I don't think I'm alone here in my interest of military fiction and spy novels. I've read every one of Tom Clancy's books, at least the fiction ones that he actually wrote, and was saddened by his death in late 2013. My favorite author, Vince Flynn, whom I consider the absolute best in the political-thriller genre, died earlier that same year, at only 46 years old. If you've never picked him up, I highly recommend it. His books, which also lean heavy on the spy stuff, will definitely get your adrenalin pumping. It's an over-used cliché, but his novels are ones you won't be able to put down.
My first exposure to the spy-thriller genre wasn't supposed to happen. My family had gone to the local Drive-In movie theater for a double feature. My parents would park our 1974 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon backwards so my brother, sisters and I could watch the kid-friendly movie out the back window.
During the Summer in Oregon, it doesn't get dark enough for the show until after 9:30PM, so the four of us kids were almost guaranteed to be asleep for the second movie. My Dad would then turn the car around so he and my mom could watch the next feature. I don't recall what the first movie was, but I definitely remember 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me." It only had a "PG" rating, but "G" movies were the limit for us kids, so we were supposed to be asleep. However, my parents never looked back to see that I was awake and fully engrossed in the flick. After watching the opening scene where Roger Moore evades the Russians, opening a Union Jack parachute as he skis off a cliff, I was hooked. I was a little too young to be interested in the Bond Girls, but that changed, as you'll see later.
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| First question- what was the average MPG of the Davis Family Yacht? |
Today's quiz is all about Bond. Yes, I'm diverging quite substantially from past Tuesdays, but as I mentioned, I needed to shake things up a bit and find some more material. However, it's not like Bond didn't have any military experience right?
Question 2, and it's an easy one- What was Bond's service and rank?
3. In the above scene in Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond steals a jet loaded with Nuclear-tipped missiles. What kind of aircraft was it?
a.
b.
Question 2, and it's an easy one- What was Bond's service and rank?
3. In the above scene in Tomorrow Never Dies, Bond steals a jet loaded with Nuclear-tipped missiles. What kind of aircraft was it?
a.
 |
| SEPECAT Jaguar |
 |
| Kfir T2C |
c.
d.
4. First seen in Dr. No, what was Bond's choice of weapon.
6. Three-quarters of those women have something in common. What is it?
7. The answer to question two might be a hint, but in You Only Live Twice, how did Bond fake his death?
8. Question 3 or the answer to 7 might, or might not, be a hint, but in what field of the military was Bond?
9. Back to the ladies. I was planning on asking who are the best of the Bond women- you know, the hottest, sexiest, and the like, but that would be a bit subjective and not at all trivial. So I'll just ask you to attempt to name the actress and which movie they starred in. Why these Bond Girls? If you must know, they just happen in the order of my choice for what I referred to above. I've added their character names as a possible hint. Normally these are Top-10 lists, but I couldn't narrow it down to only 10. You're welcome.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
l.
m. Bonus-Bond-Babe:
Any guesses as to why this last one is a bonus? It might have to do with the fact that she isn't in any Bond film...yet. She's currently busy filming the 24th Bond flick- Spectre. She would be at the top of my list if she was in a released film. Aw heck, it's my post, so I'll just say it- #1 Bond Girl? Monica Bellucci! She will also have the distinction of being the oldest Bond Girl ever, at a still-very-lovely 50 years young. Some more trivia? She's the 76th actress to play a Bond Girl and only the third to be older than the actor who played 007. Honor Blackman who played Pussy Galore in Dr. No (and for some of you, is notably absent from my list above,) was 37 and four years older than Sean Connery. The other was Diana Rigg, who was just a year senior to George Lazenby. Seen her in Game of Thrones? The actress who plays her granddaughter on the show is the spitting image of her younger self.
Monica Bellucci was actually considered for the role of Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies, but Teri Hatcher won the part, so it took her most of twenty years to make the cut. A year ago, Penelope Cruz was widely rumored to be Bond's love interest in Spectre, but the truth to the rumor never materialized, preventing her from having the distinction of being the oldest Bond Girl. She definitely shares a certain look with Bellucci.
