James Bond 007 | Q BRANCH SCENES - COMPILATION

Every Q Branch scene compiled for your viewing pleasure.

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DESMOND LLEWELYN
Beginning with From Russia with Love, Desmond Llewelyn portrayed the character in every official film except Live and Let Die until his death in 1999. In the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, as Q delivered the underwater Lotus, Major Anya Amasova/Agent XXX (Barbara Bach) greets Q as "Major Boothroyd".

Starting with Goldfinger, the notion that Bond and Q would have an often strained relationship with each other was introduced by Guy Hamilton; it continued in the series thereafter. While briefing Bond on the gadgets that he is going to use on his mission, Q often expresses irritation and impatience at Bond's short attention span, often telling him to "pay attention, 007", and Bond's playful lack of respect for his equipment, telling the agent, "I never joke about my work, 007". In Thunderball, Bond can be heard muttering "Oh no" when Q joins him in the Bahamas. A running gag appeared in later films where Q's prized gadget would be destroyed in a mishap often caused by necessity or Bond's recklessness – examples include the Glastron jet boat in Moonraker (Bond sends it over the Iguazu Falls to escape pursuit by Jaws), the Aston Martin Vantage in The Living Daylights (Bond is forced to prime its self-destruct device in order to evade the Czech police forces), and the BMW Z8 in The World Is Not Enough – which is cut in half by a helicopter buzz-saw.

However, on occasion, Q has shown a warm and fatherly concern for 007's welfare, such as at Bond's wedding in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, when he assures Bond that he is available if Bond ever requires his help. Q has also assisted Bond in a more active role in his missions in Octopussy, remaining to aid Bond in person even after another ally is killed, and Licence to Kill saw him travel to assist Bond while he is officially on leave from MI6 even after Bond has resigned from MI6 to pursue his own vendetta. He frequently refers to Bond as "007", rather than by his name. In GoldenEye, Q shares a joke with Bond for the first time, and in The World Is Not Enough when he reveals his plan to retire, Bond is saddened at the prospect.

This was the final film appearance of Desmond Llewelyn as Q in the James Bond series, although he would revive the role once again as Q in a Heineken commercial, a TV cross-promotion for The World Is Not Enough.

ALEC MCCOWEN
In the 1983 film Never Say Never Again, Bond received his gadgets from a man (played by Alec McCowen) he referred as Algernon and Algy. His opening line is "Nice to know old Q can still surprise you 00s," indicating that Q is an unseen character. In sharp contrast to the personality of Q in EON film series, Algy hopes to hear about "Lots of sex and violence" from James Bond following his mission. In the closing credits, he is named as "Q Algy". Q Branch itself is depicted as underfunded and ramshackle compared to the high-tech surroundings of the Eon films.

BEN WHISHAW
The character of Q did not appear in 2006's Casino Royale or its sequel, Quantum of Solace (2008). Bond actor Daniel Craig expressed concern over the character's absence, and expressed his hope that Q would return in Skyfall. In November 2011, it was announced that British actor Ben Whishaw had been cast in the role. In Skyfall, Q's gadgets were comparatively simple, consisting of a miniaturised radio and a gun coded to Bond's palmprint so only Bond could fire it. When Bond appears a little disappointed, Q comments 'Were you expecting an exploding pen? We don't really go in for that anymore,' in reference to a miniature grenade featured in GoldenEye. Q is demonstrated to be highly knowledgeable on the subject of computer security to the point where he designed some of the most sophisticated security protocols in existence. As with Desmond Llewelyn's Q, he also gets frustrated with Bond's knack for damaging or destroying the gadgets – at the end of Skyfall the Aston Martin DB5 is burned out in the final showdown with Silva.

In Spectre, Q assists Bond on his mission, similar to Q's assistance to Bond in 1989's Licence to Kill. Q meets Bond in Austria where he outruns SPECTRE agents after a ring he eventually decodes, revealing the organisation's existence. Q returns to London to assist Miss Moneypenny and M in foiling corrupt MI6 bureaucrat Max Denbeigh's launch of the Nine Eyes intelligence network. At the end he provides Bond with his remodelled Aston Martin DB5. He is the first Q who is younger than James Bond.

[greenlanternEXE]

The relationship between Pierce Brosnan's Bond and Desmond's Q is like a relationship between a grandpa and a grandson. The "oh grow up 007" is legendary.

