Spike Is Just Plain Awesome: A Character Study (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Geek post alert! I mean, most posts on here are, so I guess that kinda is a given, but I thought I'd warn you anyway. I guess Joss Whedon just yells "geek" to me more than other things. (I mean he did create both Firefly and Buffy, so really, can you blame me?)

By the way, this is all written from the perspective of having gotten about midway through season 5, so obviously I haven't technically gotten all the information I could get. And if you're behind me in the series, there will probably be spoilers. But it's just that some characters, to paraphrase John Green, "Sometimes you [see] a [character] and [they] fill you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans [love] the [character]."

So, without further ado, I'm about to weirdly and zealicly evangelize you about my current favourite Buffy character, William the Bloody. Also known as Spike.

Now, I've pretty much loved Spike since he first appeared on the show (early-mid season 2) - I liked his style. This was, of course, back when he was still an active villain. And I've talked about how much I adore villains, right? I just liked that he and Drusilla just strolled into Sunnydale, saw the Chosen One or whatever he was called - there was this kid, the Chosen One or something like that, and all the vampires in Sunnydale listened to him because he was the Chosen One and he was leading them all - Spike and Drusilla just strolled into Sunnydale and killed him. There. That solves that little conflict of interest.

And they research Spike and it turns out that he had killed two Slayers already in his past. Which means? This particular vampire is an actual threat.

Awesome.

Enter: Spike and Drusilla

And before I get into how he loses his whole being-a-threat-ness, I'd just like to say that right from the beginning, when he was with Drusilla, who, to keep it simple, was insane and did need help with a lot of things, it was clear that Spike was sort of, in a way, taking advantage of her. You know, for sex and stuff. Vampires are often like that. But, unlike most vampires, we can also percieve that there's something beneath that. Something extremely loving and affectionate, and he cares for Drusilla, truly. And when they awaken the killing machine who was programmed to kill all things human and not evil, the machine questioned them for a moment because it sensed something not evil between them. Something more weak and human. Because Spike is one of those wonderful villains who are evil on the outside, but with a very soft underbelly.

Not to mention that right from the beginning Spike's little quips were freaking HILARIOUS.

For instance:

Xander: (in reference to the troll that just entered and is destroying the place) I'll gonna run and get Buffy. Or maybe you could fight it?

Spike: Yeah, I could do that, but I'm paralyzed with not caring very much. 

Or

Spike: (referring to Angelus bringing the rock that the monster was encased in) It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big.

Or even:

Buffy: What are you doing here? Five words or less.

Spike: Out - for - a - walk. Bitch. 

And when he first teams up with Buffy (they both loathe each other, but they both want to kill Angelus more, so it's a grudging "let's not try to kill each other for just a limited period of time" thing going on), yeah, it was mostly out of jealousy of Angelus, but also, Spike doesn't really WANT to see the world destroyed. See, for a vampire, Spike really isn't CRUDE. He's a little obnoxious, sure, but he also has a level of, sort of, sophistication. I'm not sure how to explain it. Spike likes the world. He doesn't want it all to literally go to hell. It's the ultimate act of evil, and Spike wants no part in it. He has the kind of forethought and reasonableness that not even Angelus, the ultimate evil and ideal vampire, does. 

I just keep seeing the scene where Buffy first has to tell her mom that she's a Slayer, and Spike happens to be around, and at first Spike tries to cover for her. THEY HATE EACH OTHER. So why is he doing this? Because he knows that if Buffy can't fight then his alliance is gone. And when Buffy invites him in to her house? As a vampire, that's a big deal. He could potentially take huge advantage of that for his own malicious intentions. And the thing is? He never really does. Fact, in that particular episode, he tries to make small talk with her mom. Spike is not like other vampires, that's for sure. 

Buffy's Mom: Have we met?
Spike: You hit me with an axe one time. Remember? 'Get the hell away from my daughter'?

