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James Bond's 'Q' Dies
Pzykotic writes "The great actor Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q in all but 2 Bond films died in a head-on car crash in England today at age 85. I loved that guy, he will be sorely missed." Here's the BBC story. 72 readers submitted this news before we got it posted, so obviously Mr. Llewelyn was a bit of a geek icon, eh? Update: 12/19 07:51 by CT : I just watched Thunderball last night. God he was cool.
Don't touch that bond, its my Lunch :)
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
But he did not want to retire. During an interview on an Australian TV show not too long ago (October?), he mentioned that he would like to do some more Bond movies in the future, with John Cleese as his 'assistant'
He also mentioned that Pierce Brosnan was better then Sean Connery at playing Bond! :)
Damn fine bit of useless tech. The sheer dumbness was immortalised in Hitch Hikers when one of Arthur's arm comes adrift. This leaves him without the ability to tell the time.
My favourite was the theft alarm installed on the Lotus !
Vale Desmond....a part of my life for longer than I care to remember.
Life is just a bowl of All Bran - Small Faces
If you're driving a pickup truck, and they're driving a civic, you'll fair much better. In a head-on collision, the smaller car gets it worst.
It sounds like the other driver is at fault...
he has requested that his (and the name of his, er, "female companion") not be released.
The wrath of geeks aside, that is not the action of an innocent man.
In these days when so many people seem to think it acceptable to vent their feelings without any attempt to discover the facts, any sane person who is in any way connected with the death of a celebrity will want their identity withheld from the masses. When you have been in a serious road accident, the last thing you need is to be inundated with hate mail. Considering the weather conditions in the UK this weekend, I would wait for some real evidence before pointing any fingers.
Desmond Llewelyn will be missed by many, but perhaps we should also think of the other people who died in road accidents in the UK this weekend (BBC report).
Sure, he was the best !!! =]
//ConPHuze
Is that my wife asked me last night while watching Tomorrow Never Dies if he had died/retired.
She's a little freaked out now...
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
I don't think the idea of deleting an offensive comment, even if generated by a computer application, violates our freedom of speech. However, it violates our freedom to choose what we think is appropriate in our own minds to view. We don't need Slashdot to choose what's unsuitable for our eyes. It's censorship, man- there's NO way we should allow that!
On a sidenote, I must state that Mr. Llewelyn WILL be sorely missed, and any inane comments bashing his tragic death should be disregarded anyway... LOUSY PUNKS!
Afro Ryan
>You killed Q. May the good Lord have mercy upon you.
:)
Oh my God, I killed Q! Well, I'm sure he'll be back in the next film. In more than one way
Chris.
Good point. In any way, I share the guilt of killing Q with the 200,000-odd people in my town who also didn't see the signing. Diffusion of responsibility makes me feel better ;)
But still, it's true. An extra ten seconds talking to someone - anyone - probably would have saved his life. Man, now I *am* depressed.. *sighs*
Merry Christmas etc, peeps.
Chris.
Agreed. Trying to blame someone sets minds at rest a little, but I'm fairly sure that 'blame' can't be attributed in this case. It's been icy over here, hundreds of accidents, you get the idea. Just a bad throw of the random dice of life :(
Chris.
I've actually seen it, but considering the way they have chopped and changed characters in the past, who knows what will happen!
John will probably make a good Q, but I can see other actors that would be quite good in the part, expecially those who already have scientific bent, and a possible comedy angle.
Possible scenario (whch could indeed start a whole new film) could have the science facility being destroyed by some terrorist group/whatever, and Bond goes out for revenge... "Q's Revenge".. who knows.. they've come out with some weirder stuff before! Anything is possible.
It sounds like the other driver is at fault...
he has requested that his (and the name of his,
er, "female companion") not be released.
The wrath of geeks aside, that is not the
action of an innocent man.
Carefree highway, let me slip away on you.
A shame he never got to use his new fishing boat.
Seriously, he was a great contributor to the whole Bond mythos and will be missed.
No sig? Sigh...
Man, he was the best part of some of those movies. He will be missed sorely. I know he was retiring, but it's still tragic that he died, of course -- if he was anything at all like the character he played, he'd have been a great person to be around.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-brain
...that they introduced his successor in the latest film.
He will be missed.
That really stinks...I just Llewelyn in an interview with E just the other day about The World Is Not Enough.
Rather stinks that he died in a car accident on the way home after a book signing (right?). Bet the person who got into the crash with him feels like a piece of crap now.
Jazilla.org - the Java Mozilla
It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
No co-incidence that he was in Chitty - since Ian Fleming wrote that book - and it had Cubby Brocoli in the production staff.
First they burn books, then they burn people.
It's sad, no doubt. But isn't it odd that they just introduced John Cleese as his successor? That, and the sly "getaway" as he descended from Bond's presence. Coincidence?
(Planting the conspiracy theory seed early)
'Now Bond, listen very carefully... this is the pen that goes "neee! neee! neee! ekkie ekkie ekkie ffffkang"'
But it looks like they picked the right time to bring in John Cleese as his replacement.
