Angel & Spike - rip offs?

Taake

Taake

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Are Angel and Spike creative inventions of Joss Whedon and company... or basically just rip-offs of Anne Rice's Louis and Lestat?

One prone to more sincerity and broodiness and the other more buoyant and bratty (not sure bratty is the right word... it's something in the attitude, that's cocky but impish at the same time, and bratty is the only thing that comes to mind for a cohesion of these.) Obviously Lestat made Louis and was his guide and not vice versa, but it's more about the way they are than exact story.

What do you guys think? Is it just accidental, a natural dichotomy of character traits, or maybe some unadmitted influences? Or are the similarities no more than skin deep?


Also... (from wikipedia)... just gonna leave this here... While Louis and Lestat are often at odds with one another, they eventually form an uneasy truce, with Lestat coming to regard Louis as a kind of soulmate, (...) There is an element of sexual attraction implicit in their relationship;" ... 😉
 
Well, Spike was copied from another popular vamper so it would stand to reason that Spike and Angel's relationship would be as well.
 
I'm not that up on Anne Rice to be honest, but from what I can see Angel's character is formed mostly from the lore of the Buffyverse. He was an original idea from that perspective.
Vampires are not really a grey area in-verse- that's the rule to begin with anyway- they are demons without soul. They may have personality and internal conflict/relationships but they all love snacking on humans- end of. Buffy can kill the bumpy headed guys and girls without any moral qualms. She is absolutely doing good.
So Joss introduces an anomoly- the first grey area really- the one and only good (ish) vampire in the world. Angel has a soul because it was forced upon him. He's alone, like Buffy- they are mirrors of each other in in that way. His character comes in most part from that dychotomy. He's a broody misery-guts because he always feels guilty and he's been on his own for a while.

Spike...kinda came about more organically I guess. Bad guy to reluctant ally to recurring character to 'truth teller' to romantic foil. All the time we're told by the writers (or a couple of them anyway) that he's 'special' (not how, just that he is). So, in his own way, Spike is also an anomoly, but one that evolves rather than by design.

I don't see either of them as rip-offs of previous characters. But they do conform closly to some stereotypes, as do their relationships with the main heroine. Angel in S1-2, Spike in S6-7.
That's not rip-off, that's just cliche.
 
I never read them as similar to Louis and Lestat until now. Dru could even be akin to Claudia, as they were both 'handicapped'.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Well, Spike was copied from another popular vamper so it would stand to reason that Spike and Angel's relationship would be as well.
Click to expand...

Which vampyr? Lost boys?
I can see a physical resemblance but not much in the line of character....
 
Taake said:
Also... (from wikipedia)... just gonna leave this here... While Louis and Lestat are often at odds with one another, they eventually form an uneasy truce, with Lestat coming to regard Louis as a kind of soulmate, (...) There is an element of sexual attraction implicit in their relationship;" ... 😉
Click to expand...

Don't forget:
CONNOR
Right. Vampire. So, what are you, like 500 years old?

ANGEL
No, I'm about— Do I look 500?

CONNOR
Do you spend all your time making out with other vampires, like in Anne Rice novels?

ANGEL
No. Uh—I used to, but... 😀
 
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