Quantum of Friendship

Final Score is our final episode. This fifth installment of Get Pierced will be our last before taking a hiatus, from which we may or may not return. We discuss our reasons, as well as the latest #Bond25 update, that True Detective's Cary Joji Fukunaga is directing the next James Bond movie. Since we're no closer to this next movie and it's been three years since we started this podcast, we have concluded it's about time we take a break. Enjoy one last hurrah with Sky Cinema's Final Score, approximately 20 minutes of which stars Pierce Brosnan. The star here is Dave Bautista, saving West Ham stadium from the plot of Die Hard by motorcycling on its roof. Richard delves into why it was released straight-to-TV and whether there is a de facto ban on Pierce Brosnan movies in Irish cinemas. Jonathan looks at the portrayal of Muslims through the comic relief sidekick Faisal Khan. Thank you to all our listeners. We wish you safe and happy travels. Be Quantum and Stay Friendly. And if you're on Twitter, stay in touch. -Richard Drumm @frontastic -Jonathan Victory @victorybyname

Before discussing the first three movies of the Mission: Impossible series, Richard picks apart the latest Bond news that Danny Boyle is no longer directing the final Daniel Craig film in the James Bond series. Jonathan also announces our new fictitious sponsor, and will continue to do so until actual sponsors reach out to us. The trilogy of spy action films that enabled Tom Cruise's adrenaline-junkie lifestyle is reviewed in its entirety here. So if you've never seen them you can get through all three in the time of one film here. Brian DePalma in 1996. John Woo in 2000. J.J. Abrams in 2006. Each bring their own approach and aesthetic baggage of the era with them. Revisit the visually stunning set-pieces and soundtrack ranging from The Cranberries to Lisa Gerrard, from Metallica to Limp Bizkit, even "We Are Family".

Delivered just in the knick of time Mission Impossible style, this month's episode has suppressive persons Richard and Jonathan watch Mission Impossible: Fallout. This installment of the franchise pushes the envelope for action stunt work and audience ability to ignore Tom Cruise's Scientology. There is discussion of that along with tangents about Elon Musk, the Irish Presidential election and other movies' casting decisions. Jonathan ponders Henry Cavill's bizarre comments on #MeToo while Richard dissects subtle psychedelic details in the shot of Henry Cavilll's physics-altering arm-reload. Facing Superman against Ethan Hunt has shown who the real adrenaline-junkie spy is. How much Scientology is involved is up for debate. As is the identity of the mysterious Irish filmmaker who would most likely lash out against an episode on their work. #WhosDana

This marks the first episode of our non-existent strand "You Know What Seydoux: The Filmography of Léa Seydoux". She stars alongside Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Sawyer from Lost in 2011's Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Richard discusses everything he likes about this solid spy adventure while Jonathan speculates on how Elon Musk would fit into a real-life espionage plot. Together, they might even figure out whose body was hidden inside the spacesuit in the Tesla he sent into space. They also find time to discuss the campaign to remake The Last Jedi and controversial blackface group, Charlize's Angels.

Beyond the Canon. Beyond Eon? As in, Beyond The Eon Productions Canon. Look, this strand of the podcast can have multiple names, lots of things do. Consider 1967's "O.K. Connery", aka "Operation Kid Brother" aka "Double Agent 007". There are many exploitation parodies of James Bond before you even leave the cinema of Italy. Where better to start than with the parody starring Sean Connery's real-life brother Neil Connery? Watch the quickest rise from Edinburgh plasterer to 1960s Doctor Strange in cinema history. It's not just the facial hair staying where it is on his face. He has the superpower of hypnosis through intense staring. He is also helped by multiple actors from the original Bond franchise including Lois Maxwell, Bernard Lee, From Russia With Love's Bondgirl Daniela Bianchi and Thunderball's villain Adolfo Celi. This is a real movie that exists and Richard and Jonathan discuss it. There's also Richard's look at the re-publication of Roger Moore's on-set diary of Live And Let Die and Jonathan's confirmation that Danny Boyle is directing Bond 25. It's good to be talking Bond again.