Au revoir, Q!
and that the impression I certainly got from the last film was that it was his last as Q anyway. I'll certainly miss him.
Rest in Peace Desmond.
Gary
Here's a CNN article on it as well
"You should never have your best trousers on when you turn
"You should never have your best trousers on when you turn out to fight for freedom and truth."
-Henrik Ib
What were the odds? He shoots like 5 minutes every movie (1 every 2 years).
Anyway.. Maybe some comunist captures him to find out about the technology that Bonds uses, and kills him (or Q takes one of those pils to die)..
--
--
Stay tuned for some shock and awe coming right up after this messages!
I remember him from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Here's a listing of what he did.
The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
As others have said, Llewelyn was the constant in the series; everyone else has changed. I think the current M actress has had the part longer than any other, one Money Penny actress had a long run at it but there have been 3 different ones in the last four movies
Judi Dench, the actress who played M in the past three films, held the part of Money Penny in every other film. This makes her the only actor to appear in all 19 Bond films. Also, Money Penny has been played by Samantha Bond since Dench moved to M, therefore, there has only been once since then.
.
-- open source? sounds like the real book --
I hope Cleese will be able to stay on as long as Llewelyn did, and I also hope the other actors (like the one that plays M) stick around for a long time.
But not the Bond character - I like Brosnan as Bond, but I don't want another case of 'A View To A Kill', in which Roger Moore played Bond at a time when he was 58 (!).
M was played consistantly by Bernard Lee from Dr. No through Moonraker (11 times)
:-) :-)
And Lois Maxwell, not Dench, was Moneypenny through all the Connery's and Moore's (and the Lazenby)
I was just going from memory; it didn't occur to me to pop over to IMD and check. But then again, I wasn't expecting my post to get uped to a score of 5.
I guess the point I wanted to make is Bond's family (M, Monney Penny, Q) add a lot to the series and it helps if they keep the same actor in the role for a long period of time. I also like how M was one of the main charachters in TWINE instead of a beaurcrat behind a dsk.
We can second-guess ourselves too the max, but a chaotic universe where a butterfly's flight can influence a hurricane days later is just too damn complicated for us to bear responsibilities for such "If only"s.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
But not the Bond character - I like Brosnan as Bond, but I don't want another case of 'A View To A Kill', in which Roger Moore played Bond at a time when he was 58 (!).
Probably should have mentioned that. IMHO, Bond should be played by someone in his late 30's or 40's, which is why you don't want to change the rest of the cast any more than you have to.
Mr Showbiz has some more interesting background information, including Llewelyn's opinion on the actors playing Bond:
2 19/QDies121999.html
http://mrshowbiz.go.com/news/Todays_Stories/991
...that is to say, that people can't reasonably be expected to be responsible for effects of chance (okay, not chance, but a sufficiently chaotic/unpredictable system). At least, this is my reading, and I consider it quite valid.
So this post wasn't necessarily an attempt to be funny; Don't berate it for its failure to do so.
The thing that makes me mad is that all this crap appears to be put up by only one, two or possible three kiddies. Sad, really... but that's the price we pay for freedom of speech. I just wish we'd have a better way to cope with it.
Now for my suggestion (listen up, Cmdr)... a kill button by each post, if a certain ratio of views/clicks is reached the post goes bye bye (or at least automatic -1).
-----
Do you even know anything about perl? -- AC Replying to Tom Christiansen post.
>Judi Dench, the actress who played M in the past three films, held the part of Money Penny in every other film.
No she didn't. Judi Dench has only appeared in the Brosnan Bond films, and only in the role of 'M'.
Moneypenny was played by Lois Maxwell in every (official) Bond film from 'Dr No' until 'A View to a Kill'; Bernard Lee played 'M' from 'Dr No' until 'Moonraker'.
See IMDB.
Are you sure Judi Dench, who is one of the best Brit actor today, played Money Penny?!? She was really doing MGM favorite by appearing on those 3 awful spy/leg/gadgetry flicks. There are 5 actresses played Ms Moneypenny according to imdb.
CY
Bzzzzzt - Dame Judi Dench was never Moneypenny - that role has belonged to Lois Maxwell since Dr No up to View to a Kill. M, currently played by Judi Dench, was originally played by Bernard Lee, who played M up to Moonraker.
MrCreosote Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump!Meow!Thump! "You're right! There isn't enough room to swing a cat in here!"
I've seen his Heineken ads on TBS (TNT?) and thought they were a hoot.
:-) :-) :-)
I've also thought that a special film that ONLY consisted of his briefings to the various incarnations (is he a Time Lord or WHAT) of James Bond would be wonderful- especially for techies to watch. His dry delivery was too good for words.
I just hope that the other car wasn't driven by John Cleese, looking for a promotion
Hopefully Cleese will be able to carry the load in the future- but it can't help him that we've got such high expectations for subtle wit...
