'007: Road to a Million' | Full Series Review
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- A James Bond reality TV show? You must be joking!
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Completely agree that the tone of the show is bizarre. The fact that no one ever actually mentions James Bond or the films or I think ever even once says “James Bond” out loud is just… so weird
And 100% thought the multiple choice questions setup was incredibly tedious and anticlimactic
It's so weird that in a James Bond show, one of the contestants mentioning "007" at one point completely caught me off guard 😅
Why? Because it invalidates the point you were trying to make?@@calvindyson
@@countryoftheblind You seem confrontational. It doesn't invalidate anything - if you were watching a James Bond show you'd expect to often be reminded that it was indeed a James Bond show. The fact that a bond reference caught him off guard showed how much the show wasn't focused on James Bond (in order to appeal to a wider audience)
@@RCurtis049Precisely. Well done James
I’m glad David Arnold came back for some music work. His works on the films are amazing and I’d love him to score another 007 adventure in a future film.
He seems to be on good terms with Eon as he's said he's still the 'house' composer, doing the 60th anniversary events. He's said it's up to the director of the films whether they use him or there own pick.
As far as I'm aware every director who hasn't used him has used their usual composer. Sam Mendes with Thomas Newman. Cary Fukunaga with Dan Romer. When Romer left over creative differences, Hans Zimmer was brought in as a last minute replacement. Possibly because EON had just worked with him on The Rhythm Section. Fukunaga said that EON give you a list of trusted crew but it's up to you if you use them or your own choices.
My absolute favorite Bond composer!
@@davidjames579 That figures. Alexander Witt has been used as 'second unit director' on the last 3 Craig movies as well as Casino so he's a 'trusted crew' member the directors have stuck with as an example but have usually gone with there own composer [I remember Arnold saying he knew Mendes wanted to use Thomas Newman so decided it was best to step aside voluntarily, no hard feelings, for Skyfall]. Arnold didn't score a film for 10 years [before doing 'Confess, Fletch in 2022] for what ever reason.
@@jamesatkinsonja Witt was also the highly praised second unit director on The Bourne Identity which is how he got brought into the Bond Family (Quantum used Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum's equally celebrated Dan Bradley). I'm surprised after Hot Fuzz that Edgar Wright hasn't used David Arnold again, given his experience and being friends with his longtime friends Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
As much as I love Brian Cox, it would’ve been so cool to have someone like Brosnan or Dalton or hell even Lazenby as the host. That would have been just that much extra reason for Bond fans to check the series out.
I could see Roger Moore doing it if this was made 15-20 years ago. Dalton would never do it [and Lazenby would probably not be a big enough name] but Brosnan did host a History channel show earlier this year ['Histories Greatest Heists] so it's a missed opportunity with him.
@@jamesatkinsonja oh Roger would have loved hosting this!
@@talkanddraw6418 I for sure could see him hamming it up as the controller!
@@jamesatkinsonjanot to forget the 1991 making of Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves special he was picked to host for some reason. With him hamming it up round a castle with some very strange one liners.
@@davidjames579 Lol, typical Roger! As an aside, I have thought 'Prince of Thieves' Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio might have been a good choice for the Connie Webb part in the proposed 3rd Dalton film had it happened.
We are enjoying it well enough but all your points are spot on. The fact that none of the contestants seem aware they are in a Bond world, such that it is, is a bit strange. Brian Cox is definitely a terrific actor and both he and David Arnold probably wish the call had been for the next Bond film instead of this series. The production value and music are top notch and it’s something, anything, while we wait for Barbara to get over her Daniel crush. Appreciate your thoughts (had to cut out at 17 min as we haven’t completed the series) and from your friends in the US, Happy Thanksgiving. We are certainly thankful for all you do.
Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving, Mark! Hope you enjoyed watching the rest of the series too :)
Cox has joked that he likes this show over a film as he gets a lot of money for something fairly straight forward given he's approaching his 80's.
In fairness David Arnold has done music for the video games and the 60th anniversary concert so he doesn't seem to picky about what medium he's working in.
They should have called it “The Great British Bond Off”. Prize of a bomb suprise presented by Mr Kidd and Mr Wint on a cruise liner.
Now its up to Peacock to launch a Jason Bourne gameshow where you drink so much you forget who you are, and have to travel around retrieving items of your clothing, wallet, phone, bank card, passport from where you dropped them the previous night.
Well there's been talk recently about reviving Bourne so I wouldn't rule it out...
You’d better copyright this idea and quickly!!!!😅
@@unsolicited577 I will. Its called The Bourne Hangover.
Can't believe Brian Cox signed up to this thinking it was an actual bond movie 😂
He wasn't being serious about thinking it was a film. He knew what it was and joked he enjoyed being well paid for not a lot of effort!
I think he'd need to have a word with his agent if they thought the fee for hosting a game show was the same as playing the villain in a Bond movie.
The show makers have said the show wasn't originally planned to be a Bond tie-in when it was just an Amazon thing, and this only became that after MGM was bought by Amazon. Still, sounds like they didn't let that affect them much and they let the costume and set department do most of the work to bring the two together.
Oh! That explains a lot. Bit cynical of them. Maybe just design a Bond show from the ground up as well as this one. The concepts not that novel anyway, for instance The Great Race, Hunted etc
Wow, that explains a lot! What a waste of the brand.
