Okay, for whatever insane reason, my mom seems to think that James is a bad actor (vomits a bit in back of mouth).  This is so weird since she didn't really watch the damn show...Anyway, I'm taking a quick poll to you guys' top three Spike monologue moments.

Thanks in advance,

Scarlet

Scarlet - what does your mother know, anyway.  Force her to watch Spike until she cries uncle.  It was incredibly hard to pick, but.

Triangle S5

SPIKE: Oh, I'll insult him if I want to! I'm the one who's on your side! Me! Doing you a favor! (very angry) And you, being dead petty about it -- me, getting nothing but your hatred and your venom and - you ungrateful bitch!

School Hard S2

SPIKE: The bird's dead, Dru. You left it in a cage, and you didn't feed it, and now it's all dead, just like the last one. (Drusilla cowers and whines) Oh, I'm sorry baby. I'm a bad, rude man.

Beneath You S7

SPIKE: I dreamed of killing you. I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak, thinking of you, holding myself, and spilling useless buckets of salt over your... ending? Angel--he should've warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time. The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.

Oh, gosh... hard to choose. I agree with the church scene in "Beneath You." I'd also go with "Fool For Love"... that whole episode is pretty much a Spike monologue, but particularly the alley/subway fight scene. And... hmm. Can I pick an Angel ep? Because that whole bit when Spike does the different voices and mocks Angel in "In the Dark" is hilarious.

Damn...don't have access to Angel DVDs 1-3 :(  Any s5 of Ats recs?

Hmm... I haven't watched AtS s5 in a while. I bet there's a good monologue somewhere in the "Destiny" fight scene... 

Ooh! I got another BtVS one - his "you'll never be friends" speech to Buffy and Angel in "Lover's Walk"... "I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it."

If I wanted someone to see the best of James, I'd show them FFL -- all the different facets of Spike!

The AtS scene I'd pick isn't a monologue, and I doubt people could see how brilliant it is without knowing Spike's whole story -- but the way he does the poetry slam in NFA is great.  There's this pause before he says 'effulgent' where you can see how much weight that one word has born in his life.  The way he hitches his breath and looks at the crowd when he says it.  And then the way he jumps up all drunken-tigger like when the crowd applauds him.  I love that scene.

You bring up a good point, Maggie. Even though monologues are good for showcasing a character, James often does his best acting when he's not saying a word. 

In fact, I change my answer, Scarlet. Instead of a monologue, show your mother the clip from the As You Were dailies, the close-up of Spike when Buffy breaks up with him. I *dare* anyone to say he's not a good actor after that.

I converted my non fan and professional actress sister just by showing the church scene from Beneath You.  She came from that wondering why he didn't have an Emmy.  Also FFL in total is perfect.  The "I love you because" scene from Touched is quite good.  The scene when Spike first encounters Buffy after her resurrection (the non verbal as well as verbal) in Afterlife and the next morning with the "I saved you every night" are excellent as well.

Kathleen

That's hard. A lot of them are awesome. If I should choose, it'll be Spike's speach in Touched to Buffy, the scene in Beneath You, and his speach to Buffy and Angel in Lover's walk.

Hmm..."Touched" and "Beneath You" seem to be the front runners.  Highly doubt I'll be able to get her to watch an entire ep...  Oh, and fantabulous clip, Eowyn.  that would've been a better ending then the one we got.  But of course, it was supposed to have been about Buffy freeing herself from the big, bad, evil demon...Sorry, tangent.

"Lover's Walk" is good, but I haven't seen it in awhile.  Aren't there a lot of cuts to Angel and Buffy during his little speech?  Most of James' acting does seem to be in his face, and not what he says.  Any good closeups besides "Afterlife" and the one from "As You Were?"

*goes off to ponder...*

How about the look on his face when Buffy disinvites him.  And of course the whole scene where he's got the ex-wife tied up, the current girlfriend shooting at him with arrows and the future love of his life in chains. 

Or the scene in S7 where Buffy confronts him about hunting and he says "not the chip, damn it, my soul" or whatever he says. 

I think your mother needs to watch every single episode to make up for her perfidious behavior.  Bad Mommy.

ooh- Sleeper *is* a good one...Damn it, I wonder how much I can force her to watch.

Scarlet, For what it's worth, I share my brother's reactions.  Last year I got him to go through all of Buffy and Angel.  (Good brother!)  His reaction to FFL was to give a 'standing ovation' to JM.  I hadn't ever mentioned JM's acting, so my brother's reaction was all on his lonesome.  But he did say that he was less impressed with JM's performance the rest of season 5.  But then back on board with JM's work all through seasons 6 and 7.  I don't really get what his problem was with the rest of season 5.  And I personally love the way JM plays the Bronze scene in Crush.  But that's the one 'outsider' reaction that I have to share with you!

