The 00

OHMSS69

I was always annoyed at how the films discard the way the books used the "00". MI6 only had three of them: 007, 008, 0011. several of the films (especially during the Moore days) they have 00's up the yang yang. Q mentioned the loss of a 003 in Siberia (AVTAK) the agent dressed as a clown killed at the beginning of OP is a "00".
I mean WTF? I would think that MI6 would not employ more than 3 of them at any one time. I would think the license to kill is not just handed out to any sociopathic operative.

I like to assume that the other 00's are off on their own assignments doing what 00's do. Protect British/Western interests and when the situation dictates: kill a mutha.
It would be cool to have Bond bump into one of his fellow 00's leaving M's office, or just passing or whatever. Perhaps one would be a woman. Now that would be so cool.

Maybe it's just me. Your thoughts?

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

Don't Fleming's novels have just that many? You only mentioned 008 and 0011, and I haven't yet read DN, but isn't Strangways 002 or something?? Bond is the best of three agents as well, and 006 and 009 have been mentioned. The novels so far are very ambiguous as to how many MI6 has on hold.

OHMSS69

I did some research years ago and there's only the three. 007 is the more "senior" of the three. The FRWL novel goes into this and I believe (don't quote me) that the other two 008, and 0011 are mentioned in the MR novel. I think the novel TMWTGG talks about the other two as well but it has been 40 years since I read that book.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

But TB talks about 009, and OHMSS 006, so it isn't just 008, 0011, and Bond.

I don't believe Strangways was a double 0.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

0013 said:
I don't believe Strangways was a double 0.

No, he was head of J section (Jamaica, obviously).

DarthDimi

Wasn't there a female 00 present in the large meeting room in TB?

haserot

DarthDimi said:
Wasn't there a female 00 present in the large meeting room in TB?

there is rumored to be one - but not sure if she is visible at all...

wasn't there a female '00' in TWINE, when Bond gets snubbed during the assignment handouts.... or are we to assume that she was just another random agent, and not a '00'?

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

http://screenmusings.org/Thunderball/images/Thbll_194.jpg

The third from the left look feminine from where we can see them, but who knows??

00Beast

Curiously enough, the only two 00 agents not mentioned in the movies are 001 and 005.

001- Not mentioned
002- TMWTGG, Bill Fairbanks, killed by Scaramanga; another 002 in TLD, the agent who first failed the training excercise at Gibralter
003- AVTAK, dead body found in Siberia along with Zorin's microchip
004- TLD, killed by the 00 Imposter at Gibralter
005- Not mentioned
006- Alec Trevelyan
007- James Bond
008- Mentioned in both GF and TLD; in both movies, M threatens to take Bond off his assignment and replace him with 008
009- OP, killed by Mishka and Grishka

RogueAgent

I would guess Twelve 00's in the section. Obviously rumours are abound about the coffins in Skyfall? But would like to see a line up again. The last was in TWINE wasn't it? There was a lady there too.

OHMSS69

My point:
the 00 designation is rare and should be handed out to very very few agents. Not every MI6 field operative is a 00. would have made good sense to say Trevelyn was 008 instead of 006 in GE. I mean that would have been in keeping with the books and Fleming.

Given the way the films have knocked off 00's I can see why the need for so many.They have a high mortality rate.

IMO and what I gather from Fleming is that the 00 designation would only go to certain agents/field operatives. These persons would have to proove themselves and probably be the best agents. No organization would have agents who took pleasure in killing. Hence the rarity of a 00.

Some interesting trivia from the books: The three 00's shared the same office at MI6 and they had one "girl Friday" who did the filing and other tasks for them. they were never in the office at the same time , off on their respective assignments.

CommanderRoss

Well, considering the fact that ' double oh's have a very short life expectancy', and given the fact that there also is a double o' eleven, I would find it strange if there were only three numbers in use. Only in TB we actually see ten chairs, and thus assume there are 10 00's. But otherwise I think it normal that there have been more numbers used, but there still could be about 3 on active duty (except for TB of course).
@OHMSS69 well of course! In those days filing was a huge task, people far more often had an assistant (As Bond does himself as well, Ponsenby).

OHMSS69

@CommanderRoss
You bring up an interesting point. Maybe they began back in the late forties with 001 and as they were killed off they kept adding numbers. Maybe 0011 came in after 0010 and 009 died in the line of duty. Killed while spying on the Soviets no doubt...

They mention the secretary in the MR novel and i beleive TMWTGG novel. I want to say her name was Mary Goodnight but don't quote me.

CommanderRoss

Yes, Mary comes after Loeilia Ponsonby IIRC. I was going to start reading all the novels again but can't find them as all my books are stored in boxes right now.

I did some research into MI6 and other, erm, let's call them 'Information Services' and the one thing that struck me was the fact that MI6 often follows no logic at all, just to confuse its opponents. So giving numbers to agents might as well have gone completely at random, with the one difference that they never hand out the same number twice.

TheWizardOfIce

A small point - before you get your 00 are you just known by the single digit?
So Bond was plain agent 7 till he slotted two blokes.

But then with so many agents in the service it seems odd that all the 00s are in the first 11 agents. By random chance you would expect there to be a 00246 or a 00379.

Presumably there are eleven or so 00 numbers and you just get assigned whichevers free when you 'qualify' as it were.