It's the return of cinema's favourite iconic team, the Horsemen. Now You See May looks at the magician franchise which against all odds got a sequel. This episode looks at Now You See Me 2, in which Jon M Chu, director of "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never", directs cinema's longest card-flicking-based heist scene. Jonathan provides a brief overview of Chu's career, including the upcoming "Crazy Rich Asians". Richard tries to decipher how the tricks of Now You See Me 2 were done, and crucially, why any of these characters are the way they are. There is also discussion of harassment allegations around Morgan Freeman. Now You See #MeToo. Ultimately, the success of this series is baffling and fans, Horsepeople, Bojacks, whatever they like to call themselves, are welcome to tweet us to explain what it is they like about these movies.

It's "Now You See May" with our close look at Now You See Me, the movie where magicians are considered cool for some reason. Enter the world of everyone's favourite iconic character team, the Four Horsemen. There's Jesse Eisenberg playing a Jesse Eisenberg-type. Woody Harrelson playing a Woody Harrelson-type. Dave Franco is a thief and Isla Fisher is an actual witch with unexplained supernatural powers. FBI agent Mark Ruffalo will convincingly hunt them down in a bizarre and inexplicably successful movie. It raises many questions for Richard and Jonathan, questions like; "Why did Dina get more money than Josepha?" "What happened to atheism?" "When were magicians ever considered cool?" "Is Woody Harrelson recurringly transphobic?" "Does Hollywood cynically shoehorn unearned romantic plots into movies?" "How is any of this happening?" And more!

This latest instalment of Get Pierced looks at a surprisingly obscure Pierce Brosnan movie. What a highly-rated YouTube comment called "another good train movie". 1993's Death Train also stars Patrick Stewart, Christopher Lee and Buffalo Bill him, her or themselves, Ted Levine. Alexandra Paul of Baywatch fame stars as a feisty modern 90s woman who don't need no man. But there's a man she has to team up with; a Pierce Bros-man who is more sexist in these movies than any of his Bond outings. Together, they solve gender equality and political correctness forever, working under Patrick Stewart's UN Anti-Crime Office, whose prime directive is to stop a train with a nuclear bomb on it from speeding across Europe. Richard ponders whether Bond movies could have a more contained story like this. Jonathan is baffled by Christopher Lee's villainous plan. Lying about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction so a military superpower will invade? What a far-fetched plot. Surprisingly strong action movie though and not one many people talk about these days. Hear about it now, so the legacy of Death Train will live on in the synapses of your brain until you die or merge with some form of digital consciousness.

Thunderballers, Piercings, 90s kids, lend us your ears. Throw your hands in the air like The Thomas Crown Affair. Our series on the filmography of Pierce Brosnan continues. This episode looks at the 1999 Netflix release Annihilation. Writer-director Alex Garland follows up Ex Machina with a romantic heist caper starring Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson, Rene Russo and returning collaborator Oscar Isaac(s?). Can Thomas Crown steal paintings from a mysterious Shimmer that appears to bend the laws of reality? Richard seems to think so, delighting in Pierce Brosnan's best performance as Bond as Thomas Crown and a love interest who, it has to be said, is very much his equal. Meanwhile, Jonathan ponders the harrowing prospect of different scientific phenomena refracting, causing several films to bleed over into this episode. Just listen to this one as if glimpses of an episode from a parallel universe dickety-bop up now and then. Happy 4/20 y'all.

