5.06 /// My Controversial favourite 007 (and the seventh Bond you may not know about...)

Growing up with James Bond films as weekend TV staples, I, Stephen, found myself captivated by the world of espionage, gadgets, and suave sophistication. This episode of Infinite Prattle takes you through my childhood memories associated with the series, including my controversial pick for the best Bond—yes, I said ***************! I'll also dispel the common myth that only six actors portrayed Bond, revealing the overlooked seventh. From Sean Connery's groundbreaking debut in "Dr. No" to the impact of release patterns on our viewing experiences, this episode is a nostalgic trip down 007 lane.

Join me as I spontaneously rank the various actors who suited up as James Bond, examining Roger Moore's campy charm, Timothy Dalton's gritty realism, and Pierce Brosnan's action-packed flair. I shed light on the often-forgotten transitional periods, like the six-year hiatus before Brosnan took over in 1995, and reflect on Daniel Craig's intense and modern take on the iconic role. Whether you're a die-hard Bond fan or just discovering the franchise, this episode promises a comprehensive and personal exploration of what makes Bond, James Bond, the ultimate spy legend.

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Chapters

• 0:01 Exploring the James Bond Series
• 8:51 James Bond Actor Comparison and Rankings

Transcript

Stephen: 0:01

Hello, how the devil are you? On today's episode, I'm going to be talking about James Bond and the series and my controversial choice well, probably controversial for my favourite Bond. So let's get into that then. Hello and welcome to Infinite Trattle. Unscripted, unedited prattle on everything Hosted by me. Stephen, listen, like, share, subscribe and enjoy the show. Now welcome back to another episode of Infinite Prattle. Thank you for joining me Again if it's your first time. Thank you very much for trying Prattle. Thank you for joining me Again if it's your first time. Thank you very much for trying me out. Hopefully you enjoyed this episode with the Bond theme and Nespinage kind of theme today. Well, not Nespinage, we're just going to be talking about Bond really, and only kind of one aspect of Bond as well. Before we move on, just want to let you know that videos will be coming soon.

Stephen: 1:04

I'm a terrible organisation, as you may know, and I'm just trying to get everything right and haven't been able to focus on actually. Well, firstly, tidying the space, because I kind of want to look like a YouTuber. If I'm going to do a video, that sounds terrible Because I kind of don't care in some ways, but I don't want it to look like an absolute tip when I'm filming my room. So I kind of would like a nice little backdrop, which I've kind of picked my spot. But I've got to do a couple of little tweaks and I want to do a test. So what I'll probably do is I'll probably pick an episode, maybe the next one, and do a test video of it, see how long it takes me to edit and everything, and then decide then if I'm going to actually pursue the video, which I think I will, because I've downloaded some expensive video editing equipment or software. So I probably should follow that through. I don't do things in the right order. Anyway, thank you for joining me. Thank you to the listeners that are returning. Thank you very much all three of you.

Stephen: 2:08

Yes, so today, bond, a staple that I grew up with when I was a kid. I think you know Bond films when I was very young it was kind of like they were on quite regularly, like Saturday afternoon edited versions obviously, and they were used quite a um. Like saturday afternoon edited versions, obviously, and they were used quite a lot back in the day when I was growing up as like filler films. I think you know, if they hadn't really got, you know, during during the year. Um, just to just add um to like a saturday, saturday night schedule, a friday night schedule, maybe a sunday night, uh, film and um, generally, if there was something going on on the other side so I don't want to say there was like a sporting event they'd throw a Bond film on.

Stephen: 2:51

Because back in the day it took longer for films to come to terrestrial television, we didn't obviously have all the streaming platforms, so, yeah, you had to wait a good few years for a premiere of a film that had been in the cinema. Because, remember, when I grew up there was vhs and physical format media and they had to produce that shit. So, yeah, a film would come out and then maybe a year later you get the vhs rentals, then you could buy it, um, and then it would probably take like another two years, maybe a year two years was normally a minimum for it to come on tv, and it was normally a christmas time or a holiday season, um, that they would do that generally at christmas. Like christmas was the, the bonanza of like of premieres. Um, yes, bond films were quite a staple when I grew up of just just a filler, but also the premieres were a big thing at Christmas as well. Later on, and I grew up in the era when I was very young it was the Timothy Dalton era and when I was probably at the age where I was like seeing them when they were released, because there was a bit of a gap between Timothy Dalton and the next Bond. So when the next Bond took over, I was like 12 years old, so I was at the point where, you know, I could see them on TV, maybe even go to the cinema to watch them.