-soup (GNUrd, Speaker to Machines) "Laugh at yourself- Why should everyone else have all the fun?" -Romanchek's 6th Ru
Well, admittedly no one can truely replace Desmond as Q, but John Cleese will make a wonderful successor. He has the wit, and the sarcasm to deal with the childish antics of 007. Oh well, Desmond is up in heaven right now...I can almost hear him saying "Now pay attention God. this here is standard mark 4 universe complete with the usuall refinements. Stars, planets, pulsars...DON'T TOUCH THAT! That's a black hole creator"
-- Wiccan Army, 13th Airborne Division "We will not fly silently into the night"
well hopefully it's up for a name change because "Escape 2000" has been used at least twice before, notably as one of the funnier MST3K Mike episodes......and starring Henry Silva!
you are ordered to LEAVE THE BRONX!!
So, as the others have remarked, chill!
-- open source? sounds like the real book --
The films which have been done by United Artists (now MGM/UA) are considered the "Real" Bond series.
Please don't use "real" where "official" would be better.
The other Bond films have a character called James Bond and are substantially based on works by Ian Fleming, so they're as "real" as any other 007 movie. They just aren't part of the EON "official" continuity (such as it is).
----
lake effect weblog
{Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
Both howardpj and scudsucker are incorrect.
M was played consistantly by Bernard Lee from Dr. No through Moonraker (11 times); when Lee died in 1981, they filled in once (For Your Eyes Only) with a Minister of Defense (Geoffrey Keen), not an "M", then Robert Brown played M in Octopussy, View to a Kill, and Dalton's two (Living Daylights, License to Kill). Dame Judi Dench came aboard along with Brosnan (so she's been M less times than any one else who has been M, though she's been given more to do with the role than the others put together).
And Lois Maxwell, not Dench, was Moneypenny through all the Connery's and Moore's (and the Lazenby); Caroline Bliss was in Dalton's two, and Samantha Bond has been in Brosnan's three.
When in doubt, check with imdb. I did.
Mashed potatoes can be your friends!
Somebody on alt.fan.james-bond said it best:
God had a mission and needed his help.
We'll miss you, Des. Without you, how will 007 ever grow up?
----
lake effect weblog
{Network engineer in Chicago--looking for work!}
I actually consider Q a better job than 00? agent.
Less violence. More technology. More luxurious deadlines. shorter commute. More comfortable cloths.
The only downside is that you need to recreate female company while _foo_ duty ( as opposed to when Bond dose it ).
Did I mention that I want to be 'Q' ? I have a thing for the technical genius in the background. Scotty or Laforge on Star Track and Forge in the X Men. You didn't think my name was original now ?
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
Am I a bad omen? I JUST saw The world is not enough yesterday afternoon. I loved Desmond and all, but this is just too freaky!
"...and postin me too like some brain at AOL-er" -- Wierd Al
sorry... i mean his role as Q IN james bond
I caught an interview of him a couple years ago, and the funny thing that sticks out in my mind he said was something about how he actually didn't know a damn thing about gadgets, and hadn't ever really had that crazy an interest. He went on to say how he had no idea how most electronics worked, and I think thats why he liked to play the part.
Now that's cool.
commando...
comm...
WHAT A STUD!!! at least he went out in style!
I did NOT mean for "go out with a bang" to be a pun at all... It didn't even register that it could be interpreted that way, but now that I see it, I apologize. I meant that he wanted to end his life with some control, not just slowly dwindling in both popularity and will to live.
I was hoping that when he finally went, it would be peacefully in his sleep at 110. That he went in a car accident just makes this all the more sad. Q would have had an escape hatch or an ejection seat, y'know? Or he would have been faking his death in order for Bond to find out who was trying to kill him while the assasin had his guard down. . .but of course, reality isn't like that. We'll miss you, Mr. Llewelyn. You were easily full half of what made the Bond films worth watching.
The two James Bond films which aren't part of that series are Casino Royale (1967, Quite a number of people playing 007) and Never Say Never Again (1983, Sean Connery as 007).
Q appeared in all of the "real" series movies, except Doctor No (1962, Sean Connery as 007) and Live and Let Die (1973, Roger Moore as 007). He first appeared in From Russia with Love (1963, Sean Connery as 007).
Probably my favorite Q device was "Little Nellie", the tiny killer gyrocopter 007 flies in You Only Live Twice.
I mourn his passing greatly, and I extend sympathy to his family, friends and fans everywhere.
%SYSTEM-W-ABORT, abort
In ``Live and Let Die,'' they were trying to play down the gadgets, so they bumped him. They called him within days of the release for the next one since so many people complained. :)
-Chris
Very sorry to see Q go....he was a gem in the Bond flicks, and many condolences to the family. But, anyone else wonder who was at fault in the crash? I've almost been taken out by an inordinate amount of "grey hairs" that should have been restricted to driving wheelchairs and instead of 3 ton vehicles (regardless of the gadget expertise). Just curious as to what the accident report concluded...
