The Name's Bond, James Bond

In 1953, Ian Fleming wrote "Casino Royale" which marked the first appearance of James Bond , Agent 007 of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). In all, Fleming wrote a total of twelve novels and two collections of short stories. Upon Fleming's death in 1964, the Bond series of novels continued by writers such as John Pearson, John Gardner and Sebastian Faulks.

However, despite the success of the book series, James Bond is most recognizable from the movies. Beginning with the 1962 film, "Dr. No" , the James Bond movies have been one of the most popular series. The movies follow the agent, who has a fondness for the girls , vodka martinis (shaken, not stirred), fast cars , guns and gadgets . The series takes Bond to exotic locations and living a luxurious lifestyle , while facing some of the most sinister villains imaginable.

During the course of the James Bond series, six different actors have portrayed Bond, each providing a slightly different spin on the main character. The first actor was Sean Connery who was in the role for six films. The other actors portraying 007 were George Lazenby (one movie), Roger Moore (7 movies), Timothy Dalton (two movies), Pierce Brosnan (four movies) and the current Bond, Daniel Craig (two movies). Who is the best Bond is subject for debate, and is one of the more popular subjects of the Bond fansites ..

Fans of the movie series, not only debate which is the best Bond, but also which is the best movie . The series has had some memorable movies such as "Goldfinger", "Thunderball", "The Spy Who Loved Me", "For Your Eyes Only", "Die Another Day", "Casino Royale" and the most recent movie "Quantum of Solace." Despite having different actors playing Bond , all the movies have much in common. They all feature a cliffhanger of an opening scene , cool gadgets provided by "Q" (head of the armament division), a world crisis that is a concern to "M" (head of MI6), sexy ladies, notorious villains and Bond rushing in disabling a surveillance camera as well as eluding the entire surveillance camera system at the villains lair - saving the day!

Another famous aspect of the James Bond films are the soundtracks. Some of the world"s most famous singers and groups including Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Tina Turner, Madonna, Tom Jones and Sheryl Crow have sung the songs to Bond movies. However, probably the most famous theme music is the James Bond movie theme. The theme was written by John Barry in 1962 for "Dr. No" and has been a part of every Bond movie since.

The Bond movies, with its escapist theme, have been the most popular movie series in history. For nearly fifty years the series has grown, and has spun off other movie and television spy series. Despite its age, the series is going strong and it is expected that it will continue to evolve and grown.