Stephen: 4:12

So, yeah, so there's been quite a few Bonds over the years. There's been a total of seven, and you might be like seven, are you joking? There has not been seven, there are six james ones. Well, actually there, there has been seven. Um, so you've got a couple of erroneous ones. So the film company eon, uh, which were I think they were metro, metro, gold, goldwing, what are they called? Gold, not goldwing. What was he called? Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, metro, goldwyn Mayer Pictures. But they, they held the rights to the regular Bond. I think they hold the rights to the two erroneous ones as well. Now, from what the internet tells me, but I believe it was metro, metro and goldwyn mayer pictures, uh, which distributed, distributed eons, uh series of james bond from the ian fleming novels or adaptations of um, and there is six official eon bonds but a seventh in another one. So you might be knowing what I'm talking about.

Stephen: 5:31

So the first bond, the first original bond, um, you know, the the very, very first bond was was the great late, great uh, sean connery, and he he took, he took the helm in 1962, and I think it was Dr no was the first one. Was it Dr no? I'm pretty sure it was. I'm pretty sure the first outing was Dr no. Yes, it was Dr no, 1962, dr no, and you know it was a massive hit. It was a massive hit. It cost like a million quid to make or a million dollars to make um, seven in today's ish money, nine, nine million ish uh dollars, uh, and in today's money it took like like 440 million dollars. So like you know that's that's a lot of moolah. So it was massive hits. They're obviously going to make another one. So they made another one straight away and they pretty much made one a year, basically um for the next four years. So 62, 63, 64, 65 all sean connery, doctor no, russia with love, goldfinger thunderball.

Stephen: 6:35

And then there was a bit of a break you only live twice was in 1967, and you know that that that was the Sean Connery era. And then George Lazenby took over for A Magistrate's Secret Service in 1969, which I had in my brain like that. It was the first one, but it wasn't, and I've literally seen that film once, I think, and I wasn't really paying attention and I want to say it's my least favourite film. I don't think that's given it the chance it deserves, because I literally I think I've seen it once and I can't even remember how it goes. I can't remember the storyline or anything. I think I remember a skiing scene in it, potentially, but that's a lot of Bond films, I suppose.

Stephen: 7:19

Yes, so George Laydenby only did one Bond film and everyone says he's the only one that did one Bond film. That's not quite correct. I'll get to it. I'll get to it. Honestly, excuse me, I keep coughing. I'm muting myself because I don't want to cough down the microphone.

Stephen: 7:36

Um, so then, after George Lazenby, sean Connery came back again for Diamonds or Forever, and then Roger Moore took over, uh, so Sean Connery came back in 1971, so a couple years after George Lazenby. Uh, and I think George Lazenby's Bond was not a hit and everyone demanded Sean Connery back and um, he came back, another smash hit, um, and when you look at the, when you look at the, the budget and stuff, so the budget had gone up for, like Home Orange's Secret Service was like seven million dollars in in in like to uh, which, which we were at 37 in today's, when I think these figures are from like 2005-ish currency translations 7 million to make and it took. It took 291 million oh sorry, 64 back in the day, but equivalent of 291 million and so that was a big drop considering all the other ones. In today's money had taken well over half a billion, which is crazy. Back in the day as well 60s that's mental. In today's money. It had taken well over half a billion, which is crazy Back in the day as well 60s, that's mental. So when George Lazenby took over, they like halved the amount of money they were making and so when Sean Connery came back, it like doubled the takings again, you know. So quite crazy.

Stephen: 8:51

So, yeah, so 1973, roger Moore took over, really camped James Bond. To be honest, sean Connery was like you know, throw away corny lines and stuff, but he was quite a hardcore kind of James Bond. I think Roger Moore took over and he kind of camped it up a little bit and Roger Moore did like a lot of films in a row and I think he actually did the most Like and I think he actually did the most like. Sean Connery did like six official James Bond films and Roger Moore did, I want to say, seven. So he was James Bond from like 1972, 1973, should I say, all the way to 1985. And then Timothy Dalton took over. I'll announce it now. Timothy Dalton shock over. I'll announce it now.