By the way, another notable absentee from my list is one which many online lists consider the best Bond Girl- Ursula Andress who played Honey Rider in Dr. No. By the way, it took a lot of research to put that list together. It was a tough job, but my readers here on the Chant deserve all the selfless dedication I put into it.
10. Haven't I met you somewhere before? Which actress has played two different Bond Girls? Eight gold coins to the first person to shoot me the correct answer.
A last bit of Bond Girl trivia. It's widely believed that Muriel Wright, a lost love of Ian Fleming, is the inspiration for the Bond Girl. Apparently, she was extremely beautiful, strong, sophisticated, athletic, vulnerable, and very loyal- despite Fleming's lack thereof. While she couldn't keep his undivided attention while they were together, nearly every Bond Girl he wrote about later has a piece of Muriel Wright in her character. Muriel Wright was killed in an air-raid in 1944.
11. Speaking of Ian Fleming, he wrote most of his novels and short stories from his Winter home in Jamaica. The name of that home was used as the title for one of the Bond films, which one?
a. Thunderball
b. Moonraker
c. GoldenEye
d. Goldfinger
e. Skyfall
12. It's said that you should never point a gun at a person unless you intend to use it, and having a license to kill is probably the same way. There are 23 official Bond movies. Casino Royal in 1967 and the gawdawful Never Say Never Again don't count. In those 23 films, a jaw-dropping 1348 lives have been ended. How many of those can be attributed to Bond himself? It's a figure that would more than doubly-impress Special Operator Chris Kyle.
13. While we're on that subject, which Bond was the most lethal? I'll give you a hint- it wasn't George Lazenby.
14. What movie saw the smallest body-count by 007? He wasn't reaching his quota so his license was revoked.
15. What drink has Bond been seen consuming the most in the films?
16. Other than a faked death as mentioned above, and a supposed death in Skyfall, Bond has obviously made it through every mission. His fellow Double-O's haven't all been so lucky. Which ones?
Well students, that will have to do for today's quiz. Be sure to read chapter 4 in your textbooks. Have a good rest of the week. By the way, Spectre hits theaters on November 6th.
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Answers:
1. The environmentalists would cringe at our 14 mpg land yacht. My parents bought the V8 wagon just months before the gas crisis hit.
2. Bond was a Commander in the Royal Navy.
3. Seeing how these are sold on the open market, ($229k!) it's the only jet any of us could hope to fly someday- the Aero L-39 Albatross. Although I suppose the WSO and Big Time could fly the BAE Hawk/T-45 Goshawk at some point in their careers.
Watch it here.
4. Everybody knows Bond uses a Walther PPK, but that's the wrong answer. Actually, all of those weapons have been used by 007 in the movies, but it was the Beretta M 1934 that he originally wanted. He was forced to hand over his Beretta in Dr. No due to it jamming on him in an earlier mission, resulting in injury. It was reluctantly exchanged for the Walther PPK.
5. Bond has slept with 54 women. I'm surprised there aren't more little Jimmy Bonds running around.
6. Bond is an equal-opportunity womanizer. Many of the Bond Girls he bedded were heroines, but 75% of them tried to kill him.
 |
| BAE Hawk |
 |
| TA-4J Skyhawk
e.
|
 |
| Aero L-39 Albatross |
4. First seen in Dr. No, what was Bond's choice of weapon.
a. Beretta
b. Walther P38
c. Walther PPK
d. A silenced Browning M1910
5. At least until fair-haired Daniel Craig took over the role, Bond had always been tall, dark, handsome, and charming. These qualities enabled his on-screen persona to have no trouble with attracting female companionship. Kind of like Naval Aviators! How many ladies did Bond charm his way to....hmm...completion?