Chaeron Corporation
that they should have brough John De Lance in as his successor...
The roads are pretty dangerous in the U.K. at the moment. Apparently the South is having the worst of it at the moment. Either you have snow or ice or even worse, snow melting and refreezing at -X degrees but X is unknown because it depends on how much ice your particlar piece of road has had lately. Basically the roads are dangerous because they are unpredictable at the moment. If my grandfather were still alive (R.I.P.) I would have personally driven out to the front of his drive to prevent him from venturing out on to the roads. It seems that, sadly, Q's lack of technical / scientific knowledge in real life could have contributed to his end. R.I.P.
Do you find it the slightest bit amusing that the old Bond and Trek technology is so funny now? Already?
Did you notice that Trek communicators suck compared to a Nokia cell phone?
Did you notice that in the original Trek, they had to swap those stupid disk things more than a Classic Mac with no hard drive?
Isn't it amusing that my Palm computer is smaller than the Trek PADD?
. . . Goodbye, Q. You will be missed greatly.
It'll be interesting how the Bond series handles this. Desmond had previously stated that he wanted to do the part until he died, and had supposedly made remarks that if he died on-stage that it was to be used as footage if possible.
So will it just be that Q retires, or that something happens to him in the next film? Only time, and his family, will tell I guess.
It is of course possible that they filmed an ending scene for him already. Then of course there is all the technical trickery that can be done with computers and existing footage (some of which would probably be from the cutting room floor).
Of course, no one will ever truely replace Q, but it will be a sought after role for many actors. So who should be the next Q? Slashdot poll anyone?
Whatever happens, I think there should be some sort of dedication to him at the start of the next film, such as In the memory of Desmond Llewelyn, may he rest in peace.
let me guess. The reason he crashed is because he lost control becuase of extencive damage done to the vehicle. He should have known by now he should never drive the car after 007 has driven it!
A sad day. The underappreciated passes on, and will be sorely missed.
Kudos to the man, and his memory.
His name is actually Major Boothroyd. "Q" is the name of the branch of HMSS (Her Majesty's Secret Service) that makes the gadgets and such and not actually a person. At least in the books. I guess in the movies with a character called "M" they decided to have one called "Q" as well. In the newer books they have a woman nicknamed "Q-ute" who is head of Q Branch.
"DNA is God's contribution to the Open Source movement"
Anyone else struck by the /. post right above the death of "Q" announcement? Just the kind of thing he would have come up with. (I can hear him now--"It's a sub-dermal implant that tracks your location via Global Positioning satellites. Do try not to break it.") *m*
It's a shame, i was really hoping that he would be back, at least in a cameo, for the next bond movie. Q was always one of the constants in the bond movies, even when they weren't so great(George Lazenby!). You could always count of Q for his pantented "Oh grow up 007!". Well, the bond movies surely will be lacking from now on, but his contribution is greatly appreciated. We will miss him
No.. but if you run backwards certain key explosions.. you hear "Q is dead".
hearing the audience gasp with awestruck envy when he reached up with one hand -- to activate his DIGITAL WATCH
A similar incident I remember was in Batman where the batmobile is shown to have a *gasp* CD PLAYER!
Actually, my perception was that she was always trying to get him in bed, and he was always politely snubbing her. That was the whole dynamics of their on-screen relations: He may have been a player, but he was too smart to sleep with his own secretary--that would have ruined their professional relationship. At least, I thought that was the subtext. I thought theirs was the most interesting Bond relationship to watch: Every movie, you wondered if they would finally end up in the sack. Every movie, they didn't. But, just like Money herself, you kept on hoping. ;)
And now for a bit of a rant...
I don't think it's appropriate for you to dictate what should be the "morals" of "young girls", especially when you complain that (as Q) "you need to recreate female company while _foo_ duty" (sic) in your post below. When will the sexual double standard ever die? In America it's breathing its last, but perhaps in Jamaica it remains entrenched. It's interesting in this light that you refer to grown women as "girls", as that is the most patronizingly sexist term you could choose.
Wake up. They're women, not girls. They are full adults in their own right, and they're competent to make their own decisions, about sexuality as about everything else. They don't need the likes of you showing them "role model[s] from a moral perspective," trying to keep them chaste while you "recreate female company" wherever you like.
They can think for themselves. And they will. I hope they choose to give you the cold shoulder until you grow up in your attitudes,
He had the greatest geek job that there ever could be. All the funding he needed. No one looking over his shoulder because it was all in secret. I still remember the first time I saw a Bond movie as a little kid and when Q showed bond some contraption like a watch that shot poison darts that he made I just smiled and said "How cool is that guys job". :-) Godspeed Q
This is *really* sad. Just today, in our local mall, I noticed that he was signing books tonight, so I guess that Mr. Llewellyn must have been on his way back from the signing when he crashed the car. I was going to go to the event, but ended up seeing the new Arnie flick with some friends instead. Now I know what I *should* have done. He'll be missed, that's for sure. :(
Chris.
