James Bond was a fictional British secret agent created on Earth in the mid-20th century. Sean Connery and Roger Moore, who had previously played another fictional secret agent in the television series The Saint, were among the actors who played the role in the film series. (AUDIO: Thin Ice) According to Ianto Jones, Bond was the archetypal male fantasy: the man all women wanted to have, and all men wanted to be. (PROSE: Trace Memory)
Rory Williams was the apparent inspiration for the character, after he and the Eleventh Doctor rescued Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, during the London Blitz. (COMIC: The Doctor and the Nurse)
The 1966 film Voodoo Something To Me was the final Bond film to star Sean Connery. (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen)
By 2009, there were at least 21 Bond movies. (PROSE: The House That Jack Built) A new series of James Bond films were made during the 24th century. (PROSE: Synthespians™)
At some point, Cal MacNannovich presumably portrayed the character of James Bond. This version of the character was the Tenth Doctor's favourite. (PROSE: The Art of Destruction)
References
Ben Jackson once viewed a James Bond film starring Roger Moore, featuring, among other things, a battle with kung-fu students, (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet) though another account holds that he instead watched a western at that point. (TV: The Tenth Planet)
Prior to being recruited into UNIT, Liz Shaw derisively dismissed the work of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart's men as a "silly James Bond outfit". (PROSE: We deal with the odd — the unexplained...)
Fitz Kreiner imitated the character on numerous occasions. (PROSE: Demontage) Dr No was a James Bond film starring Sean Connery. When Fitz was reunited with the Eighth Doctor after a brief separation in 1944 Belgium, he told the Doctor that there was no need to worry in his best Dr No Sean Connery impression. (PROSE: Autumn Mist)
The students of Coal Hill School called Barbara Wright "Rosa Klebb" after the character from the James Bond film From Russia with Love. (PROSE: Nothing at the End of the Lane)
Jo Grant, who supposedly worked for UNIT as a secret agent, complained that contrary to the beliefs of her family and friends, her real life involved much more drudgery than the glamorous life of James Bond. (TV: Frontier in Space)
In the 1970s, Margery Phipps believed that Sgt. John Benton resembled James Bond, "not the new one, the one before him but without the Australian accent." (AUDIO: Council of War)
After they were captured by the National Institute for Advanced Scientific Research, Sarah Jane Smith jokingly referred to Harry Sullivan as "James Bond." (TV: Robot)
An issue of TV Century 21 made reference to a "Bond" on its cover. (TV: The Man from MI.5 [+]Alan Fennell, Thunderbirds crossover stories series 1 (ITV, 1966).)
Peri Brown enjoyed watching the films with her late father Paul Brown while she was growing up. She compared the Casino Majestique in Monte Carlo in 1966, to the sort of venue frequently featured in the films. (AUDIO: The Veiled Leopard)
In Monte Carlo in 1966, Ace mockingly referred to Hex as "007" when he was hiding under a bed after stealing the Veiled Leopard. Hex later complained that their escape route down the back stairs wasn't very "James Bond." (AUDIO: The Veiled Leopard)
On a visit to the Soviet Union in November 1967, Ace anachronistically referred to Roger Moore as the current James Bond during a conversation with her fellow Briton Markus Creevy. Creevy told her that Moore starred in The Saint while Sean Connery played Bond. (AUDIO: Thin Ice)
Ace later told Gilgamesh that all good spies wore disguises, citing James Bond as an example, though he thought she said "Shamash Bond". (PROSE: Timewyrm: Genesys)
When the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones went to attend Richard Lazarus' unveiling of his experiment, Martha commented that the Doctor looked like James Bond due to his black-tie tuxedo. (TV: The Lazarus Experiment [+]Stephen Greenhorn, Doctor Who series 3 (BBC One, 2007).)
In Pompeii in August 79, the Tenth Doctor wielded a water pistol that had a distinct resemblance to the extended barrel pistol that Sean Connery posed with for publicity photos. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]James Moran, Doctor Who series 4 (BBC One, 2008).)
