Q (James Bond)

Q (James Bond)

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Q (James Bond)

Q is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. Q (standing for Quartermaster), like M, is a job title rather than a name. He is the head of Q Branch (or later Q Division), the fictional research and development division of the British Secret Service. The character actually appears only fleetingly in Ian Fleming's novels, but comes into his own in the successful Bond film series; he is also mentioned in the continuation novels of John Gardner and Raymond Benson. The character, Q (although he is not always identified by that title), has appeared in every 007 film except Live and Let Die (as Desmond Llewelyn, who was playing Q at the time, was bound by commitments to other projects), Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (as there was no place for Q in the script). Casino Royale showcases a number of gadgets and sophisticated tools used by Bond; however, the film does not indicate whether a Q Branch exists per se in the rebooted Bond universe.

Ian Fleming may have based the character of Q on Charles Fraser-Smith, a real-life developer of gadgets for SOE during the Second World War.

Development

In Novel

The ancestry of the Q character is rather complicated. In the Fleming novels there are frequent references to Q and 'Q Branch' with phrases like "see Q for any equipment you need" (Casino Royale) and "Q Branch would handle all of that" (Diamonds are Forever), with a reference to "Q's craftsmen" in From Russia with Love. In the sixth novel, Dr. No, the service armourer Major Boothroyd appears for the first time. Fleming named the character after Geoffrey Boothroyd, a firearms expert who lived in Glasgow, Scotland.^[1] He had written to the novelist suggesting that Bond was not using the best firearms available. Boothroyd is also referenced occasionally in the Bond novels of John Gardner, but the author preferred instead to focus on a new character (see "Other Qs", below).

In Film

In the films, Major Boothroyd first appears in Dr. No and later in From Russia with Love, although played by different actors. Beginning in Goldfinger and in each film thereafter Major Boothroyd is most often referred to as Q; however, in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) he is referred once again as Major Boothroyd in dialogue. Some sources, most notably the 1980s James Bond 007 role-playing game suggested that Boothroyd's first name was Geoffrey (the real Boothroyd's given name), although no first name was ever mentioned in the novels or on screen. In the non-canonical James Bond Jr. cartoon series, Boothroyd's grandson was Horace Boothroyd III (and was known to his friends as "I.Q."), suggesting that Major Boothroyd was also named Horace.

Official James Bond film series

Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd (1962)

In the first film, Dr. No, Boothroyd is played by Peter Burton in only one scene in which he replaces Bond's Beretta .25 pistol with Bond's signature .32 Walther PPK handgun. The character later appeared in From Russia with Love played by Desmond Llewelyn, due to scheduling conflicts that kept Burton from reprising.

Featured in:

Dr. No (1962)

Desmond Llewelyn as Q (1963?1999)

Desmond Llewelyn portrayed the character in every film after (except Live and Let Die) until 1999 in which he is shown to retire and be replaced by John Cleese in The World is Not Enough. In the James Bond films, the relationship between Q and Bond is one of fatherly exasperation ("Oh, grow up, 007!") met with adolescent indifference. The exception is during From Russia with Love, Llewelyn's Bond debut, in which he simply introduces the gadgets, then makes sure Bond knows how to work the booby-trapped briefcase catches. The relationship was established by director Guy Hamilton in Goldfinger, when he explained to Llewelyn that he didn't want Q to actually like Bond, since the agent tended to abuse and destroy Q's gadgets when in the field. Famously, he tells the agent, "I never joke about my work, 007" (a line referenced by his successor in Die Another Day).

However, on occasion, Q has shown a warm and fatherly concern for 007's welfare, such as at Bond's wedding in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and when, at the behest of Miss Moneypenny, he secretly sneaks gadgets out of MI6 to help Bond survive his vendetta against the drug tyrant Sanchez in Licence to Kill. Arriving unannounced in Isthmus City (posing as Bond's uncle ? similar to how he posed as Bond's father in You Only Live Twice), he flatly tells the agent, "If it hadn't been for Q Branch, you'd have been dead long ago" — to which Bond has no answer. Respect seems to bloom between them, with Bond telling Q he is "a hell of a field operative".

The growing respect is also evident in GoldenEye when Q actually shares a joke with Bond for the first time, and when in The World Is Not Enough he reveals his plan to retire. Bond is clearly crestfallen at the thought, and Desmond Llewellyn's Q signs off with some touching last words of advice, "I've always tried to teach you two things: never let them see you bleed; and always have an escape plan" — before he is lowered out of view. In the novel of Goldfinger, the relationship between Bond and Q is more clearly defined, with Bond telling himself that he only tortures Q so badly because of their close friendship.

The gadgets Q supplies are almost invariably destroyed as a result of Bond's use of them, and Q is constantly exhorting Bond to take better care of them and to occasionally read the instruction manual.

In the series, Boothroyd was preparing to retire during the events of The World Is Not Enough (1999) and has clearly retired by the time of Die Another Day (2002), but it was not indicated on screen whether the character has since died. In the PlayStation game 007 Racing (2000) however, the character "R" (voiced by John Cleese) specifically says: "Q could drive better than that, and he's dead!" (a possible unintended reference to the driving accident that killed actor Desmond Llewelyn in real life).

