Deathmatch 2024

Special Interest Games
101

Well, I consider all the henchmen from 17 on down to be their film’s main henchmen except for Prof. R.J. Dent in Dr. No and Alex Dimitrios in Casino Royale, who I both rate to be their respective films’ secondary henchmen. Rather, I consider No’s 3 “Blind” Assassins to be the primary henchmen in DN and Kratt to be the primary henchman in CR, although admittedly, in this type of contest, I doubt Kratt would fare any better than Dimitrios and perhaps the same situation for the 3 “Blind” Mice in DN.

None of the other henchmen really could–or should–be replaced with the possible exception of Elvis. He’s horrible, but he really is the primary henchman in Quantum Of Solace. The only one you could conceivably replace him with would be Edmund Slate.

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102

I think I’d plumb for Ms Taro as the Doctor No henchbod

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103

I don’t even think you need to replace Elvis. Simply leaving him out is enough, because what does he actually do and what has he achieved during the course of the film? I couldn’t name it. Irritated the viewer? He’s too insignificant for even that.

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104

It‘s already been said, Elvis is probably the misunderstood character of the series, a hanger-on without any purpose beyond exposition. If we at least saw him doing evil - drowning Fields, poking Mathis - but there’s next to no evidence he’s even capable of using the gun he carries. QUANTUM OF SOLACE‘s henchman is perhaps the guy Bond kills in the hotel.

3 Likes
105

Maybe a new category could be of help: best “supporting” character (or so) – which can be everything from Puss-Feller to Waldo Obrouchev, from Mary Trueblood to Mathilde (with regulars – M, Q, Monnepenny, Felix – and those with “own categories” not eligible). Thing is that this might require a preliminary death-off between, say, four or five characters for each movie, which means some extra work for our Master of Deatmatch.

(In fact, I hope that didn’t just make it on his “naughty list” by suggesting this, because Jim’s naughty list isn’t exactly a desirable thing to be on – guess I should use rubber gloves for some time when opening the mail for a few weeks :laughing:)

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106

Better wear something comfy for a while…

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107

Possibly replace Elvis with General Medrano

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108

It’s more of a “Naughty 15 volume bookshelf”, so much more embittered and petty have I become (and I started off hugely embittered and petty).

However, this is a good idea - I do have “Secondary Villainy” coming up in December (everyone apart from Villain and Hench already voted upon) but might squeeze out something for other non-villainous folk, whether or not they actively assist Bond or are just “there”. The Mrs Bells of this (fictional) World, as well as the likes of Gogol and Manuela; that lot.

5 Likes
109

With the Group Stage of Main Titles done…

Group A Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Casino Royale 4 4 0 0 64 10 54 86.7 12
Live and Let Die 4 3 0 1 48 25 23 66.43 9
Diamonds are Forever 4 2 0 2 39 33 6 54.78 6
TWINE 4 1 0 3 24 47 -23 33.75 3
Quantum of Solace 4 0 0 4 6 66 -60 8.35 0

Habitually with a strong showing, the Casino Royale titles, the top seed, go through very comfortably. Quantum of Solace… not so. Too different? Too undermined by the “song”? Out of ideas even on a first go? Dunno. I quite like them. Muted.

Live and Let Die may benefit the other way; how much in sync with their song, but anything burny skulls and random flappy women will always get by; a reminder of one’s domestic arrangements, at the very least.

Diamonds are Forever will go through as a Lucky Loser; TWINE won’t, and one recalls a piquant observation in the early days of this website that these were “pure vomit”.

Group B Played W D L F A GD % Pts
You Only Live Twice 4 4 0 0 51 17 34 75 12
Goldfinger 4 3 0 1 52 16 36 76.5 9
From Russia with Love 4 1 0 3 25 43 -18 36.75 3
Octopussy 4 1 0 3 23 45 -22 36.75 3
The Living Daylights 4 1 0 3 19 49 -30 28 3

Possibly not the most exciting group but it produced the most interesting result. I say “possibly not” but you sit in a darkened cinema in front of a massive screen and be immune to spurty volcanoes, gilded lay-deez and having mis-spelled names bellydanced at you and try to remain unexcitied.

Goldfinger will finish higher in the form table (at the moment) than You Only Live Twice, having secured bigger wins elsewhere.

The other two, well they’re late-era Bindertired and all a bit spent. Fact.

Group C Played W D L F A GD % Pts
OHMSS 4 4 0 0 58 17 41 77.4 12
Moonraker 4 3 0 1 50 24 26 68 9
Tomorrow Never Dies 4 2 0 2 34 40 -6 46.5 6
Spectre 4 1 0 3 32 40 -8 44.43 3
TMwtGGun 4 0 0 4 10 63 -53 13.68 0

Pretty much on form although even by finishing fourth, Spectre will weasel its miserable way into the Second Round. The titles for The Man with the Golden Gun are quite rude, y’know; there’s a bit where a comely young filly slides down some spume and she’s obviously naked, front-bottomly. All a bit much, but then obviously still nowhere near enough.

