1. What three words would you use to describe Spike? Chancer, lonely, flirty
2. What would Spike's theme song be? Mash up of The Gambler and Never Forget
3. Spike vs Hilary, where do you stand? On which one I prefer? Which one is a kinder/wholesome character? Who is right or wrong with choices they have made? (Maybe pondering too much)
4. The best thing about Spike is
a) His underwear (if I'm being shallow)
b) His point of view (all ponts of veiw are equally valid so can't pick this)
c) His wit YES
d) His attitude (Changes in circumstance so couldn't pick this)
5. The worst thing about Spike is
a) His underwear (Not on your nellie)
b) His point of view (all equally valid)
c) his chatting up technique (found it quite amusing)
d) His behaviour towards Hilary YES at the end sozzled
6. How do you feel about Spike by the end of the play? Reread the last couple of pages, Spike was a skeptic which seemed to make sense considering the paper results were tampered with. He wasn't the most supportive but drunk anyway.... No strong feelings either way to be honest...
7. Rank Spike's likeability on a scale of 1 - 10
(1 being 'I don't like him at all', 10 being 'I love everything about him')
7 I think, he's not a bad person
8. Complete this sentence:
Damien's portrayal of Spike is..... Multidimensional
-- Edited by Kallie on Saturday 9th of May 2015 11:09:11 PM
2. didn't came up anything else I was thinking Hilary's and Spike's relationship and what they talked at the play. If you read the lyrics there might be some similarities of Spike's thoughts..
3. Hilary, althought Spike has some very good points and he see the things like they are on animal point of view, but Hilary thinks out of the box too, you should always think outside the box. We are all animals but there are things science and our mind cannot explain.
4. His wit
5. His behaviour towards Hilary.
6. You're sort of mad at him but you can't, he has good heart but his intelligence and will to show up sort of fill his cup too much. Buuuut that body can forgive many things and faults...
7. 7 and lots of mixed feelings, when they had their bedtime talk I liked him but when he started to argument I sort of hated him.
8. is amazing and entertaining.
-- Edited by JozieMozie on Saturday 9th of May 2015 07:20:29 PM
Kallie - your three words for Spike are very insightful! Multidimensional is a good word for Damien as an actor in general!
Jozie - I think you used more than three words there!
Interesting that you both selected the best thing about Spike is his wit and the worst thing his behavious towards Hilary!
Did make me chuckle too JozieMozie, kept reminding myself it was Spike I was thinking of... Song could be a mash up of The Gambler and Never Forget.... But may ponder more....
1. What three words would you use to describe Spike?
opinionated, witty, fit
2. What would Spike's theme song be?
Hmm - I'll come back to that
3. Spike vs Hilary, where do you stand?
Assuming that you mean their philosophy I'll say somewhere inbetween - in every other respect I'd say Spike all the way!
4. The best thing about Spike is
a) His underwear - it wasn't actually his underwear per se that I liked so much.....
b) His point of view- I agreed with much of his point of view..but - to (mis)quote one of my favourite Spike lines - he also talked a lot of bollocks!
c) His wit- he was witty...
d) His attitude - ....was probably the worst thing about Spike!
Sooo...I guess from these choices I'd have to say his wit. But my preferred answer would be his honesty.
5. The worst thing about Spike is
a) His underwear - I have nothing against his underwear!
b) His point of view - I don't disagree with everything he said.....
c) his chatting up technique - did he have one??!
d) His behaviour towards Hilary - was abominable at times...although he was quite genuinely affectionate at times too.
Think I'll have to go with d)...but maybe expand it to include everybody!
6. How do you feel about Spike by the end of the play?
That's a very good question! The first time I saw it I would've said by the end I thought he was a complete shit! But my feelings towards him have mellowed quite a lot. At the moment I'm feeling rather ambivalent and probably need to have a mull over Spike's role in the play and his relationship with Hilary in the other thread.....
7. Rank Spike's likeability on a scale of 1 - 10
(1 being 'I don't like him at all', 10 being 'I love everything about him')
I'm gonna have to give him 5 because I still dislike him as much as I like him. (That's pretty good - 1st time I saw it he'd have been lucky to get a 2!)
8. Complete this sentence:
Damien's portrayal of Spike is......entertaining (and yes - I did steal that off Jozie (thanks Jozie!), but it's true!!) and very aesthetically pleasing....
Haha Jozie you made me lol... noone could disagree with those 3 words!
Your questionnaire answers are buzzing round my brain fifi... most of all your comment on Spike's honesty. Yes! That should be an option, thanks for pointing it out, it could me overlooked due to him being overwhelmingly opinionated!
The likeability question is there to be deliberately provocative.. as fans don't we tend to 'coo; more around character we can "like"? is a less 'likeable' character less engaging? (these are rhetorical questions...)