@@davidjames579 You'd hope that they could tailor it more to Bond for the planned series two.
@@jamesatkinsonja I'd hope so. But if the producers of the show were happy to send Series 1 out like this, I feel they won't be inspired enough for Series 2.
Please cast Brian Cox in Bond 26 as a Shakespeare obsessed millionaire bent on destroying and restarting sociery in his image.
When I was a kid, there was a similar show to this on Canadian TV called "Spy Academy". Same pseudo-game-show idea, teams of spies competing in various spy-like tasks to foil the plans of a bad guy, but it was a kid's show and as such all the contestants were teenagers. Every Saturday afternoon I'd never miss a chance to watch it.
C'mon Calvin. You know that if you were in Rio, you know you would say "this is the location where Cubby said we're not science fiction.....".
😂😂 spot on!!
Brian Cox would make a great Bond villain. Someone akin to "Hugo Drax"... "Look after Mr. Bond. See that some harm comes to him."
The best moments are when they first get to a new locale. Establishing shots, blaring Bond music, often a vehicle.
Quite funny that Cox actually thought he was signing up for the next film.
He wasn't being serious about that. Once his agent told him the assignment, he said he liked the idea, especially when he saw the size of the cheque!
@@jamesatkinsonjaHe also turned down Strictly Come Dancing which is awise move
Brian Cox? Nice, but he would've made a good villain for an actual movie.
Seems like they made the show w/out the Bond rights, then secured those rights hence the lack of Bond anything. It's a double edged sword in a way: we want more Bond content but don't want the IP to fall down big over-franchising (Marvel for example). We were all afraid of that w/Amazon picking it all up. If anything this might be the start of more.
EON is firm keeping the series the way it is, but you can tell Broccoli and Wilson are tired (and Wilson really old). Who knows if they'll change gears eventually- we probably won't get a movie for a decade or so, the new game is a few yrs away, then this show just has the 007 logo on it. Despite still controlling the IP will EON be able to keep Amazon execs off their backs? Idk, feel like we might get more projects like this over time.
Yes, agree on almost everything! It was fairly entertaining for me... the great locations were a big plus point for me.
Once one of the Bone Brothers actually says "007"... after their underwater challenge...but that's it.
Really really odd....
This definitely could have been done much better. I like the premise of course, but making it more clearly Bond-based would be nice. I like Calvin s idea regarding having the players competing against one another. The cinematography was magnificent.
Me and my wife actually enjoyed this show. I liked trying to find out the Easter eggs, and she was pulling for some of the contestants to win. I liked the locations and the music. I found it entertaining.
Same
Worked well for me on a binge
…. They made a James Bond themed “The Amazing race”???
I've seen a few 'reaction' videos/articles on 'Road to a million' but this is a big step up from those as you've put the enterprise into context [such as with shows like 'Bake Off']. As you say, it's very much a product of 'corporate synergy' but I'm glad you gave it a fair shake as you always do and provided some very accurate feedback/suggestions for improvements [I really liked the 'Secret cinema' suggestion at 22:00].
21:30 They were advertising for contestants for series 2 even before 1 aired so it must be in some sort of pre-production.
lets hope EON is listening to Calvin :)
The Great British Bond Off? If anyone's seen the Bill Murray comedy The Man Who Knew Too Little he takes part in a London based role playing spy game called The Theatre Of Life. Make it like that.
Great vid Calvin as ever. I'm about to embark on the ultimate December Bondathon; one movie on each day of December all the way up to the 25th!
Sounds excellent! Hope you enjoy it :D Could include the 60s CR and NSNA too if you wanted to push it up to 27 ;)
@@calvindyson NSNA again is an assault on the senses, my loyalty to Sir Rog will not allow it! The 60s CR only works as a comedy if you're on drugs! The remaining days will be filled by the great Bond documentaries narrated by Patrick MacNee.
@@calvindysonWhen I have Bond marathons I do always tend to include the 66 CR and NSNA, I like both films. Especially CR66 I love.
But I also always watch the 54 version of CR too.
sounds like a dream. my brothers in the 80's said moonraker was on every christmas
Connery and Lazenby done. Onto the glorious reign of Roger Moore starting with LALD #KANANGA!
Kind of a weird decision to drop it all at once. I haven’t watched the show yet, but if anything dropping it all at once kind of put me off watching it, as now I’m like I’ll get to it eventually, rather than being part of the discussion week to week. But on the flip side, maybe they didn’t have confidence the audience would continue to come back each week, so dropping it all at once was the better option.
Binge TV is bad for (your health) enjoyment, and they are missing out on those water cooler moments as you say. Sounds like they never intended to give away 1M either.
There was a reality game show on channel 4 i think, like 10-15 years ago. The premise was they took a group of civilians and tested them as new recruits for MI6. (If anyone remembers the name of this show, please let me know 🙂)
The show did a good job of blurring the lines between reality and the game for the contestants. For instance, in one episode the contestants had to steal some fake "sensitive documents" in a foreign country. After the challenge was complete the contestants and film crew were "arrested" by the "local police force". Even though the documents were fake, they would still look incriminating AF to the average police officer, so the contestants had to hide the documents, then explain in a police interrogation what they were doing filming in an office at night.
