335 replies to this topic

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
My question for those that insist R exists is this. Q stands for Quartermaster, what does R stand for??

Nothing, the title is a quoted joke.

Also,.....who plays R in DAD?

No one. R was only in The World is not Enough.

[DLibrasnow]

Believe it or not Blofelds Cat, but I have received Private Messages from people who insist that R is the characters position title. That R is the name given to the second in command of Q branch throughout the 007 series.

[Blue Eyes]

Blue Eyes quoted me because I was replying to a post by Blofelds Cat. If you go back in this thread you will see that the subject got skewered into this frightening alternate reality a while back.

Evidently such a quote is too complex.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow
Believe it or not Blofelds Cat, but I have received Private Messages from people who insist that R is the characters position title. That  R is the name given to the second in command of Q branch throughout the 007 series.

LOL!! DL, you have made my day. I trust you don't believe this.

A new urban legend is born.

[DLibrasnow]

No, I don't believe it....but some obviously do

[al]

Wait! As I've stated numerous times on these boards, when Bond asked Cleese if he was 'R', he was calling Cleese a recordskeeper or librarian.

This would have been a rather nasty joke at Cleese's expense, that all three of them would have gotten. Obviously, most audience members didn't. These two fellows Desmond, and Cleese are the two highest(best?) engineers in british intelligence/government etc.

Benson claims that Major Boothroyd doesn't retire, and despite who portrays Q/Boothroyd in the movies, Boothroyd is the character that is refered to in any movie as 'Q'.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

ITS HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS POST KEEPS GOING AND GOING........................... ITS UNREAL

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by al

Benson claims that Major Boothroyd doesn't retire, and despite who portrays Q/Boothroyd in the movies, Boothroyd is the character that is refered to in any movie as 'Q'.

Well then Benson is a moron! How does he explain that Desmond and Cleese appeared on screen together in TWINE.

In TSWLM, Desmond is referred to on screen as Maj. Boothroyd, since Cleese replaced Desmonds character then it is quite simply preposterous to refer to Cleese's character as Maj. Boothroyd. I have just lost all respect for Benson, he should be fired NOW!!!

Or is Benson suggesting that people belonging to Q branch must have the last name Boothroyd and have attained the rank of major?? What is that guy from Texas thinking?

[Blue Eyes]

Benson claims that Major Boothroyd doesn't retire, and despite who portrays Q/Boothroyd in the movies, Boothroyd is the character that is refered to in any movie as 'Q'.

What a load of toddle.

Majaor Boothroyd was played by Desmond Llwelyn.

Cleese plays another character.

They have both played Q, however, Boothroyd is no longer Q.

I'd really like to see where you got this Benson information from.

As for Bond referring to him as the records keeper, the jokes really simple. Re-watch the scene.

[JimmyBond]

Originally posted by Blue Eyes




As for Bond referring to him as the records keeper, the jokes really simple. Re-watch the scene.

R comes after Q in the alphabet therefore R comes after Q in the service. I think I got it

For the sake of argument, I'll always refer to Cleese's character as Q, except when discussing TWINE, then I'll call him Q's asssistant.

[kevrichardson]

where are we going with this?? When Peter Burton was "replaced", by Desmond llewelyn no one complained. John Clesse ,really is just a natural for the role. Let hope the search for a new Bond in 2007 go as smoothly.

[DLibrasnow]

If Desmond's Q had never been referred to on screen as Maj. Boothroyd then I would buy the fact that Cleese could be that character. However Desmond's Q was referred to on screen as Maj. Boothroyd several times and so Cleese simply cannot be Maj. Boothroyd.
The sticking point really comes when the two appear on screen together in TWINE. For Benson to claim that Cleese is Boothroyd is to show Benson up as a complete idiot with about the common sense of a snail (and the pea brain to go with it). How that person manages to dress himself in the morning is beyond me.

[kevrichardson]

Then answer this question was Robert Brown , who played "M" for both Moore and Dalton Sir Miles Messervy (i hope that right?) or just some else. Called "M" by Bond.

[Blofeld's Cat]

It's been generally considered that Brown was playing the same character (Sir Miles) as Bernard Lee.

But "R" (as refered to in The World is not Enough) and Q are completely different characters. "R" replaced Boothroyd in the position of Q in Die Another Day and was referred to as Quartermaster in that movie.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Blofeld's Cat
[B][FONT=century gothic]It's been generally considered that Brown was playing the same character (Sir Miles) as Bernard Lee.

I TOTALLY disagree with you on this opinion. I believe Brown was playing Admiral Hargreaves who had been promoted into the position of M.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

ok lets try this one more time....now pay attention >there is a position in the bond world of MI6 called Q and desmond played him and his name was MAJ. BOOTHROYD and he retired and john cleese took over and became the new Q AND IN THE MOVIE TWINE THEY DID HAVE HIM LISTED AS R THAT IS TRUE BUT THATS BECAUSE THEY NEVER SAID HIS NAME MAYBE IN THE NEXT MOVIE WE WILL FIND OUT HIS NAME >SO THIS IS NOT A RECAST EVEN DESMOND SAID I WANT YOU TO MEET THE YOUNG FELLOW WHO WILL BE TAKING OVER FOR ME OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow


Well then Benson is a moron! How does he explain that Desmond and Cleese appeared on screen together in TWINE.  

