What Is It About Spike?

[anyatara]

In all honesty, I think the main reason Spike was kept around, rather than killed off, was because of how much they could build on him. It was made clear quite quickly that there was a lot of history between Angel and Spike, but it wasn't looked into in much depth, there was leeway for a lot of storylines and character relationships and I don't think Spike was a character that could just be killed off. The fans really took to him, I was certainly very intrigued by Spike in season 2, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. He seemed like the anti-Angel, but he didn't seem to take vampirism as seriously as most 'evil' vampires. From his introduction, he was certainly a very interesting character. Plus, I'm in agreement on how easy on the eyes James is. 😉

The accent, though? Not so much. It got better as the show went on, but it wasn't all that believable.

 

[prophecygrrl]

Oh yeah, the accent. I'm American and the only exposure to British accents I get is through television and movies, and I remember being okay with James' accent when I first watched BtVS. I was one of those misinformed fans who thought he was actually British for the longest time, LOL. I'm re-watching the series now and geez...his accent in Season 2 is really not good. I just try not to notice now. But it does get a better as the seasons go on, I think.

 

[zobothehobo]

I think his accent gets better as time goes on... although my favorite mishap of his accent happens at the end of his tenure as Spike in The Girl in Question when he and Angel are arguing about saving the world and Angel's talking about the Mayor and Jasmine and Spike says "do those really count as saving the world?" "do those really count" is so NOT in a British accent at all. It's not even a bad accent... it's just not in one. It cracks me up every time.

 

[Flannen]

Oh yeah, the accent. I'm American and the only exposure to British accents I get is through television and movies, and I remember being okay with James' accent when I first watched BtVS. I was one of those misinformed fans who thought he was actually British for the longest time, LOL. I'm re-watching the series now and geez...his accent in Season 2 is really not good. I just try not to notice now. But it does get a better as the seasons go on, I think.

Lol, that's so bizarre to me but as you said, being American and only being familiar with British accents on TV I can see why you'd think he was British. At times he pulls it off okay, but I guess its the nuances and stuff that I pick up on. I remember reading that ASH said the one word James had real trouble with was 'bollocks' largely because James just couldn't comprehend what it was or what it meant! lol

On the other end of the scale, I can't stand listening to Alexis Denisof when he isn't speaking in a British accent! I'm so used to him being Wesley that when he appeared in Dollhouse I was like 'arrgh, that sounds fake!' and was surprised to find out he was British. But then maybe that was to do with the fact Wesley was a 'posh' Brit...maybe that's easier to adopt, I don't know.

Oh, and AJH, I totally agree about his whole lax attitude to being a vampire quite intriguing in season two. 🙂

 

[Taake]

Lol, that's so bizarre to me but as you said, being American and only being familiar with British accents on TV I can see why you'd think he was British. At times he pulls it off okay, but I guess its the nuances and stuff that I pick up on. I remember reading that ASH said the one word James had real trouble with was 'bollocks' largely because James just couldn't comprehend what it was or what it meant! lol

lol, I agree. I think he manages all right but there are clear flaws. I remember back when I'd watch the show on TV that my British friends would complain about the accent. It's mostly the little things though like how he says "can't" etc.

I always like to think about it as if Spike's accent started to fade after he left 'the mother country' much like (thank god) Angel's 'Irish' accent clearly did.


Completely agree about Alexis, just too weird when he doesn't have an accent 😀

 

[Ms.Trick]

About the accent... I knew Spike was supposed to have the British accent, only I couldn't make the difference between English accent and American accent. Then I had a revelation and was finally able to recognized them. And I thought "Oh, half of the time, I don't even hear he has an accent". As for David Boreanaz, I never got his Irish accent at all.
On the other hand, Alexis is a really a natural with the English accent, it was a shocker the first time I heard him speak with his original American accent.


But let's go back to Spike.
I think many factors made him stay.
First of all, the character himself. Spike is an interesting character. Semi bad-ass semi puppy dog. In season 2, he's first a bad ass, and in the same time he's a sweety pie with Drusilla. Then Angelus comes in the picture and kind of steal Drusilla from him. When I think about the scenes I remembered from the early Buffy from when I was still very young, is when Angelus teases Spike and leaves with Dru and Spike gets up from his wheelchair. That very moment was a "I will never forget that scene" kind of moment. I also remembered very well Spike coming to Buffy and proposing to help her. I was young and was watching the show without really paying much attention to the story (loved the fights mostly) but these scene I could remember. Spike is a character you don't forget quite easily. He's a bit of a spotlight stealer.
And that is thanks to James. A good character poorly portrayed is a poor character. But James has something. And I'm not talking about the awesome sexiness of his, no, I'm talking about him as an actor. He is just incredible.
And like TheUnspoken said, his role in Smallville and Torchwood were also extended, it means a lot about the actor!

The charisma of Spike reminds me of the one of Mr Trick. I wish he lasted longer, he definitely had himself a Spike-potential.

So, I'd say Spike stayed because he was different, interesting, had a lot of duality, he was funny, bad-ass and yet so lame, and portrayed by an excellent actor!

 

[faeriegrrl27]

People love Spike, at first, because he's funny. He's hilarious, snarky, loves to brag, and has no time for ritual. He's just a breath of fresh air. He has that element of humanity, though, that makes you want to see him as a character, not a disposable villain. And as time went on and you actually did get to see him as a character, you liked that character. The more you saw him, the more depth he got, and you saw he wasn't quite so badass, but that made him even a little more badass, if that makes sense.

Plus, he killed the Annoying One. That got him points in my book, at least.

 

[Hale Caesar]

I believe it was James Marsters and how incredibly talented he is. Plus...he looks like a bad*ss