TL:DR 007 Road to a Million should have been more like this show i can't remember the name of.
Yes, it was called Spy. I remember that show! I was thinking the exact same thing about this show. Why they don’t capitalize on recruiting people to do the job that Bond would do is baffling to me.
Treasure Hunt from the 1980s was the definitive people running around the place for clues and prizes tv show.
@@langleymneely yes! That's it! It was on bbc3, not channel 4, that's why I couldn't find it. Thanks 🙂
I enjoyed watching the show, especially the Bone Brothers. For some reason I really enjoyed the smoke grenades being used to reveal the answers. 😄
The way you're describing Brian Cox's role in this is reminding me slightly of The Banker from the bygone American game show Deal or No Deal. The Banker was seen only in silhouette and never heard, but he was considered a supreme power and always interrupting the game with phone calls conveyed to us secondhand. Yes, the contestants were profiting by The Banker's game, but a call from him suggested that he saw a potential deal as a way of reducing his losses. So, yes, The Banker made the game, as well as its high profitability, possible, and yet there was often an extra satisfaction in defying him. Likewise, contestants may feel good about beating The Controller at his own game.
Funnily enough, they've just brought 'Deal or No Deal' back in the UK after a break.
I liked the David Arnold theme a lot.
I'd like to hear you talk about the infamous ABC TV cuts from the
1970s on some of the Bond films,
like *"OHMSS"* (which was re-edited
into a two-parter, with Part 1 having
Bond escaping Piz Gloria at the beginning and the film is told in flashbacks, with a narrator as Bond).
This sounds like one of the weirdest things ever. If these edits are archived anywhere online I'd be fascinated to see them.
I know Cubby was very upset about the OHMSS edit and made sure it was never shown again. Apparently whoever was playing Bond in the narration sounded nothing like Lazenby!
@@jamesatkinsonja
The narration was apparently done by Alexander Scourby.
@@jamesatkinsonjaDid you hear the news from Metro this morning that George Lazenby has just reccovered from abrain tumour operation/the poor guy is 84
"I can see why it exists, I guess." - Higher praise than I thought this would achieve!
I’m an ardent Bond fan and I must give you credit for watching Road to a Million beyond the first episode because despite being excited about the show I couldn’t stand it and didn’t proceed further. I’ve read several articles about it and apparently the concept originally had nothing to do with Bond and then, probably for the reasons you mentioned about Amazon’s purchase of MGM, they introduced the Bond angle so your reference to feeling aspects were bolted on seems appropriate. Add to that the reality that Brian Cox confirmed on a recent talk show he thought they were hiring him to be a villain in a true Bond movie and was then surprised he was joining a reality TV show reinforces this. As a first foray into television this is quite a misfire. I was hoping for, say, an Amazon show about one of the Bond films’ supporting characters, similar to Amazon’s Jack Ryan series (I’d love to see a Felix Leiter series), but alas, we’ll have to wait.
Imagine Mr. Mendel from Basel Bank was bringing over the winnings
"I'm afraid I don't have any Chocolate. Ha ha ha ha". That reference would spook the contestants.
Calvin's slowly gone from wearing a tuxedo to barely wearing a shirt. I predict 2030s Calvin will be in his birthday suit lol
I wonder what the type of audience they expected to click on a show called “007” but would be put off by explicitly pointing out some of the Bond references. Do they not even show clips from the movies when they do a challenge based on one of the movies?
To be fair, a general audience might have seen some of the films but wouldn't have the encyclopedic knowledge most of us have [it's why the idea Paris Carver in TND should have been Sylvia Trench wouldn't have worked as most general audience would have no idea who Sylvia was] but they could have tried harder to make it more '007'.
All I can say is “I HATE IT!”
The Brian Cox cutaways remind me of Indiana Jones cash in High Road To China (1983), in which we actually get to see Tom Selleck play Indy or simular. It's a pretty entertaining B-Movie, but its relevance here is that during editing they realised the film wasn’t long enough, so they cast legendary English actor Robert Morley who could make any dialog pop to play the film's big villain. All he does is sit in a mansion and react to news of where Selleck is, tell his minion what action to take, cut to footage of Selleck in already filmed action scene and then after Selleck wins cut back to Morley fuming. Rinse and repeat. Naturally Selleck never meets Morley in the film, never mentions him or is aware of him, no one else does and of course Selleck doesn't defeat him in the climax. By then he might as well have been shaking his fist, yelling "i'll get you next time, you see if I don't".
Firstly, Calvin, just wanted to say your content inspired me to re-watch all the pre-Craig Bond films, some I haven't seen in over 2 decades (if at all), so thank you for that. Secondly, involving the brothers getting the most airtime, that sort of thing tends to happen with Reality TV. As somebody who grew up with Survivor and The Amazing Race being around, they'll give focus to their picks for underdog/villain/etc, and the winner in the edit so it's like "this is why we're hearing from Phil here instead of Chris".
The Bone Bros’ mom has more screen time than some of the contestants
I watched part of it and it was clear that the 007 branding was applied as an afterthought or almost after the fact.
I always thought Brian Cox would make a great Bond villain, so I’m thankful for the show for giving me a peek of what that could’ve been
He was the original Hannibal Lectre which people often forget as 'Manhunter' was dwarfed by 'Silence of the Lambs'.