Austin Martin, BMW, etc. Never, EVER french cars. Now we understand why. I think it's pretty odd.
Looking for a great online backup: Green Backup
> You've helped make Slashdot a place for obituaries.
Well, If the person who died was of interest or relevance to Geeks and Nerds, why not? I doubt there would be an arguement to the Slashdot gang posting RMS's, ESR's, or Knuth's obit. if they happened to kick the bucket. I think the same should apply to Desmond Llewelyn, or DeForest Kelly.
>If this IS news for nerds (by some twisted definition)
While neither of them directly contributed to computing or the Open Source movement, they both had an impact on every Geek I know, and most that I don't know. I think the fact that 72 people sent this in before it was posted shows this. Hell, I'd go so far as to say Q has had as much of an influence on me being a Geek as Lego and computers. Just because this particular posting isn't interesting to *you*, it dosen't mean that it's irrelevant to *lots* of other people.
"News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters." is not restricted to "News on Open Source. Stuff about Computers."
Mike
He was a great scientist, like Mr. Wizard ... filling a similar niche anyway.
But when I first heard of it, I was expecting "long bout with cancer" or some such.
A head-on collision is such bondian way to go.
Personally, I always said Q was the best part in all the Bond movies. I always opened my eyes a little wider during the scenes taking place in his little "dungeon of devices"... Always loved watching is nifty gadgets. "Q" actually used to be my nick on IRC, but I had to change it, for various reasons... Just today, while playing Q3 Arena, I decided to change my name to "Q", just for the heck of it (first time I'd ever used that nick). Within minutes, I heard on the news that the man had died... We'll miss you, Q.
The streets shall flow with the blood of the Guberminky.
As above, the best bit in every Bond film was Q showing 007 the gadgets - "TRY to pay attention, 007!"
The second best bit was us having to wait an age for him to use them one by one.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
When I saw the headline I assumed he had died of a heart attack or some other natural cause. Well, I guess no one can say he died too young! He certainly left his mark on the world, and will be missed.
Not underappreciated by me, and I suspect a lot of of ther people also loved him. Scenes with him were what I look foreward to in Bond films (ok, him and the barely dressed chick scenes.)
He was always the great constant in the Bond movies. It was a loss when he decided to retire and now this is an even greater loss. I always looked forward to his part in the movies, with the gadgets that he so lovingly introduced. He saw the gadgets as his babies and Bond just saw them as tools.
I think Cleese is to comic to replace him. Bond movies were always tongue in cheek, Cleese is in your face comedy.
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
why does stuff like this have to happen :(
its a little bit ironic what happened !
Of course... Q worked in geek heaven. Any one of us would love to have access to his lab.
I personally see absolutely no reason why this story should NOT be posted. Q was one of the most famous geek/gadget guys in history. It matters not whether he was a ficticious character, he was loved by many people for many years. I'm sure he was a driving force and inspiration to alot of geeks and inventors. Football is ok if thats what you like, but it is a really stupid comparison to try to make here. I for one could care less about it, of course since I am female that may have something to do with that too, but it still has no place here and certainly less to do with the subject matter at hand. I was certainly sad when the news woke me up on the radio yesterday morning, especially since my husband had bought Tommorow Never Dies the night before for us to watch. I always thought the Q scenes were one of the high points in every Bond movie. If you don't like stories like this then I invite you to learn how to use /. a bit better and make them dissapear from your sight. You have no business dictating what should and should not be on here if your view is true to your posting, because you really don't have a clue. Hell, most of the geeks I know don't even know what /. is, much less any mainstream folk. Most normal folk I know, if pointed here, would take one look, scratch there head and go "What the heck is this?", and move on.
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?
A kind soul emailed me with The Rest Of The Story. The man who I read about was the inspiration for the character Q, a real SAS engineer/operative.
-Chris
It is indeed very sad that Desmond is no more. I really loved watching Q and 007 together just before 007 goes out for his next assignment and Q gets to parade his latest inventions to the audience. He will be sorely missed.
Prasanna.
Does anyone think that perhaps he commited suicide? I don't mean to be insensitive, but it just might be true. His wife has alzheimers, he resigned from (?may have been forced to resign from?) his role as James Bond, and maybe he just wanted go out with a bang.
Your key argument against my argument is the flaw in my comparison between posting the winner of the Superbowl on slashdot and posting news about Q's death:
However, this argument is inherently flawed in its own subjectivity as you blatantly admit. The fact remains that under a strict definition of news for nerds, stuff that matters (say the definition given a year ago), both justifications would be dubious at best. The rest of your post (reread it), basically side steps the issue at hand.