Group D Played W D L F A GD % Pts
GoldenEye 4 4 0 0 55 17 38 76.4 12
Thunderball 4 3 0 1 51 21 30 70.83 9
For Your Eyes Only 4 2 0 2 37 35 2 51.4 6
AVTAK 4 1 0 3 24 48 -24 33.33 3
Die Another Day 4 0 0 4 13 59 -46 18.05 0

This was actually one where Die Another Day came in having not finished bottom of its group last time out, and in “fact” drawn from Pot 2. Made no difference whatsoever, despite being part of the “story” and possessing the pleasing imagery of The Actor Pierce Brosnan being amusingly abused.

Possibly all of these are of their time in many ways (the GoldenEye ones are beginning to look a bit CG-dated, aren’t they?).

Group E Played W D L F A GD % Pts
The Spy who Loved Me 4 4 0 0 68 7 61 90.7 12
Skyfall 4 3 0 1 53 24 29 68.75 9
No Time to Die 4 2 0 2 35 43 -8 45.65 6
Dr No 4 1 0 3 23 51 -28 31.3 3
Licence to Kill 4 0 0 4 10 64 -54 13.6 0

A reverse here, where Skyfall was a higher seed and The Spy who Loved Me coming through extremely strongly. No Time to Die’s odd mash-up of bits of other titles sort of gets by but it feels a bit off and another change in regime may be worth pursuing. Another reason to delay blatting out another film.

The last two - the beginning of Binder and the end of him. Both have their weaknesses but how they play out seems right; Licence to Kill, on many levels, struggles for air and even with the benefit of hindsight, one can see how tatty it was all getting.

Form table - Group Stage - Main Titles

Film (seed) % Group outcome
1 The Spy who Loved Me (6) 90.7 Winner E
2 Casino Royale (1) 86.7 Winner A
3 OHMSS (3) 77.4 Winner C
4 Goldfinger (9) 76.5 Runner-Up B
5 GoldenEye (4) 76.4 Winner D
6 You Only Live Twice (2) 75 Winner B
7 Thunderball (7) 70.83 Runner-Up D
8 Skyfall (5) 68.75 Runner-Up E
9 Moonraker (8) 68 Runner-Up C
10 Live and Let Die (10) 66.43 Runner-Up A
11 Diamonds are Forever 54.78 Lucky Loser 1
12 For Your Eyes Only 51.4 Lucky Loser 2
13 Tomorrow Never Dies 46.5 Lucky Loser 3
14 No Time to Die 45.65 Lucky Loser 4
15 Spectre 44.3 Lucky Loser 5
16 From Russia with Love 36.75 Lucky Loser 6
17 Octopussy 33.83
18 TWINE 33.75
19 A View to a Kill 33.3
20 Dr No 31.3
21 The Living Daylights 28
22 Die Another Day 18.05
23 TMwtGG 13.68
24 Licence to Kill 13.6
25 Quantum of Solace 8.35

Albeit with a bit of a shuffle, the top ten seeds occupy the top ten places, thus far. Last year’s absolute loser Licence to Kill achieves “not absolute loser” status; well done, you. Curious to see how this one plays out; After the current top two, those form scores are awfully close for quite a few. The Second Round could be a bloodbath.

I do hope so.

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110

Form table after the Second Round for Main Titles

Film Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 The Spy who Loved Me 90.06 (-0.64) / -
2 Casino Royale 84.66 (-2.04) / -
3 OHMSS 78.4 (+1) / -
4 GoldenEye 76.42 (+0.02) / +1
5 Goldfinger 72.46 (-4.04) / -1
6 You Only Live Twice 71.26 (-3.74) / -
7 Skyfall 67.94 (-0.81) / +1
8 Live and Let Die 65.64 (-0.79) / +2
9 Thunderball 64.5 (-5.48) / -2
10 Moonraker 61.46 (-6.54) / -1
11 Diamonds are Forever 52.56 (-2.22) / -
12 For Your Eyes Only 45.82 (-5.58) / -
13 Tomorrow Never Dies 41.9 (-4.6) / -
14 No Time to Die 40.04 (-5.61) / -
15 Spectre 37.94 (-6.36) / -
16 From Russia with Love 36.9 (+0.15) / -
17 Octopussy 33.83
18 TWINE 33.75
19 A View to a Kill 33.3
20 Dr No 31.3
21 The Living Daylights 28
22 Die Another Day 18.05
23 TMwtGG 13.68
24 Licence to Kill 13.6
25 Quantum of Solace 8.35

Moonraker just about clinging onto a Top Ten finish there. Second Round was perhaps not as much of an abbatoir as was feared (…hoped) but there could be some pleasing bloodgush to come given that the top two are slugging it out in a Quarter-Final. Don’t come looking for pity here.