Flash forward: season 3. Spike and Drusilla have escaped elsewhere. Except guess what? Spike makes a reappearance in Sunnydale. Perhaps his original intentions were a little more malicious. What ends up happening is he breaks into Buffy's house and breaks down crying and Buffy's mom offers him tea. 

And why is he breaking down? Because Drusilla broke his heart. That's right, Drusilla, someone who he actually really loved, broke his heart. "I caught her making out with a chaos demon!" It's terrifically funny in a pathetic sort of way. Which only goes further to prove my point that, unlike most other vampires, Spike is capable of loving, really loving with all his heart. For a soulless demon, Spike is remarkably human. And a true fool for love, as well. More so than any of the Scoobies, or really, any character on the show.

Spike: What do you know? It's your fault, the both of you! She belongs with me...... I'm nothing without her.

Buffy: Yeah, that I'll have to agree with. You're pathetic, you know that? You're not even a loser anymore, you're a shell of a loser. 

Spike: Yeah? You're one to talk.

Buffy: Meaning?

Spike: The last time I looked in on you two, you were fighting to the death. Now you're back making googly eyes at each other like nothing happened. Makes me want to heave.

Buffy: I don't know what you're talking about.

Spike: Oh yeah, you're just friends.

Angel: That's right.

Spike: You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love 'til it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other 'til it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood, blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.

And this was all before his major character development and arcs, so that just goes to show you how awesome Spike is. 

But to the point, to when Spike really starts to get some attention: season 4.

Spike's been a resident of Sunnydale for a while, but when he gets captured by a secret organization that studies demons called the Initiative, they put a chip in his head so that he can't hurt any living thing without being in an extreme amount of pain. He can't even aim a gun at someone with an intention to harm them without getting a massive pain in his head. So what ends up happening is he ends up at Buffy's house, thrown out of all his old haunts and just desperate to get out of the sun (you know, cause that burns vampires and all). And he's pathetic. And the Scooby Gang, who, rightfully, are suspicious tie him up and end up sort of taking care of him for a while - first in Xander's place, and then with Giles. 

And the interesting thing is that even through all these strangely personal encounters with the Slayer and the Scoobies, it's made perfectly clear that they mutually loathe each other. But since Spike is no longer a threat, since he can't hurt anything, they find he makes a rather good ally. Oh, yes, he would kill them all if he could, and they would kill him if he ever became an active threat again. But as it is, Spike actually helps them once in a while (when Giles turned into a demon - sure, he had to bribe him, but still) and they enjoy his extensive, though grudging, knowledge of the demon world. And Spike just has to settle with verbal bullying to satisfy his malicious urges. That is, until he discovers that the chip doesn't cause him pain if he hurts a demon. 

Eventually they just let him go, or he gets out of their houses or whatever, because they're all sick of each other. He finds a nice crypt and gets cozy. And of course, Spike wants to see the Slayer dead. And yet? That seems to be him and the Scooby Gang's only conflict of interest. For one of them being a team working to save the world and the other being literally a blood-sucking demon, they have a lot of the same goals. And yes, in the finale Spike manages to turn them all against Buffy. Because he's close enough to them that he can do that. But what happens after that? He saves them from a demon they didn't know about. 

Which is probably the only thing that stopped them from staking him then and there.

So what do I get from season 4? Not only is Spike hilarious, he's a wonderfully conflicted character. The kind of villain you don't need to feel guilty about loving, because he's not always a villain. Sometimes, just sometimes, in his obnoxious yet smart way, he's helping them out.

But the interesting thing about Spike? Just when you think you've figured him out, just when you think, okay, for sure this is the direction he's going now, he backtracks. He changes his mind.