I hope he hasn't ruined his chances of being cast. Although if they bring Kincaid back, he'd be great for that.
@@davidjames579 He'd have been great for Kincaid [although given it turned out to be Albert Finney's final film it was nice Finney signed off on a high].
@@jamesatkinsonja Finney was great, even if he was very obviously made up to look like Sean Connery!
@@jamesatkinsonjaI always had a hot take of that I felt Cox was a better Lector than Hopkins (who was amazing, don't get me wrong, I just liked Cox more).
If your watching it on a laptop or computer the "x-ray"- feature on prime video actually lists all of the easter eggs in the ongoing scene including the contestants wardrobe. Such as the orange wetsuits and the yellow ski jackets that were from Willy Bogners brand. Some of the easter eggs where quite far fetched but it was a nice touch non the less. That being said, the series was kind of lackluster imho.
I loved 007 Road To A Million, Calvin.😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Enjoyed the show but do agree that there is some room for improvement. I thought they could have had more episodes to allow the audience to get to know all of the contestants. I really wanted the contestants to meet each other in the casino episode. When the bone brothers were in Brazil, I thought the pictures of the cable car should have been a clue or a puzzle that they had to solve once they got to the cable car. Hopefully the producers improve season two.
I think your comments on Brian Cox's inconsistent portrayal of a villain is based on the misapprehension that he was intended to play a villain. I never heard him say "I hope they suffer." What I did here him say repeatedly is "I wonder whether they can do this."
In my humble opinion, the questions are on point. Most if not all csn br linked back to Bond in a few ways. For example the question on space and ehat decade the satellite went up, the thick collers give it away as the 70s. In ehat movie did bond have an incredibly thick collar? The spy who loved me. The infamous Macbeth question, most people woulf forget Connery once played Macbeth on stage before his film career took off. Those to name a few.
The problem I had with some of them was they didn't seem consistent in their difficultly level between the contestants. Maybe they just wanted to weed out some of the groups early, but I thought the Romans question and MacBeth were a bit difficult as the first question as opposed to the dice question when the last 3 in the casino was a easy question if you had deductive reasoning (which the brothers had) as opposed to the other 2 questions which unless you followed Fabergé auctions was an educated guess at best.
That said, I am hoping for a season 2 and to see what tweaks are made. Would like to see Brian Cox again reprise his role as the host/villain.
I'm a very casual Bond fan. I really enjoyed the show. The challenges and locations were great.
My only issue was that none of the contestants seemed to have any clue about James Bond.
As I say I'm a causal fan. But even I got some of the references.
I hope if they get a season 2 they get some actual Bond fans to take part.
If you're gonna make a James Bond branded reality show just own it.
A set of contestants got to drive in the classic DB5 from Goldfinger. They know nothing about the car or even the name of the car, which was a little disappointing to hear and the car was in 3 of the Daniel Craig Bond movies, but I guess maybe they haven't seen.
You make great comments Calvin. I feel like the show is very much a result of editing decisions as they found some of the filmed content of some contestants was better than others. I think next season will be constructed a bit better from their learnings. Like you suggested, I think teams will be pitted against each of other more next time.
When you were talking about bringing in the Rolls Royce and said "Ah, I know that reference"... I immediately thought of Captain America in the Avengers! Maybe the producers of the show were hoping the audience would just be like that and just move on!
Thank you for your insight Calvin! I really don't plan on watching it but appreciate all your thoughts with the show!
I enjoyed this show a lot, mostly for exactly the aspects that seemed to disappoint you. I enjoyed that it did not follow the format of practically every other reality show. I enjoyed that one team's success did not depend on another team's failure. I enjoyed that it was not a Bond trivia show, did not explain all the Easter eggs (which is the point of an Easter egg). I enjoyed the asynchronous presentation, without which we would have spent even more of the beginning episodes stuck in Scotland. I enjoyed that we get to see familiar Bond locations presented in a fresh and unfamiliar way.
As always Calvin, you have excellently articulated my thoughts entirely. Interesting to read here that production on the series had started before the MGM deal was struck.
I did get the feeling that other than the music, given the lack of Bond related questions or mentions, it might have actually been filmed before the Bond brand was bolted on. The only thing which suggests otherwise was the locations, but many of them could have been coincidental. If it wasn't for the Bond music or the name drops it could have just been 'Road To A Million' !
If anyone hasn’t already, I’d recommend the Rewatch from Love podcast where they discuss every bond film including the 2 unofficial.
Appreciate the side note about Secret Cinema. Casino Royale was amazing. Only went once when I was visiting London from the US, but during my "mission", I met a CIA contact at Miami Airport, was at a meeting between Le Chiffre and Dimitrios, then got to play poker at the huge main table with Le Chiffre and other baddies in the main space. Truly felt like I was IN the Bond Universe.
Sounds like this new show is missing that component.
You make some fair points Calvin but I gotta say, I watched this with my wife (who's a Bond fan as well) and we both had a really good time with it. I think they did a pretty good job with the cinematography, it looked way more stylish than the typical reality competition show and Brian Cox was just delightful. The obstacles were very creative and the Bond tunes playing here and there were a great touch.
It's not gonna change your life but it's a fun Bond-related competition. If you're into reality competitions, definitely give it a shot!