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111

Some brutal Quarter-Finals for Main Titles done, form table rolls out as…

Film Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Casino Royale 81.67 (-2.99) / +1
2 The Spy who Loved Me 80.6 (-9.46) / -1
3 OHMSS 73.18 (-5.22) / -
4 Goldfinger 69.2 (-3.26) / +1
5 Skyfall 68.65 (+0.71) / +2
6 You Only Live Twice 68.65 (-2.61) / -
7 GoldenEye 68.32 (-8.1) / -3
8 Thunderball 64.5 (-) / +1
9 Live and Let Die 62.1 (-3.54) / -1
10 Moonraker 61.46
11 Diamonds are Forever 52.56
12 For Your Eyes Only 45.82
13 Tomorrow Never Dies 41.9
14 No Time to Die 40.04
15 Spectre 37.94
16 From Russia with Love 36.9
17 Octopussy 33.83
18 TWINE 33.75
19 A View to a Kill 33.3
20 Dr No 31.3
21 The Living Daylights 28
22 Die Another Day 18.05
23 TMwtGG 13.68
24 Licence to Kill 13.6
25 Quantum of Solace 8.35

Big drop in form for The Spy who Loved Me but although knocked out, could still benefit in the form table with Semi-Finals, Third Place Death-Off and Final yet to come, as could OHMSS which has clung onto third place throughout, so far…

Major beneficiary this time out is Skyfall and although You Only Live Twice has the same form average, Skyfall skyfalls above it due to a bigger win in the Quarter-Finals, and being the only player to better their form. Skyfall and You Only Live Twice face each other in the Semi-Final, so that’ll sort it. Perhaps.

Thunderball solidifies its Top Ten place for another category…

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112

Hmm.

The Semi-Final didn’t really sort the Skyfall - You Only Live Twice issue as it came to a draw.

Skyfall goes through to the final on the basis of:

Group stage: You Only Live Twice won its group, Skyfall was second in its group - point to You Only Live Twice (1-0).
Result against a common opponent: No common opponent.
Form outcome of Group stage: You Only Live Twice 75%, Skyfall 68.75% - point to You Only Live Twice (2-0).
Votes scored up to and including Quarter-Final: You Only Live Twice 70, Skyfall 77 - point to Skyfall (2-1).
Votes against up to and including Quarter-Final: You Only Live Twice 32, Skyfall 35 - point to You Only Live Twice (3-1).
Goal Difference up to and including Quarter-Final: You Only Live Twice 38, Skyfall 42 - point to Skyfall (3-2).
Second Round form: You Only Live Twice 56.3, Skyfall 64.7 - point to Skyfall (3-3).
Quarter-Final form: You Only Live Twice 55.6, Skyfall 72.2 - point to Skyfall (3-4).
Drop in form from Group Stage to Quarter-Final: You Only Live Twice -6.35, Skyfall -0.1 - point to Skyfall (3-5).
Largest % win: You Only Live Twice 88.2% v Octopussy / The Living Daylights, Skyfall 94.7% v Licence to Kill - point to Skyfall (3-6).
Difficulty of opponents Second Round and Quarter-Finals: You Only Live Twice Diamonds are Forever (unseeded) & Live and Let Die (10th seed), Skyfall Moonraker (8th seed) & GoldenEye (4th seed) - point to Skyfall (3-7).

So, there y’go.

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113

Form table after Semi-Finals for Main Titles:

Film Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Casino Royale 80.72 (-0.95) / -
2 The Spy who Loved Me 80.6
3 OHMSS 73.18
4 GoldenEye 68.32 (-) / +3
5 Skyfall 65.99 (-2.66) / -
6 You Only Live Twice 65.99 (-2.66) / -
7 Thunderball 64.5 (-) / +1
8 Goldfinger 62.89 (-6.31) / -4
9 Live and Let Die 62.1
10 Moonraker 61.46
11 Diamonds are Forever 52.56
12 For Your Eyes Only 45.82
13 Tomorrow Never Dies 41.9
14 No Time to Die 40.04
15 Spectre 37.94
16 From Russia with Love 36.9
17 Octopussy 33.83
18 TWINE 33.75
19 A View to a Kill 33.3
20 Dr No 31.3
21 The Living Daylights 28
22 Die Another Day 18.05
23 TMwtGG 13.68
24 Licence to Kill 13.6
25 Quantum of Solace 8.35

Pretty close at the top now and unless Casino Royale wins convincingly in the final, there might be a reversal there. I have to inject some tepid tension now and again. Talking of tepid tension, GoldenEye seemed to benefit there without doing anything very much. For 'tis GoldenEye.

Goldfinger drops and is, potentially, at risk of falling out of the Top Ten if it gets hammered in the Third Place Death-Off. MY GOD IT’S TENSE. Etc.

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So, wrapping up the Main Titles category and the other running results, now that 6 of 12 categories are done…

Final form table - Main Titles

Film Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 The Spy who Loved Me 80.6 (-) / +1
2 Casino Royale 80.36 (-0.36) / -1
3 OHMSS 73.18
4 GoldenEye 68.32
5 You Only Live Twice 64.69 (-1.3) / +1
6 Thunderball 64.5 (-) / +1
7 Live and Let Die 62.1 (-) / +2
8 Moonraker 61.46 (-) / +2
9 Goldfinger 60.58 (-2.31) / -1
10 Skyfall 60.52 (-5.47) / -5
11 Diamonds are Forever 52.56
12 For Your Eyes Only 45.82
13 Tomorrow Never Dies 41.9
14 No Time to Die 40.04
15 Spectre 37.94
16 From Russia with Love 36.9
17 Octopussy 33.83
18 TWINE 33.75
19 A View to a Kill 33.3
20 Dr No 31.3
21 The Living Daylights 28
22 Die Another Day 18.05
23 TMwtGG 13.68
24 Licence to Kill 13.6
25 Quantum of Solace 8.35

Just one vote or so in it to stop Casino Royale winning both the form and the knockout. The Spy who Loved Me has been on top form in the past two categories; can this continue? (Current category - Victims… Commander Talbolt…no).