I confess I read people's answers already, but waited a few days to forget them. Here goes...
1. What three words would you use to describe Spike?
smart/witty, grounded, horny
I have trouble separating smart and witty for Spike because his wit is very much tied to his smarts. He knows what he's talking about when it comes to the science, and while you may not agree with him, he certainly makes the science compelling and entertaining. He's grounded in the science and in his convictions of science, which lends him a confidence to put himself out there. He might come off as arrogant to some, but from what I observed, he didn't speak the way he did out of arrogance or malice. He was simply well entrenched in his views. He was condescending at times, but only after exhausting all the reasoning. As he told Hillary, it wasn't personal. She just wouldn't and kept arguing things to death. And horny, well... isn't he?
2. What would Spike's theme song be?
I'm awful when it comes to music. But that Maroon 5 Animals sounds pretty much dead on.
3. Spike vs Hilary, where do you stand?
I'm sure from my earlier comment you can extrapolate I'm Team Spike. On first viewing, I sympathized with Hilary, admired her standing up to the skepticism, though I firmly lean on scientific tangibility. All the characters had faults and were shit to each other at some point, but when it came to Spike and Hilary, you really do feel like he's ganging up on her sometimes. But on second viewing, I realized, she wasn't the saint everyone believed her to be. She claimed to pray to God for her child, and that was part of it, but really her first answer to Spike, that she prayed for forgiveness, was really the main factor. She prayed not altruistically, but because it made her feel like it absolved her of some guilt for giving her up. And she just wouldn't freakin give it a rest! I feel she wasn't completely a believer, she just kept trying to convince herself she was a believer. To make herself feel better. The one gesture that seems altruistic on her part, taking the blame for the paper to help Bo keep her job, she already knew she was leaving the Insititute. Spike, while abrasive was well intentioned. He tutored her, kept counseling her not to publish her views. Yes he wanted to get into her pants, was more eggoistic than altruistic, but there were a few gentle moments where you get the sense that he really cared about her - like when he says he'd give her a ride at least 4 times. He wanted her to do well, and maybe even wanted a proper relationship with her. And she pretty much pushed him away. She pushed everyone away really. Everyone loved her, wanted her in some way, and the end she chooses to leave them all, even the daughter she claimed she desperately wanted to know.
4. The best thing about Spike is
a) His underwear mmmmmmmmmmmm
b) His point of view I agree with it.
c) His wit Yes, this is my #1 choice. Even in his underwear, if there hadn't been that wonderful wit, the play would have been a complete bore.
d) His attitude definitely the worst thing about him. But I don't think he would have been such a shit if he didn't have to argue with Hilary about science vs theology every second they were together.
Adding that I completely agree with fifi. His honesty needs to be recognized. He wasn't out to prove himself right, Hilary hounded him into arguments. He was an academic, not out to make money and gain recognition like Amal. He isn't purposely being arrogant - his comment about the Noble Laureate is telling. He just spoke his mind with conviction, didn't back down.
5. The worst thing about Spike is
a) His underwear only that it remained on...
b) His point of view again, I agree with his arguments. He doesn't have all the answers, clearly science hasn't cracked The Hard Problem, but the science and the way he puts it is hard to deny.
c) his chatting up technique He is a lousy drunk! I would have to say that this is the worst thing about him. His behaviour towards Hilary I can understand, they have a long history and he isn't personally trying to hurt her/put her down. But how he comes onto Bo and pilates girl is awful. He clearly is popular with the ladies in general, you'd think he charmed them somehow, but why is his behaviour was so reprehensible at the party? I can only think it was because he was drunk.
d) His behaviour towards Hilary As I said before, I think he's partly goaded int his behaviour towards Hilary. He's completely honest with her, he doesn't back down from his convictions, doesn't hide alterior motives. Just because they disagree and never really become a couple doesn't mean he was mean to her. He was actually trying to help her.
6. How do you feel about Spike by the end of the play?
I like Spike. I think he's meant to be the bad guy, but I sympathized with him more than with any character. Maybe it's Damien, being a fan of his already, the depth he gave him in such a short time, and of course the body... but I felt Spike wasn't the ******* he looks to be on the surface. He was multidimensional where most of the others were flat, and while Hilary on first glance is wholesome, good, brave, she was just infuriating by the end.
7. Rank Spike's likeability on a scale of 1 - 10
(1 being 'I don't like him at all', 10 being 'I love everything about him')
I'll give him a 8.5. He's still not the most likeable of characters. But the most likeable of the play, IMO.
8. Complete this sentence:
Damien's portrayal of Spike is...... entertaining. It really is the best way to describe it. Had me grinning and chuckling all the time.
