each other in a discussion that tips its hat to one of Ian Fleming's best (short stories) and Felix Leiter's worst (... sorry, John Terry!). The short tenure of Timothy Dalton began here and brought to the franchise the iciest 007 to date. In a conversation full of "what ifs?" and "how comes?", John Glen's penultimate directorial bid is put under the microscope.  

Josh and Scott measure steps through their first discussion, focusing on 1995's Goldeneye. It's a new Bond, a new decade and a new world post-USSR. Joining our hosts to share some insight is Jeff Chapman, military and cold war history buff, and our nonagenarian grandmother for her first interview of the series! 

Having previously explored the literary and musical landscapes of the 007 world, Bowman & the BFG here lay out plans for their mightiest (if inevitable) James Bond adventure yet - the films themselves!