Stephen: 9:36

Timothy Dalton shock horror is my favourite Bond and I don't know what's about him. I just think he's. For me he's a combination of what Piers Brosnan kind of brought to it. He's got the kind of throwaway lines as well, but he's also got that hardcore, chiselled look. So he's attractive. He's got the campy lines like like Roger Moore had he's. He's a bit hardcore. Like Sean Connery can be stern faced when he needs to be. He's got the charm of what Pierce Brosnan brought to it, but he's also a bit hardcore, which I think was what Daniel Craig brought to the role, because then films went a bit, went a bit harder and more realistic and he still has all the gadgets and I think for me it's not just Timothy Dalton being for me the best Bond, it's them films.

Stephen: 10:22

The films, I think, don't really give him the platform to have been everyone's best Bond and I think that's the problem. I think when anyone looks at them films, the storylines aren't maybe as good as they could be, the budgets maybe weren't, even though they were a lot, lot more than. Like we're getting into the 80s, late 80s now, and budgets are increasing and the budgets, I think for them films were like 40-odd million A pop kind of thing and their returns didn't really kind of match the earlier films. But the set pieces and stuff are still brilliant. I just think the stories were a bit lacking in, maybe, the intricacies and I think, maybe because they did go from Roger Moore to Timothy Dalton, they were going for that kind of still having that little bit of edge of humour. But more of the.

Stephen: 11:18

This is James Bond, he's, you know he's a, he's an actual like person with feelings and he feels and he's quite hardcore and I think you know they were a bit more bloody than some of them had been previously as well, and I very, very vividly remember, and I think it's from. I think it's right. I think it's from the Licence to Kill, I'm not sure, maybe the Living Daylights, but it was when they throw someone into like a fan or something and it like chops them up. You don't really see it, but it's quite like as a kid you're like Jesus Christ. They were just bloody, throwing that guy through like a chopping fan. I'm pretty sure it's that film.

Stephen: 11:58

My Licence to Kill for me is the best one he did Like spoiler alert, from my own memory. He basically loses his Licence to Kill. I think he's accused of something or not doing his job right or something I can't remember not being a good secret agent. And basically Q takes his M, takes his Lic license to kill off him. So he revokes his double o status and he becomes a rogue agent and uh, but secretly, m and q are helping him. I think q's helping him. I think I don't think ever m really is. I think it was q. That's like feeding some gadgets and shit like that, and for me it's a brilliant, brilliant, uh, brilliant film. And uh, yeah, so here's my, here's my favorite bond. So, uh, abuse me in the comments, uh, please.

Stephen: 12:45

So yeah, so peter's bosom took over from him in 95, there was like a six years hiatus of bond, which I think is the longest gap since, like, the franchise started for Eon and the actual film company itself. So there was like a six-year gap and I think the biggest gap from that then is when Daniel Craig took over. There was like a four-year gap, there was a few years between each Piers Bodden film. There was at least two years between each one and I think the Daniel Craig one. I think the last one he did. I think that was a six-year gap between Spectre and no Time to Die, because I think there was a bit of a whether Daniel Craig would come back and all that sort of stuff. And, yes, so some.

Stephen: 13:34

So peter rosen did that until 2002, so he managed to squeeze in four films in seven years, which is which is pretty good really, and his films had massive, huge budgets compared to the, the original ones and, uh, made all right, you know, made made back one that you know there were hits, I would suppose that you would call them, uh, casino riel again had big budgets and and they really did gross a lot more money that, like they were, they were up there, um, but I think, like the last one. Um, no time to die, I think it was. It would probably be called a hit. It made back like double its money. But you know, for a big, you know big grossing film like that should it be. Should we be making more than that? I don't know, and I like the Daniel Craig ones, I do.

Stephen: 14:20

But for me there's a formula for James Bond. He is this hardcore and I've never really read any of the books. I've listened to a couple of them on audiobook but I've never, really, never really read them in hand kind of thing. I've only read or listened to a couple of them. But for me, from seeing the films and my experience is solely based on this, on the film, so please don't shout at me too much James Bond is a womanizer, a misogynist, but he's, he also has this like soft side and he does care. And you see that a little bit in the Daniel Craig thing. I liked that aspect that they brought in um, but he, at the end of the day, he's this spine, he's a killer and he has a job to do and he's incredibly good at that job. Um, but it's also there should be campy moments in it. There should be these throwaway lines there should be.