Featured in:

From Russia with Love (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Thunderball (1965)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
- This is the only time in which Q calls Bond "James", during the wedding scene with Tracy.
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Moonraker (1979)
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Octopussy (1983)
A View to a Kill (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
Licence to Kill (1989)
GoldenEye (1995)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Llewelyn also portrays Q in the EON Productions-produced TV special Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond (1967).

Llewelyn portrays Q in the documentary Highly Classified: The World of 007, which is included on the Tomorrow Never Dies Ultimate Edition DVD.

To date, Llewelyn has appeared in more Bond movies (17) than any other actor.

John Cleese as Q (1999?2002)

In The World Is Not Enough an assistant to Q was introduced, played by John Cleese. His real name has yet to be revealed, but he is initially credited as R in The World Is Not Enough, stemming from a joke in which Bond asks the elder Q: "If you're Q, does that make him R?"

In Die Another Day, a reference to Monty Python's classical gag: The Ministry of Silly Walks is shown when R walks past the camouflaged Bond car making him appear to do the silly walk.

Between films, Cleese was still referred to as "R" in the video game 007 Racing (2000) and in Agent Under Fire (2001), though not all of the video games are canonical. He was officially referred to as "Q" in Die Another Day (2002) following actor Llewelyn's death in 1999. In 2004, Cleese was featured as Q in the video game James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.

Initially portrayed as rather clumsy, R has since become more self-assured and more in the style of his predecessor to whose job he has since been promoted. They both share the same attitude towards their professional work. In Die Another Day, Bond at first refers to R as "Quartermaster" but, silently impressed by the gadgets he is given, calls him "Q" at the end of their meeting. (The Die Another Day DVD reveals that Bond initially saw R as an 'interloper', only awarding the proper title of 'Q' after R has proven himself.)

According to an interview on the Die Another Day DVD, Pierce Brosnan was very glad to rename Cleese's character 'Q', rather than 'R', because his native Irish accent made it difficult to pronounce 'R' with a convincing "British" accent.

Although having some similar characteristics, Cleese's Q is almost a radical departure from Llewellyn's. From the start, Cleese's Q never liked Bond based simply from Bond's reputation of not returning items in pristine condition. When Bond tries to joke with Q, Cleese's Q is a lot quicker at comebacks than Llewellyn's was, making him more of a match for Bond in terms of wit. Bond: "You're cleverer than you look." Q: "Still, better than looking cleverer than you are." or "Ah yes, the legendary 007 wit, or at least half of it."

In the 007 game, Everything or Nothing, Cleese's Q has an assistant, Miss Nagai, portrayed by Misaki Ito.

Featured in:

Films:

The World Is Not Enough (1999) — as R
Die Another Day (2002)

Games:

Everything or Nothing
007 Scene It

Future film appearances

With the reboot of the Bond series in 2006's Casino Royale and its successor, Quantum of Solace (2008), the character of Q has, so far, not appeared. Bond actor Daniel Craig expressed concern over the absence of Q, and has said that he hopes Q will return in Bond 23.

Other Bond films

Geoffrey Bayldon as Q (1967)

In the "unofficial" version of Casino Royale (1967), Q is portrayed by Geoffrey Bayldon, but instead of outfitting James Bond, he provides gadgets for Evelyn Tremble (who is portrayed by Peter Sellers). Generally held to be one of the stronger sequences in the film, the famous gadget sequence is mercilessly lampooned. "It's an American idea," Q tells Tremble as he gives him a watch with two-way camera attached, "they got it from one of their comic strips," a reference to Dick Tracy. In this film, Q is assisted by Fordyce (John Wells).

Featured in:

Casino Royale (1967)

Alec McCowen as Q (Algernon) (1983)

In the 1983 film Never Say Never Again, Q Branch is headed by a man (played by Alec McCowen) referred to by Bond as "Algernon" and "Algy", though his opening line is "Nice to know old Q can still surprise you 00s." In the closing credits, he is named as "Q Algy". It is never stated whether he is intended to be a successor to the EON Q (like the film's M is said to be) or actually a manifestation of Boothroyd. Since this film is generally not considered as canon, it can be said that it takes place in an alternate universe, different from that of the EON films. Algy's relationship with Bond appears to be friendlier than that of Boothroyd, with Algy actually looking forward to the "sex and violence" of a new 007 mission. Q Branch itself is depicted as underfunded (per dialogue) and ramshackle compared to the high-tech surroundings of the EON films.

Featured in:

Never Say Never Again (1983)

Related characters

Q'ute

John Gardner, in his James Bond novels, introduced the character of Ann Reilly, a young female assistant to Q whose co-workers as well as Bond nicknamed Q'ute. Major Boothroyd himself was only mentioned a couple of times. During Licence Renewed and For Special Services, Q'ute and Bond maintained a brief romantic relationship. Afterwards, it was revealed a number of times that Bond and Q'ute were involved in a casual relationship.

By the time Gardner left the book series, Q'ute had taken over the running of Q Branch, but when Raymond Benson took over the literary series, he ignored much of Gardner's continuum and gave Q Branch back to Major Boothroyd with no explanation and no further references to Ann Reilly.