It's not just 2018's "Tomb Raider" that brings Lara Croft to the big screen. There is also 2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and its stilted 2003 sequel "The Cradle of Life". Whether it's Alicia Vikander or Angelina Jolie, Lady Croft is the most down-to-earth ass-kicking, globe-trotting, robot-fighting, communing-with-dead-spirits, sprinting-up-pyramids, espionage-expert, archaeologist-adventurer billionaire you're likely to find. Richard shares extensive knowledge of the video games on which these films are based, as well as his love for Iain Glen. Jonathan is enamoured by Alicia Vikander but manages to rediscover the wonderfully insane moments of the Jolie films. Sharks will be punched, stone statues brought to life, perhaps even robots will also learn to feel. See how the new Tomb Raider compares to the ones from the early 'noughties', a time when you could actually just have the Illuminati be the villains of your movie.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Following on from last year's festive episode on Taffin, we sought out another Irish-themed vigiliante movie with eccentric performances. The Boondock Saints comes from the unlikely auteur, Troy Duffy, an Irish-American who ran into production problems. Jonathan discusses those problems, self-inflicted and otherwise, as well as some of the cultural misunderstanding between the Irish and Irish-Americans. Meanwhile, Richard is in awe of Willem Dafoe's iconically over-the-top performance as FBI agent and namey-ology expert Paul Smecker, though equally perplexed by his portrayal of the gay man of the 90s. Smecker has to track down the titular Boondock Saints, from an unspecified part of Ireland, now living in Boston to take down its gangsters. Content Warning: slur words, ranting over the Irish national anthem, discussion of racism in Agent Cody Banks etc.

Eva Green made her film debut in 2003's "The Dreamers", where she and her brother lure an American student in Paris into some really dodgy, not-okay, erotic shenanigans. Now that is one big pile of wank. Richard revels in the ultra-heightened Frenchness of Eva Green. Jonathan vents his frustrations about the film's politics, pacing and pretentiousness. Hear them discuss abusive directors, auteur theory, arthouse cinema and the connections with the #MeToo movement on this episode. To lighten things up, there is also "the world's most boring porn review".

At last! The work of Beloved Eva has a podcast of its own. This is the first in our new series "For Eva Alone". Eva Green made the Showtime series Penny Dreadful what it was. Yes, John Logan was the showrunner and Richard has plenty to say about him. Jonathan brings us up to speed on the three season arc of the show "briefly"; in the sense that he covers three seasons of a TV show in the space of this episode. It begins with an update on HBO's Confederate and ends with a fictitious story about Willem Dafoe's behaviour on the set of Spider-Man. The story sounds as though it could be true, considering Dafoe, and is a better ending than what Penny Dreadful got.

The second episode in a month to look at a Pierce Brosnan Netflix movie. The second episode in half a year to look at a house of rich people driving themselves crazy. Urge follows some insufferable one-percenters as they discover the titular drug; a mysterious CG vape whose euphoric high brings with it a collapse of inhibition. As more and more blandly attractive extras give in to their primal desires, society falls apart. Why would the kindly drug dealer played by Pierce Brosnan unleash something like this? Let's just say this wouldn't have happened if young people loved Jesus. Jonathan gives it benefit of the doubt, highlighting its weaved strands of social commentary. Richard rightly points out none of them lead anywhere. It's just chaotic dumb fun with one of Pierce Brosnan's most eccentric performances.

CONTENT WARNING for discussion of racial slurs and bad Ulster accents. You take the director of Goldeneye & Casino Royale, Chinese finance and Netflix distribution, throw in Jackie Chan and THAT is how you make a movie where Pierce Brosnan plays a thinly-veiled Gerry Adams. Transparently-veiled. There basically is no veil in The Foreigner, in which alleged IRA veteran Liam Hennessy, uses alleged contacts, to allegedly stop a radical terror cell. But as Jonathan says, "Jackie Chan is losing his patience with Gerry Adams". To avenge his daughter's death in a London bombing, he torments the IRA with a particular set of skills he has acquired over a long tragic life. Richard is not at ease with Jonathan's discussion of slur words. But if anything, bringing bombs back to Northern Ireland makes Jackie Chan the culturally insensitive one. ...We apologise unreservedly for this one. We're trying a new direction and not just in discussing a Netflix film. We will have a few strands to move between on this podcast. This is the first episode of "Get Pierced!", a revisiting of Pierce Brosnan's filmography. Subscribe for further episodes of that strand along with "For Eva Alone", "Beyond the (Bond) Canon" and more.