Stephen: 15:09

You know, gadgets like james bond is gadgets like I. I think for me, the daniel craig era even though there were some gadgets there weren't enough of, like outlandish ones, like Pierce Brosnan's era kind of took that very much, with sponsorship as well. Let's say, you know the whole phone that then flipped open was it a Sony or a Nokia phone, I can't remember and he could control the BMW and that was controversial, wasn't it? And he could control the BMW and that was controversial, wasn't it the fact they went to BMW and came away from Aston Martin, which thankfully Daniel Craig's James Bond was reinstated, as they should be with an Aston Martin. But yeah, I liked that Daniel Craig was more gritty and I liked that whole side of it and kind of bringing back almost what I liked about, you know, timothy Dalton's character. I think I should rank them, shouldn't I? Oh my god.

Stephen: 16:15

Before I do that, I'll talk about a couple of the non-official films. So Sean Connery's last film was in 1971, diamonds Are Forever. But he actually reprised the role in 1983, I want to say, and that was a non-Eon production who held some rights for the films. So they actually held some of the rights for, for the james bond. I don't know how. I don't know none of the ins and outs of it, I've not researched that deep, but he actually came back again, uh, for a film called never say never again, and I believe that was 1983. Um, it wasn't 1983. And basically how that came about was the production company basically held the rights for that film and they managed to.

Stephen: 17:12

Basically it was a remake of Thunderball, so it was kind of like a reimagining of Thunderball, I believe Again from what I've read on the internet, and they kind of held some sub rights for it so they could then take it and kind of remake their own film. And they asked and it is James Bond, it is a James Bond film, they say James Bond in it and it has Blofeld and all that sort of stuff in it, but it's not classed as like a canon film, if you want to say that. It's kind of like a film that someone made. And you know, I can't really remember it, I think when I saw it as a kid like you don't really think about these things you see a James Bond film and it has kind of all the touches of James Bond and I'm pretty sure that it has like James Bond-style openings and stuff. I'll have to Google that. I'm pretty sure it does.

Stephen: 18:10

And before that, the only person to play it solely once as well was David Niven in 1967. So George Lazenby and David Niven both played James Bond once, but the David Niven in 1967 was Casino Royale and it was kind of like done like a spoof film, so like a bit of a comedy and stuff. And again, I've seen that one as a kid and I didn't like it because I was like this isn't the James Bond film, it's like a comedy. That's not what it's about. There's meant to be some campy laughs and stuff like that, but this is not what it's about. So I'd like to actually like revisit that as an adult, because I've never, I've never seen that as an adult. I don't think. So it'd be kind of cool to to re like to kind of revisit that and see, see what that was about. Um, but yeah, let's rate them, let's bring this to a conclusion.

Stephen: 18:57

So my favourite number one, number one Timothy Dalton. Yeah, and I'm not gonna do George Nivenin, david Nivenin in this, because I don't think he counts. Sean Connery does, because he was Bond in the canon. So Timothy Dalton number one. For me, number two. It's difficult because I absolutely adore roger moore's. Roger moore's bond, oh dear. But I, oh god, oh god, but I, I think the way that sean connery portrayed him was was genius as well. So it's got to be.

Stephen: 19:40

If you don't ask me this tomorrow, I'd probably get the order wrong that I said. So I feel it's got to be Timothy Dalton as number one, sean Connery as number two, roger Moore as number three, david Craig Craig, david, that's not right. Daniel Craig as number four David, david, craig, craig, david. That's not right. Daniel Craig is number four. Piers Brosnan is number five.

Stephen: 20:06

Wow, oh, should he be higher? No, because I'm not going to base it off of films. I have nostalgia for them, films because I grew up with them. Yeah, he's going to have to be number five. Sorry, piers, sorry dude, really love your films, but I've gotta put daniel craig above you, I think, and he's not too low for daniel craig, oh my god. And george lazarby's gonna be last, just because I literally have seen that film once when I was a kid and I don't think I've ever seen it as an adult and I really must revisit that one as well, because I I'm pretty sure it's not as shit as everyone always makes out in the memory I have in my brain oh, my god, like, did I just rank them like that? Oh no, well, I have now, haven't I? I've done it. It's over. I've done it. I can't come back from that. I've done it and that is how I rank the James Bonds Bonkers. I'm on that bombshell.

Stephen: 21:00

Thank you very much for listening. Do all the usual stuff that people do when they like someone, and I thank you very much for listening and until next time, keep prattling. You've been listening to Infinite Dreadle. Thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, go back and listen to some others. You've been listening to Infinite Dreadful.