I think that the writer misses an interesting perspective, in that that the Fundie Spikefen choose to completely ignore the negative aspects of the character to the point of hysteria, in order to bolster the point of view that he is a wuv cuddle wuddle poo.

It's a smaller cult of insanity that claims to love Spike, but hate 80% of what makes the character interesting. It's the Mary Sue-ification of Spike that's maddening, and to explore the reasons behind that particular subculture of tin foil hat wearers would be interesting.

I understand redemptionistas, i understand Spuffists, (i don't agree with either, but get where they are coming from) I don't understand Mary Spuke.

Fascinating article. I've never taken my Spike-fannishness to such a degree that I thought Buffy was a bitch what done him wrong, but that article helped me make sense of how they got there. And on the other side, I have more understanding/sympathy for the writers, since I was reminded just tonight at writers group just how tough it is to strike a balance when you're trying to show a character's gray areas. (I have a character who's supposed to be a kind, decent person, but kind of a pompous, chauvinistic ass at the same time. At first, my readers saw only the kindness, and said, "Why can't he end up with the heroine? We like him!" So now I've stressed his pompous assitude to such a degree that my readers can't believe the heroine doesn't see it, which would ruin the story if it happened too soon. Fortunately I can tweak all I want to until I strike the right balance before I try to take it public, but I feel a new sympathy for TV writers who lack that luxury.)

Tell us about your friend, Sean.

Heh. He's Swedish, and, in fact currently residing in Sweden, so this is a long term project - we'll have plenty of time to determine the exact right episode or two. I'm limiting myself to one, maybe two, on the possibility that I may only ever have that much of an opportunity, so I want to make it count.

He's a teacher, specialized in history (he's forgotten more about history than many of us were ever taught).

He's a GIANT raging sci-fi/fantasy fan, and his favorite genre shows have been the soap opera-y ones, that develop story lines and characters over time. There's ever reason he should love this show, and no reason he shouldn't.

The few things I can think of for why he refuses to give the show a chance are a) irrational associations with students he's taught, and b) knee-jerk reaction to the early look of the show (the same thing that almost caused me to write off the show initially), which is why I'm very hesitant to show him much from S1 or S2, as that is what he's formed his judgement upon (he wrote off the show that long ago).

Also, I think because English being a second (or, like third, I think) language for him, it might have a factor. Though he's more fluent in English than most Americans (no joke... he's got an accent, but no comprehension problems), I think he read Joss' language play as weak. He's not seeing the increased expressiveness invention, the flat out joy and understanding of language.

While Halloween (or Nightmares) is a good starter ep, Band Candy requires to much pre-knowledge.

Really? Do you think Band Candy would need any more setup than Halloween?

Actually, Halloween might need setup, itself. I only saw it as the first half of the Halloween/Band Candy double billing in S3, so I'd already had at least a couple of episodes to get to know the characters...

Hmm...

See, I also need to eventually see S1 and S2 in their entirety, so I can better judge those early episodes.

I'm still thinking Lie to Me.

See, I'd suggest something funny but with plot from season 4. Everyone's older, the show looks better, and the eps are more like stand alones. One of those laugh out loud ones like Pangs, or the Initiative.

But it should be one you really like, so you can have missionary zeal.

Lie to Me is a possibility, and it also includes the girl who eventually shows up again in Anne, right?

The only problem is that my inclination is to stay away from early episodes, especially S1, as part of what caused him to write off the show is the cheaper production value of the earlier seasons.

Like, WttH and the Harvest would never work to convert him as I'm pretty sure those were the episodes he had such a bad reaction to in the first place. S2 was a big improvement over S1 (visually), but even S3 was a massive jump in production value from what had gone before.

Sean, I'd vote for Passion or Hush.

Yep Lie to Me had Chantrelle/Lilly/Anne. But beyond that lemme just point out a few things. The theme is very unteenybopper. It's serious shit. You said a lot of his negative reaction was a reaction against his students etc. I think this episode would speak to him because it's got these kids into something they don't really understand, that attitude is mocked by the Scoobs and exploited by the Vampires. I think "Silly kids and their silly obsessions" is something he might get. There's also no snakes to showcase the B-movie production values, and I think it introduces some of the language in a better way than WTTH or an earlier episode/season would.

Lie to Me and Passion might make a good S2 pair to show him. You get all the good stuff Heather points out about Lie to Me, and you also get a significant character death in Passion, so it's a good demonstration of the show's willingness to make permanent changes with long term consequences.

I think that the writer misses an interesting perspective, in that that the Fundie Spikefen choose to completely ignore the negative aspects of the character to the point of hysteria, in order to bolster the point of view that he is a wuv cuddle wuddle poo.

I totally agree.

Also, I wanted to reach through the internet and strangle half the people quoted. Because they are WRONG.