In an alternative timeline on 9 November 1989, Albert Marsden told Hex that Vladimir Kryuchkov, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, reminded him of a James Bond villain. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive)
Ianto Jones was a big Bond fan, occasionally having "Bondathons" of all his favourite James Bond movies. (PROSE: Trace Memory) He took Lisa Hallett to watch a James Bond film on a date, but she was not a fan. (AUDIO: New Girl)
Rhys Williams bought a James Bond DVD boxset from a Cardiff shopping arcade in 2009. It contained the first twenty-one Bond movies in two-disc, digitally remastered editions. As a bonus, it came with poker chips and playing cards. (PROSE: The House That Jack Built)
The Eleventh Doctor once used the alias of "Commander Bond". (COMIC: Sub-species)
Amy Pond compared Professor Saurian's base to one in a James Bond film. (COMIC: Extinction Event)
Rani Chandra described shutting down a nuclear reactor to Clyde Langer as "James Bond meets Mario." (TV: Sky)
In 1963, the Doctor mentioned Sean Connery as James Bond in the list of cool things about that year. (GAME: City of the Daleks)
In 1605, Rory Williams jokingly remarked that it was "a bit early for James Bond" upon learning about spies working against King James I. Confusing Black Rod, who asked if James Bond was another spy, Rory reassured him Bond was on their side. (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot)
In the alternate timeline created by the alteration of the fixed point at Lake Silencio, Amy introduced herself as "Pond. Amelia Pond." She followed a grenade into the room, and she was wearing all black with an eye patch and a gun, which she used to shoot the Doctor. (TV: The Wedding of River Song [+]Steven Moffat, Doctor Who series 6 (BBC One, 2011).)
Dave Oswald's favourite James Bond film was Live and Let Die. (COMIC: A Wing and a Prayer)
Ace said that Goldfinger was the third film in the franchise. (AUDIO: 1963: The Assassination Games)
In 1999, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart compared the work of Department M to James Bond. (PROSE: The Danger Men)
On 22 September 2006, Tegan Jovanka sarcastically asked the Fifth Doctor whether he expected her to be the new James Bond. (AUDIO: The Gathering)
The walls of Rick Pirelli's room were covered in movie posters, including one of James Bond. (PROSE: Forever Autumn)
In 2008, Ianto Jones told Zeynep that he was not a spy like James Bond. (AUDIO: Fall to Earth)
Sam Jones expected Helen Percival to look and act like a James Bond villain. She had always hated the James Bond movies, considering him a "crypto-capitalist male chauvinist pig", but thought that Timothy Dalton hadn't been bad. (PROSE: The Face-Eater)
Gita Chandra once told Haresh Chandra that he was "more of a Jamie Oliver than a James Bond", likening her husband more to the celebrity chef than to the fictional spy. (TV: Prisoner of the Judoon)
When they fought Fenric, Bill Potts compared Fenric to a "Bond villain", to which the Twelfth Doctor stated that "Bofeld'd be easy pickings" in comparison. (COMIC: The Wolves of Winter [+]Richard Dinnick, Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2017).)
According to one account, GoldenEye 007 was a game played by Ryan Sinclair, (TV: The Ghost Monument [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 11 (BBC One, 2018).) although according to another account, Call of Duty was the video game he had been playing. (TV: The Ghost Monument [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 11 (BBC One, 2018).)
James Seddon wanted his first car to be an Aston Martin, "like James Bond [had]". (PROSE: Wishing Well)
During Christmas, Lucie Miller's father and uncle would often argue about who was the best James Bond. (AUDIO: Death in Blackpool)
When Rogue explained his triform device to the Fifteenth Doctor as being a trap and then used it to trap him, the Doctor quipped "Oh, I see! My name's bond, molecular bond!" referencing the James Bond catchprase "The name's Bond, James Bond." (TV: Rogue [+]Kate Herron and Briony Redman, Doctor Who series 14 (BBC One and Disney+, 2024).)