Case in point:

Season 5. Spike has developed a sort of obsession for Buffy. I guess.... he kinda... has a crush on her? (Ya can't say there wasn't a lead up. They had an episode where Willow sort of accidentally made them fall in love for God's sakes [HILARIOUS!]) And you get the feeling that he wants to hate her, but he can't really. And he's already had basically a nervous breakdown because the Slayer was "haunting" him. No matter where he went she turned up. So when Buffy asks him to tell her how he killed the other two Slayers, he grudingly does, for a fee. And the thing I find interesting here is that Spike isn't necessarily trying to upset Buffy when he says the things he does. He's actually speaking from his rather grim observations (I suppose for a vampire they're not as grim, which is what makes it so easy for him to share them, I guess) about Slayers and the nature of their duties. He's serious when he talks about how all Slayers have a death wish. And his advice about reaching for your weapon first, since a vampire already has theirs? Actually decent advice. You don't get the feeling Spike is really trying to screw up Buffy here. Which leads you to believe that he's going to help her now. He's strangely insightful.

Spike: What are you looking at?

Buffy: (in reference to killing the Slayer) You got off on it.

Spike: Well, yeah. I suppose you're telling me you don't? How many of us do you reckon you've killed?

Buffy: Not enough.

Spike: Exactly. 

Then he backtracks, changes his mind. After Buffy's "you're beneath me" comment (so horribly close to the one he got from the girl who broke his heart before he even became a vampire) he decides he'll kill her once and for all. He gets his gun prepared, gets ready to endure the pain he'll have to endure for the act by reassuring himself "she'll be dead longer" and sets out to kill her. And the cold resolution he has is just so chilling that one is left with no doubt that he means what he says and intends to follow through.

Hasn't got a death wish? Bitch won't need one.

Until he gets to Buffy's house. And sees her crying on her doorstep.

He backtracks again. Changes his mind again. When he sees her tearstained face what comes out of his mouth is an awkward yet undeniably concerned, "What's wrong?"

Awkward shoulder pat. Melts my frickin' heart.

Yeah, Spike is a funny dude, but right from the beginning he's also been remarkably complex. More complex than any other character on the show, I would argue. I mean, Angel was supposed to be the dude we all really sympathized with, but seriously? All he did was brood. Spike seems much more human than Angel ever was, which is ironic because Spike doesn't have a soul and Angel did.

So here is a summed up list of things that I love about Spike and why I think he's an amazing character:

• His fashion sense! Haha. But seriously. Loving the long leather jacket. Very dramatic.
• His episodes tend to be hilarious.
• He's a villain who loves with more of his heart than any other protagonist. He really is love's bitch, he knows it, but he really just can't help it.
• He's intelligent and often insightful.
• In spite of this ^ it's quite clear that Spike thinks with his heart. A heart that should be cold and unfeeling, since he's dead and a demon and all, but isn't.
• He's the only vampire on the show that has actually maintained it's humanity. Which, I guess, means that his empathetic nature is strong enough to be sustained through death and evil. It doesn't conquer, certainly - Spike has killed countless people over the years, of course, including two Slayers - but it's sustained. And that's definitely something.
• In spite of all this Spike is not a good guy, really. Not initially. He has his good guy moments. All in all, he takes advantage of people when he can and tries to kill them when he feels like it and, you know, craves the taste of blood and the feel of a good kill. You know. Vampire stuff. Evil stuff. Awesome, evil stuff. 

Angel: Leave her alone!

Spike: Yeah, that'll work. Now say pretty please.

Angel: Take me. Take me instead of her.

Spike: You're not clear on the concept, pal. There is no instead. Just first and second.

Freakin' awesome.

But Megan, those things contradict each other. You just can't make up your mind, can you?

But that's where you're wrong, young padawan. The sign of a complex (and therefore more real) person is contradiction. Because people aren't just one way. For instance, I love my friends but hate the idea of having to be social. I love to tell stories but can't tell them out loud to save my life. I've been called creative, but all my best ideas started as someone else's. I like to experiment with things but hate uncertainty. They contradict, but they're true. It's a sign of complexity. And I would challenge someone who knows their Buffy to argue with any of the characteristics I've attributed to Spike on this list.

