(Re)Animations: James Bond, Jr. (1991)

“He learned the game from his Uncle James, now he’s heir to the name, James Bond (Junior)!”

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I mean, if you shag enough randy women as Bond has with nary a mention of protection, what would you… wait, James Bond Jr. isn’t actually the son of James Bond? Apparently this kid is the nephew of the original James Bond whose brother’s name is… also James Bond? Creepy.

Anyway, James Bond Jr. was an early 90s action show based on the exploits of a young super spy who secretly works to keep the world safe while wooing women with his charm and slick British accent. Produced by Fred Wolf Films (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), James Bond Jr. finds the spy and his friends I.Q. (grandson of the original Q) and Gordo Leiter (son of CIA operative Felix Leiter) fighting the forces of SCUM (Saboteurs and Criminals United in Mayhem) while also attending the Warfeild Academy.

Much like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. his uncle James, Junior had an assortment of foes that include mainstays from the films like Jaws, Oddjob and a creative re-imagining of Dr. No in addition to some original characters like Dr. Derange, Scumlord and Walker D Plank. With a doubt Dr. Derange is the most fun of these new characters with a look that comes straight from an episode of Captain Planet and the two best Bond sidekicks, Jaws and Nick Nack. Plus, he’s got a French accent!

Despite only lasting one season (65 episodes) the show is pretty fun to watch. Naturally it spawned a buttload of merchandising tie-ins, so much so that you would swear it was a Mattel creation. In addition to a comic series by Marvel and a series of novel adaptations, James Bond Jr. also made the leap into video games (both NES and SNES), a board game, coloring/activity books and (wait for it) a toy line– all of which I’m sure we’ll cover at another time!