Behind the scenes
Jimmy Bondson, appearing in the crossover The Man from MI.5, was named after James Bond.
Off-screen connections
Significant connections
- As long-running British franchises, both James Bond and Doctor Who share many similarities. Both protagonists have been portrayed, on-screen and in audio, by several actors, and both first appeared on screen in the 1960s.
- Timothy Dalton, who played Rassilon in The End of Time [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2009 and New Year Special 2010 (BBC One, 2009-2010)., portrayed Bond in The Living Daylights and Licence To Kill.
- Michael Jayston played the character in a radio adaptation of You Only Live Twice in 1990, and was at one point considered for the role on film. He had previously played the Valeyard in The Trial of a Time Lord.
- Adam Blackwood provided the voice for James Bond in the video games Tomorrow Never Dies, 007: The World Is Not Enough (Nintendo 64 version), 007: The World Is Not Enough (PlayStation version), 007 Racing and 007: Agent Under Fire.
- Peter Purves was reportedly considered to replace Sean Connery as Bond.
- Anthony Ainley and Frazer Hines both had small parts in You Only Live Twice.
- David Tennant narrated an audiobook of On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 2015.
- George Pastell, Francis De Wolff and Fred Haggerty appeared in From Russia With Love.
- Honor Blackman and Alf Joint appeared in Goldfinger.
- Burt Kwouk appeeared in Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice.
- Earl Cameron, George Pravda, Philip Locke, Leonard Sachs and Andre Maranne appeared in Thunderball.
- Shane Rimmer appeared in You Only Live Twice, Diamonds are Forever and The Spy Who Loved Me. He also dubbed Agent Dawes in Live and Let Die.
- Diana Rigg, Bernard Horsfall, Joanna Lumley, Catherine Schell, Geoffrey Cheshire, James Bree and Brian Grellis appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
- George Baker had been an early candidate for Bond. He appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me.
- Joseph Fürst and John Abineri appeared in Diamonds are Forever.
- Roy Stewart played Quarrel Jr. in Live and Let Die.
- Jeremy Bulloch appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy.
- Edward de Souza, Vernon Dobtcheff, Cyril Shaps and George Roubicek appeared in The Spy Who Loved Me.
- Julian Glover, John Hollis, Juan Moreno and Graham Crowden appeared in For Your Eyes Only. Glover had previously been a candidate for Bond in the 1970s.
- David Yip played Chuck Lee in A View to a Kill.
- Art Malik played Kamran Shah in The Living Daylights.
- Christopher Neame played Fallon in Licence to Kill.
- Samantha Bond played Miss Moneypenny opposite Pierce Brosnan.
- Alan Cumming played Boris Grishenko in Goldeneye.
- Jonathan Pryce, Geoffrey Palmer and Hugh Bonneville appeared in Tomorrow Never Dies.
- Colin Salmon played Charles Robinson in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough and Die Another Day.
- John Cleese played R in The World is Not Enough and took over as Q in Die Another Day.
- Paul Darrow appeared briefly as a doctor in Die Another Day.
- Tom Chadbon appeared as a stockbroker in Casino Royale.
- Helen McCrory played Clair Dowar MP in Skyfall.
- Steven Berkoff played General Orlov in the 1983 film Octopussy. Gary Russell and Marek Anton also both appeared in the scene as teenagers who trick Bond in offering him a lift in East Berlin.[1][2] Ingrid Pitt had an uncredited voice role as the galley mistress.
Other connections
- The scene in Spearhead from Space where Major General Scobie is confronted with a replica is reminiscent of a scene in the 1965 film Thunderball where Francois Derval is killed by Angelo.