Now: Obligatory awesome pictures of Spike.

Okay, so we all know I'm not usually one to see a guy and notice that he's attractive unless someone points it out. But when Spike smiles like that..... ack. Be still my heart.

Spike from the freakin' 70s. Your argument is invalid. 

And that's all I've got for you. But to be fair, those are the only pictures that matter. :)

Quotes to help with life: the seventh

"'Do not think that I am not sad, though I laugh. See, I have cried even when the laugh did choke me. But no more think that I am all sorry when I cry, for the laugh he come just the same. Keep it always with you that laughter who knock at your door and say: 'May I come in?' is not the true laughter. No! he is a king, and he come when and how he like. He ask no person; he choose no time of suitability. He say: 'I am here.' [...] My heart bleed for that poor boy [...] And yet when he say things that touch my husband-heart to the quick, and make my father-heart yearn to him as to no other man - [...] - yet even at such moment King Laugh he come to me and shout and bellow in my ear: 'Here I am! Here I am!' till the blood come dance back and bring some of the sunshine that he carry with him to my cheek. Oh, friend John, it is a strange world, a sad world, a world full of miseries, and woes, and troubles; and yet when King Laugh come he make them all dance to the tune he play. Bleeding hearts, and dry bones of the churchyard, and tears that burn as they fall - all dance together to the music that he make with that smileless mouth of him. And believe me, friend John, that he is good to come, and kind. Ah, we men and women are like ropes drawn tight with strain that pull us different ways. Then tears come; and, like the rain on the ropes, they brace us up, until perhaps the strain become too great, and we break. But King Laugh he come like the sunshine, and he ease off the strain again; and we bear to go on with our labour, what it may be.'"

- Professor Abraham Van Helsing, Dracula, Bram Stoker

(I realize that this one is quite a bit longer than all the others, but the thing about it is first of all, Van Helsing never just answers a question in Dracula, he always gives some kind of thoughtful speech. I actually shortened this one quite a bit to make it fit better out of context [and also to avoid spoilers for people who don't know the actual plot of Dracula and who are interested in reading the thing] but the thing about literature is that everything, though not immediately apparent, adds to the atmosphere in some way, and the atmosphere adds to the meaning. So why don't we just appreciate the literature for the beauty of what it is, okay?

Also, this quote is more or less my life philosophy, and I think it's awesome that a dark, gothic book like Dracula would have a whole passage about the significance and importance of laughter.)

Not so much a quote to help with life, but an awesome quote nonetheless

"I sometimes think we must all be mad, and that we shall wake to sanity in strait-waistcoats."
-Bram Stoker, Dracula

Surviving My Mother: Review

Okay, first of all:

This is one of the weirdest movies I've ever seen. And, in all honesty, I probably shouldn't have seen it in the first place. But I did, the deed is done, and actually? I kinda liked it. But admittedly, it was a little frightening at some points. It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a comedy as it suggested though. It's more of a... It's a pretty dark movie with one or two comedic bits to it. Good comedic bits, but still.

A brief synopsis:

So it's about this woman called Clara whose mother has cancer. And she's so busy taking care of her mother that she barely pays attention to her own daughter, Bianca. Her mother, being old and in pain, is a bitter old woman, and the only person who softens her is Bianca, but she seems to just be in a state of constant irritation with Clara. Finally, she slips into what the doctors call the "transition phase" - she's between life and death. By now the cancer is all over her body, and she's turned a sickly yellow and almost inhumanly bitter, so much so that Clara calls her the "yellow woman" and describes her as having taken over her mother. Anyways, so the transition phase is happening and Clara is sitting by her mother's bedside and telling her to go, to not be afraid. She asks if she wants help going, and to squeeze her hand if she wants Clara to help her. She squeezes her hand. So Clara (sobbing) holds her mouth and nose until her mother is dead.