Now I know that Calvin watches the Great British Bake Off, I'm wondering what a Bond theme Bake Off show would look like?
I'm sure Me Wint and Mr Kidd would happily enter the show. I hear that their cakes are to die for
Brian Cox was a solid choice (another choice as the Controller is Malcolm McDowell).
I lasted half an episode. Nope, nope. This is not Bond. There really isn't even a connection to Bond apart from locations.
Could've taken a lead from Race Across the World, format is more straightforward and linear and yet manages to be tense and exciting. Seems like a shame. Perhaps a second series will iron out these (many) flaws?
I also got a 'Race across the world' feel from it.
For me, it didn’t matter that Bond or the films wasn’t mentioned because the connections ran all through the series, whether it was climbing upon the roof of a Rio cable car, seeing the burnt Jag (from Spectre) in a garage or having someone run along the roof of a train à la Octopussy. The links to the films were all there for us fans. We didn’t need an explanation or anything to tell us what film scene a particular challenge was reminiscent of.
If I done Road To A Million, I would’ve done it as a Spin-off film centered on a Bond Fan (me for example), who gets unwittingly thrusted into a dangerous, globe trotting, Bond Film-like reality game with the same set-ups (suitcases with computers, Aston-Martin DB5, etc.) but with Bond-related questions to test his knowledge (while being chased by what appears to be actual agents), and at one point gains an ally in a beautiful woman (Eiza Gonzalez or Melissa Barrera as a Bond Girl-Archetype) to help him succeed. The Controller would still be there, but with there would be “Three Wise Agents” he would answer to as his supervisors. Think of Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory as a realistic, yet seemingly fantastical James Bond film.
I'm not surprised by what Calvin said about The Bones Brothers being edited to be the main protagonists. I read a press release where they actually highlight that they have two standout contestants, London brothers who have natural screen presence and banter, and will we think become cherished by viewers. Or something like that. So its like they've picked up on these guys and thought they'll be breakout stars. Best to let viwers decide that after screening, not be told how to feel beforehand. In a game show this is especially unforgivable as the contestants are supposed to have an equal chance. If the brothers were given easier challenges to keep them in, then it does look like a fix.
When you said put all the losers together in a pool… I was thinking a pool of sharks
The only made-for-tv Bond I want to see is that BBC adaptation of Goldfinger from the 70s.
Watched the whole thing. I enjoyed it but felt pretty much the exact same way as you. Impressions of the contestants and Brian Cox were so spot on and genuinely had me laughing out loud!
Something I don't think you mentioned is the extreme intensity of the challenges presented, some of which entailed genuine risk to life and limb. Climbing a volcano at 5,000 meters altitude is really intense, as is climbing into a pit of crocodiles. I think some of the contestants must have been chosen for an adventurous background. You don't go wreck diving without serious training.
One of the first contestants is called James Bone?
I've only watched the first episode so I don't know if this changes but I don't understand why they ask them general knowledge questions, it seems so random. They race across the Scottish highlands, solve a code, then Brian Cox asks them a question about Shakespeare? Where's the Bond trivia. It feels like they've tried to cater to Bond fans and the average viewer, and they've pleased neither.
I was interested to see if you’d mention that the contestants didn’t seem to even be aware of James Bond, a few parts struck me where I was genuinely thinking did they know what show they were on or even vaguely have any idea about the locations!
Also apparently this show has already been green lit for a season 2. Which they will be filming throughout 2024
kinda looks like it is made to an existing template of a TV series with all the bond elements tacked on superficially in post production, except they are clearly not. maybe the production just wanted a panic button to hit if they suddently couldn't market the show as a bond product, since there seems to be no direct connection with the IP besides references
Yep. That's it.
Not interested in 'Reality Shows' whatso ever, but I'm not against a TV series on James Bond. First few seasons of Spooks was the closest TV series, I even saw Matthew Macfadyen as a strong candidate for the role after Brosnan's tenure.
The show was filmed beautifully and felt like a movie at times. It was weird that clearly the film crew were there and they must have had lots of help getting onto the train and climbing etc. Lots of shots made it feel like they must have taken more than one take. It was escapism and I wonder if they will make more because no-one won a million pounds. Agreed with Calvin overall. The music is a highlight btw, but lack of film references was odd but as a fan I knew they were.
I think you did a great review of the series from the point of view of a Bond fan. The only reason I tuned into it was because of the Bond branding and I think they missed a great opportunity to make it more Bond.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said. It's a Bond show, which is embarrassed to be about or associated with Bond.
So much so, I heard about this show. And my dad said about 2 months later "did you hear they're making a new Bond show?"
I got SUPER DUPER excited.. Until I realised my dad was talking about THIS show... Biggest turnaround of super-mega-excited to "oh...okay.. I thought they'd announced a new short, or new mini-series or something..."
It's so weird the people just, don't seem to have heard about any of the films..
I think 'embarrassed' is a bit harsh. Saying 'It's a reality/game show which just happens to have the Bond name attached' is more accurate.
Good analysis here. You're right in that they weren't nearly brave enough with certain things and that the tension they could have worked well into this just isn't there. Those first two episodes committed the most un-Bond-like sin of being dull, and like you, I watched just to keep going. Also bang on about the pacing and on contestant introduction.