Another personal favorite moment: the speech at the well in A Hole in the World.

 my mom seems to think that James is a bad actor

Blasphemy!!!!!  Bad Mommy, indeed!  Hmmm...I do agree that A LOT of James's acting is non-verbal, but, he CAN deliver a line like nobody else, whether it be heartfelt or downright hilarious.  So, I'll try to pick out a few facial expressions and dialogue :-)

Facial Expressions: The look on his face when Buffy locks him out of the house in "Crush;" the look on his face when Buffy dumps him in "As You Were;" the look on his face at the bottom of the stairs in "Afterlife;" the look on his face when he cries in the alley in "Fool for Love;" the look on his face when he sees Buffy crying on the porch in "Fool for Love."

Dialogue: the "You'll never be friends" speech in "Lover's Walk;" the "Hell of a woman" speech in "Touched;" the "It's not a date" bit and the "I'm drowning in you" part in "Crush;" the "I know you'll never love me" lines in "The Gift."

The entirety of Season 7 is chock full of awesome James: Crazy basement scene in "Lessons;" Crazy basement scene chasing rat at the beginning of "Beneath You;" Spike going from sane to crazy again after he harms the worm dude in "Beneath You;" the scene where Buffy confronts him about killing in "Sleeper;" the end of "Sleeper;" just about every single scene from the rest of the season :-)

Okay, that's way more than a few.  If I had to choose just one thing to show someone, it would be church scene in "Beneath You."  It's got dialogue delivery, non-verbal stuff, bits of crazy, bits of sane, etc.  He's so Hamlet in that scene that it makes me tingle.  It's an award-winning performance without the actual award :-P

Hard to disagree with any of the above. I would just say that IMHO, James does his best acting with his face and body.  Interesting, for someone with a theatrical background.  You'd think he'd be all about the words and not so good in the close-ups. (Although, should be good with his body - and get your minds out of the gutter! lol)

So much depends on the material when you are judging someone's acting.  Joss gave him a hell of a character. As James has said, "...he gave me a chance to shine."  I've seen him in other things and it was pretty ...meh.  I'm really hoping that WaT works for him in terms of showing what he can do with a character.

Okay, what about SR?  Very powerful moment, lots of emotions pushing through...

Also, I still think he should do a guest starring role on Law & Order: SVU or Nip/Tuck, and see his dynamic with either of the two wonderful casts.

Oooo!  I love Nip/Tuck.  But if both James and Julian McMahon are on screen at the same time, I think I might very well implode.

I pretty much agree with everyone's rec's as well.  Scarlet, if you want an AtS 5 rec, I also have to go with "A Hole In The World," and JM's delivery of the title line.  It still gives me chills (though if she doesn't watch the whole ep, she might not feel the proper weight behind the line).

Still, if you're going for maximum impact in the shortest amount of time, I think we all agree you gotta go with the "Beneath You" church scene.  You gotta.

Coquine

Oh, and yes Scarlet, SR would be veerrrry powerful.  Not just the bathroom scene, but earlier when Dawn confronts him, his face after she tells him he hurt Buffy, and then after The Scene, his reaction to it, with the flashbacks and the crushing of glass and his utter, utter confusion.

Coquine Part II

Okay, mom will *SO* be forced to watch a JM clip show tonight whether she likes it or not!!  I'll let you guys know how it went ;)

Okay, my mom is deaf and blind.  She couldn't see the greatness that is JM's acting, but only because of the content of the show. She said she'd choose *soaps* over watching him, or that they're on the same level.  WTF?! 

"You broke my heart, mommy.  You broke my heart!!"

For these reasons, I will force her to watch WaT, and hope to god that show is actually good...

Don't be too hard on Mom.  James himself has said that, unless you're *really * smart and sophisticated, you aren't going to watch a show like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" because you, meaning the audience, won't be able to see past the title.  Most people write it off as a stupid show! :) Just shows what they don't know, and what *we* do.

FetchingMadScientist

Hehe, I have a clip of one of my fave Spike monologues - maybe my fave ever ;) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj1LUaczuk0

"A Hole in the World" and "Damage". "Damage" is a gruesome ep once Dana captures Spike, but James did a fantastic job.

She couldn't see the greatness that is JM's acting, but only because of the content of the show.

See, I'd say the opposite... JM's acting is actually at its best because of the content of the show. I mean, you can't get much more emotional depth than a scene where you're telling the woman you love that you got a soul for her. Compared to that, ordinary human emotional situations just seem trivial. :) The other roles I've seen him in weren't nearly as compelling, and his performance wasn't nearly as good.

James himself has said that, unless you're *really * smart and sophisticated, you aren't going to watch a show like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" because you, meaning the audience, won't be able to see past the title. 

Are you calling Scarlet's mom stupid? lol :) I think that's true for someone who's never watched the show... but if you give it a chance, one single episode can get you hooked. Scarlet's mom obviously watched it and still didn't like it. Maybe she needed a whole episode, rather than just JM clips, to appreciate it.