A time later, Bianca's now in university and she's pretty much a whore. She goes out every night with older men and... well you can guess what they do. Clara is too haunted by the ghost of her own mother to notice Bianca's habits, even though Rick (Clara's husband/Bianca's father) notices her going out all the time and disapproves. Eventually, Bianca starts getting harrassed by one of the many men she screwed around with, the man telling her he's going to leave his wife for her. "Pierre, I made it perfectly clear I never loved you!" "When did you ever make it 'perfectly clear'?!" "When I said, 'Pierre, I don't love you,' how much clearer can I be?!"Bianca also browses sites more or less created to produce one-night stands and finds a man she likes by the name of Michael. And they like each other so much that they see each other every night and do the I-think-you-can-guess-what.

Aaaaaaand eventually Clara starts getting obsessed with getting to know Bianca more, because she realizes now that while she was taking care of her mother, they didn't know each other at all. The rest..... well, if you're interested see the movie.

The thing about this movie is I can't really reccommend it to anyone with a clear conscience. It's just really really weird, and it's dark and generally a little uncomfortable. But the thing about it is that if you're feeling that way about it, it means it succeeded. They wouldn't be telling this story in the first place if you weren't supposed to feel a little uncomfortable.

And you know what? That's why I liked this movie.

It was bold. It didn't beat around the bush. It addressed every uncomfortable topic that I can think of, at the moment. And it did so with an awkward kind of grace. Awkward because that's what the topics are. They're awkward. And the movie doesn't lie about that, it says "Yes, it's awkward," and that's what made it graceful.

Ultimately, the movie is about Bianca finding herself, and the movie is about the unbreakable bond between mother and daughter - unbreakable for better or for worse.

Now, there were a few bits that weren't reallllllly necessary to the movie, like Jenetta coming over all the time, although in hind sight I suppose that was a bit of comic relief.

These characters were realistic, and I loved that. I can totally see how having to kill one's own mother would drive one to near insanity, especially after finding out what Clara did about her daughter. I mean, these characters had dimensions is what I'm saying. Bianca, while being a whore, was also a very intelligent, even intellectual girl. All these people were real.

And I know Rick wasn't a huge character in the movie (he wasn't a big character but he was played really well, I gotta say... and I'm not just saying that because I like the actor who played him). But I was really touched by a particular moment between Rick and Bianca. When Bianca tells Rick her big, shameful secret, they're sitting on the couch, and Rick says with a lost little laugh, "... I suck at this."

I almost cried. If there was one movie moment that I could choose that I related the most to, it was that. That's ME.

This movie was honest, that's what I liked about it. Not all the characters knew just what to say all the time. There were times when the characters didn't know how to react, they didn't go straight to anger or shame or comfort. There was always that kind of moment of "...I don't know what to do." And that's how life is. That's the truth. We don't always know what to do. And I liked that the movie addressed that.

So in conclusion:

This movie was definitely not what I expected it to be. It was edgy, it was grim, it was strange. And I liked it for that. Hell, I might even watch it again if I so desired.

4/5 stars.

P.S I'm seriously not just saying all this because I like the actor that played Rick. I legitimately think these things. Thanks for not insulting my integrity as a movie-watcher and a student of story-telling.

Favourite Thing of the Week #3

Yeah, I teared up. You watch it and try not to.

Beautiful piece. Shivers running up and down my spine five minutes after watching it.......

Your Argument is Invalid: Sheldon Cooper vs. Abed Nadir

Okay. I recently had a Community night with my friend Carly. It was her idea, not mine, so don't think I forced it on her. But she didn't seem to get a lot of the jokes, because, as we know, it's a very pop-culture oriented show, so you kinda need to know more pop-culture than what they're showing in Teen Bop Magazine to get the show. It's also a show you need to seriously pay attention to - there's no laugh track to tell you when to laugh, and there's no big obvious set-up to tell you what's coming next, so you need to actually listen to and watch the show to know what's going on. Both of which are things Carly's not oriented with, so it wasn't surprising that she didn't really get it, it was just a little disappointing.

