Someone's probably lost a Dalek!
Shady Tree
London, UKPosts: 2,998MI6 Agent
There's an interesting article by Oliver Dallas called 'From Gallifrey With Love' in the new 'TARDIS' magazine, vol 17-5, a publication by the Doctor Who Appreciation Society. The article's all about links between Bond and the TV series, Dr Who, which of course is as famous for the Daleks as for its time-travelling hero.
The most notable part of the article concerns a draft for the screenplay of TB by John Hopkins, credited writer employed to polish up Richard Maibaum's TB script.
193. INT. M'S RECEPTION ROOM
MONEYPENNY:
You're late.
BOND:
Sorry. People on the rush, these days - they really burn you up.
MONEYPENNY:
They're in the afternoon Conference Room - at the home office - every Double-O man in Europe's been rushed in - a real panic.
BOND:
The Daleks have taken over!
I'm sure this version will have been picked up before by Bond fans, but it was new to me.
Apparently Hopkins drafted this when Dr Who's second Dalek serial was being transmitted on TV, 'The Dalek Invasion Of Earth' - just as "Dalekmania" was taking off as a Brit pop phenomenon. Apparently Bond's Dalek line was actually recordeď, and Sean Connery can be lip-read delivering it in the film. Of course, the line was finally overdubbed with "Someone's probably lost a dog" - a wry comment which I'd always thought to be rather lame.
No one's quite sure why the change was made. As the article suggests, it was probably an intervention by Harry Saltzman, who disliked Brit pop references in Bond films because they might date the material or be too obscure for international audiences - including U.S. audiences who, in this case, would have known nothing of Daleks at the time (Dr Who hadn't yet made it over the pond).
Comments
Thanks, Shady, and I wish I could lip-read!
Not the only switched line in this movie, which had more than a whiff of ad hoc about it - the other was Bond's quip after watching a Spectre agent be devoured by the shark instead of him: 'Bon appetit!" or 'Now you can tell them about the one who got away!' personally I prefer the latter but each to their own.
The Dalek deletion was probably wise as even today I'm not sure US audiences know what the hell it is, or of Doctor Who. We had the Beatles in the previous movie and while they haven't dated the line has, making Bond seem awfully square and anyway why would you need ear muffs to listen to Yesterday or The Long and Winding Road?
There's another topical reference I think in Thunderball, well two I think, one is 'Another Time Another Place' Bond's comment to Pat on leaving Shrublands refers Connery's past movie, a bit of an in joke perhaps. Another refers to a comedy made that very same year, another Shrublands gag made in passing but it escapes me just now - seems too much of a coincidence. ('You must be joking!" I think) They did that stuff with 'I'd say one of their aircraft is missing' in FRWL which referred to a movie of similar name that year, it's a bit parochial.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Yes I remember hearing of the Dalek line before: much as I'd have enjoyed it's probably best they trimmed it out as I'm not sure it would have made much sense around the world.
There are a few references and jokes in the Bond films which make less sense with age, like Roger's reference to Barbara Woodhouse in Octopussy (or even all the in-jokes about Vijay Amritraj playing tennis I guess), or the bloke from the BBC's Clampers appearing in TWINE.
There's a few others, like the stolen painting reference in Dr No (the recent film 'The Duke' is worth a watch for more on that); the Great Train Robbery having been planned by SPECTRE gag in TB; the slight allusion to Clinton's activities with Bond's gift of a cigar in a tube to Moneypenny in TWINE; the gag about Robert Maxwell's death at the end of TND... all jokes which don't quite land anymore due to them being topical. I'm sure folks can think of some more..?
I do enjoy the title of this thread, by the way! 😁
napster said:
The Dalek deletion was probably wise as even today I'm not sure US audiences know what the hell it is, or of Doctor Who.
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I think 21st century Doctor Who is pretty well known in North America. the budget is huge, I dont think they could afford to make that show for a purely domestic audience. merchandising for it is ubiquitous in stores that sell such things, and the dvd's are much cheaper and easier to find than the classic episodes.
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I dont mind these examples of dated references at all. These elements are just more for us to learn about as we grow obsessed and dig deeper into the films, rewarding repeated viewings and encouraging us to continue thinking about BondFilms even after we've turned off the dvd player
Believe it or not, it’s coming to Disney+ around the world this year.
Yes, I also like allusions in Bond movies which date the films. The Barbara Woodhouse gag in OP, for example, always reminds me just how awful 80s TV could be - and how great it was, ironically, to be able to get out of the TV armchair to go to the cinema to see a new Bond film instead!
Point of trivia: In Doctor Who's first three Dalek serials, one of his companions was Jacqueline Hill - who in 1957 had co-starred with Sean Connery in the TV movie, 'Blood Money'. So there's some sort of connection there, however loose. (Ms Hill is probably best remembered for being terrorised by a sink plunger in a Dalek POV shot for the cliffhanger of the first ever Dalek episode in 1963.)
And his Miss Moneypenny in Never Say Never Again was played by Patricia Salem, who got menaced by them in Remembrance of the Daleks in the 80s!
Yup, Pamela Salem.... and her stylish look for the 1963 setting of 'Remembrance Of The Daleks' (1988) might have been right for the original Miss Moneypenny, too. (Ms Salem's overdone image and underdone role in NSNA were not that flattering, really.)
As for Jacqueline Hill in the 60s, she might have made a great Loelia Ponsonby for Connery's Bond.
I'm glad you've mentioned 'Remembrance Of The Daleks' as it was one of the few strong Dr Who serials of the 80s and it still stands up as one of the best Dalek stories.
Pamela- sorry! I thought she was pretty good casting as Moneypenny though, but you're right- she got very little to do. Although it was quite cool to see her help Bond out with a bit of computer research work, kind of pre-dating her role in Spectre!