Skyfall really fell, but did just enough damage (as noted) to stop Casino Royale hitting the top. Thunderball floats its way up via titles of people writhing in rubber and Binderspume; the World is, after all, a good place.

Main Titles Deathmatch outcomes over the years

2022 2023 2024
Winner Casino Royale Casino Royale Casino Royale
Runner-Up The Spy who Loved Me Skyfall Skyfall
Third OHMSS OHMSS You Only Live Twice
Fourth Goldfinger You Only Live Twice Goldfinger

Yes, well, quite. Still 7-5 to Binder but that could change next year and, notably, it’s early-to-mid Binder, not the later efforts.

Final Form for Main Titles over the years, and Seeds and Pots for 2025

2022 2023 2024 Average Seed/Pot
Dr No 20 16 20 18.67 Pot 2
FRWL 8 14 16 12.67 Pot 1
Goldfinger 5 12 9 8.67 9th Seed
Thunderball 12 4 6 7.33 7th Seed
YOLT 2 3 5 3.33 2nd Seed
OHMSS 3 5 3 3.67 3rd Seed
DAF 10 13 11 11.33 Pot 1
LALD 11 10 7 9.33 10th Seed
TMwtGG 21 21 23 21.67 Pot 3
TSWLM 6 6 1 4.33 4th Seed
Moonraker 7 9 8 8 8th Seed
FYEO 16 15 12 14.33 Pot 1
Octopussy 23 23 17 21 Pot 3
AVTAK 22 22 19 21 Pot 3
TLD 17 18 21 18.67 Pot 2
LTK 24 25 24 24.33 Pot 3
GoldenEye 9 2 4 5 5th Seed
TND 14 8 13 11.67 Pot 1
TWINE 18 19 18 18.33 Pot 2
DAD 19 20 22 20.33 Pot 2
CR 1 1 2 1.33 1st Seed
QoS 25 24 25 24.67 Pot 3
Skyfall 4 7 10 7 6th Seed
Spectre 15 17 15 15.67 Pot 2
NTTD 13 11 14 12.67 Pot 1

As with last year, but still unusually, Die Another Day avoids its usual Pot 3 fate. Licence to Kill and Quantum of Solace seem to be engaged in their own little battle, much to the total indifference of all the others.

Deathmatch outcomes 2024 so far…

Villain Song Bond Women Hench Titles
Winner Goldfinger Live and Let Die From Russia with Love OHMSS The Spy who Loved Me Casino Royale
Runner-Up OHMSS Goldfinger The Spy who Loved Me Casino Royale Goldfinger Skyfall
Third Skyfall Diamonds are Forever Goldfinger Thunderball Diamonds are Forever You Only Live Twice
Fourth Casino Royale OHMSS Thunderball The Spy who Loved Me Thunderball Goldfinger

We have a new film breaking through! It’s a 57-year-old film, but new to this, anyway. Hurrah!

From Russia with Love doesn’t seem to be doing all that well this year? There’s still time, though. Goldfinger makes it to the Semi-Finals 5 times out of 6, which is slightly ominous.

Top Ten of Everything 2024

6 visits to Top Ten 5 visits to Top Ten 4 visits to Top Ten 3 visits to Top Ten 2 visits to Top Ten 1 Visit to Top Ten Yet to bother the scorers
Goldfinger Moonraker OHMSS From Russia with Love You Only Live Twice Dr No Octopussy
Thunderball Casino Royale Live and Let Die Diamonds are Forever A View to a Kill The Man with the Golden Gun Tomorrow Never Dies
The Spy who Loved Me Skyfall Licence to Kill The Living Daylights For Your Eyes Only TWINE
GoldenEye Die Another Day
Quantum of Solace
Spectre
No Time to Die

No movement out of the non-botherers and it’s a bit hard to see where any escape may come. Vijay for Octopussy? Possible. The others might be doomed to stay…

Bit of a gap opening, and interesting that Moonraker is a nearly-permanent feature of the Top Ten, but hasn’t achieved anything in the knockouts. Again, only halfway through and there is still Clobber/Garb to come and one develops a pash for yellow rubber suits.

Most Valuable Player - has to reach a Semi-Final to qualify (hence no Moonraker)

Placings Wins Top Ten Top Form Points
Goldfinger 5 1 6 1 13
TSWLM 3 1 6 2 12
OHMSS 3 1 4 1 9
Casino Royale 3 1 5 0 9
Thunderball 3 0 6 0 9
FRWL 1 1 3 1 6
DAF 2 0 3 1 6
LALD 1 1 4 0 6
Skyfall 2 0 4 0 6
You Only Live Twice 1 0 2 0 3

New entry thanks to You Only Live Twice finishing 3rd in the Main Titles knockout; otherwise looking a smidge Business As Usual, although as noted, From Russia with Love might be underperforming so far. Sack the manager.