It's been 50 episodes of Quantum of Friendship and to celebrate, we're looking back at the best of James Bond. The world of 007 has been introduced by Richard Drumm, to Jonathan Victory, who now deeply regrets and apologises for much of what has been said on the podcast. It's been quite the journey over the last two years looking at cinema's most popular rapist. Movies are engrained with sexism. More has now been revealed about how engrained it is in the making of movies. Humanity has a long way to go. Before our podcast moves on from Bond to take new directions, there are awards for the following categories:   Best Car Best Gadget Best Stunt Best Bond Villain Best Bond Girl Worst Pun Best Pun Most Racist Moment Most Sexist Moment Worst Rape Most Psychedelic Moment Worst Moment of the Franchise Weirdest Production Quirk Best Bond Actor Top 5 Best Bond Songs Top 5 Best Films "Objectively" Top 5 Favourite Films Best Side Character ...and the most important category of all...

007 has seen service in this whole other medium of video games. Richard remembers several James Bond video games with nostalgic fondness. Jonathan is brought to tears at how perfect the casting of David Bowie as Nikola Tesla was in The Prestige. They discuss Tesla and Tolkien, whose Lord of the Rings is being adapted for TV by Amazon. If this episode is strange and meandering, it is very much reflecting the present state of the world. Or it just meanders a bit since Jonathan is a fake gamer guy and Richard is a foppish 18th-century aristocrat of an elite gamer. Video games discussed include; Tomorrow Never Dies From Russia With Love Goldeneye (N64) Goldeneye: Rogue Agent Nightfire Blood Stone Quantum of Solace Everything Or Nothing 007 Legends

Our Halloween special, marking two years of our podcast, looks at Ken Russell's 1986 "Gothic". During 1816, volanic ash created a Year Without A Summer, with many cold storms keeping people indoors. Among those losing their minds in a Swiss villa, were bad-boy Lord Byron and SJW Percy Shelley. A writing contest among the guests led to the inspiration for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Polidori's The Vampyre, paving the way for a century of flourishing Gothic horror literature. That is what the opening and conclusion of this movie is about. Everything in-between is a discordant nightmarish phantasmagoria of steampunk porcelain robots, eye-boobs and "nudey Nick-Nacks". Jonathan gets into some context for what actually happened to the people depicted while Richard notes comparisons with Darren Aronofsky's Mother! And the latest Bond news reveals an upcoming biopic of Nick-Nack actor Hervé Villechaize, where Peter Dinklage plays him and it actually exists. Happy Halloween.

You voted for us to do an episode on this, Thunderballers. Did Sean Connery's James Bond return in the 1996 Michael Bay film The Rock? If he did, he's using the codename John Mason (or "Mashon"), and he was caught smhuggling the truth about JFK, Roswell and who knows what else out of America. Getting imprisoned in Alcatraz makes him the guide of its secret passageways as Nicolas Cage tries to defuse chemical weapons and moderate the volume of his voice. Richard is less than impressed with certain stereotypes and patriotic militarism. He's even less impressed with Jonathan rapping the theme song to Kenan & Kel. On the whole, they agree this movie is much more enjoyable and better-written than they were expecting from a Michael Bay film.

Another spy series that pushes the envelope for decency is Kingsman, written by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" sees lowly chav Gary Unwin taught how to be a gentleman, but, like, in a positive way. This is through becoming a Kingsman, part of an unaccountable shadowy spy organisation set up by people who didn't like all these unaccountable shadowy spy organisations. After Kingsman: The Secret Service sets up this benign version of Spectre, Kingsman: The Golden Circle just hits reset on all that careful world-building for the sake of an inferior sequel. Jonathan talks about the first film's many political problems while Richard squirms at the sequel's innovative use of VaginaCam.

The 1970 Basil Dearden film "The Man Who Haunted Himself" was one of Roger Moore's last big films before playing James Bond. It is a very strange film about a man who appears to have someone stealing his identity. An alternate title for the film could have been "It's All So Frightfully Queer" given the tone and posh idiom of every conversation. Richard delights in Roger Moore's peak-poshness while Jonathan finds comparisons in spoiler-filled discussions of recent films Enemy (2013), The Double (2013) and The Prestige (2006). They conclude with an update on the next Bond film and new directions for our humble podcast.