What I'd like to see, if this gets a second season, is a proper antagonist. They've got the budget for it, so take it back in some ways to the old 80s show Interceptor, but without the lasers on backpacks and faux crow squawks. Much as I like Brian Cox, just have someone do The Controller in in the first minute or two and get a more proactive head baddie in, who, more to the point has minions who hound the players on every mission. That provides scope for timed challenges, occasional temporary alliances with other teams, and maybe some actors playing locals who have far more reason to be around. Raise the viewing stakes as well as making it look pretty; I'd be all in for that. Heck, I'd even pitch to write if they liked the idea :)
Sounds like Bond News about a Bond linked show to me. Let's see how our Bond is getting on..
[Scene 7]
The wreck of the former Austin 7 limps into Alexandrea; driving on two rims, and two completely deflated tyres. As the vehicle approaches the bumpy bomb potted town square, the front and back halves break apart. Bond is pulled by the arm out of the back half, after a few brief moments of rest on the journey. Above them, standing tall and white, a church bell chimes in the hour, as Holland and Bond arrive at the secret hiding place of their contact. But the contact is not there. Undeterred, they ask around, and find out that the gold dealer is in Maadi. They have no choice but to hire two camels and set off into the desert. Maadi is mostly a shifting sand-blown nomadic camp made of random tents, with one dry well in the middle of it, and a very slow occasional trickle of people passing through. The pair ask too many questions too quickly, and find themselves arrested as potential spies.
Their jail is made from compacted sandstone bricks with few furnishings, and no windows. Bond is thrown into a rickety wooden chair. "I protest old boy, we Are British subjects after all." Guard: "If you be British? Why you Here??". "My name's Bond, and this is my associate, James Holland. We're state diplomats from Britain." Holland shouts in from a locked cell nearby: "We're looking for a Scottish gold smugger I know by the name of Pie-Eye Mac Tavish." The guard turns to him: "You friends wid Pie-Eye??". "Yes.. I know him."
At once, the two men are thrown into the dark basement of the building, and manacled in all of the wrong places. Guards take turns to whip them with the whip Bond has brought, and perform other acts of unspeakable torture. Bond: "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you everything!!". Agent Fleming is removed from his cell, and thrown on the floor in rags in front of the captain. "I'm a spook... a spy... an operative; part of His Majesties Military Intelligence Division 6; code name zero zero seven. I'm on the trail of Heinz Munchen, a German gold dealer". The guards stop in their tracks, but then burst into laughter. Bond is beaten and thrown back inside his dungeon prison, where he is unable to get up off the floor. A cockroach passes by his dishevelled body. Bond just watches it, and then passes out.
The next morning, the prickly-heated prisoners are led outside and blindfolded, ready for the firing squad. A priest splashes Holy Water on to their grey faces - which makes Bond unexpectedly wince. Their arms are rebound around wooden posts riddled with bullet holes. James Holland nervously pees in his trousers, a tiny trickle emerging from his left trouser leg. "For England, Ian?". Bond's arms are so sweaty, he manages to slip out of his bounds. As the guards are just about to fire, he rips off his blindfold and begins to run towards a nearby open door. Behind him, shots ring out. James Holland is dead. Bond grabs a guard and uses the guard's knife to force another guard into a corner. He takes a hand gun and a bunch of keys; then sweeps through the building and grounds, killing anybody who gets in his way, until the last bullets run out. [Video Game Version: Waggle to free the bonds, storm the base and escape, get Pie Eye safely out of jail. Get a Bond Rampage card].
its funny that they got the dealer from CR to do the cameo considering he’s the only prominent character (I guess with the exception of the Swiss banker guy) in that movie who’s still canonically alive in-universe.
Thanks for the review Calvin
Yeah, weird show. From a technical standpoint, it’s pretty well made, but there are some REAL dull spots, Bond connections are weak, I think you could still ramp them up a bit without alienating core audiences. I got to like episode 5 I think, the challenges weren’t all that exciting for the large part, I found the cast they focused on pretty watchable at least, but it wasn’t really enough. I can understand why they made some of the decisions they did in terms of the format, but it did give a sort of disjointed feel, I’d double take when in like episode 4 we’d cut to a new couple we hadn’t seen before back in Scotland. Strange show, I read they’re casting for series 2 so I hope they improve on this
I strongly suspect that the presence of Brian Cox and the weird editing choices are all last minute desperation tactics for a production that had spent a ton of money on a bunch of random contestants - many of whom were not entertaining - in a show format that gave no real opportunity for dramatic tension between the differing pairs. It's a badly thought out concept, that probably had nothing to do with Jame Bond in it's inception - that some studio exec has tried to rescue after seeing the rushes.... Can't wait for the next season - we all enjoy a car crash. The fact that Brian Cox is on record as saying he thought he'd signed up to a movie - says it all.
The show was well produced and well directed and It would have been cool to be a contestant as a bond fan because you see a lot of Bond locations or bond like locations which is the reason why I kept watching. Contestants were not annoying like in some show and I liked there was not interview of them off screen every 2 minutes like in every reality show.
Brian Cox was funny even if he was useless. He probably shot all his scenes together but the only one where he actually talks live to the contestants .
Other than that, the show was very random .
