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(More customer reviews)Okay, for the sake of argument, let us say that Spike, played by James Marsters, was your favorite character on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and when he came back from the dead, so to speak, for the final season of "Angel" you were overjoyed. However, for some reason you really, really like Spike but not enough to have all of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD. The "Spike: Love is Hell" DVD seeks to meet your needs by providing four choice Spike episodes of "BtVS." Just be aware that these four episodes focus on Spike's tortured relationship with Drusilla (Juliet Landau), and not the Spike and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) roller coaster, so you are not going to find "Something Blue" or "Intervention Here":
Episode 3 of Season 2, "School Hard" (Story by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, Teleplay by Greenwalt, September 29, 1997), begins the fun with the arrival of Spike and Drusilla in Sunnydale in time for the Festival of St. Vigeous, when vampires are at the height of their powers. But Buffy is facing something even worse: Parent-Teacher Night at the high school. Spike decides not to wait for the big day and goes after Buffy on school ground (4.5 Stakes).
Episode 7 of Season 2, "Lie to Me" (Written by Joss Whedon, November 3, 1997), finds Buffy surprised when old friend Billy Fordham shows up at Sunnydale High and even more surprised when he says he knows she is the Slayer. But she is totally shocked when she learns Ford is part of a club that worships vampires and wants to become one of the undead. Ford's plan is to give Spike the Slayer and then Spike turns Ford into a vampire (3.5 Stakes).
Episode 8 of Season 3, "Lover's Walk" (Written by Dan Vebber, November 24, 1998), has a drunken and besotted Spike back in Sunnydale after being dumped by Drusilla. When Spike discovers Willow at the magic shop, he kidnaps her and Xander tell the wicca-wannabe that she has to perform a spell to make Dru come back to him or else. Buffy captures Spike, but cannot dust him because he has Willow and Xander stashed someplace. The irony is that by the end of this one Spike is the only one feeling good about his relationship with the person he loves, but then he is the only one who is willing to admit that he is "love's bitch," when it is clear everyone is in this one (4.5 Stakes).
Episode 7 of Season 5, "Fool for Love" (Written by Douglas Petrie, November 14, 2000), provides flashbacks to when Spike killed two vampire slayers. After almost getting beaten by a regular vampire, Buffy wants to know. However, we also get to find out what William the Bloody was like when he was still human and Drusilla turned him to a vampire. As we follow Spike through time he kills one slayer in China during the Boxer Rebellion, where he and Dru have gone with Darla and Angel for some fun, and then takes down another in a New York City subway in the 1970s (4 Stakes). The flashbacks begun here continue in the "Darla" episode of "Angel," although the emphasis is not on Spike like they are here. But it is just a nice little reminder that you should have all of these episodes.
In terms of quibbling with the selection, "Lie to Me" is really the only one I would want to replace of this quartet, even though it is written and directed by Whedon. You have to have "School Hard," "Lover's Walk" is where Spike becomes a fully blown comedian, and "Fool for Love" goes all the way back to the creation of Spike. But "Lie to Me" is fairly pedestrian. Then again, you can only do four episodes here and "What's My Line? Part 2" where Drusilla regains her strength and "Becoming, Part 2" where Spike takes Dru and leaves town, are not going to show up without their first halves. Spike is in a wheelchair for both "Surprise" and "Innocence," and you cannot do anything from Seasons 3 and 4 of "BtVS" when he has the chip in his head, and Dru takes a back seat in "Halloween," so it sort of ends up being "Lie to Me" by default (but quibbling is such fun!).
The featurette on Spike is decent, but it is certainly not a reason for die hard fans to add this to their collection. Will there be follow-up DVDs of Spike with the bloody chip in his head and then Spike in love with the Slayer? Stay tuned. Or, just go out and get all of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on DVD.
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