This episode looks beyond the canon of official and semi-official James Bond movies to see the immensely broad cultural impact 007 has had around the world. You can tell by how many awful knock-off movies have been made of it. Such movies feature in the list of topics discussed here: HBO's Confederate For Your Height Only, of the Phillipines The plague In Like Flint James Bond 777, of Tollywood James Bond Junior Sherlock Holmes and the 22nd Century Licensed to Kill, with a 'd' Breaking Bad fan films Lord of the Rings fan films The Rock Looney Tunes: Back in Action Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Dr Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs Two Mafioisi against Goldginger, of Italy Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die, of Brazil Help! It is Vengos, Visible Agent 000, of Greece The End of Agent W4C, of Soviet Czechoslovakia O.K. Connery, of Italy, starring Sean Connery's brother Neil Connery Fathom, starring Raquel Welch Unlocked and our upcoming Noomi Rapace podcast "I Hardly Noomi" From Hong Kong with Love, of France The Dragon Lives Again, in which Bruce Lee's ghost fights James Bond, Dracula and other characters From Beijing with Love, of China Pub Royale, starring Alan Carr How does America vote for Trump so relatively soon after the success of eco-warrior blockbuster Avatar? OSS 117 Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team 008: Operation Exterminate, of Italy The Agent 077 series of Italian exploitation cinema; -From the Orient with Fury -Mission Bloody Mary, -Special Mission Lady Chaplain The Simpsons and "You Only Move Twice" "Beloved Eva"

After a brief message to Nazi punks (concerning their fucking off) and a look at the Iain Glen (Sir Friendzone on Game of Thrones) detective show Jack Taylor, a staple of Irish television apparently, Richard and Jonathan review Atomic Blonde. Charlize Theron is 'the living manifestation of destiny' as a badass spy at the end of the Cold War. Named Lorraine. Richard gets into spoilers and Jonathan really gets into the lesbian scenes. The depiction of bisexuality in this film leads to a discussion of how cinema treats sexuality in general. This podcast sure is the place to be if you want a male perspective on that. They generally approve of Atomic Blonde though, as an action film, espionage thriller and female-led franchise to rival James Bond.

007 also appears regularly in comic books so Richard introduces Jonathan to some recent releases; Vargr and Eidolon, written by Warren Ellis and the post-Brexit one-shot Service, written by Kieron Gillen. Service deals with white supremacists, Vargr with bionic experiments and Eidolon with double-crossing inside British intelligence. These are much more gritty and graphically violent than usual Bond fare, showing how much variation there can be in adaptations of the James Bond character.   But they run out of things to say about that so they also discuss the potential of Bond TV shows and cinematic universes, HBO's announcement of their upcoming alternate history series "Confederate" and even the promotion of the Mayweather-McGregor fight. Basically from here on out this podcast will be even more meandering than it already is. Enjoy!

In 2015, the successful spy franchise uncovered a shadowy intelligence organisation running its own operations counter to security services that had to be thwarted by attacking their Moroccan data centre then handing them over to the police in London. While Spectre was disappointing for many reasons, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation had pretty much the same storyline and produced a more enjoyable film. We may return to the Tom Cruise franchise that seems to be producing better movies than people realise. Since Richard and Jonathan recorded this during an airshow with noisy planes passing overhead (true story), they also take time to discuss the newly released Christopher Nolan war epic/survival horror Dunkirk.

Continuing our discussion of Daniel Craig's confirmed return... to discussion on our podcast, Richard and Jonathan pick apart Spectre. Jonathan gets frustrated and tears it to pieces while Richard can only imagine an army of Michael Fassbender clone-bots ejaculating the elixir of life that creates xenomorphs. We go really tremendously off the rails in this one. We are so sorry.