But throughout the evening, Carly repeatedly said (about Abed) "He reminds me of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory!"

To which I would reply "Except he's much more adorable." I had much better reasons for preference than that, but I didn't feel like getting into a debate with Carly because she tends to take things like that kind of personally because as we know, I like to debate rather heatedly, even (or especially) when it's all in fun.

Until finally, after the third or fourth or fifth time she said it, I was like "Except Abed's... better."

She paused and then said "Well, I think Sheldon's better, just sayin'."

Which gave me an extremely unreasonable amount irritation.

Yeah, I get that parrallels can be drawn between Sheldon and Abed. They're both obsessed with routine, they both have trouble understanding things like sarcasm and social cues. They're the same sort of character, but they're used in completely different ways.

So let me just tell you what I think:

Abed is much much MUCH better. For a few reasons.

Exhibit A)

Abed is a much more developed character.

Sheldon Cooper doesn't seem to have any emotions. We barely see anything in Sheldon besides a spectrum of vague to extremely specifically honed condesension. He's not a human character. They joke about him being a robot on the show, but he's literally written like one. They don't write him like a person, they write him like a computer. All we know about Sheldon is he thinks he's better than everyone around and he has eccentricities that annoy everyone to the point of insanity. Long story short, he's simply a caricature, a bit of a stock character, and nothing more.

Meanwhile, at Greendale, we've got Abed. Abed is great because they're not afraid to portray him as a human character in spite of his differences. They don't make him a caricature like Sheldon. In the very pilot of the show, you see his extreme puzzlement at everyone's behaviours, but you also see how happy is to be around them. Three episodes in the ultimate tragedy of Abed becomes clear. He's been so misunderstood, put through tests his whole life, his mother left and his father blamed him. He never felt wanted. And even though his face doesn't move much, Abed has such warmth, has such a tangible aura, that we can sense his sadness. And yet, we know Abed has dreams, and we know how grateful he is to Britta for helping him, and we know that he loves his father, and everything about Abed, in spite of his eccentricities, is just so human.

The closest thing to that story we have with Sheldon is "I'm not crazy. My mother had me tested."

Exhibit B)

The portrayal of the autistic spectrum.

You didn't think I was just going to let this one go, did you? As a person with an autistic brother (and as a person who's probably on the spectrum herself) it's something I need to notice and talk about.

It is never specifically stated or implied with Sheldon that he may be on the spectrum. It is not a canon fact, though many people who ARE on the spectrum see themselves in him. And, really, that's what makes it so irritating to me. They make him seem so very autistic - so obsessed with routine, so set in his stubbornness and irrational fears, thrown off by sarcasm. They're not saying he IS autistic, he's just indistinguishable from someone who is. It's like the writers are implying it, but whenever someone calls them out on it, they go "OH NO OF COURSE NOT! HE'S JUST A LITTLE WEIRD IS ALL!" If you're going to make him like that, have the frackin' balls to own it.

Abed, on the other hand, was called Aspergers literally since day one. They're not afraid to say it, to own that, but it's not what makes the character. They say, "Yeah, okay, he's autistic. But that's not all that he is." Which, really, is sensitive, wise, and most of all, accurate. They don't act like it's taboo, which I really appreciate. Actually, it's a very positive representation of the spectrum.

Unlike Sheldon, which takes all the fears and stereotypes we have about the spectrum and smushes them up into one character.

Exhibit C)

How we are supposed to feel about them.

With Sheldon, it kind of comes back to this villain thing. We don't really like them, but we like when they're on screen, in Sheldon's case, because it makes us laugh. But we're not supposed to like Sheldon, and god help you if you actually connect with him. Usually, he's the antagonist of the piece. And we love when he's onscreen, but we hate the character. When we laugh at Sheldon, we're laughing AT him, no way around it. The writers have created this...... satire. But the thing about satire is that it only really works if the writers really love their character, like you can only make fun of your friends after you're really good friends. Otherwise it just comes off better-than-thou, and that's what the writers are doing. It's spiteful, wow-I'm-so-glad-I'm-not-you laughter. If you see yourself in Sheldon, then there is no character in that world that actually likes you. End of story.

