Episode 137: Unloved Bond: On Her Majesty's Secret Service + Octopussy

We said James Bond would return... and he did! We continue our series checking out the lesser loved entries from the 007 franchise. This week, it's time to discuss George Lazenby's sole outing as the famous spy, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), directed by Peter Hunt, and follow it up with one of the most maligned films in the series, Octopussy (1983), directed by John Glen. We discuss the many curious choices that were made surrounding the first non-Connery Bond film (including Lazenby's choice to throw it all away) and make a case for the very specific energy that Roger Moore brings to the role in what is undeniably a very silly Bond film.

Stick around for our Bond Tropewatch segment, where we rate each of these films against the checklist of standard Bond tropes to see which fares best!

Fair warning: we go into the plots of both films in some detail, including the endings, but we feel like James Bond is somewhat unspoilable in general, so we won't be announcing a Spoiler Territory section for either of these films.

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Theme music: "The Cold Light of Day" by HKM. Check out HKM on #SoundCloud or Bandcamp

"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" by The Propellerheads