6. Three-quarters of those women have something in common. What is it?
7. The answer to question two might be a hint, but in You Only Live Twice, how did Bond fake his death?
8. Question 3 or the answer to 7 might, or might not, be a hint, but in what field of the military was Bond?
9. Back to the ladies. I was planning on asking who are the best of the Bond women- you know, the hottest, sexiest, and the like, but that would be a bit subjective and not at all trivial. So I'll just ask you to attempt to name the actress and which movie they starred in. Why these Bond Girls? If you must know, they just happen in the order of my choice for what I referred to above. I've added their character names as a possible hint. Normally these are Top-10 lists, but I couldn't narrow it down to only 10. You're welcome.
 |
| Tilly Masterson |
.png) |
| Fiona Volpe |
 |
| Plenty O'Toole |
 |
| Tiffany Case |
 |
| Mary Goodnight |
 |
| Anya Amasova |
 |
| Teresa "Tracy" Bond |
 |
| Tatiana Romanova |
 |
| Simone "Solitaire" Latrelle |
j.
 |
| Strawberry Fields |
k.
 |
| Severine |
 |
| Dominique "Domino" Derval |
 |
| Lucia Sciarra |
Any guesses as to why this last one is a bonus? It might have to do with the fact that she isn't in any Bond film...yet. She's currently busy filming the 24th Bond flick- Spectre. She would be at the top of my list if she was in a released film. Aw heck, it's my post, so I'll just say it- #1 Bond Girl? Monica Bellucci! She will also have the distinction of being the oldest Bond Girl ever, at a still-very-lovely 50 years young. Some more trivia? She's the 76th actress to play a Bond Girl and only the third to be older than the actor who played 007. Honor Blackman who played Pussy Galore in Dr. No (and for some of you, is notably absent from my list above,) was 37 and four years older than Sean Connery. The other was Diana Rigg, who was just a year senior to George Lazenby. Seen her in Game of Thrones? The actress who plays her granddaughter on the show is the spitting image of her younger self.
Monica Bellucci was actually considered for the role of Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies, but Teri Hatcher won the part, so it took her most of twenty years to make the cut. A year ago, Penelope Cruz was widely rumored to be Bond's love interest in Spectre, but the truth to the rumor never materialized, preventing her from having the distinction of being the oldest Bond Girl. She definitely shares a certain look with Bellucci.
By the way, another notable absentee from my list is one which many online lists consider the best Bond Girl- Ursula Andress who played Honey Rider in Dr. No. By the way, it took a lot of research to put that list together. It was a tough job, but my readers here on the Chant deserve all the selfless dedication I put into it.
10. Haven't I met you somewhere before? Which actress has played two different Bond Girls? Eight gold coins to the first person to shoot me the correct answer.
A last bit of Bond Girl trivia. It's widely believed that Muriel Wright, a lost love of Ian Fleming, is the inspiration for the Bond Girl. Apparently, she was extremely beautiful, strong, sophisticated, athletic, vulnerable, and very loyal- despite Fleming's lack thereof. While she couldn't keep his undivided attention while they were together, nearly every Bond Girl he wrote about later has a piece of Muriel Wright in her character. Muriel Wright was killed in an air-raid in 1944.
11. Speaking of Ian Fleming, he wrote most of his novels and short stories from his Winter home in Jamaica. The name of that home was used as the title for one of the Bond films, which one?
a. Thunderball
b. Moonraker
c. GoldenEye
d. Goldfinger
e. Skyfall
12. It's said that you should never point a gun at a person unless you intend to use it, and having a license to kill is probably the same way. There are 23 official Bond movies. Casino Royal in 1967 and the gawdawful Never Say Never Again don't count. In those 23 films, a jaw-dropping 1348 lives have been ended. How many of those can be attributed to Bond himself? It's a figure that would more than doubly-impress Special Operator Chris Kyle.
13. While we're on that subject, which Bond was the most lethal? I'll give you a hint- it wasn't George Lazenby.
14. What movie saw the smallest body-count by 007? He wasn't reaching his quota so his license was revoked.
15. What drink has Bond been seen consuming the most in the films?
16. Other than a faked death as mentioned above, and a supposed death in Skyfall, Bond has obviously made it through every mission. His fellow Double-O's haven't all been so lucky. Which ones?
Well students, that will have to do for today's quiz. Be sure to read chapter 4 in your textbooks. Have a good rest of the week. By the way, Spectre hits theaters on November 6th.
*****************************************
Answers:
1. The environmentalists would cringe at our 14 mpg land yacht. My parents bought the V8 wagon just months before the gas crisis hit.
