The 007 legacy at a glance

The character of James Bond is deeply rooted in American Culture. Lines such as "Shaken, not stirred" are so common that people who have never seen the source material are able to identify where the quote came from. Including Quantum of Solace, which was released last Friday, the film series has 22 installments making it the second largest series in the world second only to the Japanese Godzilla (with 28 installments) Yet with such a long history, it is understandable that at times parts of the series might be confusing. So, with a new Bond film in the theaters, it may benefit you to read about the ins and outs of the series before watching the latest adventure.

Characters:

James Bond first appeared in the book Casino Royale, written by Ian Fleming and published in 1953. Fleming would go on to write a total of twelve Bond novels and two collections of short stories that would inspire the film franchise. The first film of the series, Dr. No, was based on the sixth book published, and stared Sean Connery as James Bond. To date a total of six actors have played the iconic spy. Sean Connery in six movies, George Lazenby in one, Roger Moore in seven, Timothy Dalton in two, Pierce Brosnan in four and Daniel Craig, who is the current actor to play James Bond has so far starred in two.

One of the common themes of the James Bond series is that each movie has its own love, or rather sexual, interest, often referred to as the Bond girl of the movie. The Bond girls throughout the series vary in importance, some being agents themselves, while some merely stumble into Bond's path while he is on a mission. One thing that almost all of the Bond girls have in common besides their incredible beauty is the suggestive nature of their names. The double entendres of the names of the Bond girls can range from the subtle Honey Rider; to the much more blunt Pussy Galore.

While other characters such as Felix Leiter have appeared in multiple 007 movies, only a few characters have appeared in the majority of the series. The Character of M has appeared in every James Bond movie but one, as Bond's superior. While initially a male character played by Bernard Lee and Robert Brown, Judi Dench took over the role in 1995 and has played it ever since. Although it is never revealed in the movies, the novels claim that M's real name is Miles Messervy. Q (which stands for Quartermaster) also appears in most of the series as the character that usually supplies Bond with gadgets for his missions. While John Cleese currently plays Q, the character has not made an appearance in the series since Die Another Day in 2002. Miss. Moneypenny is another character that is in most of the Bond films as M's secretary who is often shown harboring a crush on James Bond. Like Q, Miss Moneypenny has been absent from the series since 2002 although in 2006's Casino Royale, M is seen as having a male secretary named Villiers.

Unofficial Bond Movies:

While there are 22 Official Bond movies there are a few movies that feature the James Bond character that are not a part of the series. This is due to the fact that through a legal loophole, the rights to the Bond novels Casino Royale and Thunderball were not sold at the same time as the rights of the rest of the series, but rather individually, and to a different film studio. This has resulted in three movies starring the character James Bond that are not officially a part of the series.

The first of these was made for TV in 1954 and based on Casino Royale. It was only an hour long, and it switched James Bond from a British spy to an American one. Then, in 1967 another movie called Casino Royale was made this time as a comedy, spoofing the spy genre, specifically James Bond. It stared famous comedians of the time such as Woody Allen and Peter Sellers.

The most surprising unofficial James Bond movie was released in 1983 and titled Never Say Never Again. The movie is so similar to the official James Bond movies that most people don't realize that it is not technically a part of the series. In fact it will quite often play on TV during James Bond marathons. In actuality, Never Say Never Again is based on the novel Thunderball. Since Thunderball had already been made into a Bond movie, Never say Never Again considered itself a remake of Thunderball and added in the element of James Bond coming out of retirement for one last mission. To add to the confusion, Sean Connery, the original James Bond played the character in Never say Never Again even though it was not a part of the official series.

Reboot of the Franchise:

It has never been made clear if James Bond is the name of a character that has been played by six different actors, or if it is six different characters that each have carried the number 007 and the code name that goes with it. Some evidence points to the idea that as one character retires, he retires the name James Bond to the next person to get the title 007. For example in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, George Lazenby's first, and only, film as Bond, he says, "This never happened to the other guy." Suggesting that he was talking about Sean Connery's Bond and therefore a different character. Not to mention the fact that it has been clearly stated that other characters in the series, Namely Q and M actually change character when a different actor plays them despite having the same name. The change in M's gender also points out the fact that she is clearly not the same character as the M before her.

However, other evidence suggests that there is only one James Bond character and that six different actors have played him. For example, the fact that despite the actor playing Bond, he still tends to exhibit the same characteristics movie after movie. It seems unlikely that six different characters all have the same characteristics. While it is not mentioned in every movie, James Bond's parents died, in a ski accident when he was a child, a fact that goes across multiple Bond actors. Perhaps the most convincing argument that there is only one Bond character is the recent film Casino Royale. If there were several different Bond characters then Casino Royale would merely be the next movie in the series with the latest person who had been given the rank of 007. However it has been make clear that Casino Royale is not a mere sequel to the previous movies but rather a Rebooting of the Entire franchise, bringing the character back to his roots. Throughout the movie, we see the evolution of the character that has been present in the other James Bond movies. Still, until a definitive answer is provided by the movies themselves, all we can do is watch them and guess.