Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Spike: Love Is Hell (2005)

An intelligent drama for young adults that combines elements of soap opera, comedy, and horror, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was created by Joss Whedon and ran for seven seasons. Based on the movie of the same name, the series continued the premise of a teenage girl, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar, THE GRUDGE), whose normal high school experiences are tempered by the realization that she is a Slayer, one of a long line of vampire hunters. The four episodes featured here center on the ambiguous character of Spike (James Marsters), who is introduced in the episode "School Hard." Arriving in Sunnydale to use the Hellmouth to revive his lover, Drusilla, he decides to expand his history of Slayer-killing by adding Buffy to the list. Then, in "Lie to Me," Buffy's old friend Ford returns to town and seems to know all about her Slayer status. But it becomes clear that Ford has an agenda of his own, as he is a member of a cult that reveres vampires. Ford seems to have made some kind of pact with Spike, and this doesn't bode well for Buffy. Season 3 saw a chastened Spike returning to Sunnydale with his tail between his legs after Drusilla has left him. Out of desperation, he kidnaps Willow (Alyson Hannigan, DATE MOVIE) and Xander (Nicholas Brendan, KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL) and commands Willow to concoct a spell to bring Dru back to him. Finally, "Fool for Love" shows what Spike was like when he was still William the Bloody, a Victorian poet who was transformed into a vampire by Drusilla. Flashbacks also show the other Slayers Spike has killed, including one during China's Boxer Rebellion, and one New Yorker in the 1970s, whose coat Spike still sports. The epitome of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's themes of guilt and redemption, Spike is by far one of the most fraught, controversial, and popular characters on the show, a taste of which is on hand here.