It has been confirmed that Daniel Craig is... being discussed on our podcast again. We deliver our long-promised episode revisiting the Craig Era and the highs and lows of Casino Royale, Quantum of Friendship and Skyfall. Spectre is getting its own episode and it's gonna get it rough. There's also a look at the Maryam D'Abo (you know) documentary "Bond Girls are Forever" looking at the legacy and cultural evolution of Bond girls.

All set for our shagadelic episode on the swinging Austin Powers trilogy? Because Roger Moore passed away the day of recording so we of course pay tribute to him first. Eyebrows raised at half-mast for the first James Bond to die. The Austin Powers series is abound with references to Bond movies, jokes that hold up really well, others not so much and Beyoncé making an appearance that would be really beneath her in hindsight. Richard considers temporal paradoxes and the prospect of a fourth Austin Powers movie while Jonathan praises Seth Green's underrated acting, the aesthetic of the 90s and of course our Fenian dead, the Irish spy Patty O'Brien.

In 1967, the first cinematic adaptation of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel 'Casino Royale' was released. Nestled in the final forty minutes of this infamously bizarre comedy's two-hour running time, the classic game of wits plot between Peter Sellers' James Bond and Orson Welles' Le Chiffre plays out. Except in this version, James Bond IS a code-name and agent 007 James Bond gives everyone his code name. He's played by David Niven. John Huston is in this too. So is Ronnie Corbett, Deborah Kerr, Ursula Andress, David Prowse, Peter O'Toole and even notorious child molestor Woody Allen. George Raft, William Holden, Caroline Munro and Geraldine Chaplin were also dragged into this. So many big names in this absolute mess edited together from several directors' footage. Jonathan concludes that this is it; THIS is the strangest film he's watched yet. Richard gives us a taste of this production's fascinatingly troubled history which is sadly not available in documentary form (unless we get crowdfunding going). Much of it is available on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(1967_film)

The name's Bond. Jimmy Bond. Yes, the very first screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale was a one-hour CBS special for "Climax! Mystery Theater". This not only has an abrupt and confusing climax, it's strange and boring throughout as Barry Nelson (the hotel manager from The Shining) faces off in a deadly card game with suprisingly-nasally villain Peter Lorré. And by deadly, we do mean boring. Like so boring it's kinda fascinating just how boring it is. But then pop culture cornerstones often have strange origins as Jonathan demonstrates with the original sneeze-related lyrics for the iconic James Bond theme. This episode of musical delights also sees Richard reveal that Anthony Hopkins writes classical music now. But yeah, if you want to see whiny American James Bond, it's on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uy5gunqCAA

Trigger warnings for the expression "Negro bar" as we hear our latest episode on the life of James Bond creator Ian Fleming. Richard and Jonathan look at three biopics of Ian Fleming that are so far from historical truth they're basically live-action fan-fiction. Dominic Cooper and Eva Green-alike Lara Pulver star in the Sky One 2014 mini-series "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" while 1990's "Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming" features Kristin Scott Thomas and Sean Connery's son Jason Connery as Ian Fleming. It is the heightened strangeness of 1989's "Golden Eye" which captivates, seeing Charles Dance's Ian Fleming face off against a Nazi played by... Holy shit! It's Christoph Waltz! He was there from the beginning. Before James Bond was even written. Jonathan tries to convey the unsettling singing of Julian Fellowes' portrayal of Noel Coward and also informs us of Ian Fleming's appearance in "Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: A Caribbean Mystery". Richard is disappointed by the dearth of loud aerodynamic ninjas in "Golden Eye" but seems optimistic about the prospect of a spin-off podcast on Eva Green's filmography called "For Eva Alone".

