The new blond, er, Bond

Chicago Tribune: He's a 1950s guy who drinks martinis and chases women. He gambles with skill and kills with speed. He remains immune from the sweep of history, the Cold War and glasnost, feminism and political correctness.
He is Bond, James Bond.
Oh, but one thing's changed. Now he's blond.
Friday's introduction of sandy-haired English actor Daniel Craig as the newest James Bond marked a milestone in cinema's longest-running male fantasy. Dashing and handsome, Craig becomes the sixth actor to take on the movie role of Agent 007, following the likes of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan.
Craig will star in "Casino Royale," due to begin filming in January.
This is a series in which blonds are usually cast as the tall, cold Russian villain or the sultry woman in a bikini. Will fans accept the new Bond? The movie series survived the wooden George Lazenby and the forgettable Timothy Dalton, so it will surely survive a blond in the lead role. A blond Bond might even thrive. Bond has already proved he can change: He once had a nasty smoking habit, which he finally gave up in modern, healthier times.
The character
What counts is the character, something author Ian Fleming realized when he created the Bond thrillers. The fantasies appealed to President John Kennedy, the most famous fan of the series of Bond books, and to generations of filmgoers who discovered Bond at the movies. There was a time when Bond movies were considered risque because of the blend of sexual innuendo and violence.
In a 1962 interview with the Tribune, two years before his death, Fleming described himself as a "kiss-kiss, bang-bang" writer. The Bond character plugged into wish fulfillment. Men liked the books, Fleming said, because they hoped things that happened to Bond would happen to them, even though they knew "jolly well" they wouldn't. Women enjoyed the books, Fleming said, because "the female characters are always getting bashed about."
It truly was another era.