My arugment is that the general idea of what is news for nerds, stuff that matters is expanding. As the definition expands, more is adopted, and the content becomes more superficial. As this occurs, the content then appeals to a larger audience because it is less specialized. Content becomes watered down. CNN, TIME, & BBC all have tech sections, however I prefer ./ for my TECH news because it fits my esoteric niche. The point I'm trying to bring out in my post is the fact taht slashdot is digressing from the esoteric roots it was born in and heading towards a CNN/TIME/BBC like section. Wheter you like to recognize this fact or not is up to you, however ignoring it will not make it go away. I suggest you slowly backtrack the articles posted over the past few months. You'll notice the trend quite quickly.
Guys, please remove this comment. It's a vulgar excuse for a comment on the death of a great man. :(
Chris.
I was looking at the filmograhpy that someone linked to above, and in one of his movies (From Russia with Love i think), he is listed as Q (Major Boothroyd). I've never heard this name - maybe it was mentioned once then dropped. Anyway, a little trivia for you...
Personally, I don't think he will ever be replaced - I respect Cleese's work, and think he is a piss-funny comedian, but that's just not what Q was.
"Oh, grow UP, 007!"
That's what happens when you drive on the wrong side of the road.
(just kidding...take it easy on me moderators)
Hates people who have stupid little sigs
Yeah, fine, I guess it would be censorship. But given that the guy didn't write it himself, and therefore probably didn't empathise with what's being said, I think it can be removed. The dead shouldn't be insulted - Mr. Llewellyn was, I'm sure, a great man, and doesn't deserve to be ridiculed by a computer-generated insult.
Chris.
Don't you think the fact that at least 70 people took the time to submit the story makes it relevant news?
If that many people were interested, I certainly think that qualifies it as news for nerds.
Desmond, I'm going to miss you. You always lit up my day (or evening) with your quick wit and brilliant gadgets. John Cleese? Good luck, you have big shoes to fill.
If you cut a nerd...does he not bleed?
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
I watched alot of spy films as a kid. James Bond never stuck in my mind back then. Only Q and Derek Flint seemed to do that. I enjoyed the creative use of technology and the glee that he enjoyed showing off all of his cool toys. (And his displeasure when they were not taken care of or mishandled.) One of the people who made me want to get into lasers and computers at an early age. (About 9-10. And that was the early 70s!)
Probably only the second death of a public figure to affect me emotionally. (The other was William Gaines, the publisher of Mad magazine.)
It shows you just how well he did when he had as big a following as the lead character.
He will be missed.
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
This isn't news for nerds... it's 'stuff that matters'.
Go figure.
I don't mean to sound insensitive, but him dieing really doesn't suprise me too much. Everytime I watch a bond movie I wounder how much longer that man has to live. He had a good full life though, and it's too bad he's gone now.
It's kind of funny, though, that there where three or four bonds (I cant remembert he exact number) who obviously had the main role, compared to this one man who played the same small role through out all the films. It's kind of weird that it's not the other way around.
-D0n'+ h$+3 M3 b3C0u5e 1'M 4 1337 Hax0R!-
First of all, I know this is about as off-topic as they come, but hey, karma may be sacrificied to get Slashdot the help it needs.
Now, I'm writing this as around 60 comments have been posted... of which nearly a fifth have been complete troll trash... and all apart from one of them has been an anonymous coward post.
I like to read at -1 or 0 because then I can read the unmoderated comments that may not be abusive, but not good enough to be top rated.
However, it gets to me the amount of sheer abuse and crap there is in this story.
Sod the whole anonymous coward concept - make them register and then if they're abuse, report the ip and time/date to their isp... who have probably got stringent rules about such behaviour.
Shame... 'Q' was my fave from the Bond films.
those cars he suped up for 007 were real instead of Hollywood mirages. Then maybe he could've turbo-boosted his way out... or at least ejected in time.
*sigh* life is unfair and he will be sincerly missed.
Of course he matters to us. 'Q' is the geak of the Bond mythology. Monepeny is the "pretty but prudish" secretary ( a nice enough role model from a moral perspective, for young girls ) and Bond himself is a civilized "Conan". ( think about that last one. It'll come to you :).
Q will be surely missed. I will be wearing a black arm band to see "The world is not enough" in memory of him. If anyone else cares to pay his/her respects in this way go right ahead.
The whole Bond thing is woven into Jamaican culture since Ian Fleming lived here when he wrote the early stories. At least 2 of the movies were set here ( in part ). "James Bond" ( the name ) was the author of a book on Caribbean birds. Mr. Fleming stole his name because "It was the most boring name I could find". He was more than a little surprised when at the opening of one of the 1st 007 flicks Mr. Bond walked up to him and introduced himself just like the goy in the movie. Except with ID to prove it.
Q. Of course was a key character in all of this. Without him, there would be no way to know before hand what kind of arsenal 007 carried and that would just make his antics seam a little lame.
--= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
As others have said, Llewelyn was the constant in the series; everyone else has changed. I think the current M actress has had the part longer than any other, one Money Penny actress had a long run at it but there have been 3 different ones in the last four movies, and everbody knows how many different Bond actors we've had. Hell, Bond's friend in the CIA, Feilix Lighter (sp) even managed to change races between movies.
