5 replies to this topic

[marktmurphy]

From the BBC Press Office:

http://www.bbc.co.uk...shtml#jamesbond

James Bond Stories Ep 1/8
Friday 17 November
9.15-9.30pm BBC RADIO 2


Band Of Brothers star Damian Lewis reads four specially selected Bond stories – The Living Daylights, A View To A Kill, The Property Of A Lady and For Your Eyes Only – over the next eight weeks on BBC Radio 2.

James Bond is the most famous secret agent in literary history. From his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye, Bond's creator Ian Fleming wrote numerous novels featuring the famous British spy. It is often said that the character was a highly romanticised version of Fleming himself.

There have been 21 blockbuster Bond movies – including the forthcoming Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig – but it's the original 007 short stories that feature in this series. The titles are easily recognisable but the plots are very different from the film adaptations and, more importantly, the Bond featured in these tales could not be further removed from the big-screen version. The stories' moral undertones give this character a much darker, more dramatic depth.

The four stories contain none of the films' fancy gadgets, death-defying stunts or corny one-liners, but stay true to Fleming's original books, which rely on good old-fashioned storytelling.

Reader/Damian Lewis,
Producers/Liz Anstee and Joanna Green

[Jim]

Ooh, lovely. Should be good (even though I abhor Radio 2). Will look forward to these on Listen Again and/or CD release.

[marktmurphy]

Yes; should be good. Always had him down as a good Bond candidate, meself.

[Jim]

Yes; should be good. Always had him down as a good Bond candidate, meself.

Oh yes, agreed. God knows what some would have made of a (how shall I phrase this?) "Strawberry Blond" Bond.

Auburn?

Big Ginger?

Could all this one day lead to the radio dramatisations? Well, maybe - hope so.

[marktmurphy]

Could all this one day lead to the radio dramatisations? Well, maybe - hope so.

That'd be cracking- his voice would work rather well for that, I think.

The production company who recently pitched to make Fleming adaptations on CD are producing a series of Dr Who starring Paul McGann for broadcast on BBC7 over Christmas (strong cast list they have too); so now they have broadcast links perhaps they might be looked at for radio Bond adaptations- their sound design is very strong.

Although for the life of me I still can't think how the baccarrat game would work with audio-only...

[eldritch00]

All eight "episodes" (two per story) are available on this page at Damian Lewis's site. I've just given "The Living Daylights" a cursory listen, and Lewis gives a good reading.

Because of that, I'm probably going to give those Agent ZigZag audio files a try as well. I've always wanted to know more about Eddie Chapman, and here's a quick and fun way to do so.