If you're expecting this to be another Bond review, then Maybe You SHOULDN'T BE LISTENING HEEEEEEEERE!!!!!!!!!!! This is our special St. Patrick's Day episode, where we look at the closest thing to an Irish James Bond; Mark Taffin. Pierce Brosnan, the star of Noble House and Remington Steele, one of THE leading men of the 80s, stars in this notoriously bizarre Irish cult film about an intellectual tennis match between evil industrialists and the loner vigilante who gets results. Taffin tells the garbled story of Schrodinger's Asshole; an immoral outcast anti-hero who is also beloved by his network of support in the small town who also hate and fear him. An early Hans Zimmer score brings us along this strangely-edited journey through anachronistic strip clubs, false rape accusations and appearances from Father Ted actors. Jonathan also touches on his recent trip to Amsterdam and naturally the conversation leads to what weed Bond would smoke, if any. Richard then ponders from where the next Bond-like franchise will emerge.

Richard and Jonathan look back on the entire canon of Bond films they have now watched and try to pitch a post-credits ending for each one.

Okay, so that last episode was obviously Pierce Brosnan's commentary for Die Another Day. Now Richard and Jonathan provide their analysis, completing their consecutive watch of each James Bond film. Our longest episode yet has plenty to pick apart including a jaw-dropping realisation behind the infamous Moneypenny VR scene. But there are plenty more episodes coming soon, for podcasts never die another day. Wait.

Yes. We were surprised too. Pierce Brosnan is a fan of our podcast and he agreed to join Richard and Jonathan for their live record of watching his last film as 007, Die Another Day. To have him actually literally join us in the same room was an honour and he was affable throughout sharing fond memories with us, in person.

The phrase "Very Much Bond's Equal" was losing all meaning until Elektra King proved to be one of the best Bond villains in 1999's The World Is Not Enough. Pierce Brosnan returns, back from an unspecified war, to team up with Richard's childhood crush Denise "The Childhood Crush of" Richards. Scotland. Though this episode derails several times, it completes the James Bond canon for Jonathan; this was the first Bond movie Richard saw and the last Bond movie Jonathan saw. They extend a formal invitation to Hollywood movie actor Pierce Brosnan, to join their upcoming episode on Die Another Day. Will he accept?

The franchise that never dies sees Pierce Brosnan return as James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies. You've heard Jonathan's bad singing; Now hear Richard's creepy singing. The music of Simple Minds, Sheryl Crow and many more await you on their tangents. Richard gives Jonathan a belated Christmas present and in return, Jonathan tells Richard about his lordship Julian Fellowes' social commentary on paedophilic entanglements.

"The world is a fucking horrible place... As of right now, at the time of recording". We hope our episode on 1995's Goldeneye finds you well. We have looked at the Fearing Effect, now consider the Joss Whedon Compromise, where women can be better written but must still be hot. This is after all a modern update of James Bond for the go-go 90s. Richard comes to terms with his waning enthusiasm for the first outing of his childhood Bond, Pierce Brosnan. Jonathan finds time to review "The World of 007", an American TV special promoting Goldeneye and hosted by pre-Austin Powers Elizabeth Hurley for some reason. Together they briefly discuss Bond video games which we'll surely return to for another episode, like the Pierce Brosnan movie Taffin.

Hear our exclusive outtakes from our upcoming festive episode on 1995's Goldeneye. Sometimes when we record Quantum of Friendship we have mental breakdowns and fits of laughter following our failed impersonations.

Can inanimate stone-statue women give consent? Can sentient stone-fish wink approvingly at your love? And just how stoned were they when they made Licence to Kill, Timothy Dalton's final movie as James Bond? Richard reveals how horrible vodka martinis actually taste while Jonathan can't help thinking the young Benicio Del Toro looks EXACTLY like Brad Pitt.

Richard and Jonathan briefly react to Trump's election and distract themselves by naming people involved in Bond movies who they've met. They then get stuck into 1987's The Living Daylights which sees Timothy Dalton play 007 for the first time. With his gallant allies in the Taliban, he'll get the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan and beneficent Allah shall honour his-- Wait... Yes, this does appear to be a Bond movie where he teams up with the Mujahideen. What could be more timely than a film depicting the West and Islam working together?

