Q (James Bond)

Q is a character in the James Bond movies. He is the head of the Q branch of the British Secret Service that makes spycraft devices ranging from pens with built-in radios to cars with built-in submarines. The character first appeared in From Russia With Love, and has appeared in every mainstream Bond movie, except Live and Let Die, up until 1999's The World Is Not Enough. The part was played by Desmond Llewelyn, up until his death in 1999. The World Is Not Enough introduced Q's assistant R, who takes over the rank and title 'Q' from 2002's Die Another Day.

In the movies the relationship between Bond and Q has been one of seeming antipathy. The gadgets supplied by Q are almost invariably destroyed as a result of Bond's use of them, and Q is constantly exhorting Bond to take better care of them and occasionally read the instruction manual (which Bond never does). Bond usually responds by displaying an instant mastery of whatever device Q hands to him. In Licence to Kill Q sides with Bond, supplying him with gadgetry and even helping him operationally despite his resignation from MI6.

The ancestry of the Q character is rather complicated. In the Fleming novels there are frequent references to 'Q branch', and in Dr. No the service armourer, Major Quentin Boothroyd, replaces Bond's Beretta pistol with a Walther PPK. In the first movie, Dr. No, the character of Major Boothroyd, the armourer, appears; but in the second, From Russia With Love, it is Desmond Llewelyn who hands out the gadgets. From then on Llewelyn's character is referred to as Q, but he is credited as 'Boothroyd' in From Russia With Love and also named 'Major Boothroyd' in dialogue in The Spy Who Loved Me.

Q (like M) is a job title rather than a name. In The World Is Not Enough an assistant to Q was introduced, known as R and played by John Cleese. In subsequent movies the John Cleese character took over the job of the former Q, and so from then on was known as Q.

John Gardner, in his James Bond novels, introduced the character of Ann Reilly, a young female assistant to Q who Bond nicknamed Q'ute. Q'ute had taken over the running of Q Branch by the time Gardner left the book series, but when Raymond Benson took over, he ignored the character of Q'ute and gave Q Branch back to Major Boothroyd with no explanation.

Some of the more memorable gadgets supplied by Q include:

• The trick briefcase in From Russia With Love
• The Aston Martin car with the ejector seat in Goldfinger
• The autogyro 'Little Nellie' in You Only Live Twice
• The submersible Lotus car ('Wet Nellie')
• The invisible Aston Martin in Die Another Day

External links

• The Bond Informant: Q