WHO SHOT JAMES BOND

Celebrate Spy Vibe's birthday by entering to win cool vintage collectibles. See the main contest page for details. Entries must be in by February 3rd.

Author and spy scholar Dr Wesley Britton has posted a look at the many directors who have brought the James Bond films to the big screen. "By all accounts, it was Young who took a rather rough-hewn Scot under his wing and molded the ex-boxer in Young's own sophisticated image. It was Young who showed Connery how to dine in fine cuisine settings, helped him pick tailor-made suits, and how to make 007 a more elegant figure than Ian Fleming had crafted in the original novels. As a result, Dr. No (1962) introduced a template that would grow and evolve, at least for a few years." More at From Terence Young to Sam Mendes: The Many Faces Who Shot James Bond. 

BATMAN ANNIVERSARY

The Batman TV series (1966-1968) was launched 45 years ago this week. Although our context and image of the character has changed over the years with input from Frank Miller, Tim Burton, Christopher Nolan, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and others, we can't deny the incredible impact that the Adam West incarnation had on 1960s pop culture. The visual and narrative styles of competing shows had to punch things up if they were going to stay on the air. The transition of Lost in Space from black and white to color was a prime example. Batman was a true cultural phenomenon, and it's colorful focus on design, gadgets, and fun conventions fit well within the era's fascination with mystery/adventure stories. Images from the Adam West website here, where you can also order signed collectibles by Batman himself.

From fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer, Wes Britton: "Celebrating the 45^th anniversary of the premiere of ABC’s Batman (Jan. 12, 1966), next week’s Dave White Presents will be a Batman extravaganza! We’ll have two trivia-packed interviews for you including Jim Beard, editor of the brand-new GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES and legendary DC Batman writer Chuck Dixon talking about the 1966 pop phenomena, the movies, and, of course, the comic book that started it all! The 90 minutes of capes, cowls, and fun will debut on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over at KSAV. On Wednesday, Jan. 19, the program will be archived for download access anytime you like at Audio Entertainment."


Baby, you can drive my... Batmobile! Spy Vibe creator, Jason Whiton, remembers his first gadget-love:

As a Spy Viber growing up watching the Adam West Batman TV show, I was drawn to his arsenal of Bond-like gadgets. The anti-shark Bat spray notwithstanding, the show had slick gear that rivaled the space-age designs of its competitors. Batman's secret lair was filled with modern computers and technology (what, no rotating bed on prime-time?). But the coolest gizmo by far was the Batmobile! The call to adventure each week meant exciting sequences of firing up the engines and launching the rocket-powered auto from a secret exit in the Batcave. The design was sleek, long with black fins, and a bubble windscreen that reminded me of the window of a WWII-era fighter plane. The parents of my childhood pal, Alec, had a Cadillac in their garage- complete with fins! We spent many afternoons, sitting in the parked car, racing after baddies. I don't remember if we ever decided who was Batman and who was Robin. Maybe we both imaged ourselves in the dark cowl. Well, for Spy Vibers with a childhood dream of really driving the Batmobile, your day has arrived! As Wired reported recently, the folks at Fiberglass Freaks are now offering a complete working replica of the 1966 Batmobile. Despite its "holy price tag, Batman" cost, I'm sure retro gadget fans will be thrilled to see what these beauties look like. Now, if they would only offer a fully loaded Goldfinger Aston Martin DBV. Spy Vibers, what gadget or vehicle would you want in your garage?

RAYMOND BENSON TONIGHT

Fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer Wes Britton will be hosting a night of James Bond excitement on tonight's edition of Dave White Presents. Bond novelist Raymond Benson will share insights behind his 007 books and short stories, especially those re-published in this year’s anthology, CHOICE OF WEAPONS. Then, editor Rob Weiner will discuss this summer’s new essay collection, JAMES BOND IN WORLD AND POPULAR CULTURE: THE FILMS ARE NOT ENOUGH. The 90 minute online radio program will premiere this special broadcast on Tues. Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over at KSAV. On Wed. Oct. 27, this edition of Dave white Presents will become available for 24/7 download access here. For a list of our past James Bond features- including interviews with George Lazenby and Vic Flick- check out the “James Bond Files” at Spy Wise.

007 fans may also be interested to read Raymond Benson's article in the current issue of The Writer (available at Borders and Barnes & Noble), where he talks about his process of writing a spy thriller.