I guess I've answered my own question.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

I think the 00s are just normal agents before they get their own 00 number, but I could be wrong, considering it hasn't been explained to my knowledge. And I have an interesting inquiry. If Bond gets his licence to kill revoked like in LTK, does he then have to kill two more in cold blood to reinstate it?

myworldisenough

This licence to kill thing is silly really. You expect me to believe that MI6 only have three agents that are a 00, licence to kill? What happens if one gets captured, another is in bed with the flu and the third is on holiday? Does M personally then have to get his/ her hands dirty because for some inexplicable reason it was considered only three people in the whole of the organisation were ever needed for saving the world and killing the bad guys?

TheWizardOfIce

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:
I think the 00s are just normal agents before they get their own 00 number, but I could be wrong, considering it hasn't been explained to my knowledge. And I have an interesting inquiry. If Bond gets his licence to kill revoked like in LTK, does he then have to kill two more in cold blood to reinstate it?

Brilliant question.

And more to the point how does the LTK actually work in the real world? Is it for if the local police turn up after you've just shot someone; you just flash the old LTK and they let you go?

But then would this mean it was some sort of international agreement ratified by NATO or the UN or something but would that mean the CIA would have LTKs as well?

And where do you draw the line? Presumably Bond can't shoot up a school and then when the SWAT teams arrive he just waves the LTK and they let him walk out past all the crying mothers?

Or do you have to fill out a form like an expenses form every month with a list of all the people you've killed and some clerk at MI6 has to square it away with the police?

We need to be told these things!

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

I don't think a licence to kill exists in real life intelligence services, but we truly just can't tell, outside looking in.

CommanderRoss

TheWizardOfIce said:

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:
I think the 00s are just normal agents before they get their own 00 number, but I could be wrong, considering it hasn't been explained to my knowledge. And I have an interesting inquiry. If Bond gets his licence to kill revoked like in LTK, does he then have to kill two more in cold blood to reinstate it?

Brilliant question.

And more to the point how does the LTK actually work in the real world? Is it for if the local police turn up after you've just shot someone; you just flash the old LTK and they let you go?

But then would this mean it was some sort of international agreement ratified by NATO or the UN or something but would that mean the CIA would have LTKs as well?

And where do you draw the line? Presumably Bond can't shoot up a school and then when the SWAT teams arrive he just waves the LTK and they let him walk out past all the crying mothers?

Or do you have to fill out a form like an expenses form every month with a list of all the people you've killed and some clerk at MI6 has to square it away with the police?

We need to be told these things!

Well, International Law says all spying is illigal, still, we all know all goverments have a spy-agency..
I would guess a LTK ensures that a British spy is allowed a weapon upon himself when he flies with a national airline, or that it says he's the only one to be allowed to send himself a weapon through the diplomatic mail.

Or that, if he gets cought, his government tries to make sure he's allowed to sit out his sentence at home and then is immidiately released when coming home..

I can see som advantages in those things. And I guess you wouldn't send any old spy out to kill enemies of your state..

Master_Dahark

TheWizardOfIce said:

And where do you draw the line? Presumably Bond can't shoot up a school and then when the SWAT teams arrive he just waves the LTK and they let him walk out past all the crying mothers?

Or do you have to fill out a form like an expenses form every month with a list of all the people you've killed and some clerk at MI6 has to square it away with the police?

We need to be told these things!

I'm sure the LTK simply means that if Bond is in any threatening situation, he is already authorized to handle it. If that means taking a life, so be it. Bond has been in the service long enough to be trusted as someone who would use such a licence responsibly, and the LTK isn't just handed out lightly, like an 'employee of the month' award. The 'licence to kill' isn't meant literally, as in 'you can kill whoever you want and it's cool'; instead what it means is that in this line of work, you are authorized to use lethal force if you deem it necessary

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:
If Bond gets his licence to kill revoked like in LTK, does he then have to kill two more in cold blood to reinstate it?

That shouldn't take too long, knowing our man James. lol

OHMSS69

TheWizardOfIce said:
A small point - before you get your 00 are you just known by the single digit?
So Bond was plain agent 7 till he slotted two blokes.

But then with so many agents in the service it seems odd that all the 00s are in the first 11 agents. By random chance you would expect there to be a 00246 or a 00379.

Presumably there are eleven or so 00 numbers and you just get assigned whichevers free when you 'qualify' as it were.

I guess I've answered my own question.

Are you serious or are you just trying to make a small joke? Ha ha. we get it.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:
I think the 00s are just normal agents before they get their own 00 number, but I could be wrong, considering it hasn't been explained to my knowledge. And I have an interesting inquiry. If Bond gets his licence to kill revoked like in LTK, does he then have to kill two more in cold blood to reinstate it?

I believe that you are spot on with the first part. They are simple agents then when they get the license,then they are given a new number with the 00.
Naw, I don't think Bond would have to off two more folks to be reinstated. M can do that all by him/herself.

There are instances when a field operative "has to kill" that would be more justifiable homicide. But a 00 can kill anytime. Face it Bond rarely has done this. I can only think of two instances, In DN with the unfortunate Dent and when he gunned Elektra down. Both cases the victims were unarmed and posed no threat to Bond.
Had he shot Elektra before she ordered Renaud to dive then it would have been justified but to shoot her after she already done it? sorry chaps.
I think the general public would not identify with a hero who killed in cold blood on a regular basis, and scriptwriters avoid this.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

Indeed, killing in cold blood shouldn't be a factor. An agent should only use the licence when all other avenues are expunged.

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