The Road to Best Picture 2024

Villain – form place Song – form place Bond – form place Women – form place Hench – form place Titles – form place
Dr No 12 23 11 6 18 20
From Russia with Love 2 16 1 3 15 16
Goldfinger 1 5 3 9 4 9
Thunderball 8 10 7 5 5 6
You Only Live Twice 13 11 22 21 10 5
OHMSS 4 8 16 1 12 3
Diamonds are Forever 16 1 14 4 3 11
Live and Let Die 15 3 10 11 9 7
The Man with the Golden Gun 9 19 19 22 14 23
The Spy who Loved Me 7 2 6 7 1 1
Moonraker 5 4 8 8 11 8
For Your Eyes Only 20 14 5 17 17 12
Octopussy 19 22 15 15 16 17
A View to a Kill 11 9 23 24 8 19
The Living Daylights 25 15 9 18 6 21
Licence to Kill 10 20 13 10 7 24
Goldeneye 14 13 24 14 2 4
Tomorrow Never Dies 17 18 17 12 22 13
TWINE 18 12 21 25 23 18
Die Another Day 24 25 25 23 21 22
Casino Royale 6 6 2 2 24 2
Quantum of Solace 23 21 18 16 25 25
Skyfall 3 7 4 20 19 10
Spectre 21 24 20 19 13 15
No Time to Die 22 17 12 13 20 14

Some patterns emerge but the last film gaining Top Ten finishes each time is The Spy who Loved Me. Thereafter, “patchy” is the polite word. Still, only halfway through…

Halfway point

On which, this is how it shakes down on average form finish - which will determine Best Picture. There’s still six categories to go…

Current Top Ten, 1-10

The Spy who Loved Me
Goldfinger
Thunderball
Casino Royale
OHMSS
Moonraker
Diamonds are Forever
From Russia with Love
Live and Let Die
Skyfall

Thunderball in third place shocker! Diamonds are Forever above From Russia with Love shocker! Live and Let Die in there at all curiosity! Three Guy Hamilton films…hmm. No John Glen films… also hmm.

Next five, places 11-15 - so the films that could with a couple of good categories break into the Top Ten at the end…

GoldenEye
You Only Live Twice
Licence to Kill
For Your Eyes Only
Dr No

GoldenEye’s had a couple of decent categories of late, but can it really continue? For Your Eyes Only being there-or-thereabouts is so very For Your Eyes Only.

Next lot, 16-20 - probably no real chance of breaking into the Top Ten but could do well in the occasional category to come…

A View to a Kill
The Living Daylights
No Time to Die
Tomorrow Never Dies
Octopussy

Interesting to see A View to a Kill this “high” but it benefits from its Villain, Song and Henchbod. God help it on Clobber/Garb. No Time to Die evidently not benefiting from recency bias and hasn’t really caught fire, although one understands that some fans would gladly set it alight. Tomorrow Never Dies seems a bit underloved, perhaps?

And now, the binjuice, a.k.a. not a prayer of being the Best Picture but then one could have predicted that without all this nonsense.

The Man with the Golden Gun
Spectre
The World is Not Enough
Quantum of Solace
Die Another Day

Personally I like Quantum of Solace but I can appreciate why this bottom five might look “right” to many. Die Another Day is clearly in last place by 2 percentage points, but stranger things have happened. Stranger things even than Die Another Day. That is apparently possible, although one remains sceptical. Four of these last five being under the current and likely future production regime may give one cause for even more doubt…

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With the Group Stage for Victims now done (we are rattling through this, aren’t we?)

Group A Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Kerim 4 4 0 0 55 9 46 85.95 12
Andrea 4 3 0 1 34 30 4 53.13 9
Paula 4 1 1 2 29 31 -2 45.33 4
Paris 4 1 1 2 26 38 -12 40.63 4
White 4 0 0 4 16 48 -32 24.98 0

Bit of a reversal there for Paula, who was 10th seed going in but will only just scrape into the Second Round as a Lucky Loser. In relative terms, not least because he is Bond’s relative (that’s still weird), Mr White’s shambolic effort isn’t ectually all that bad. Andrea remains the darkest of the victims given that everyone abuses her, not least the writer and director, and justifiably earns passage through to the next round.

Group B Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Jill 4 4 0 0 54 10 44 84.4 12
Quarrel 4 3 0 1 47 16 31 74.83 9
Saunders 4 2 0 2 29 34 -5 45.53 6
Zukovsky 4 1 0 3 24 40 -16 37.48 3
Campbell 4 0 0 4 5 59 -54 7.78 0

Slightly more of a regular pattern to this one, and Saunders will go through as a Lucky Loser although given what befalls him, “lucky” ain’t the word. Ouch. Still remain suspicious of supermarket sliding doors, which is my excuse for never doing the shopping. People talk about Jaws frightening them off swimming in the sea, or Psycho the taking of a shower, but for me it’s The Living Daylights and never going into shops. That, and that the people there are the shopworking kind. Campbell’s hearty sporting nature still really doesn’t do him any good whatsoever, and that result will leave OHMSS’s hopes in the overall scheme of getting to Best Picture in a real dangle.