JAMES BOND WEEK AT DAVE WHITE PRESENTS

Fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer Wes Britton will be hosting a night of James Bond excitement on this Tuesday's edition of Dave White Presents. “A Double Shot of 007” will be the theme of the next Dave White Presents- with MAGNUM P.I. as a chaser! On Tues. Oct 26, Bond novelist Raymond Benson will share insights behind his 007 books and short stories, especially those re-published in this year’s anthology, CHOICE OF WEAPONS. Then, editor Rob Weiner will discuss this summer’s new essay collection, JAMES BOND IN WORLD AND POPULAR CULTURE: THE FILMS ARE NOT ENOUGH. Rounding out the action-adventure theme, actor Larry Manetti recalls his years as playboy club manager Rick Write on television’s MAGNUM P.I.!


The 90 minute online radio program will premiere this special broadcast on Tues. Oct. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, then 7:30 Pacific over at KSAV. On Wed. Oct. 27, this edition of Dave white Presents will become available for 24/7 download access here. For a list of our past James Bond features- including interviews with George Lazenby and Vic Flick- check out the “James Bond Files” at Spy Wise.

007 fans may also be interested to read Raymond Benson's article in the current issue of The Writer (available at Borders and Barnes & Noble), where he talks about his process of writing a spy thriller. Happy 007 week, and thank you to Wes Britton and Raymond Benson for keeping us Spy Vibers informed and inspired. Looking for more Raymond Benson? Check out his film reviews and cinema time-line pics in Cinema Retro Magazine. -Jace

WES BRITTON REVIEWS NEW 007 BOOK

A new scholarly anthology of essays, James Bond: The Films Are Not Enough, is due for release this month and promises to be an invaluable resource in Pop Culture and Jame Bond Studies. Fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. member, Dr. Wesley Britton, has posted a must-read review over at the Commander Bond Network. To give Spy Vibers a taste of the book and Britton's review: "The anthology is organized into six sections. “Part I: Experiencing the World of Bond” doesn’t deal with Bond essentials, but rather posters, dances in the title sequences, architecture, designer clothes, and two overviews of Bond video games. Part Two (which includes this reviewer’s own essay) covers Bond music from four perspectives. Then, seven essays look at gender, feminism, and the Bond girls. (Note: Why is it Judi Dench as M is frequently worth discussion as a significant female authority figure but never Lotte Lenya as Col. Klebb or Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt?)....Because of the range of the contributions, it’s difficult to see how it won’t be considered indispensable reading from 2010 on. No library shelf on Bond, or film or espionage studies for that matter, will be complete without it." And that's just scratching the surface! You can read the entire review at the Commander Bond Network here. The book is available on Amazon here, and directly from Cambridge Scholars Publishing here.

MOBILE BRITTON

The Encyclopedia of TV Spies by Dr. Wesley Britton is a valuable resource and the perfect go-to reference guide to find out about virtually every spy series that has ever aired. Britton carefully compiled behind-the-scenes info for each entry, along with vital stats like synopsis, production dates, and cast/crew credits. Spy Vibers who like to have intel at their fingertips will be psyched to learn that the good doctor's encyclopedia is now a mobile resource in a new Kindle edition. Available through Amazon for $9.95, Spy Vibers can now carry a full database of TV Spies in any Kindle-enabled electronic device. OK, that's just cool! Congrats to fellow C.O.B.R.A.S. writer, Wesley Britton, on the release of this new edition!

If you have not explored Britton's work, pick up these other essentials: Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film and Spy Television. Scholarly and fun, Britton's books are available in both print and Kindle editions, and are must-reads for all Spy Vibers.

