Poor Lyn had something of a rude awakening this morning. As soon as I got to my computer, I started squealing like a little kid – the new Bond trailer had been released. I know I shouldn’t just advertise adverts on here, but this has me quite excited. If it is anything to go by – and, of course, one should always be cautious of judging a film by it’s trailer – this film will be a blinder. What interests me most is that it appears to pick up on a few past Bond conventions: the 007 franchise has now become so big it can now go back into it’s own history and revisit itself. In many respects it functions more like it’s own genre than an ordinary series or franchise, occupying a unique cultural niche. Thus I detect hints of Live and Let Die in this trailer, as well as intriguing echoes of the theme from On Her Majesty’s secret Service; and of course, the very name Spectre harks back to classic bond. All bodes well then, although we’ll have to wait until late October to find out whether these promising ingredients make for a good film. Going back into the franchise’s own history in this way could be a risky tactic; I hope Sam Mendes handles it as well as we know he can.