Group C Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Aki 4 4 0 0 53 7 46 88.33 12
Della 4 3 0 1 35 25 10 58.33 9
Plenty 4 2 0 2 37 26 14 61.68 6
Strutter 4 1 0 3 15 45 -30 25 3
Mishkin 4 0 0 4 10 50 -40 16.68 0

When it comes to the Groups, it is basically on matches won so although Plenty was the stronger player on form, it’s Della who is runner-up, and will face her husband (sorta) in the Second Round. That said, Plenty has plenty to be Lucky Loser 1 and will have bountiful points. Which seems to be the purpose of the character. Mishkin as the “has to do” candidate for GoldenEye doesn’t do too badly, and isn’t the worst performer. You don’t really need me to tell you where that will come from.

Group D Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Corrine 4 4 0 0 52 8 44 86.68 12
Fields 4 2 0 2 32 28 4 53.35 6
Lisl 4 2 0 2 30 30 0 50 6
Tibbett 4 2 0 2 29 31 -2 48.33 6
Talbot 4 0 0 4 7 53 -46 11.65 0

They’re all The Group of Death I s’pose, but this one really justifies the name. Fields replaced Mathis, who was 7th seed, and one suspects won’t maintain that status but we’ll see. Lisl and Tibbett both get through as Lucky Losers, those lucky, lucky people, and Commander Talbot - well, again, it’s not the worst performance but it’s going to mean The Spy who Loved Me takes a Crash-Dive overall.

Group E Played W D L F A GD % Pts
Severine 4 4 0 0 45 15 30 75 12
Felix 4 3 0 1 41 19 22 68.33 9
Vijay 4 2 0 2 36 24 12 60 6
Solange 4 1 0 3 27 33 -6 45 3
Moon 4 0 0 4 1 59 -58 1.68 0

Hmm. General Moon. One vote. Only one vote. Although given that he’s North Korean, he’ll probably say that’s a win. It isn’t, though, is it? Felix does better than the Mrs, but will come up against her in the Second Round. Strongish showing from Vijay means a solid pass into the next round, and it seems to be resting upon his shoulders whether Octopussy finally breaks into a Top Ten. So that’ll be his fault.

Victim (seed) % Group outcome
1 Aki (3) 88.33 Winner Group C
2 Corrine (4) 86.68 Winner Group D
3 Kerim (1) 85.95 Winner Group A
4 Jill (2) 84.4 Winner Group B
5 Severine (5) 75 Winner Group E
6 Quarrel (9) 74.83 Runner-Up B
7 Felix (6) 68.33 Runner-Up E
8 Plenty 61.68 Lucky Loser 1
9 Vijay 60 Lucky Loser 2
10 Della (8) 58.33 Runner-Up C
11 Fields (7) 53.35 Runner-Up D
12 Andrea 53.13 Runner-Up A
13 Lisl 50 Lucky Loser 3
14 Tibbett 48.33 Lucky Loser 4
15 Saunders 45.53 Lucky Loser 5
16 Paula (10) 45.33 Lucky Loser 6
17 Solange 45
18 Paris 40.63
19 Zukovsky 37.48
20 Strutter 25
21 Mr White 24.98
22 Mishkin 16.68
23 Cmdr. Talbot 11.65
24 Campbell 7.78
25 General Moon 1.68

The first five seeds pretty much on form, after which it all goes a bit runny and this category might provide a more varied range of films in higher places than others. Thunderball’s hops of retaining a Top Ten finish in everything look slim; The Spy who Loved Me is already sunk. Anyway, Second Round usually sorts the quick from the dead. Albeit they’re all dead.

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Second Round form table for Victims

Victim Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Aki 86.92 (-1.41) / -
2 Corrine Dufour 85.6 (-1.08) / -
3 Kerim 85.02 (-0.93) / -
4 Jill Masterson 82.52 (-1.88) / -
5 Severine 72.5 (-2.5) / -
6 Quarrel 72.36 (-2.47) / -
7 Felix Leiter 62.16 (-6.17) / -
8 Della Leiter 59.16 (+0.83) / +2
9 Plenty O’Toole 53.08 (-8.6) / -1
10 Vijay 53 (-7) / -1
11 Tibbett 51.16 (+2.83) / +3
12 Fields 50.18 (-3.17) / -1
13 Andrea Anders 50 (-3.13) / -1
14 Solange 45 (-) / +3
15 Saunders 43.92 (-1.61) / -
16 Countess Lisl 43.74 (-6.26) / -3
17 Paris Carver 40.63 (-) / +1
18 Paula Caplan 40 (-5.33) / -2
19 Zukovsky 37.48
20 Strutter 25
21 Mr White 24.98
22 Mishkin 16.68
23 Cmdr. Talbot 11.65
24 Campbell 7.78
25 General Moon 1.68

Generally sedate at the top, although from the Quarter-Finals onwards they start gnawing chunks out of each other.

Rest of it’s carnage, though. Thunderball won’t be getting another Top Ten, it seems. Vijay might just do it for Octopussy, except…

…I do declare, I truly do, the “winner” of the Second Round to be Sir Godfrey Tibbett. In all my years as a Deathmatch-monger, I’ve never seen a fat old man do whatever whatever whatever.

Fun to come*

*this is not a guarantee. At worst an innocent misrepresentation.