SPY VIBE: YEAR ONE

SPY VIBE: YEAR ONE

Spy Vibe turns One today! How did it all start? After a number of movie and comic scripts, and a non-fiction book about cartoon art, I was adapting a movie guide book I wrote into a new blog project. It would be a place to discuss how films go together like elements of a fine feast. A little Fellini here, an echo of Woody Allen there- discussions of the great auteurs and genres in cinema history. But then I heard about the passing of actor Patrick McGoohan. I began to reflect on The Prisoner and the other spy-related artifacts from the 1960s that were so much a part of my background. Before I discovered Fellini, Bergman, Kurosawa, etc, my imagination was ignited by images of secret agents in tight suits, the sleek lines of the Jaguar XK-E, and Jazzy-Lounge music of 007, Man From U.N.C.L.E. and The Avengers. I remembered the spy-fascination of my childhood: making silencers for cap guns out of painted rolls of paper, making cassette recordings from the TV so I could re-experience stories as radio dramas, and collecting spy memorabilia. An avid James Bond fan, I joined the fanclub and savored issues of the club magazine, Bondage. And I waited patiently each year to catch a broadcast of my fave film of the era, The 10th Victim by Elio Petri. As an adult, I loved to look deeper into these old adventures and relish the cultural significance of their production design, costumes, and stories. The influence of the space race, the sexual revolution, and the baby boom was, and remains, thrilling to explore. Although the movie guide book was a solid project, I could not escape the lure of Swingin' 60s Spy Satisfaction. I began the Spy Vibe blog and website on January 11, 2009 with a tribute to Patrick McGoohan.

Spy Vibe's mission has been to celebrate "1960s Style Meets Action." And what a fun first year! We saw most of the James Bond films and The Prisoner released on Blu-ray. I had a chance to talk with Richard "Jaws" Kiel, David "Felix Leiter" Hedison, and we interviewed artists Richard Sala, Matt Kindt, and Kevin Dart. An amazing community of fellow spy writers found each other and formed a coalition we dubbed The C.O.B.R.A.S., and we've reached out to a larger community that includes artist/historian Steve Bissette and Cinema Retro's Lee Pfeiffer. Spy Vibe readers have come together to discuss agents, fashion, modern design, and childhood heroes. We've celebrated exhibits by Richard Avedon, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Alexander Calder. And readers have brought attention to some incredible classics that had been off our radar. Some highlight discoveries for me: the Shaw Brothers spy films, C.O.B.R.A.S. agent Wesley Brittons' books, Design Within Reach, and the German TV show Raumpatrouille Orion (Modern dance will never look the same again!). Whether it's been a daily check-in with a classic video clip or a full article about aesthetics and 1960s culture, the year has been its own thrilling mission to begin this community place called Spy Vibe.

We've also enjoyed a number of prize competitions. In fact, what's a birthday without presents? As a thank you to all Spy Vibe readers, I've got some Gold Key and 007 comic re-print collections (and more) coming up! Stay tuned for the Spy Vibe: Year One Give-Away!

WESLEY BRITTON: OUR MAN IN PENNSYLVANIA

GUEST SET LISTS
Spy Vibe continues its series on Spy TV/film production design and the influence of Art and design movements, Playboy, Hugh Hefner, adventure story conventions, and the Space Race.

Guest Set Lists: Lee Pfeiffer, Jeremy Duns, Armstrong Sabian, Steve Bissette, Roger Langley, Matthew Bradford, Wesley Britton, David Foster, Matt Kindt.

Spy Vibe's Set For Adventure here, Set Countdown #10, #9, #8 ,#7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1.

WESLEY BRITTON: OUR MAN IN PENNSYLVANIA

agent WESLEY (that's Dr. Agent) is a professor and widely published author of many books about the history and cultural context of espionage fiction in literature, film, and television, including The Encyclopedia of TV Spies, Beyond Bond: Spies in Fiction and Film, and Spy Television. Wesley also served as a media consultant to the International Spy Museum in Washington DC. More information, interviews, and resources can be found on Spywise and The Spy Report. Click images for larger view.


When Jason asked me to pick my favorite spy sets from times past, I had to sit back and ponder. It wouldn’t be much fun to repeat the obvious—that Ken Adams James Bond work was the most creative and innovative in the genre. Any “Best of” list would also have to include scenes from the master of set-pieces—the very special settings in virtually every Alfred Hitchcock spy classic. If I were to include the best of the best, I’d be repeating what so many lists have already pointed out before. So, in honor of my new Encyclopedia of TV Spies, I thought I’d stick to television. The first four were easy—the fifth was the tough one.


1. The North Wales town of Portmeirion. First used in 3 episodes of Danger Man, and then for all the exteriors for The Prisoner, no setting became more associated with any spy series. Surrounded by sea and mountains, the geography around the resort helped show Number Six was indeed trapped in the “Village.” All the unusual architectural styles of the buildings allowed for different locations to be shot in both of the classic Patrick Mcgoohan series. No other setting can be visited year after year, even hosting conventions drawing fans to the actual place where a series had been filmed.


