just re-reading TEA, and got to the part where Thursday is in Mycroft's garage, being shown his inventions.

He demonstrates his 'chameleocar' which, at the flick of a switch, vanishes.

Cut to the latest Bond film, where Q (sorry Mr Cleese, but Desmond did it *so* much better) is showing 007 his amazing vanishing Aston Martin.

Is Mycroft in fact, Q?

INTERESTING...you know I was thinking the same thing! LOL

you should have stuck this one in the TEA fforum, silly! <wink!>

ooops. Force of habit. All posts in nextian chat.

probably not worth reposting there...

For the answer to this question, go to the annotated version of the first few pages of TEA:
[www.jasperfforde.com]

And click the link on "Mycroft" near the bottom of the second page or so.



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&quot;I've often said that the difference between British and American SF TV series is that the British ones have three-dimensional characters and cardboard spaceships, while the Americans do it the other way around.&quot;
--Ross Smith

great catch, Magda! It never ceases to amaze me, the amount of info that can be found on Jasper's site if one is to simply LOOK! LOL

oops. My apologies. I promise to check the site first next time...

Actually, it's fun to point folks toward unexplored bits of the website. In this case, you conveniently get an explanation that Mycroft's workshop is based on Q's, a mention of the chameleocar showing up in a Bond film, AND a photo of Jasper with Desmond Llewellyn.

And this way, I get to feel smug for knowing where it was, which is always enjoyable.



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&quot;I've often said that the difference between British and American SF TV series is that the British ones have three-dimensional characters and cardboard spaceships, while the Americans do it the other way around.&quot;
--Ross Smith

good photo too. Desmond Llewellyn is sadly missed.

I'm going to be picky, and point out that John Cleese's character is 'R', not 'Q'.

not necessarily... "M" has changed several times as well. Isn't it more a rank designation anyway?

It's a codename. John Cleese was very deliberately introduced as 'R', to be the successor to 'Q', as Desmond Llewellyn was getting very frail by then.
'M' has changed in the films, but there has never been two 'M's in one film.
'Q' and 'R' appeared together in "The World Is Not Enough", so must have had different names. In fact, Bond comments on the fact.

Well, no, there have never been two Ms in "one film"... sorry...

Just as well John Cleese was R, really. Bond wouldn't have wanted to have to mind his Ps and Qs too much.



..........................................................................................

That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

[searching for groan and smacking hand to forehead macros]

"Cut to the latest Bond film, where Q (sorry Mr Cleese, but Desmond did it *so* much better) is showing 007 his amazing vanishing Aston Martin."

Cleese's character is supposed to be named "R" in the logical order of alphebetical sussession (as he appears in "the world is not enough"), but for some reason they start calling him "Q" in "die another day."

damn. I posted without reading all the threads again. well anyway, why do they change Cleese's letter (see above) ?

maybe when Q retired, everyone else shunked up a letter?

Maybe he was promoted from R to Q when Q retired.

That would actually make sense. So M's second in command/understudy would be N, and Q's would be R. When they move up to the top spot in the department, they take over the appropriate letter.

I wonder what O and P do?



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&quot;I've often said that the difference between British and American SF TV series is that the British ones have three-dimensional characters and cardboard spaceships, while the Americans do it the other way around.&quot;
--Ross Smith

Orders and Personnel?

M in charge of Missions
Q in charge of Quite Ingeneous Gadgets

I hear he's a famous director now....


(waiting to see how many people actually get that joke)