I would have wanted an antology series showing in each episode how some of the better villains formed their personality.
Basically, show the origin-story of some of them, to give them more depth, and because Bond isn´t there, they can steal the show.
Yeah I agree. It was underwhelming at best. I also agree that it seemed like some of the pairs questions were, not just easier, to answer but easier to talk through and figure out. I forget how much it was for, but I was thinking of the episode where 3 of the pairs end up in a Casino. The Bone Bros question was "What is it called when you roll double 2 in craps". Just the nature of that question gave them an opportunity to talk it through and decide upon a logical answer. Whereas for the same money, the married couple had "How much did this Fabergé egg sell for at auction?" 3, 6 or 9 million. It didn't feel as fair. You can't really talk yourself through to a logical answer on that one.
Similarly, I didn't gel with the questions that were so specific to the pairs immediate environment. A fair few of them were like "Look at that over there. How far away is that?" Or "Look at that corner of road next to you. What angle is it at?" Or "You see that animal beside you.... Yada yada." It was hard for me to get invested in questions like that.
I think you’re bang on with your observations about the nature of the questions. It’s less about easy/hard and more about whether the questions lend themselves to allowing the contestants to work through logical points and come to an educated answer or whether they were a total stab in the dark. The Bone brothers had props provided in a few instances that further skewed them towards the correct answer. A snippet of music, the rum, the dice etc… I’m not going conspiratorial on this or anything but whether by happenstance or design, I felt they had a bit of an easier time of it than others.
That was one issue I also had with the questions was they didn’t seem consistent in their difficulty amongst the players. I thought the dice question when at the casino was way too easy that could be deduced even if you didn’t know it off the bat where the faberge egg question is basically an educated guess at best unless you happen to follow faberge auctions.
I didn’t have an issue personally with the questions asking environment questions like the length of the snake or the weight of the tarantula because it required the contestants to have some 007 bravery to reach the answer.
Spoiler: that said, I absolutely hated the $500k question. Actual trivia questions are facts that can be verified and stay consistent.
However asking the value of something is very subjective and you may get 20 different values if you ask 20 different people. A better question would have been having them guess the value of the gold in the briefcase (obviously change the amount so it wasn’t obviously $500k) since spot value of gold is what it is so having an idea of the spot value and being able figure out the weight and multiply to reach the answer.
I’m fine with the teams playing independent of each other but one change I would make is if a team is the last team standing, they automatically get to play for the million dollar question. No guarantee of a win, but still adds drama with an incentive to be the last team standing.
One Eon reality TV show I'd like to see is casting the next Bond actor; starts with 'Pop Idol' style cattle call of wannabe Bond actors getting a minute each in front of Broccoli and Wilson (and a rotating third guest spot given to various previous Bond actors and directors etc.) to try to sell themselves, from which a pool of twenty or so a chosen to go through to a thorough auditioning round (which include stuntwork, costuming, and acting auditions) from which a shortlist of 7 are selected to then become subject to viewer voting to whittle it down to the lastman standing who is then announced as the next Bond!
Funny enough, they did pretty much do that for Casino [minus the cameras being around!] as they looked at around 200 names, with a focus on 'unknowns', hence why a 22 year old Henry Cavill ended up being the only actor seriously considered alongside Craig.
I think you hit most points. I do not watch reality shows but gave this a try since I am a Bond fan. The competitors' Bond knowledge was not a pre-requisite to play. I did like that that when a question was missed that team was gone. Just too many teams to follow. Some of the questions were very arbitrary and you could only hope that the next one your team received was answerable. The most brilliant answer were the brothers that stumbled upon double twos on the dice was called a too-too (misspelled I know).
An interesting review. I think Calvin would make a brilliant host of a show like this.
My girlfriend and I applied to be on this last summer… I thought I was in for a good chance by virtue of being a lifelong Bond fan, but despite a call back from the casting team I was rejected rather swiftly. However, my non Bond-fan girlfriend did nearly got through to the final round but was dropped at the last second... it was all rather odd!
Me and my wife have been enjoying the series on the whole.
A highlight for me is the opening title music by David Arnold. Bring him back for the next score please!!!!
I couldn't agree more with your review Calvin. It looks like all the effort of putting these Bond cars in the background was made without the suppervision of any of the producers, despite the fact they said they were on board all the times. All the referecens were clearly easter eggs, like you said, for just a minority of viewers/fans to notice those elements. Much was promised and very little was delivered, sadly a waste of time and money.
I think it’d be cool if Amazon did a Moneypenny series prior to the events in Skyfall; plus, “Agent Moneypenny” sounds really cool.
Probably too late now [especially to have Naomie Harris reprise her role in a 'prequel' setting] but If they had done it in 2013/14 that would have been great.
Calvin Dyson is a sweetheart, love your video on bond.
I don't really get into reality shows either Calvin. I watch them sometimes but like that guy in frasier, I just don't like em. But I do agree Brian Cox like Chris Lee or donald pleasance he's good even in that bob the builder movie where he played the franchise's first villian conrad (though he obviously took that one for the money)
But I have one more thing. Have you ever considered reviewing Inspector Gadget or Spy Kids on here? I think they would fit the channel well
Thanks for this and I'd certainly love to cover Inspector Gadget and Spy Kids someday! Saw both when they were first released and I'd be curious to see if i still liked them today
You probably would have watched the show in reruns what I live about the show is the loving bond gadget penny and brain have with each other
@@calvindyson Frequent Bond second unit director Alexander Witt was the second unit director of the Gadget film-Bond connection!
