Bond & Beyond

James and Alex return with something a little different. In this episode, we compete to see who can draft the Ultimate James Bond film by drawing from elements of all the previous films. We each choose our favourite Bond actor, villain, girl, henchman, vehicle, gadgets, locations, actions scenes and more in the hopes of creating a new Bond adventure that would be a worthy addition to the series. And here's the crucial bit: You decide who wins. Head to our Twitter and Facebook profiles to find the poll and vote for your favourite. You have 007 days, and we'll reveal the winner at a later date. So listen through, and choose your Ultimate James Bond Film. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James review Anthony Horowitz's third and final Bond novel, With A Mind To Kill. Set after the events of The Man With The Golden Gun (the original Ian Fleming novel, not the slide-whistle stunt film), the story sees Bond sent back into the heart of Russia to face the people who brainwashed him to kill M - while pretending that mission was successful. The stakes are raised as they evaluate him for another mission with dire consequences. Will he succeed? Will he be discovered? And how does this compare to Horowitz's Trigger Mortis and Forever And A Day? Spoilers abound, as we review With A Mind To Kill. If you want to email us (we are reading them, we promise!), you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are back after a shamefully long absence, and the topic of this episode is all things Bond. We catch up on what we've been up to Bond-wise (and non-Bond-wise) for the past almost-year, including revisiting classic 007 video games, introducing the next generation of Bond fan to the original films, reading various Bond books, and weighing up the ongoing rumours as to who will be donning that tuxedo for Bond 26. It's good to be back.

In October 2021, you sent us your thoughts on No Time To Die. In June 2022, we recorded our responses. Now, in December 2022, we finally share them with you. We're very, very sorry. If you want to email us (we are reading them, we promise!), you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are joined by long-time friend of the show Rick Van Beem to discuss the Sound of 007 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, part of the 60th anniversary celebrations for James Bond's cinematic outings. James and Rick were able to go and see the concert live, and you can watch highlights on Amazon Prime Video (or via this sneaky YouTube playlist. The trio discuss their favourite moments, the quality of performances by an impressive roster of singers (including Dame Shirely Bassey herself), and a few surprises from the line-up. WARNING: Naturally, this being a soundtrack-centric episode, James gets a little too enthusiastic. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Continuing our celebration of James Bond's 60th Anniversary in cinemas, we gather another 20 facts from the history of the franchise and attempt to out-fact each other with the trivia we have uncovered. (Why not play along, see how many you already know? And if you haven't done so, be sure to go back and listen to the first episode. Oh, and here's that Diet Coke ad you absolutely need to watch) Challenge us by sending in your own facts to  bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Earlier this year (actually, the same week we recorded this episode - so sorry for the delay), Bond overseers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson hinted that the next 007 film would be something of a reinvention. Which leaves us with a LOT of questions. On this episode, we discuss the various implications of reinventing Bond - especially in light of how dramatically Daniel Craig modernised the character - and the delicate balance EON Productions faces in trying to find a new direction for 007 after the most recent era of films. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are joined by Drew Roller, director of Goldenera - a documentary that extensively tells the story of Goldeneye 64. Drew shares with us more about how he become interested in the development of the most iconic James Bond video game of all time, his own experiences with the franchise, and the discoveries he made during this project. If you have any memory of Goldeneye 64, this is the episode for you - and the documentary is absolutely a must watch. You can find it here at Altitude, as well as via Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Sky, Apple TV and Rakuten TV. Oh, and you may recognise one of the talking heads. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James have had nine months to let the initial impressions of Craig's final 007 outing settle and are now ready to share their full opinions on No Time To Die. We work through the film in our standard review format, weighing up the highs and lows, while trying really hard not to get caught up in speculation as to what comes next.  If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are back. In the first of a three-part episode, we'll be celebrating 60 Years of the James Bond with 60 facts - and here's the first 20. Your two hosts have each found 10 pieces of trivia about the films, actors, and more, and test each other's knowledge: for every fact the other co-host did not already know, the fact giver receives one point. (Why not play along yourself? How many do you know?) Challenge us by sending in your own facts to  bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are joined by composer and friend of the show Richey Rynkowski to discuss the best of Bond soundtracks. We speak to Richey about his experiences as a composer (including some brushes with Bond), and his thoughts on the highs and lows of the soundtracks found throughout the series. We also discuss the declining use of theme tunes, including in the Daniel Craig films - a topic that takes us on quite the tangent, and definitely into 'beyond' territory. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James read out your thoughts on No Time To Die, Daniel Craig's final and perhaps most divisive outing as 007. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

