TV REVIEW: 'THE REAL STORY OF JAMES BOND'
Will The Real James Bond Please Stand Up?
Worth checking out alert: The Smithsonian Channel’s The Real Story series which explores…well, the real stories behind what is or what our culture has turned into legend. Amongst said legends? James Bond. And since it’s airing on Smithsonian, it’s like getting your action/girls/booze/gambling/globe-trotting fix while seeming smart for doing so. Imagine!
The “Bond” episode was the one I screened, and yes, like most guys, have a strong Bond affinity. I own all the flicks and used to be able to name them in order, including the years they were made. I probably could have used this brain space to memorize things I was supposed to, like the periodic table or layers of the Earth’s crust, but meh.
So of course I thought I had a pretty good understanding of the fake man. Smithsonian’s Real Story is worthwhile because it showed me I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I did. And how could I? If I knew too much, someone would have to…well, you know.
The Real Story deals mostly with the fascinating life of Ian Fleming, Bond’s author and creator. To not blow all cover here (i.e. my job is to entice you to watch the show), Fleming was born to a well-to-do family, grew up to grab up a high-ranking assistant position in her majesty’s Royal Navy, and from then on had intimate knowledge of intelligence operations conducted and, in some cases, conceived by Fleming himself during World War II.
Just as Bond has always been an escape for his readers and viewers, he was for his creator. Deemed too knowledgeable to put into the field, Fleming never saw action but read all the stories of those men who did. Later in his life, taking winters in Jamaica, Fleming fulfilled his action-hero dreams and envies by compositing these men into one: Bond, James Bond.
The Real Story explores which of these men were “the real James Bond,” and though they’re long gone now, it is interesting to hear their true stories of heroism and see which qualities made it into the tux that carries a license to kill. We also meet the real-life inspirations for Q, the gadget guru, and M, who is a direct representation of the Commander of Intelligence that Fleming assisted during the war.
Of course, there is still Fleming himself. His chain-smoking, drinking, globe-trotting ways (Fleming was the younger brother of a popular travel writer) all funneled into his timeless character — so did his distance from, objectification of, or general disregard for women, though it’s to be noted that Fleming never settled down into his novels until he settled down with a woman.
Just as secret as Bond’s missions were his stories, at first. Fleming, working as a journalist, kept his novels generally quiet, wishing to not even speak about them, but he drew a cult following in Britain and then, when the king of Camelot, John F. Kennedy, named From Russia With Love as one of his favorite novels, all bets were off and the rest is history.
Truth be told, I could go on writing about Bond and Fleming for some time, and I have before. One of my favorite college papers? “Blowing Things Up Through History: James Bond” for a History 101 class. But I’ve got nothing on the Smithsonian, so you’d probably be best served tuning in, especially if you color yourself a Bond aficionado.
As the pressure of fame and demand of Fleming’s character mounted on him, you’ll see, as some of his friends alleged, that maybe the only man Bond ever really killed was Fleming himself. I don’t take quite as cynical a view, as even though Fleming died young (at 52), he is now immortalized through his creation and was no shut-in himself — the myths of his story almost rivaling his creations.
In fact, the able and versatile James McAvoy is in talks to star as Fleming in a new feature taking on the author’s life, while the newest in the Bond series is still a way off. But neither story, with their intrigue and licenses to kill, are likely to die.
Check your listings for the Smithsonian Channel and air-times for 'The Real Story', the focus of other episodes including “Indiana Jones” (himself only created because Spielberg wanted to do a Bond flick) “The Untouchables” and “The Amityville Horror.”
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