:-)
How fortunate (for the Bond fans anyway) that they set up Q's succession in The World Is Not Enough. Cleese is a good choice, not only because he's a good actor but because he wont try to be like Llewelyn's Q. He'll be geeky and techy, but it looks like he has a low opinion of Bond and I look forward to watching them quibble in furture movies.
I hope Cleese will be able to stay on as long as Llewelyn did, and I also hope the other actors (like the one that plays M) stick around for a long time. I think it adds a lot to a running series if you keep the same people or objects around, like Llewelyn as Q or the Tardis in Dr. Who. Now they just need to find some Sophia Loren type chick (one that still looks great in her 60's) at the age of 18 to play Money Penny.
Goodbye Desmond, thanks for helping to make Bond into what he his today. You will be missed as one of the great geek heroes of this century.
Showing my age just a bit, I remember seeing a "Roger Moore" Bond movie at the theater and hearing the audience gasp with awestruck envy when he reached up with one hand --
to activate his DIGITAL WATCH (ooooh-ahhh!!!). Pretty funny now, of course. They were like over a thousand dollars when they first came out. Now you can probably get them in cereal boxes.
Not only did Q have the ultimate job, but he was a constant. Be it Brosnan, Connery, or Moore (argh...Moonraker!...twitch...scream...) playing Bond, there was always Q. Good old Q. Good old "You must be kidding about the third nipple, Bond" Q.
If you can't be a 00agent, Q is the next best job. Fake fingerprints, exploding pens, third nipples, grappling hook watches, laser rifles, explosive bolas....that's the life.
Well, Q, you've given us words to live by.
"Don't let them see you bleed.
Always have an escape route."
You won't be forgotten. As long as ballpoint pens sprout needles, speedboats navigate the streets of London, and wrist dart launchers blow out centrafuges, we'll remember you.
===
-Ravagin
Karma: T-rexcellent.
Although I'm indifferent, I do think there is some validity in the original posters argument. If 70 friends of mine and I get together and submit stories about who won the Superbowl, it doesn't mean /. should post it as news. I mean look at the physics involved in football, projectile motion, action/reaction forces, etc., etc. etc. The point the original commentor was making was the fact that as /.'s audience grows, its loosening its standards -- its integrity -- and coming up with extremely weak justifications (the mere fact that he attempted to justify is proof in itself of the merit of the story) for posting stories which really don't belong. Why you say is this happening? Why everything happens in our society? Money. Of course you can only prostitute yourself for so long. Prostitutes do loose their looks after a while, and no one wants to be with an ugly and old prostitute. As /. heads more towards the mainstream, its original audience -- the people who told their friends and reload 100 times a day -- are going to leave. Once there exodus is complete don't be surprised when slashdot looks more like zdnet.com than a geek/nerd/unix oriented site.. Of course at this point, they will just be another whore on the street, and eventually will be lost in the crowd... Going with the general ideas in my post and the fact that people don't like the truth, I expect this comment to be moderated into oblivion quite quickly. Moderators, don't let me down!
As a member of the Slashdot community, I would like to take the time to offer my condolences to Desmond Llewelyn's family. I and many others in the Slashdot community are fans of his work, and he has also earned our respect for his longevity in Bond movies. Actors for the role of James Bond come and go, but Desmond as 'Q' has been with us almost forever. It is tragic that he has been taken from us in the prime of his life (he would have insisted on that, I'm sure). He will be sadly missed by all who have grown to love his role as 'Q' in James Bond movies, as well as his other acting roles.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke
Well, I don't know about anyone else here, but the way I see it is that any joke about a person's death is disrespectful.
Truth be told, it doesn't seem like it was that challenging a role and dozens of actors could have played it, no doubt, but Llewelyn would be among the top of them. I liked the way he played it, straight, rather than the typical wild-eyed or absent-minded professor like whoosie from Back to the Future. It was also nice to see technology presented as "it works and it's cool", unlike the numerous reminds-me-of-Jon-Katz portrayals of advanced technology where mankind always has to pay a price for hubris... though, the robot shooting demonstration gone awry in Robocop was pretty funny.
My favorite Q technologies were always the cars, rather than the pen-is-weapon sort of things. Oh, to have cars like those for my morning commute...
This is not true. See this article for further information.
85 in a head on car crash. Looks like he didn't stop living 'til his heart stopped.
Evidently Desmond Llywellen finished the movie "Escape 2000" shortly before his death. Evidently _HE_ gets to save the world in this one!
Hopefully it will make it to this part of the world.
"Trademarks are the heraldry of the new feudalism."
Barbra Bach's character calls Q Major Boothroyd in "The Spy Who Loved Me".
This sig left unintentionally blank.
If you have 70 friends, then what are you doing on Slashdot?
:b
Maybe we should have a requirement that people get a certain score on the nerd test in order to post.
Any one of us would love to have access to his lab.
Better yet, access to the products of his lab!