The long wait is finally over. After six years, more than half a decade, 72 full months... you can finally find out what we think of No Time To Die. This is not our full review, which will save for a much later viewing, but our initial impressions of the long-awaited 25th James Bond film and Daniel Craig's final outing. Needless to say, there are spoilers abound! We discuss the highs and lows of No Time To Die, speculate about the future of 007, and try to process our surprisingly mixed feelings at what is perhaps the boldest Bond film to date. We would also love to know your thoughts, so email us via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are joined by special guest Matt for the first out a new series of episodes in which we look back at the tenure of each James Bond actor. We start with Timothy Dalton, divisive in his own way but beloved by many fans. Dalton took over the role at perhaps the most interesting moment in the series, and had just two films to demonstrate his Bondness. What was Dalton's legacy and how does he compare to his fellow Bonds? If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Something special for you this time, and the perfect follow-up to our Ranking The Bond Cars episode. Alex and James are joined by Alan Porter, author of The James Bond Lexicon and member of the Ian Fleming Foundation - the group that tracks down, restores and exhibits all the vehicles used in the Bond movies. We speak to Porter about his work chronicling the world of 007 in the lexicon and the surprising stories behind the Bond In Motion exhibits and where some of the most iconic Bond cars have been found, including the f**king big lorry from Licence to Kill. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Alex and James are rejoined by friend of the show Sam for our third ranking episode. This time, we're talking Bond cars. Listen in as we debate which is the greatest Bond car, taking one from each of the 24 films and judging them based on appearance, gadgetry, use in action sequences, whether or not 007 drives it, and a ton of other criteria we may or may not have been making up as we went. You can find our final rankings here. Want to share your thoughts on our rankings? Email via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. Or you can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Following our review of Anthony Horowitz's debut Bond novel Trigger Mortis, we take a look at his second 007 story. 007 is dead, and an up-and-coming young agent (one James Bond) has been sent to investigate. Listen in as we walk through this tale of intrigue set in the south of France built around a gangsters, a cruise ship with plenty of fire extinguishers, a brilliant older woman character, a great NotFelix, some strong action sequences, and a Spider-Man style villain. Spoiler alert if you haven't read the book. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

James and Alex tackle their first book review: Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz. SPOILER WARNING: We basically break down the whole book.  In this non-Fleming Bond novel written in Fleming's style, 007 must protect a British racing legend from Russian assassins during a dangerous race on the Nurburgring - but that's not actually the plot. We talk about Horowitz's blend of action and insight into Bond, his attempt at creating an iconic Bond villain, the return of Pussy Galore and more. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

With the announcement that Hitman developer IO Interactive is working on a new James Bond game, Alex and James are joined by friend of the show and game developer Simon Smith to discuss 007's track record with video games. Naturally, a good chunk of this show is dedicated to our hopes for IO's new game, but we also explore the lack of James Bond games in the past decade, some of the best titles from before that, and why Goldeneye 64 might have been the worst thing to happen to James Bond games. If you want to email us, you can do so via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. You can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.

Following the fun we had with our Ranking The Bond Songs episode, we attempt to rank something even more challenging: the villains. Alex Shaw of the School of Movies podcast - and author of the New Century Multiverse series - joins us to weigh up each Bond villain's plot based on how dangerous (or not) it is to the world. Some want to start a war. Some just want to make money. Some want to start a war to make money. But all are off their rocker, and now we have definitively ranked how villainous they truly are. If you want to spoil the results for yourself, you can check out the final list here. Want to share your thoughts on our rankings? Email via bondandbeyondpod@gmail.com. Or you can find us on Facebook (just search 'Bond & Beyond'), Twitter (@bondbeyondpod) and all our episodes are at bondbeyondpod.tumblr.com.