For me, it was a double-feature of MR and DAF on HBO during the summer of 1980 when I was visiting my cousin. In retrospect, MR was probably the best Roger Moore film for an 11 year old boy to watch in order to get "hooked" on 007. Space shuttles! Outer space laser battles! Larger-than-life villains who couldn't be killed! And the hero even "flew in the air" during the PTS! - a "perfect '10' says an 11 year old critic! Of course, being of that age, I even enjoyed the things like the hovercraft gondola, the double-taking pigeons, the python attack, and all the other things that now make me now cringe. And, although I probably didn't quite "get the significance of it", the fact that the hero kept sneaking out of bed after his lady friends fell asleep to go on some adventure, struck me as a really cool thing to do.
Then, after 007 is discovered by M, etc. romping around in zero-G with Holly Goodhead, the credits rolled and HBO announced there was another 007 movie on the way. With the now-familiar gun-barrel logo, DAF started off strong - the South American clone (more like some bizarre Third World version of plastic surgery!) lab, the mouse-trap in the shoulder holster, the apparent death of this Blofeld (11 year-old's "note to self" - look into this Blofeld character, he and 007 apparently have some history from a previous film) - seemed like I was in for another round of new-found 007 fun.
Then the wheels came off.
After having watched the dashing and charming Roger Moore, I distinctly recall being immediately put off by the 'paunchy' Sean Connery. At the time, the TV show Barney Miller was popular and I couldn't help but make the comparison to Abe Vigoda. (Keep in mind - I was only 11, so anyone over 30 or 35 looked "old" to me.) In fact, many of the characters reminded me of American TV stars - WInt and Kidd made me think of Paul Lynde and Rob "Meat-head" Reiner and whenever I saw Felix, I was instantly reminded of David "Bosley" Doyle from Charlie's Angels! And, when it came to Blofeld, although he didn't remind me of anyone on TV, he was far from menacing (unless that is you consider his "Want some candy, little boy?" creepiness-factor my 11 year old mind couldn't help but sense.) I also recall thinking that there was something inherently "wrong" with my new hero having his ass handed to him by Bambi & Thumper.
All in all, between the odd casting choices, the 1971 vs. 1979 special effects, and the overall "weirdness" that is DAF, it was not a good 2nd exposure to 007 for an 11 year old. That being said, I do remember thinking that this Sean Connery fellow has got "something about him" (the word 'charisma' wasn't in my vocabulary back then!) that made me curious to see more of his Bond films. So, despite my previous comments on his appearance, I became a fan of Connery's 007 by the end of that (fateful - LOL!) night. And, of course, I immediately began reading the Fleming novels afterwards. (And thank goodness I did read some of the books before finally getting to see Mr. Lazenby in OHMSS so I could fully appreciate his performance in that movie.)
Edited by Double Naught spy, 23 December 2013 - 11:28 PM.