Hi Calvin, completely agree. Everything you said about the first two episodes was spot on - and yes I lost the will to live over the Macbeth question. The Romans question just ensured I wouldn’t be watching anymore.
If it didn't have the Bond tie in I would have watched only 1 episode. To me it seemed that people were walking for long periods of time to answer 1 random question. It should have been told chronologically with a tracker as each pair completed missions. I was thinking it would be more like the amazing race but going to Bond locales doing very Bond task. I would think they would want to promote the Bond movie through the show. Play a quick clip from Moonraker while in Rio.
This was really dreadful, a sad nadir for the 007 brand, and proof (along with the dire NTTD) that EON has truly lost their way and is in need of new leadership.
Eon have little to do with this series as 72 Films made it. NTTD did get a lot of acclaim and was nominated for oscars but you can't please everyone.
@@jamesatkinsonja This was directly produced by Barbara and Michael, so yes, EON had quite a bit to do with this. They are also notoriously choosy which products they wish to associate with their James Bond series. NTTD did get acclaim in some quarters but was overall perhaps the most divisive Bond movie ever made, and many long-time fans (including myself truly despised it.
@@richardfuchs3690 As Calvin said, it was being developed before MGM was bought by Amazon so feels like it Bond was a bit of an after thought. 72 Films have been the ones advertising for contestants so it sounds like they did most of the work and Eon [and Amazon] just oversaw it. Fair enough about NTTD, it wasn't for everyone [I see plenty of negative comments about Skyfall now a days when that was a big hit for example].
@@richardfuchs3690 I don't know if they had that much to do with the actual making of the show or it was more a token credit [like Stallone being credited as a producer on Creed 3 despite publicly stating he had no involvement with it and wouldn't even watch it!]. From what people say it was in development before Amazon bought MGM so it feels like an exercise in corporate synergy rather than a passion project.
@@jamesatkinsonja If you do some research, you will see that Wilson and Broccoli were heavily involved in creating the series, including the casting. They are known for being very hands-on with the Bond brand.
I used to love James Bond JR.
Speaking of how everyone got introduced to 007 films from TV, were you ever aware Calvin of the 'Double O heaven season' in the summer of 1999 when ITV for the first time broadcast all the Bond movies in a row?
They showed them all including Never Say Never again, and Tomorrow Never Dies was shown in the half term holiday in autumn, a week after 'The James Bond Story' was broadcast actually :). I was surprised youd never seen that before. all the best, take care
Indeed! Double O heaven was around the time I was really getting into Bond for the first time so I more than likely saw a few of them during that run. I wish I could remember which order I saw them in but other than MR, DAF and (possibly) GE being the first I saw I really can't remember any other specifics about it.
I remember a 'Rolling Rock' advert played every week in that 'Double O Heaven season' so anytime I hear the music from that song ['Drinking in LA'] I think of that summer!
I believe Martini sponsored 00 Heaven. I recall a Maurice Binder esque title sequence as the bumper at start and end of breaks, with a girl swimming in a glass of Martini.
@@davidjames579 YES, thats the one!! at the begining and end of each break and after the end credits. Then they would show an advert for the next weeks Bond movie. Though they didnt do one for License to kill strangley????
@@jamesatkinsonja is that what was playing??? its a good song though. hope all is well james :)
Yes they were hiding a number of "Easter Eggs" throughout the show for the ultimate fans...
Hopefully more were appreciated than not...
(I wonder if there's a webpage where people have accumulated all the things they spotted along the way)
I kinda liked it, but it didnt have me gripped like I was hoping it would - I was mostly disappointed it wasn't about James Bond... at all - besides the locations and music it all felt very disconnected to James Bond, like none of the contestants would mention they are big Bond fans, or even casual fans, they never comment on where they are and how it's like such and such a sequence from a Bond film, and none of the questions were realted to Bond. It felt like a Bond show, pretty much in name only.
I found out about this show almost randomly while shopping on Amazon for Black Friday. Upon seeing the advertisement, I gave an audible, "huh?". It is a weird artifact to say the least. Is it a disservice to the brand? Probably not. Is it a good service to it? Probably not. It's just a strange experiment that happens to exist.
That casino royale experince sounds like a better version of this
I watched the first two episodes as soon as it was released, but I haven't continued since, and I completely agree with you. It was just so boring! The first couple of "challenges" were literally just "Walk to your destination". I couldn't believe it. Things got slightly exciting in the first episode when they had to find a way to enter that museum since it was closed, but it ended up being so easy.
If it had more to do with 007 maybe I'd have given it a couple more episodes. Like, instead of hiring Brian Cox (I had no idea he was supposed to be the "villain") they could have asked Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, or Naomie Harris to reprise their role.
This was basically a 007 reality show that didn't have that much to do with 007. It's really disappointing considering that I still think that a James Bond-inspired reality show is such a cool idea and definitely the best way to "expand" the franchise (I don't want other tv-shows or spin-off movies).
Since it apparently gets better later on maybe I'll give it another chance... By leaving it in the background while I do other stuff.