For (all of) your eyes only.

 

I've heard other Bond fans admit it recently, AMC went on record with it a few year ago, but my heart had always known: For Your Eyes Only is Roger Moore's best Bond film.

 

I actually remember how easily sucked in I became at the opening sequence. Bond picks up a bald man in a wheelchair with the leg of a helicopter, and drops him down a smoke stack! I was hooked. The cars were amazing, the watch was cooler than anything I had ever seen, ski chases, underwater cool stuff, world traveling, a true player, sarcastic, British James mutha effin Bond. My mind was blown.

 

I was probably too young to be watching this flick, but, if y'all remember, back in the day, cable boxes were zip dial, orange back lit, manual contraptions that sat on top of our 25" Curtis Mathis consol Tv's. we all had such limited movie channel choices that we became captive audiences to the HBO programmers fancy. That is how I came to see the 1981 spy thriller.

 

Much like today, HBO and other premium channels would show movies from a recent theatrical run, but the choices were limited and the distance between the film's release and it's airing on cable would typically be a year or so. Watching HBO, at that time, could be mysterious unless you actually tuned into the tedious scrolling program guide.

 

According to GuideArchive.com, For Your Eyes Only aired heavily in the summer of 1982 on HBO. My grandpap had HBO, and I happened to live there at the time. It was a perfect storm for my almost 8 year old mind. Typically, PG movies would run during the day, and I believe I probably saw it in the morning. Even back then I was an early riser, the best part of which allowed me to watch stuff my annoying sisters would never tolerate in the later hours of any given day. Worse than Kerry and Katy was my grandmother, Eva. Eva had a monopoly on the Televison from 9AM till 5 PM during the weekdays. Donahue, Game Shows, and Soap Operas were not to be disturbed. We were required to leave her house each, only to return for one of three reasons:

A. Lunch

B. Supper

C. Streetlights came on

 

After a chance viewing of For Your Eyes Only, I immediately turned an old playing card into an imaginary code key card, and pretended to swipe my way into doorways, entering made up numeric sequences into pretend number pads along the way.

 

My love of Bond started there, and even though the series lost me for a few minutes during the Brosnan era, I was able to look backward at Connery and what made the franchise great to begin with.

 

For years I have told people my favorite Bond film is the 1969 epic phucking movie Thunderball, but in truth, my heart belongs to For Your Eyes Only. Roger Moore was my Bond for my young mind.

RIP Mr. Moore, and thank you. Maybe tonight I will try to hunt down the Seiko worn in the film?

 

On a footnote, watch for a young Tywinn Lannister in the ski chase scene, later he takes an arrow on the beach. Yeah, it's that's cool. Word

 

Nago

 

Nagos Nerd Alert will return in James Bonding with Theme Songs.