5 Likes
117

With the Quarter-Finals for Victims now as dead as they are, form table…

Victim Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Corrine Dufour 85.6 (-) / +1
2 Aki 83.15 (-3.77) / -1
3 Kerim 82.75 (-2.27) / -
4 Jill Masterson 79.48 (-3.04) / -
5 Quarrel 66.25 (-6.11) / +1
6 Severine 65.18 (-7.32) / -1
7 Felix Leiter 62.16
8 Plenty O’Toole 53.08 (-) / +1
9 Vijay 53 (-) / +1
10 Della Leiter 51.68 (-7.48) / -2
11 Fields 50.18 (-) / +1
12 Andrea Anders 50 (-) / +1
13 Tibbett 48.58 (-2.58) / -2
14 Solange 45
15 Saunders 43.92
16 Countess Lisl 43.74
17 Paris Carver 40.63
18 Paula Caplan 40
19 Zukovsky 37.48
20 Strutter 25
21 Mr White 24.98
22 Mishkin 16.68
23 Cmdr. Talbot 11.65
24 Campbell 7.78
25 General Moon 1.68

The top four is probably set but within them it’s pretty tight (and, for the most part, pretty), so still something to play for in the remaining two rounds as they fight it out between them.

Places 5 to 10 inclusive are probably settled now, so an Octopussy thing does break into a Top Ten. You have my permission to hold street parties and to giddy-wee.

Ah, old nag Tibbett fell at the antepenultimate fence so gets shot in the head and rendered into tallow and mediocre leather goods. These animals really do enjoy the sport, though. They do.

4 Likes
118

Form table after Semi-Finals for Victims

Victim Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Kerim 81.86 (-0.89) / +2
2 Corrine Dufour 81.77 (-3.83) / -1
3 Aki 76.63 (-8.52) / -1
4 Jill Masterson 74.01 (-5.47) / -
5 Quarrel 66.25
6 Severine 65.18
7 Felix Leiter 62.16
8 Plenty O’Toole 53.08
9 Vijay 53
10 Della Leiter 51.68
11 Fields 50.18
12 Andrea Anders 50
13 Tibbett 48.58
14 Solange 45
15 Saunders 43.92
16 Countess Lisl 43.74
17 Paris Carver 40.63
18 Paula Caplan 40
19 Zukovsky 37.48
20 Strutter 25
21 Mr White 24.98
22 Mishkin 16.68
23 Cmdr. Talbot 11.65
24 Campbell 7.78
25 General Moon 1.68

The top two are nibbling at each other in the Final, so still an outcome to play for given that it is very close there. Third place in the Death-Off is up for grabs, as is third place in form; one will have to see how much grabbing happens. Nibbling and grabbing ahoy. Yum. The top four places here are still not settled going into the final round of the knockout, which is quite rare for one of these things; usually matters are tucked up in dead by now. IT IS SO EXCITING THAT I HAVE NEGLECTED TO PUT A FULL STOP AT THE END OF THIS SENTENCE

5 Likes
119

After a close brace of final games, the Victims Deathmatch has an outcome:

Winner: Corrine Dufour
Runner-Up: Kerim
3rd: Jill Masterson
4th: Aki

More of the usual nonsense soon.

5 Likes
120

Final form table - Victims

Victim Form % (% shift) / form shift
1 Corrine Dufour 78.16 (-3.61) / +1
2 Kerim 77.52 (-4.34) / -1
3 Jill Masterson 72.85 (-1.16) / +1
4 Aki 71.46 (-5.17) / -1
5 Quarrel 66.25
6 Severine 65.18
7 Felix Leiter 62.16
8 Plenty O’Toole 53.08
9 Vijay 53
10 Della Leiter 51.68
11 Fields 50.18
12 Andrea Anders 50
13 Tibbett 48.58
14 Solange 45
15 Saunders 43.92
16 Countess Lisl 43.74
17 Paris Carver 40.63
18 Paula Caplan 40
19 Zukovsky 37.48
20 Strutter 25
21 Mr White 24.98
22 Mishkin 16.68
23 Cmdr. Talbot 11.65
24 Campbell 7.78
25 General Moon 1.68

That ended up much closer than anticipated. For some. No Time to Die and Octopussy elements break into a Top Ten, and perhaps the category does allow for a little more variety. Corrine does probably die one of the nastier deaths, although winning this superannuated parlour game is probably very little solace to her. Still, she’d probably have ended up being gassed anyway

Victim Deathmatch outcomes over the years

2022 2023 2024
Winner Licence to Kill From Russia with Love Moonraker
Runner-Up Skyfall Goldfinger From Russia with Love
Third Goldfinger No Time to Die Goldfinger
Fourth Moonraker You Only Live Twice You Only Live Twice

As observed, a bit more variety in the films coming through this category. A “bit”. I wouldn’t call it as wide open as Corrine Dufour’s dog-bitten wounds, for example. Moonraker does the double in winning both the form and the knockout, and this does have repercussions…