One Moore Time for Roger Moore as James Bond and for Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. A View To A Kill marks the end of the Moore Era and also features. Christopher. Walken. As a Bond. Villain. His manic, machine-gunning, blimp-flying villainy is bemusing to Richard. Meanwhile Jonathan becomes far more amused by actresses with funny names, marking a new low point in his immaturity. Together, they (hopefully) bring an end to the recurring segment "Is It Rape or Not?" as the 1980s is possibly a more enlightened, feminist place for 007.

This may be our hilariously worst episode but fittingly it's about the worst Bond film that isn't technically a Bond film. Sean Connery's final outing as 007 sees him team up with producer Kevin McClory to remake Thunderball. You know what this means. Patricia Fearing is back. Jonathan concludes our segment "Is It Rape Or Not?" needs a broader definition to cover all sexual assault. Meanwhile Richard gets tired of 80s Bond movies but learns new things about the female vagina.

Is Imogen Poots a secret agent or has she undeservedly attracted the scorn of Anton Yelchin Truthers? Could Kubrick have directed the Beatles in Lord of the Rings? OR Richard's concept for "Space Pussy" where dogs battle moooooon cats? These and other questions relating to the James Bond series are explored in a special look at EON Production's documentary "Everything or Nothing". Jonathan takes us through a history of the production of Bond movies while Richard considers the life of the troubled man behind all of this; Ian Fleming.

The name's Pussy. Octopussy. The game's a nuclear bomb spelling catastrophe. The villain is explaining every detail of his plan to James Bond. Plane Fight! Wait a minute, a lot feels familiar in this sorta remake of Goldfinger. Yet Richard struggles to get a grasp of the plot while Jonathan discovers a new fetish for sitar-playing women. Together they face their most agonising installment of "Is It Rape Or Not?" yet. They also talk about Hitler for a bit.

Swinging 80s here we come with our milestone 20th episode taking an in-depth look at For Your Eyes Only. For your ears only, everything gets explored from the Fearing Effect to the Kuleshov Effect but thankfully not a teenage ice-skater's body. Our special edition of "Is It Rape or Not?" concludes that Bond does have a line he won't cross; the world of espionage is murky enough as it is without paedophilic entanglements. Jonathan is less than happy with the appearance of Lady Thatcher while Richard has even more complex feelings about how they wrap up Blofeld, not mentioned by name for copyright reasons. Seriously. Now that this is all typed out, this movie does sound strange.

A brief minisode on the current state of the 007 franchise. Jonathan ponders whether or not Craig will return for the next Bond film or if they will announce a new actor soon. Richard talks about a bigger problem; what studio will take over the rights to James Bond?

In a very special episode of our James Bond podcast, hear Richard and Jonathan react to the insanity of Moonraker in real time. Highlights of our live records usually fit into larger episodes but the clips here stand on their own, especially if you know the visuals they're seeing. Richard steers us clear of jokes already made by James Bonding while Jonathan concludes Jaws is better with women than Bond will ever be.

This is the movie where James Bond goes into space. No, really. This is a film that exists. Jonathan finds the stratospheric heights of this insane masterpiece surprisingly endearing. Richard finds the film's events on Earth to be no more grounded than the lazer-battle in space. This is crazier than all the previous films put together.

Swinging 70s here we come, with Roger Moore returning for The Spy Who Loved Me. Recorded during one of Ireland's most extreme heatwaves, Richard and Jonathan discuss one of the best-regarded Bond films. Jonathan reveals how Stanley Kubrick came in to light one of the sets some Sunday morning. Another set for the MI6 office shocks Richard for being the dumbest and most culturally-insensitive yet. And in this episode's very special edition "Is It Rape Or Not?" they explore whether Vin Diesel's Bond girl xXx had her way with Bond when she slipped him a roofie.

The classic J.W. Pepper film The Man With The Golden Gun sees Roger Moore return as James Bond. He may not be able to swing a threesome but he sure can deliver the most gloriously painful puns ever committed to cinema. The only match for the insane poshness of MI6 is a brilliant Bond villain turn from the late but ever-awesome Christopher Lee. For Richard, there's very little distinction between Bond parodies and entries to the actual canon such as this. Nevertheless, Jonathan considers this a favourite of his and explains why.