- An early draft of the script for Thunderball contained a direct reference to Doctor Who; during a scene where Moneypenny informs James Bond that every Double-O agent in Europe has been brought to a meeting about a current crisis, James responds by sarcastically stating "The Daleks have taken over!"
- The shot of an exploding helicopter in The Enemy of the World and The Dæmons is unused footage from the 1963 film From Russia With Love.
- During location filming at Lanzarote for Planet of Fire, Peter Davison posed for publicity photos with a prop gun and tuxedo with a bikini-clad Nicola Bryant by his side, in a classically Bond-like pose, to announce the latter's debut as Peri Brown. Jason Kane also adopts a "Bond pose" on the cover of Deadfall by Gary Russell. Trading Futures by Lance Parkin uses a pastiche Bond movie poster look.
- Fans of both series have jokingly speculated that Bond may be a Time Lord, as his appearance changes every few years. In the trailer to GoldenEye (though not in the film itself), Pierce Brosnan's first words as Bond, "You were expecting someone else?", echo the Sixth Doctor's first words after his regeneration in the last few moments of The Caves of Androzani.
- The Curse of Fatal Death was shot in Pinewood Studios, famous for being the studios used for the James Bond films.
- Martin Shaw was once asked to put himself forward to play James Bond. In the interview in which he revealed this, he also noted that he would like to play the Doctor.[1]
- The Union Jack parachute the Twelfth Doctor deploys in the television story The Zygon Inversion is similar to the one Bond uses in The Spy Who Loved Me.
- Paul McGann was also in the running to play James Bond in GoldenEye, but lost the role to Pierce Brosnan.
- A trait in the Bond film series is at the end credits they have "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN IN", Doctor Who had similar messages at the end of A Good Man Goes to War and Last Christmas.
- In AUDIO: Jubilee, Plenty O'Toole played Evelyn "Hot Lips" Smythe in the film Daleks: The Ultimate Adventure. O'Toole was named after a character in the 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever.
- The title of the TV episode Spyfall is a play on the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. According to one news source, the story also pays homage to Casino Royale, the first novel in the James Bond series, which was centred on gambling and aristocracy.[4] The concept of MI6 members being known by a single letter, namely "C" and "O", is similar to "M" and "Q" from the James Bond franchise, introduced in the original novels by Ian Fleming.
- Kellman's disguised radio transmitter from Revenge of the Cybermen is a reused prop from the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die that was sold to the BBC prop department by then-current James Bond actor Roger Moore himself.
- Sylvia Trench, a character who appeared in the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special Joy to the World, was named after a character who appeared in the James Bond films Dr. No and From Russia with Love.
- Prior to their respective castings as James Bond and the Seventh Doctor, Timothy Dalton and Sylvester McCoy had appeared alongside each other in several productions of Shakespeare plays in the West End, with Dalton's casting as Bond and McCoy's casting as the Doctor occurring very soon after each other. (DOC: The Name'sh McCoy Shylveshter McCoy)
Other matters
- In the novelisation Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet, Ben Jackson views a James Bond film starring Roger Moore. Although the film is not mentioned by name, the book mentions a battle with kung-fu students, something which appeared in the 1974 film The Man With the Golden Gun.
- In the original serial The Tenth Planet, Jackson viewed an unidentified western film. When the serial was broadcast in 1966, Moore had not yet been cast as Bond; he had, however, made two appearances by the time the novelisation was published in 1976.
- Eric Saward noted in 30 Years in the TARDIS that the characterisation of the Third Doctor was reflective of the popularity of James Bond at the time.
Footnotes
- ↑ Trivia - Octopussy - mi6-hq.com
- ↑ Interview with Gary Russell (Writer/Script Editor/Producer Doctor Who, Wizards Vs Aliens, Torchwood and Bernice Summerfield) - theconsultingdetectivesblog.com
- ↑ @BondWriting on Twitter
- ↑ Laford, Andrea (27 December 2018). Doctor Who Spyfall: new images and information. CultBox. Retrieved on 1 January 2020.