She watched it, at first.  When it came out, I was eleven, and every week, I'd watch it at dinner.  But in "Surprise" and "Innocence," she stopped cause of the sex, didn't want me to watch it, and said it was too deep.  Of course, I just watched when she wasn't in the room after that :P.  But she's not into sci-fi and fantasy anyway...

Well, if your mom watches Without A Trace, JM should be starting on that show really soon.  Maybe she'd appreciate him in that setting a little better.

I think I'd watch JM clip his toenails, quite honestly; the man can make anything look good.  For me, I loved the scene with him and Anya, before the sex started, when they're just two lonely, hurting people;  I loved the scene in AtS, with Illyria, when they're sparring, and he says "Lord knows I can smell it, and I got no problem hittin' it!"  I thought that was wonderful, the expression on his face!!!  And finally, I love the "Out for a walk, Bitch!" scene, I think that's fantastic!

And I can't wait to see what he can do on Without a Trace!

Oh no - Scarlet's Mommy is not Obsesso Girl like us!  She might have a real life.  This is too much to bear.

Nah- just no taste!!  Poor, poor girl...

*sigh*

Ok this is to hard so lets just go with a few, I can think of even if I liked a lot more.

The scene in Angel season one, most of the whole show he was in but on the roof before it opened.

Once more with a feeling when they were all singing walk thru the fire, he had so much emotion in first I'll kill her then I'll save her.

Fool for love, he went from wanting to kill her, with walking into the back yard with a gun to sitting down beside her, pating her on the back and staying with her.

okay that is just a few, I know there are more, but that is a few, I can think of off the top of my head.

Sandra

 I think I'd watch JM clip his toenails

I'd watch him watching paint dry :happy:

 I'd watch him watching paint dry :happy:

I'd watch him watching paint dry, clipping his toe nails, while reading War & Peace!!  That man could make anything sexy!  :kat: :happy: :eyebrows:

JM playing spike was always wonderful - he is so right when he states that the writers and the role gave him the "Role To SHINE." 

From all the great Spike Scenes, I also have to select the church scene from Beneath YOu.  But the Spike Scene, and indeed moment,  where JM shows how great his performance of Spike happens (for me) in both of the great Alley scenes - in FFL his facial expression and ability to use his body as language is superb - the moment when he swallows all his agony and past life history and goes from William/Spike into Spike is so powerful.  how he transforms emotional trauma into the sheer power of anger.; This moment really shows just what a great actor he can be. 

Sad to say that just about in any role, except for Cool Money which also gave him a good opportunity to use his acting skill, not the best, but still a decent role, have all been pretty insignificant.  Too bad that DrESDEN was cancelled, Spike would have made a wonderful Thomas -

Another role where JM shows he splendid ability to act with body language is in As You Were  - his performance in this episode does not get, IMHO, the recognition that it merits.  His performance in the "Do you love me" scene, his use of body language and emotinal facial expressions are so very very good.  I actually felt sick, still do even now, from that script and that scene.  For me, this is one of the best of all Spike Moments and best episodes in the entire series - All Dreams & Delusions of "what might have been" are exploded - Buffy's "Normal Guy/Normal Life" and Spike's Dreams of Buffy Love, which finally explode in Seeing Red.

Sorry for all my long sentences - not being a writer sucks in online discussions. 

JM in Nip/Tuck would be awesome. JM and JM in the same show...

The Church scene in Beneath You is amazing, as stated already.

Really, the whole obsession with Buffy in season five is very well acted and teased out wonderfully.

JM playing spike was always wonderful - he is so right when he states that the writers and the role gave him the "Role To SHINE."

From all the great Spike Scenes, I also have to select the church scene from Beneath YOu. But the Spike Scene, and indeed moment, where JM shows how great his performance of Spike happens (for me) in both of the great Alley scenes - in FFL his facial expression and ability to use his body as language is superb - the moment when he swallows all his agony and past life history and goes from William/Spike into Spike is so powerful. how he transforms emotional trauma into the sheer power of anger.; This moment really shows just what a great actor he can be.

Sad to say that just about in any role, except for Cool Money which also gave him a good opportunity to use his acting skill, not the best, but still a decent role, have all been pretty insignificant. Too bad that DrESDEN was cancelled, Spike would have made a wonderful Thomas -

Another role where JM shows he splendid ability to act with body language is in As You Were - his performance in this episode does not get, IMHO, the recognition that it merits. His performance in the "Do you love me" scene, his use of body language and emotinal facial expressions are so very very good. I actually felt sick, still do even now, from that script and that scene. For me, this is one of the best of all Spike Moments and best episodes in the entire series - All Dreams & Delusions of "what might have been" are exploded - Buffy's "Normal Guy/Normal Life" and Spike's Dreams of Buffy Love, which finally explode in Seeing Red.

Sorry for all my long sentences - not being a writer sucks in online discussions.

The Very Best of Spike- top 100.

Simply lovely.  And funny, and awesome music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quK5GuIeXcI