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
This is possibly going off on a bit of a tangent for the topic, but one song that repeatedly comes to mind for this play (not Spike) is Peter Gabriel's 'We Do What We're Told', which is based on Milgram's 37, an experiment on obedience. Still slightly confused about the reference in the play to Milgram's experiement and it's direct connection to its arguments, as it was a study on authority and obedience not altruism or empathy.
Warning: the below has footage of the experiments, which even though they are a set up with actors receiving the (fake) 'electric shocks', the idea being to see how obedient the person administering them (who did not know they were fake / actors) would be to authority, are still disturbing to watch.
Thanks whimsy - you've pretty much said everything I wanted to and saved me the trouble!
Although I found myself warming to Spike, I still don't like Hilary very much. I'm constantly surprised that so many reviews describe her as sweet. And I cannot see why everybody else in the play seems to fall for her. She's really quite horrible to Bo when they first meet. I originally said that Spike had no hidden depths.....but he also has no hidden agenda - unlike virtually all of the other characters. He is entirely honest with Hilary...and everybody else - he lacks tact and social niceties, but he couldn't be accused of hypocrisy. Hilary is fixated on being 'good'....but when she takes the fall for Bo at the end - in accordance with her interpretation of the prisoners dilemma from the first scene - it feels too much like she is trying to consciously live up to her own words........and she wanted to leave anyway. Ahough Spike may enjoy arguing with Hilary, and at times lacks empathy, he does show her some genuine affection, whereas Hilary doesn't seem to have any interst in Spike - except when she asked him to go travelling with her....it seems that until then she only sleeps with him to get his help, And i agree entirely that Hilary is trying to convince herself that she believes in God rather than having a genuine faith - at least Spike admits that he doesn't believe that science has all the answers. And she also seems embarrassingly ready to accept the results of Bo's experiment considering that she knew there were originally 96 children....not to mention the fact that she tells Julia that they were bullies at school - which surely contradicts the results? Initially I thought she was just rather naive....but I actually think she's the hypocrite
I was only prepared to give Spike 5/10 for likeability, but that's more than I'd give any of the other characters! I'm not sure thats a good reason to give him a higher score.....but it could potentially creep a little higher!
I have a question if anyone would like to have a go at answering. When Spike tells Hilary that she's lovely (awww) - the first time that they're in bed together - he tells her that she didn't need to say thank you and she says that she wasn't talking to him. So.....she was talking to God? What exactly was she thanking God for just after having sex with Spike? (I'm well aware of how naive that sounds, but seriously......!)
Domino - the Bjork track is perfect for this play.
I said I'd come back to Spike's theme song so.....
When I first read the question the first thing to come to mind was The Smiths' Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now. Which is quite strange because to say I'm not a fan of Morrissey's angsty whining would be something of an understatement! But every time I've tried to think of something else it just pops back into my head and I'm not sure why! It wouldn't be my first choice, but at the moment it's my only choice.....
-- Edited by fifi on Sunday 17th of May 2015 10:51:03 PM
Fifi I love that you ask this question because it's something I had on my mind too. Unfortunatey I don't really have an answer. I'm finding it a stretch to imagine she is saying thank you to anyone other than God for any other reason than the sex with Spike! Thanking God that despite his lack of social niceties, at least Spike proved to be good in bed! LOL There just isn't anything in the ensuing conversation to give a hint at what she might have been thinking about.
And thanks for reinforcing the idea that really Spike isn't as dislikeable as first impressions suggest. Reading back to my answers I was wondering worriedly that I was venerating him a bit too much, which is very possibly a bias I have in that it's Damien playing him. Sometimes it is hard to completely separate the man from the character.
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
The only song that pops into my head when I think of Spike is "I'm Too Sexy" by Right Said Fred...
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papillon... pamplemousse... bibliothèque... un baiser A lilt in his voice. Every sentence like music... #kisskisskiss A terrible beauty is born. Love me some #Jacksass
I too assumed Hilary was thanking God for the sex being good and that the line was being played for laughs. As you say Whimsy there is nothing in the rest of the conversation that gives any clues to anything more meaningful than this. The only other thing I could think of was that Hilary had been praying for something and that Spike seemed to meet whatever it was she had asked for. Perhaps one of those, 'well if this thing happens then that's a sign' things
I admit that the thought hadn't occured to me that the line might purely have been for laughs! If that's true then I'm really rather disappointed.... I've obviously been looking too hard for the deeper meanings in this play!
Lol to "I'm too sexy" whimsy - so appropriate on so many levels!
I was thinking Hilary's and Spike's relationship and what they talked at the play. If you read the lyrics there might be some similarities of Spike's thoughts.. 
Multidimensional is a good word for Damien as an actor in general!
Just pick up the sexy, sexy, sexy 
Or Selfish, witty, arrogant, your choice 