Final form table for Victims over the years - Seeds and Pots for 2025

2022 2023 2024 Average Seed/Pot
Dr No 8 9 5 7.33 6th Seed
FRWL 1 1 2 1.33 1st Seed
Goldfinger 2 2 3 2.33 2nd Seed
Thunderball 10 8 18 12 Pot 1
YOLT 4 3 4 3.66 3rd Seed
OHMSS 23 23 24 23.33 Pot 3
DAF 14 10 8 10.67 10th Seed
LALD 20 20 20 20 Pot 2
TMwtGG 9 12 12 11 Pot 1
TSWLM 19 24 23 22 Pot 3
Moonraker 5 6 1 4 4th Seed
FYEO 15 11 16 14 Pot 1
Octopussy 7 17 9 11 Pot 1
AVTAK 18 14 13 15 Pot 2
TLD 13 16 15 14.67 Pot 1
LTK 3 13 10 8.67 8th Seed
GoldenEye 25 22 22 23 Pot 3
TND 17 18 17 17.33 Pot 2
TWINE 21 21 19 20.33 Pot 2
DAD 22 25 25 24 Pot 3
CR 16 15 14 15 Pot 2
QoS 11 5 11 9 9th Seed
Skyfall 6 7 6 6.33 5th Seed
Spectre 24 19 21 21.33 Pot 3
NTTD 12 4 7 7.67 7th Seed

Thunderball loses its 10th Seeding from this year in spectacular fashion; Plenty O’Toole takes a Seeding spot, also with some spectacular fashions. I suppose that’s the exercise of democracy. Fields as drafted in to replace Mathis for Quantum of Solace retains a Seeding so she can stay. Fairly consistent overall but Vijay is up and down like a yo-yo. How death imitates “art”.

Deathmatch outcomes 2024 to date

Villain Song Bond Women Hench Titles Victim
Winner Goldfinger Live and Let Die From Russia with Love OHMSS The Spy who Loved Me Casino Royale Moonraker
Runner-Up OHMSS Goldfinger The Spy who Loved Me Casino Royale Goldfinger Skyfall From Russia with Love
Third Skyfall Diamonds are Forever Goldfinger Thunderball Diamonds are Forever You Only Live Twice Goldfinger
Fourth Casino Royale OHMSS Thunderball The Spy who Loved Me Thunderball Goldfinger You Only Live Twice

Moonraker’s first placing and it’s a win. Terribly efficient. As it’s achieved a placing (Semi-Final or better), this means it can break into…

Most Valuable Player

–quite spectacularly, as it turns out.

Placings Wins Top Ten Top Form Points
Goldfinger 6 1 7 1 15
TSWLM 3 1 6 2 12
OHMSS 3 1 4 1 9
Moonraker 1 1 6 1 9
Casino Royale 3 1 5 0 9
Thunderball 3 0 6 0 9
FRWL 2 1 4 1 8
DAF 2 0 4 1 7
Skyfall 2 0 5 0 7
LALD 1 1 4 0 6
You Only Live Twice 2 0 3 0 5

Victims being a rough subject for some of the usual faces round here, Goldfinger just starts to creep away a bit…

Top Ten of Everything so far

7 visits to Top Ten 6 visits to Top Ten 5 visits to Top Ten 4 visits to Top Ten 3 visits to Top Ten 2 visits to Top Ten 1 Visit to Top Ten Yet to bother the scorers
Goldfinger Thunderball Casino Royale From Russia with Love You Only Live Twice Dr No The Man with the Golden Gun Tomorrow Never Dies
The Spy who Loved Me Skyfall OHMSS A View to a Kill For Your Eyes Only TWINE
Moonraker Diamonds are Forever The Living Daylights Octopussy Die Another Day
Live and Let Die GoldenEye No Time to Die Quantum of Solace
Licence to Kill Spectre

…as indeed it does here, too. Octopussy and No Time to Die break free of the ignominy of never bothering the scorers - can any of those others? It might be a challenge.

The Road to Best Picture

After the next category I will do a round-up of placings here but one suspects that the chances of Thunderball, OHMSS and The Spy who Loved Me took a bit of a hammering in this round…

Ecce Moonraker, though.

Villain – form place Song – form place Bond – form place Women – form place Hench – form place Titles – form place Victim – form place
Dr No 12 23 11 6 18 20 5
From Russia with Love 2 16 1 3 15 16 2
Goldfinger 1 5 3 9 4 9 3
Thunderball 8 10 7 5 5 6 18
You Only Live Twice 13 11 22 21 10 5 4
OHMSS 4 8 16 1 12 3 24
Diamonds are Forever 16 1 14 4 3 11 8
Live and Let Die 15 3 10 11 9 7 20
The Man with the Golden Gun 9 19 19 22 14 23 12
The Spy who Loved Me 7 2 6 7 1 1 23
Moonraker 5 4 8 8 11 8 1
For Your Eyes Only 20 14 5 17 17 12 16
Octopussy 19 22 15 15 16 17 9
A View to a Kill 11 9 23 24 8 19 13
The Living Daylights 25 15 9 18 6 21 15
Licence to Kill 10 20 13 10 7 24 10
Goldeneye 14 13 24 14 2 4 22
Tomorrow Never Dies 17 18 17 12 22 13 17
TWINE 18 12 21 25 23 18 19
Die Another Day 24 25 25 23 21 22 25
Casino Royale 6 6 2 2 24 2 14
Quantum of Solace 23 21 18 16 25 25 11
Skyfall 3 7 4 20 19 10 6
Spectre 21 24 20 19 13 15 21
No Time to Die 22 17 12 13 20 14 7
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