2. Bond was a Commander in the Royal Navy.
3. Seeing how these are sold on the open market, ($229k!) it's the only jet any of us could hope to fly someday- the Aero L-39 Albatross. Although I suppose the WSO and Big Time could fly the BAE Hawk/T-45 Goshawk at some point in their careers.
Watch it here.
4. Everybody knows Bond uses a Walther PPK, but that's the wrong answer. Actually, all of those weapons have been used by 007 in the movies, but it was the Beretta M 1934 that he originally wanted. He was forced to hand over his Beretta in Dr. No due to it jamming on him in an earlier mission, resulting in injury. It was reluctantly exchanged for the Walther PPK.
5. Bond has slept with 54 women. I'm surprised there aren't more little Jimmy Bonds running around.
6. Bond is an equal-opportunity womanizer. Many of the Bond Girls he bedded were heroines, but 75% of them tried to kill him.
7. It was a burial at sea. Divers were waiting for him a the bottom of the ocean and took him aboard a British submarine where we see that Bond was wearing some sort of oxygen mask.
8. Bond was an Intelligence Officer in the British Navy before joining Her Majesty's Secret Service.
9. The Bond Girls (feel free to disagree and comment on my list)
a. Tania Mallet - Goldfinger
b. Luciana Paluzzi - Thunderball
c. Lana Wood (sister of Natalie Wood) - Diamonds are Forever
d. Jill St. John - Diamonds are Forever
e. Britt Ekland - Man With the Golden Gun
f. Barbara Bach - The Spy Who Loved Me
g. Diana Rigg - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
h. Daniela Bianchi - From Russia with Love
i. Jane Seymour - Live and Let Die
j. Gemma Arterton - Quantum of Solace
j. Bérénice Marlohe - Skyfall
k. Claudine Auger - Thunderball
10. Maud Adams was in The Man with the Golden Gun and starred as the female lead in Octopussy.
Sylvia Trench, played by Eunice Gayson was in the first two films, but she played the same character.
15. Agent 002 was killed by the man with the golden gun, 003 was found dead and buried in the snow at the beginning of A
View to a Kill. 004–Killed during a training exercise in Gibraltar
during the pre-title sequence of The Living Daylights (which
also features a shot of a British Nimrod). 006–Alec Trevelyan, played by Sean Bean (also of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones), who was a treacherous double-0-turned-villain killed by Bond in GoldenEye. 009 - by
knife-wielding assassins in Octopussy.
9. The Bond Girls (feel free to disagree and comment on my list)
a. Tania Mallet - Goldfinger
b. Luciana Paluzzi - Thunderball
c. Lana Wood (sister of Natalie Wood) - Diamonds are Forever
d. Jill St. John - Diamonds are Forever
e. Britt Ekland - Man With the Golden Gun
f. Barbara Bach - The Spy Who Loved Me
g. Diana Rigg - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
h. Daniela Bianchi - From Russia with Love
i. Jane Seymour - Live and Let Die
j. Gemma Arterton - Quantum of Solace
j. Bérénice Marlohe - Skyfall
k. Claudine Auger - Thunderball
10. Maud Adams was in The Man with the Golden Gun and starred as the female lead in Octopussy.
Sylvia Trench, played by Eunice Gayson was in the first two films, but she played the same character.
11. While Skyfall was named for James Bond's ancestral home in Scotland, GoldenEye was the name of Ian Fleming's Jamaican estate.
12. Of all the deaths in the Bond movies, 007 is responsible for wasting 352 of those baddies on the big screen. More than double the American Sniper's total. But Chris Kyle was a real-live badass.
13. Pierce Brosnan is by far the deadliest agent, with a kill count of 47 people alone in GoldenEye, for a grand total of 135. George Lazenby was only in one film- On her Majesty's Secret Service and didn't have much of an opportunity.
14. Sean Connery was quite the pacifist, dispatching a mere four men in Dr. No, and a single goon in The Man With The Golden Gun, the lowest kill-count of any Bond movie. I may have distracted you with the license revoked part. That was the title of a Fleming novel, but it was changed for the film adaptation- License to Kill, which was a Timothy Dalton movie. However, Golden Gun was Sean Connery's last Bond role- again- not counting Never Say Never...
See all the figures on this topic here.
