Episode 15


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The Summer of Dalton kicks off on For Your Ears Only with a look at The Living Daylights from the perspectives of Ian, Adham and their friend Richard Paterson. The newcomer promptly tries to turn the podcast into a UK version of Bigger on the Inside, whilst Adham maintains something peculiar about Timothy Dalton's take on the James Bond character. And he does something monumentally stupid before we even start the review. [ 2:57:33 || 81.3 MB ]

The above is from: www.earth-2.net/podcasts/foryourearsonly/episodes/foryourearsonly_015.mp3

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  • 2 weeks later...

Right, I have finally finished listening to this. Great episode and on a side note in order to get caught up I have listened to the majority of the run in about a month. It has been a strange journey involving having my eardrums perforated by a certain Mr. A Fisher, the impotent rage generated by Sheriff J W Pepper, furiously debated shag and kill counts where I found that Adham was wrong in every important respect and trying to come to terms with the glowing review given to OHMSS which I can't stand. It's been a wild ride fellas and I thank you for it. Bring on Licence To Kill.

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Right, I have finally finished listening to this. Great episode and on a side note in order to get caught up I have listened to the majority of the run in about a month. It has been a strange journey involving having my eardrums perforated by a certain Mr. A Fisher, the impotent rage generated by Sheriff J W Pepper, furiously debated shag and kill counts where I found that Adham was wrong in every important respect and trying to come to terms with the glowing review given to OHMSS which I can't stand. It's been a wild ride fellas and I thank you for it. Bring on Licence To Kill.

Thank you kindly, Mr Probert! I think you've summed up FYEO pretty well in that one post, although I'd be interested to hear a bit more on what you dislike about OHMSS. I fully appreciate that it's a very divisive Bond film and most people either love it or hate it, but I don't hear as many voices in the latter camp nowadays (then again, I try to avoid 007 forums as much as possible).

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OK, why I don't like OHMSS. Well this is coming as someone who has only ever been exposed to the films rather than the books so while I appreciate that it is arguably the most faithful adaptation of Flemming's work as someone only familiar with the films it didn't sit right with me. Up to this point on screen Bond has been portrayed as a womanising killer. Someone who can kill in cold blood because that is his job and has a certain outlook on women because he spends much of his life close to the edge that he could be dead tomorrow. The man is a badass. Then OHMSS comes along and turns this badass into a love sick puppy who spends a fair chunk of the film going on horse rides and holding hands in the park. He then goes to Piz Gloria and acts like his usual womanising self which is not only stupid because it gives him away to Blofeld immediately (Even thought as you mentioned he should recognise Bond anyway) but isn't the behaviour of a man in love as he proclaims later to Tracy. I think Lazenby is both unconvincing and uncharismatic as Bond. I don't think he does nothing memorable with part. I think that Telly Savals is a bland Blofeld who plays him as a glorified thug and more like the people working under him in previous films than the scheming leader of SPECTRE in the past. I prefer Pleasence in the role as he is more sinister and someone you could believe is the evil mastermind behind SPECTRE. As much as I love Dinah Rigg I don't think she is used very well in the film. This was the actress who played the ultimate 60s emancipated woman as Emma Peel and it felt to me like a waste of that charisma and charm she has playing someone who, even though she gets to stand up for herself a bit, is ultimately in need of a man to sort her life out. Overall I think it took the franchise up a cald-de-sac as by the end there wasn't many places you could go with the next film. Diamonds Are Forever proved this I think as even though it begins with Bond out for revenge in order for the films to work he invariably has to revert to type and his reasons for hunting Blofeld are downplayed. There is only so far you can go with an angst ridden avenging Bond. I think the current films will run into the same problem eventually.

Right, rant over hope that covers it.

As for the Living Daylights there are parts of this film that feel a bit like they were written for Roger Moore and Dalton looks less than comfortable delivering them, such as the quips where he is downplaying what the Aston Martin can do. He puts in a strong performance as Bond which as time has told was very ahead of it's time but there are those moments that detract from what he is trying to do with the character and that is why he seems uncomfortable performing them.

Oh and he TOTALLY has sex.

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I agree with that last line entirely. Then again, the only person who ever believe any iteration of Bond (even Craig) wouldn't have sex is, indeed, Adham Fisher. As for OHMSS, you raise a lot of good points, although none of them will sway me from the belief that it's a very good film.

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