Abed, on the other hand, is the hero of Community. We're supposed to see ourselves in Abed. He's always the protagonist. They've positioned Abed as the audience, because he's an observer, because we all feel clueless to the rest of the world sometimes, and we're only reacting as we know how. And that's the point that Abed makes, really. Abed is designed to remind us that it's okay to have our eccentricities, Sheldon is designed to shame them. We don't laugh AT Abed, not really, because we are supposed to love him. When Abed makes us laugh, it's because we look at what he does and it's just funny, It's not spiteful wow-you're-such-a-loser humour, it's the kind of humour where Abed turns into a vampire because they asked if he had a different version of himself. It's just FUNNY. And even when we are laughing at Abed, that's okay. Because it's satire, and Community can do that because it DOES love Abed (and all it's characters) so it's less spiteful and more satirical.

Abed often thinks he's a hindrance to the group, but that's always dismissed as his own insecurity.

With Sheldon it's made plainly obvious that he is a hindrance to the group and they wish they didn't have to deal with him.

Abed will ultimately bring people closer.

Sheldon has caused large fights over nothing.

We're supposed to hate Sheldon, god knows every character on that show does. And that show is making fun of Sheldon. If you don't laugh with us, you're like him and you're a loser.

In the pilot episode of Community, it is said about Abed:

"Abed is a shaman. You ask him to pass the salt and he gives you a bowl of soup because soup is better. Abed is better."

So in conclusion:

Abed is better.

Your argument is invalid.

WHOSE LIVE FREAKING ANYWAYS

[This post was written in February and I just never finished writing it until now don't hate me].

Guess where I went just last night?

That's right. Whose. Live. Anyway.

Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops and Jeff Davis. Chip was SUPPOSED to be there, but I think he was filming the show Nashville..... which I eventually stopped watching because it wasn't interesting or going anywhere. Replacing him was Joel Murray, who I'm pretty sure is Bill Murray's brother.

But back to my original point, I SAW THESE PEOPLE LIVE AND IT WAS EPIC AND THEY WERE THERE.

Ryan was dressed in jeans and a white Tshirt that was sort of checkered with yellow? Like there were lines on his shirt that made squares, but the squares weren't filled in, and the lines were yellow and the shirt was white. I'm describing this in far too much detail. I don't really care at this point. He also wore strange, coloured shoes, which made me feel awesome inside.

Greg was wearing a suit and tie, and his large-ish glasses of course. His hair is puffier now than it ever was on Whose Line. Like what Jeff posted on some social networking site.

Which brings me to Jeff. He was wearing a suit and tie (not sure I've ever seen him without one). He had his hair gelled in a sort of spike up.... you know, like boys do..... whatever.

I should probably mention Joel Murray - he was part of the show after all - but I really don't remember what he looked like. I'm gonna say suit jacket. That's all I know.

Also Bob Derkache was there. He was doing the music for it, like he did on Improvaganza. And he's really good. I always think that the music people in these shows don't get enough credit for what they do. I mean, yeah, we're there for the funny, but it takes a lot of smarts and talent to be able to just improvise any style of music on a piano. So whenever they sort of "presented" Bob Derkache I always cheered very loudly.

The show started with Greg. Greg has the most talent with getting audiences pumped. He spent a little bit talking to the audience members and sort of doing an impromptu stand-up thing, which was really funny, and then he finally introduced the players. First he introduced Jeff Davis, and then Joel Murray (I went to Whose Live with my Whoser friend Sarah, of course, and she hadn't known that Chip wasn't there, and she gave me a very confused look at this point) and then, because he's the most known and therefore the crowd favourite, Ryan Stiles.