13. Pierce Brosnan is by far the deadliest agent, with a kill count of 47 people alone in GoldenEye, for a grand total of 135. George Lazenby was only in one film- On her Majesty's Secret Service and didn't have much of an opportunity.
14. Sean Connery was quite the pacifist, dispatching a mere four men in Dr. No, and a single goon in The Man With The Golden Gun, the lowest kill-count of any Bond movie. I may have distracted you with the license revoked part. That was the title of a Fleming novel, but it was changed for the film adaptation- License to Kill, which was a Timothy Dalton movie. However, Golden Gun was Sean Connery's last Bond role- again- not counting Never Say Never...
See all the figures on this topic here.
16. If you said his drink is shaken, not stirred- the Vodka Martini- WRONG! In the Bond films up to now, Bond is seen to consume something nearing 120 drinks. He primarily drinks champagne (35 glasses) and only enjoys one beer (a Heineken in Skyfall). While the Martini is his preferred drink, he's more often at a party, not ordering from a bar.
That's it. How'd you do? I skipped a bunch of Bond car questions- another interest of mine. Maybe something for another day.
That's it. How'd you do? I skipped a bunch of Bond car questions- another interest of mine. Maybe something for another day.
How can you leave off Eva Green as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale?
ReplyDeleteSorry, but she ain't that pretty. She looks half asleep all the time. haha
DeleteBy the way, did you know Vesper Lynd is an oronym of West Berlin? Think accents...
DeleteJa, ja, bekomme ich das! Sehr lustig.
DeleteBut did you get the hint in Q 10?
DeleteHint? That was a hint? Oh wait a minute...
DeleteEight gold coins, what a give-away. (Nah, I'm terrible at charades. And hints. And nuance...)
To each his own. I did enjoy the heck out of the quiz though.
DeleteEnjoyed the quiz--I did pretty well. My all time favorite is From Russia With Love-----the scene climbing out of the Istanbul cistern with the music rising as the actors do is absolutely classic. I do own a Walther PPK (in .380). Just because....
ReplyDeleteGot 2,3,4,7&8 easily. If you're a Bond fan, you have to know those things. I also own a Walther PPK, because Bond, that's why. Of course that was before that Craig guy came along and ruined the franchise. I mean, seriously? What's next? A black transgender Bond?
ReplyDeleteIs it the blond hair, or something else? I like the more aggressive nature of the character now, one that doesn't lose any of the "debonair-ness."
DeleteHe was so emotional and broody in the first couple, the Bond self-confidence was gone. plus they did away with so many of the usual Bond gimmicks and mannerisms that have so long been associated with the character.
DeleteWe had that station wagon in blue!
ReplyDeleteSkyfall is the only Bond film I purchased.
Jane Seymour, Walther P-38. I have one of those...
ReplyDeleteNope, it ain't Jane.
Good one, and those were pretty easy (at least the earlier ones)... Thanks for the time and effort, brought back some good memories!
ReplyDeleteNot a Bond fan, but did have seven of those huge Mopar wagons on our lot once (1991). They were from some resort in CA. All sold in less than a month.
ReplyDeleteNot being a huge Bond fan, I did crummy on the quiz. I was very close on question one, however, as my folks owned an old Ford woodie when I was a kid and it got about 12 mpg as I recall. I didn't realize until my first purchase of a smaller sort of vehicle that 12 mpg was bad.
ReplyDeleteAh, you would have liked the dinner when I took Lex and Mary out to dinner in Del Mar with my published sister and brother-in-law. I wanted them to get him receptive to writing his stories for publishing and included Dave Harvey and Tamara and Beth. Instead, we promptly went into a 30 minute discussion of Bond Women with all the guys breaking out their iphones/ipods and googling for babes in Bond films. I think Uma won.
ReplyDeleteIndeed I would have enjoyed that. The company and the topic!
DeleteWhat a great way to spend thirty minutes of my valuable time! Thanks for watching all of the movies again and collecting the data. The ladies are always magnificent and similarly endowed. Maybe the death toll increases as time goes by because we have come to accept more depicted death and we think little of it any more. You need to have been shot at and almost missed to realize how scary it really is. Thanks for the great post - a keeper!
ReplyDelete