[jiovanysoltero]

"Don't touch that!! That's my Lunch" that moment always cracks me up in Goldeneye

[mccarthy]

Let's all take a moment to enjoy Desmond. What a man. A soldier, an actor and a wonderful character all around. A great father and doting grandfather by all accounts. Sadly taken by a car accident. Gone but never, ever forgotten. His appearance in TWINE is oddly prophetic. What a man. What a legend.

[ginskimpivot]

"Pay attention 007, you _HAVE_ to use all of this stuff before the end of the film."

[williamwhite]

"I never joke about my work, 007!" - Q
RIP Desmond Llewellyn. You're never forgotten by Bond fans.

[jasoncaulkin]

I had the pleasure of meeting Desmond Llewelyn on a train from Charing Cross to Hastings - it was the time that Pierce Bronson was Bond. He was a vey charming gentleman.

[richardli]

37:14 that part is always a tear-jerker for me, Desmond Llewelyn is such a legend, it's so sad to see him go. Although only appeared in the 007 series for just 30mins in total, he has successfully portrayed one of the most well-known and well-loved character ever in film history. RIP Mr. Llewelyn, or as we all know you as, Q.

[garrisonnichols]

3:59 Qs greatest invention. Let's be honest nothing has stood the test of time more than this classic.

[TheAwesomeDarkNinja]

John Cleese was underrated as hell. I wish they used him more. He has such Q energy.

[davidrosemale]

Desmond Llewellyn will always be Q in the hearts of all James Bond fans. No one did it better than Desmond Llewellyn. Rest peacefully.

[wazscience]

that short pause at 37:15 truly summarizes and shows the kind of friendship bond and Q had over the years, and in that same instance, Q understood what bond thought of him.

[Shadowkey]

Fun fact: that very first one, where M berates Bond for using a beretta and instructs him to use the Walther PPK, isn’t just an adaptation of the book. It’s also a nod to a real life event. When Ian Flemming wrote the original Bond story, Casino Royale, he originally armed Bond with a .25 Beretta. The book was a hit, and one of the people who read it was a gun collector and afficionado named Geoffrey Boothroyd, who wrote Flemming a letter in which he said pretty much everything that the scene says about the Beretta. This started a correspondence between the two men on the subject of weaponry (which has apparently been published). Boothroyd initially suggested that Bond should use a revolver because of the greater stopping power, but Flemming was adamant that Bond’s weapon should be some manner of semi-automatic pistol, so Boothroyd suggested the 7.63 mm Walther PPK, which, though not as powerful as a revolver, had more stopping power than the Beretta, and also a double-action, which allowed for less time between drawing the gun and firing it. Flemming accepted the idea, and in his book “Dr No”, officially swapped the Walther in as Bond’s new handgun. As an homage to Boothroyd, the character who presents Bond with his new weapon was named “Major Boothroyd”.

Additional fun fact: an image of one of Geoffrey Boothroyd’s own firearms appears on the cover of “From Russia With Love”. Flemming apparently wanted a gun in the cover design, so Boothroyd mailed his own subnosed .38 Smith and Wesson to an illustrator for use as a reference.

[PetersonZF]

7:55 I love how the four guys with massive heavy cases are just standing still in the corner and suddenly start walking in when they get their cue.

[jasonavery]

I know he wasn't in the role long but John Cleese had the advantage of actually trading barbs with Bonds sarcasm instead of rolling with it. I also liked that Bond never nicknamed him Q until he impressed him with the Vanquish.

[WolfoftheWoodsAirsoft]

Desmond's departure as Quartermaster was perfect and his words to Bond were a perfect goodbye. Oh and in the Vanquish/Vanish scene John Cleese is wearing a Royal Engineers tie...says it all really

[Fedakeen]

I loved the original Q in License to Kill. It was a personal mission for Bond and yet, he came to help Bond despite MI6's objections.

[kali]

No one has ever taken the place of Desmond Llewellyn. And I don't think anyone ever truly will. Rest in Power, Desmond.

[deanfranz]

35:53 - "Ah, yes, the legendary 007 wit ... or at least half of it." - Savage burn...
16:52 - It's the laser gun in N64's Goldeneye 007!

[kali]

"I believe I said bring it back in one piece, not bring back one piece."

I can understand Q corpsing here - that was the line that sold me on Ben Whishaw as Q. I absolutely loved this line. His Q quickly learned how to deal with Bond, and that was fun to see develop. I actually wish they do bring him back for the next film, even though they'll certainly have to hit the reboot switch.

[pockylovingranger]

“You were expecting an exploding pen were you? We don’t really go in for that anymore.” Ben Wishaw’s Q is so damn snarky and I love it!