In TSWLM, Desmond is referred to on screen as Maj. Boothroyd, since Cleese replaced Desmonds character then it is quite simply preposterous to refer to Cleese's character as Maj. Boothroyd. I have just lost all respect for Benson, he should be fired NOW!!!

Or is Benson suggesting that people belonging to Q branch must have the last name Boothroyd and have attained the rank of major?? What is that guy from Texas thinking?

Benson is not a moron. Writing a novel, he doesn't need to take account of the fact of an actor's death and therefore is free to keep the Q of his DIE ANOTHER DAY novelization the same character as he's always been.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

well there i do agree because in a book when i read about Q i see desmond although i think now i might be seeing the Q in nightfire lol but in a book u dont have to stick to the details of a movie so close because its just words on a page

[DLibrasnow]

Okay, if Cleese is Maj. Boothroyd in TWINE, which character is Desmond Llewelyn playing??

[Loomis]

I'm referring to the Q in Benson's novelization, DLibrasnow. One can picture him as the Q that was played by Desmond Llewelyn. In other words, the John Cleese character does not exist. Therefore, Benson refers to Q as Boothroyd.

No one is saying that Cleese is Maj. Boothroyd in TWINE.

[Loomis]

Originally posted by Jamie007
Blue Eyes and DLibrasnow you have both completely missed the point. Jeez, how many times do we need to go over this. We know his damn name isnt really R and it was just a joke by Bond, we are just referring to him as R for want of a better term. If you give us his real name, we will call him that. For the purposes of this message board we are calling him R, just like they did in the films credits.  
I think I'll scream if I see one more "R isnt really his name" post...  
Jim

Well put.

It beats me why Blue Eyes and DLibrasnow are so defensive on their assertion that "R isnt really his name", and so scathing of those who argue to the contrary.

This is how I see it:

- There are two senior Q branch people in TWINE, Q (also known as Boothroyd) and his assistant. The latter we shall refer to as R, for the sake of convenience. Now, fair enough, it comes from a quip by Bond, and it's not the guy's job title or codename, but do we really need signed permission from Neal Purvis and Robert Wade in order to be able to call him R? Can't we just forget about the pedantic, prosaic term "Q's assistant" (and surely Q has more than one assistant)? Oh pretty please, can we call him R? It's only for just this one film....

- R is promoted to head geek at the British secret service's gadgets department at some point between the events of TWINE and DAD. He therefore becomes Q. He is not, and never will be, Boothroyd. Doubtless he has a surname, and for all we know it might be anything from Jones to Simpson to Bloomberg to Hussein, but no matter, as before we'll keep it simple and call him Q.

- Novelist Raymond Benson may continue to refer to Q as Boothroyd if he pictures the character as being the same one as featured in every other Bond novel and as played in most of the films by Desmond Llewelyn.

As for the question of whether Robert Brown's M is Miles Messervy or Admiral Hargreaves, that's totally a matter of individual preference. There is simply no proof either way. Will anyone entertain the possibility that he may be neither Messervy nor Hargreaves, but someone else who has been made M? Similarly, it is up to the individual to decide whether:

- Bond killed Blofeld at the end of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

- Blofeld managed to escape at the end of DAF and hasn't been heard from since

- Bond killed Blofeld at the beginning of FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

- Bond killed another bald maniac with a cat at the beginning of FYEO

- The beginning of FYEO was just a dream

etc. etc.

The point is that no amount of belligerence can prove any aspect of the Bond series for which no proof exists. And, please, let's stop calling people morons and wondering whether they can dress themselves, because that's dragging the debate down to a very childish level.

[DLibrasnow]

I cannot speak for Blue Eyes, but I am reacting to the belief of some CBNers that R is the actual official title of the Cleese character.

It seems to me that I agree with everything Loomis said (except possibly the Robert Brown thing, but lets drop that before it gets heated) so thats all well and good.

[Loomis]

Fair enough. I was just reacting to a few posts that seemed to be insisting that we should never under any circumstances refer to Cleese's character in TWINE as R. I think Blue Eyes made the lion's share of those posts.

[Blue Eyes]

I cannot speak for Blue Eyes, but I am reacting to the belief of some CBNers that R is the actual official title of the Cleese character.

Exactly.

And Loomis, call him what you like. But make sure you're there to tell people that there is no R, that it's all a joke when they come asking you who is the new R. Pretty please.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Originally posted by DLibrasnow


I TOTALLY disagree with you on this opinion. I believe Brown was playing Admiral Hargreaves who had been promoted into the position of M.

This has been debated before, and based on the total lack of tangible evidence to support this notion, Brown's M is considered as Sir Miles. However, many others do support your theory, DL.

If it is Hargreaves, I wonder if his designation was "L" before he became "M."

[Blue Eyes]

Oh please don't start with that one

[BONDFINESSE 007]

HE WAS CALLED R BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE TO CALL HIM, WE DONT KNOW WHAT HIS NAME IS...TO THIS DAY WE DONT KNOW HIS NAME R WAS A JOKE A JOKE >OTHER THAN THAT HE WAS A ASSISTANT. THERE IS NO R IN BONDS MI6

[Blue Eyes]

We know that, but there's no damn reason to yell it.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

after 3 pages? yeah i think there is

[Blue Eyes]

Hey it's just common courtesy not to. Sure you may be annoyed, but not only is it rude for all members involved, but capitals in general just make the post ugly and then unreadable. It's like using poor punctuation, people don't bother to read it.