Insert mind here.
A sad day for mankind, even when he was being harsh and nasty to bond, he even said "come back in one peice 007". I guess he will always be remembered as a geek simply cuz he tinkered and gave bond all his toys...
So i think i must have been somewhat approprate for him to retire...no only from being Q but retiring "Q" all together, making john cleese be "R".
He will be loved and mourned by geeks alike, i know i was sad in "the World is Not Enough" to hear he retired...
JediLuke
JediLuke
-Do or Do Not, There is no Try
Can anyone guess where this catch phrase came from? If you do, read it thoroughly. Unless the Slashdot crew is the US Congress and they pass a censorship law, they can censor all they want with no retribution. :)
This Anonymous Comment is brilliant, funny and smile-provoking. Please moderate this guy up.
I can remember seeing my first Bond flick in a theatre (Octopussy I belive, so this will date me pretty well.) I remember what an impression Q made on me during that film. I mean Bond can go out and risk his life and all that, but Q had the best job. Make cool gadgets, and being during the cold war, you can be sure he didn't have to worry about budgetary constraints. Add to this his disdain for Bond who invariably loses or breaks his cool gadgets and you can see the parallels with the hard working coders who must eventually release their much slaved over code and give it to ungrateful users who will then break it....
Hell, he even helps have the day in that movie and is swarmed over by a bunch of numble young circus performers....
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
He left behind a really good character which will stands forever in geek's minds.
hate to tell you this but for some people to cope they have to luagh, the human pysche is all f'ed up with stuff like that.
wow, i cant belive he's dead. he's been with the James Bond Movies since the start. He will be missed. So is John Cleese gonna take his place from now on?
If you can't laugh about something as commonplace and inevitable as death, then all hope is lost.
Laughing help to decompress. We all need at a certain point to decompress, to calm down. There are other way like jogging, punchingballing or shouting at animals (GRR) but laughing is always easy (you don't need to be prepared) and nearly always possible.
I find utterly interesting that it's in the mentally strengest works that we encounter the most jovial people. Doctors, nurses, social workers can laugh of situations they live (that are not so fun, you know). If they wouldn't, they would rapidly collapse under the weight of all the miseries they encounter dayly.
Did you ever come accross web sites of doctor or nurse ? Many have a joke section...
I think it's important to joke about quite any subject. Just pay attention to the addressed people and always think twice (or preferably more than that) before saying something ugly or tasteless.
In the film, he was the creator of the geekiest geek-toys ever. He was great as his role, and no one can fully replace him. He will surely be missed.
...But I was absolutely certain that I had read an obituary and/or article about the death of Desmond Llewelyn (complete with his amazing military history) shortly before Tomorrow Never Dies was released. I was surprised when it came out and there was no "in memory of..." for him. Then I saw a trailer for TWINE and he was in it. I figured, "gee, either some newspaper severely fucked up, or he's CG."
The fact that he actally DOES die after TWINE is released and in the movie he "retires" seems odd. Very odd.
Did anyone else see the obituary/article two years ago? Where was it? I seem to recall it being an NYT thing.
-Chris
Let me die a youngman's death
not a clean & in between
the sheets holy water death
not a famous-last-words
peaceful out of breath death
When I'm 73
& in constant good tumour
may I be mown down at dawn
by a bright red sports car
on my way home
from an all night party
Or when I'm 91
with silver hair
& sitting in a barber's chair
may rival gangsters
with ham fisted tommy guns burst in
& give me a short back and insides
Or when I'm 104
& banned from the Cavern
may my mistress
catch me in bed with her daughter
& fearing for her son
cut me up into little pieces
& throw away every piece but one
Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candle wax and waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
what a nice way to go death
(Roger McGough)
--
Xenu loves you!
I was lucky enough to meet the great man in Southampton last week, and despite his age he was remarkably sharp, and judging by the response of the people he was with, incredibly witty. He had great presence...
The bond films will never be the same without him, and it is of tribute to the man that his work will be remembered fondly for years to come...
"Now do pay attention Mr Bond..."
-- Ego is nothing without Arrogance to back it up! --
I know about Dr. No. And I thought the second one was "Never say Never Again", which isn't really a Bond movie. Not by any purist standards, anyway...
Is that right? Or have I missed one?
-- Ever notice that fast-burning fuse looks exactly the same as slow-burning fuse? I didn't... (Edgar Montrose)
If he WERE still alive, and could make a brief appearance in the next Bond film, well... is that really a cameo? I mean he WAS in practically each film, including "The World is Not Enough". That's pretty much just reprising your role YET AGAIN. I could understand if he maybe would have left for a couple of films, then had a bit-part...
Not to downplay his tragic death or anything. He really did have an excellent presence; his absence shall be felt.
Afro Ryan
Lots of good info/trivia about the actor and the Q character, both in the books, and Boothroyd in real lifecan be found on these pages at Mr Showbiz (go.com) and especially Universal Exports(???). That latter site has a buncha Bond info.