Vulnerability? Comedy? Hmmh (D)

It seems one of Daker's strengths was the ability to be both physically menacing and full of vulnerability in the same roles. I'm still digging up more material to some day try to acquire, so my conclusions may be inadequate for the time being, but from what I have seen and read so far, that.



Pictures not tied to the relevant episode until I can make some edits, by the way.

I'll get back to Captain Spiker from Dick Turpin below, but want a word about convict roles first. There are at least three that I know of, in Only Fools and Horses, Porridge and Thriller's "Kill Two Birds" episode. The physicality must have played some part in his being cast as convicts and villains, aside from what he can do with his voice. He doesn't look like he'll break in two, and rolls up his sleeves to trash Rigsby in his role in Rising Damp, too.

If I'm right about the Only Fools and Horses episode, I think I've actually seen it in the UK, too. Picture reminders elsewhere jogged my memory to suggest some details about the son, but until I get a chance to see it again sometime, I better not claim one thing or another.

It may or may not say something that when prompted, I remember a random episode and characters from it some 8-12 years later though, when I was never religious about getting acquainted with the series and saw it at random. If it is the one I think it is, jolly well done to Daker, I remember the character and story after the prompt despite not having had a clue at the time who I was watching.



What I recall of Spiker offhand always includes his (slightly petulant) "But what if the girl don't like me?" line from The Hero episode, where Sir John Glutton is trying to marry his steward Spiker off to the daughter of someone who owes him, to get his hands on the riches and dowry. The DVD offers the scene up as "Reluctant Groom" but I have to say that I read more actual concern behind the question, too. Spiker isn't the usual entirely hardened and one-layered figure and there are several moments where something more shows as a glimpse.

I have a particular fondness for the second episode, The Capture, due to Spiker's black eye in it. It says so much about the character when Spiker is shown examining his eye in the mirror while Sir John goes on about whatever it was at that time again. Poor man, losing a fight and having to deal with his vanity both from that angle as well as the looks side, getting nothing but grief from his employer. Not to mention dealing with something that is obviously rather sore.

I like how Daker sells that it is sore, the slight touches from the hand on the cheek and corner of the eye. I love that slight intake of breath and how Spiker jerks his head back when Sir John dabs the cheek with his cane. I love details like that if notice them in whatever I watch.

I also like the ever so slight hints of vanity that it all adds to an already prideful character. Oh the smug smiles here and there. There are further interactions with Annabelle Lee's actress-character Jane Kelsey in the episode that are in part either hilarious or add to Spiker's tendency to be somewhat pleased with himself. The insecurity or uncertainty over his lack of a proper or better position in life doesn't show in that episode, but peeks out every now and then otherwise.

There is that strange vulnerability and softness or something in Daker that lies just under the surface even when he plays the menacing types. I love a good voice and Spiker's "You filthy renegade!" growls don't hurt the part for sure, but he comes off as having more loyalty (whether misguided or not) and some decency than most villainous types of his sort. Spiker is a complete bastard on so many levels, and yet there are the bits that are just human and even to some extent appealing. I like the complexity.

I must say that the more I watch Turpin though, the more I also begin to appreciate Christopher Benjamin's hilarious turn as Sir John. The man has some of the best expressions ever and I imagine the role must have been at least somewhat fun to play. Same goes to Annabelle Lee's roles in both Turpin and Robin of Sherwood, but that's another post again.

Then again, since I started rewatching bits of The Capture episode again, I ended up laughing over the expressions in the scene 17 minutes in. That: "It's tomorrow, Sir John." "What is?" "You know... (mimes getting strung up)" bit and that miming of getting hanged in particular. Oh, thank you, series and everyone involved. Thank you, me, too, for having been born where I was and having seen it when younger, to get to appreciate it all again now as well. Followed by his return to a more villainous bastard with the evil laughs to boot, it's great fun to watch. Add the low and contained "What was that?" demand to Sir John's nephew in The Poacher episode and you have yet more layers with its chilling menace.

As to the line from The Hero... The girl likes you just fine, you just need the right girl. There, there, dearie. We know it's tough being seen as the villain when you're only concerned about the law and getting ahead in life and all the rabble keeps getting the popular vote instead. No justice in life.