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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 17, 2017 1:03:30 GMT
Has anyone here listened to the BBC James Bond radio series? They’ve adapted Dr No, Goldfinger, From Russia, with Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, and Thunderball so far. I’m listening to Dr No right now; I’m a great Fleming fan, and this adaptation is very faithful—far more so than the movie, love it (and all the Connery Bonds) though I do.
Toby Stephens, who voices Bond (and played villain Gustav Graves in Die Another Day), plays him very differently from any of the film actors, except perhaps Dalton, but he’s quite good as well. In some ways he’s better than Daniel Craig, Casino Royale notwithstanding.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Dec 17, 2017 3:11:40 GMT
The first radio Bond (and second actor to play him overall) was Bob Holness in a now-lost South African broadcast of Moonraker in 1956. According to a contemporary news account, "listeners across the Union thrilled to Bob's cultured tones as he defeated evil master criminals in search of world domination". Bob Holness |
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Post by alfromni on Mar 12, 2018 13:31:01 GMT
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Post by Isapop on Mar 14, 2018 13:43:01 GMT
I heard the broadcast of Thunderball. Amusing as a novelty, but I haven't sought out any others. One disconcerting note was to hear some coitus grunting from Bond. I know that on radio there's no other way to let us know what's going on, but it did seem a little comically off key. |
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 26, 2018 22:47:50 GMT
I’m listening to From Russia with Love right now. It’s really good; again, the acting here is superb.
Interestingly, while it’s largely very faithful to the book, it borrows the order of the plot from the movie adaptation. I mean, it makes sense—the first half of Fleming’s book follows Red Grant, the Robert Shaw character in the movie, rather than Bond, and adaptations unsurprisingly want to get to their main character quickly—but the majority of these radio versions have tried to distance themselves from the movies.
This is still really good—FRwL is my favorite Bond book and my favorite Bond movie—though I think my favorite of these radio adaptations has been Dr No, which I mentioned in my OP. It was great.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 26, 2018 23:11:10 GMT
While Bond, Tania, Kerim, and M are all great, my only problem so far has been that this Red Grant isn’t as intimidating as the book’s man, or as Shaw’s in the movie.
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Post by Nalkarj on Sept 27, 2018 14:44:19 GMT
I heard the broadcast of Thunderball. Amusing as a novelty, but I haven't sought out any others. One disconcerting note was to hear some coitus grunting from Bond. I know that on radio there's no other way to let us know what's going on, but it did seem a little comically off key. Take a listen to Dr No or From Russia with Love, both available on YouTube. No coital grunting (  ), and the adaptations are really good. |
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Post by Isapop on Sept 28, 2018 18:28:04 GMT
I heard the broadcast of Thunderball. Amusing as a novelty, but I haven't sought out any others. One disconcerting note was to hear some coitus grunting from Bond. I know that on radio there's no other way to let us know what's going on, but it did seem a little comically off key. Take a listen to Dr No or From Russia with Love, both available on YouTube. No coital grunting ( ), and the adaptations are really good. I might do that. Thanks. |
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Post by amyghost on Sept 28, 2018 21:46:05 GMT
The first radio Bond (and second actor to play him overall) was Bob Holness in a now-lost South African broadcast of Moonraker in 1956. According to a contemporary news account, "listeners across the Union thrilled to Bob's cultured tones as he defeated evil master criminals in search of world domination". Bob HolnessHe looks vaguely like Maxwell Smart in that photo, so just as well this was radio. But seriously, that sounds as if it could have been fun, it's a pity it's lost. |
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), and the adaptations are really good. 