2. The New York U.N.C.L.E. HQ. Like the Starship Enterprise, the MFU HQ was virtually a character itself throughout the series. True, not one set by itself but rather a combination of many on the MGM lot, still the flavor of MFU was established in those opening shots of the brownstone exteriors, the walk through Del Floria’s tailor shop, the secret entrance in the changing booth . . . and then we were in what one character described as a “chrome metal madhouse.” Swooshing automatic doors, Mr. Waverly’s revolving table, computers lining the hallways . . . the atmosphere gave depth and style to what U.N.C.L.E. was all about. We saw it behind-the-scenes in “The Mad Mad Tea Party Affair,” “The Birds and Bees Affair” --the baddies from THRUSH were always trying nefarious ways to get inside. Somewhere out there, there are two issues of Files magazine devoted to the technical specs of this building. Deservedly so.


3. The Wanderer.” When The Wild Wild West went into production, CBS became alarmed at the expenses incurred by producer Michael Garrison. In particular, he spent $35000 for the second “Wanderer” set designed for the color seasons. This special train consisted of a coach car with the trademark trick pool table, kitchen, laboratory, and gunroom decorated in green and gold. Guns were hidden in every nook and cranny, and a telegraph machine was hidden to receive messages from the President. A wonderful place to entertain the ladies—I’d love one myself!


4. “The Aurora.” I can hear it now—huh? What’s an “Aurora”? If you don’t know, that means you missed one of the best and most neglected spy series ever conceived. Here’s a bit from my article on it from my Encyclopedia:


The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (Sci Fi Channel) June 18—Dec. 16, 2000 Created by producer Gavin Scott in 1999, Secret Adventures was the first all-digitally produced television series ever made. Scott’s premise was that science fiction writer Jules Verne's classic tales were not created out of whole cloth from the writer's imagination, but were instead inspired by his own wild adventures as a youth, later fictionalized as stories. Set in the 1860s, the young Bohemian writer Jules Verne (Chris Demetral) was drawn into the war against the League of Darkness, an aristocratic organization wishing to retain power for the rich and nobly born by stirring up wars because peace promotes democracy. Verne’s compatriots included the cynical gambler Phileas Fogg (Michael Praed), the son of Sir Boniface Fogg, the deceased creator of the British Secret Service. His cousin was Rebecca Fogg (Francesca Hunt), the very Emma Peel-like leather-clad first woman secret agent for the service. Rebecca idolized her late uncle, while Phileas remained angry his father sent his brother, Eurasmus, to his death on a secret mission. Phileas’ multi-talented manservant, Passeparcout (Michel Courtemanche), brought Verne’s scientific ideas to life in his lab on the fantastic airship, “Aurora.” Fogg won this dirigible in a Montreal card game rigged by the British government to have him involved in saving the Empire from various threats. This group’s adventures included destroying a giant mole machine designed to assassinate Queen Victoria, defeating a madman’s attempt to take over the world with rocket-powered vampires, going back in time to reunite the Three Musketeers, helping the Union army during the Civil War, assisting a young Thomas Edison who’s invented a new tank, fighting Jesse James and his gang who’ve taken over the “Aurora,” and stopping the evil Count Gregory from stealing the Holy Grail in another dimension. My item on the show is much longer than this extract, including a description of the incredible studio built to accommodate all the then cutting-edge effects in this nugget. This show was one of my favorites and it’s a crime it’s not on DVD.


5. Now the tough one. I think of the apartments of John Steed and Emma Peel—we saw them so often that we learned much about the taste and style of these two agents as they kept dropping in on each other in nearly every episode. I think of Maxwell Smart’s long hallway of opening and falling doors and the phone booth in the rear. The “cone of silence” wasn’t so much a set as a prop. How about the lab where Steve Austin was rebuilt—we saw it again and again all those years? CTU headquarters? All iconic images. So I’ll end with one I’ve never seen.


Apparently, a British series, Spycatcher (BBC) Sept. 3, 1959—April 16, 1961) was based on the wartime exploits of actual counter-espionage chief Lt.-Col. Oreste Pinto (played by Bernard Archard). The set? Each episode was set in only one room with one table and two chairs in which Pinto interrogated possible Nazi agents. The half-hour dramas were all about the scripts, acting, and Pinto’s mental skills, including unnerving one agent by using Hitler’s face as a dartboard. Doesn’t sound like much, set-wise, but I’m intrigued by the idea of such simplicity. Week after week, one room, two people, and nothing more. It doesn’t take massive volcanoes to give us an effective stage for spy stories.