They were explaining to the audience that they would have to call things out so that they could take their suggestion (like anyone who goes to Whose Live Anyway doesn't already know that) and one guy in the audience, who was probably drunk and continuously yelling before even asked to, kept suggesting "Pole vaulting". Which then became a running gag for the audience which the lovely players never took us up on.

Now, what games were played? They played Jeopardy, Sound Effects, Forward/Reverse, New Choice, Greatest Hits, Sentences, Jeff sang a song to a woman who sold dog leashes in the style of "something sexy", and I think Joel Murray played a game with Jeff somewhere in there set during World War II, but I really don't remember what game it was.

It was pretty much seeing Improvaganza live, except with less people onstage and more people in the audience who knew what was going on.

My favourite game that was played that night was Jeopardy, just because.... wordplay. Gotta say, as much as Jeff fangirls annoy me on the Internet, he's a talented dude. Good with the quick thinking. Also his Christopher Walken impression was a famous thing from Whose Line and it was really great to see him do that live. My favourite thing was:

"Banana."

"*buzz*"

"Christopher?"

"What sound does a sheep make rolling down a hill?"

"............"

"Baaaaaa-naaaaaa-naaaaa........"

I loved that.

And then Ryan got Bob Derkache to choose a category, and he chose Sixties Songs or something like this. So Ryan asks the audience for suggestions, and it's just quiet. After a minute a few things came out of the audience..... maybe six people yelled things..... and one guy yelled "Cha-Cha Slide". Ryan singled the guy out, because he hadn't heard properly, and said "What was that, sir?"

To which the guy yelled "I dunno!"

All the players sort of looked at each other, and Jeff said in his Christopher Walken impression:

"If you don't know - shut up."

Which was one of my favourite things that evening.

And he really is quick with the songs on the spot kinda thing.

Did I mention SONGS? Because something amazing happened that night in a SONG!

So, since Chip wasn't there, and he, as we all know from Improvaganza, is Jeff's singing partner, they had to switch it up a little. Because they played Greatest Hits. So Greg and Joel were the people selling the DVD and Jeff and RYAN did the song part. And, I mean, I knew Ryan could sing, but it was never really his forte, right? And I knew they were just adapting to what they had, so I didn't really... I expected more quality in the humour than quality of the sound, to put it politely. It's just that I know it's not really Ryan's thing, and so was expecting something enjoyable but not remarkable. Right?

But you know what guys?

HE HARMONIZED PERFECTLY WITH JEFF DURING THE COUNTRY SONG.

IT WAS KIND OF THE BEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE.

They just burst into harmonies and Ryan did the low part and Jeff did the higher part and it was just so goshdarn PERFECT!!! I mean, it literally sounded perfect. Neither me nor Sarah knew he had that in him, and we both gave each other the most incredulous of looks. I'll never forget that. It was the most epic thing I've ever seen.

At one point, before the Sound Effects game, Jeff came into the audience looking for volunteers. And I normally wouldn't have, but Sarah was there and she immediately leaped up, waving her arms and yelling Jeff's name, so I jumped up with her so we could be picked together because he needed two people. And we were pretty far up there, but he really did come up to where we were - I mean, he was maybe six feet away from us at most!

And then he proceeded to not pick us. He picked a woman and her husband I think. But there were a couple of Jeff fangirls who were screaming at him as well, and they thought he picked them and they started to go down and they were like "Us?" And he was like "NO GET BACK UP THERE!" which was kind of really funny.

And then the woman hugged Ryan for a really long time and all I could think was "THAT COULD HAVE BEEN MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE NOOOOOOOOOOOO"

And then we left without getting their autographs. Even though me and Sarah had both brought our Whose Line DVDs to be signed by them. They weren't anywhere signing autographs. Which made me sad but it's a testament to their awesomeness that the night was still as amazing and incredible and fantastic as it was.

Ha. Yeah. Good times.