Real talk? This is first James Bond story I’ve actually experienced. I’ve seen clips of various movies over the years, and I’ve seen plenty of satires, but I’ve never watched one of the films from beginning to end. This, a radio play adaptation of the Ian Fleming novel which became the first Bond film in 1962, probably isn’t the ideal way to start. If it weren’t for Peter Capaldi playing a small role, I wouldn’t have listened to it, and having now finished it, I can definitely say it hasn’t awakened any desire to seek out any “classic” Bond films.
James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of an MI-6 agent. With the aid of Quarrel, a local and an old friend of Bond’s, he digs into the case and dodges assassination attempts as he gets too close. The mission leads Bond and Quarrel to an island rumored to be guarded by a “dragon,” where the mysterious Dr. No conducts his nefarious machinations.
The spy stuff is entertaining, although it’s a bit hamstrung here by the constraints of the radio medium, which forces people to narrate the dramatic things they’re experiencing out loud. Along the lines of, “Wait, he’s collapsed! He’s foaming at the mouth! He’s-- no, no, no, he’s taken a cyanide capsule!” It gets the job done, and I’ve listened to enough Doctor Who audio dramas to roll with it, but it’s definitely less flashy than cinema.
Besides the fun investigating and derring-do, however, the story doesn’t have a whole lot to recommend it. It’s weighed down by all sorts of mid-century racism, featuring some lazy portrayals of minor Jamaican characters and way too much “inscrutable Chinese” fearmongering. And if the character of Dr. No himself wasn’t written offensively enough, we also have him played by David Suchet (oh, Poirot, what were you thinking?) It’s not even the everyday type of aggravating problematic casting of white actors to voice characters of color, a la Kubo and the Two Strings, wherein the actors at least voice the characters as characters, not as walking stereotypes. This hoary performance is much more overt verbal yellowface, and it’s more than enough to ruin any enjoyment I might have otherwise had from the piece.
Bond is played by Toby Stephens, who played Rochester in a miniseries of Jane Eyre a handful of years ago. Clarke Peters (Freamon from The Wire) appears as Quarrel, and the radio play also features Samuel West, who I’ll always remember as the grown-up Caspian in the ancient Masterpiece version of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Everyone in the cast besides Suchet acquits themselves well enough, but again, that can’t overcome the gross stuff going on with Dr. No.
This project is also awfully scant on the Other Doctor Lives front, as Peter Capaldi only appears in one scene near the start of the radio play. On the plus side, this does mean he’s in and out before the racist junk gets underway. Capaldi plays the MI-6 armorer who kits out Bond before his mission. He’s not in the story for more than a couple minutes and his appearance is almost entirely practical, but I appreciate that there’s still a bit of characterization going on here. The armorer is brusque and bluntly deadpan. He seems to speak the language of firearms and has little interest in anything else. Hi, armorer! So long, armorer!
Accent Watch
Scottish.
Recommend?
In General – I can’t, too gross for me. As someone who isn’t a Bond fan, I can’t speak to how well this compares to the films. I just know I wouldn’t encourage anyone to listen to it.
Peter Capaldi – Naw. His part is so small, and per the above, this is definitely a project you can do without.
Warnings
Racist depictions, violence, sexual content, thematic elements, and a white actor playing an Asian character.
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