I go back and forth on his calls, but I was riveted by the twists and turns the Spike Saga took last night. After several weeks of not being able to call in do to some mysterious "surgical procedure", it was terrific that he was shut down immediately when he tried to call at the top of the show.
Later, when he called back during the Martin Short interview, you could hear an anxious tone to his voice. It sounded as though he had, perhaps, been firing himself up in the mirror before the call. It was as if he viewed this as his moment to storm in victoriously and win Tom over. Of course, it did not go well.
Still later, Spike's call to breakdown the second call was revelatory, as he appeared to briefly drop character, opting to correctly say the names of celebrities and only halfheartedly offer some alternate, Spike'd names when Tom called him on it. It was strange to hear him let the Spike mask slip.* It felt like we were on the cusp of a breakthrough to a new era in Spikedom, but he pulled back.
Finally, Vulgar Vinnie's debut on the Best Show-proper during the Mike Show, where he recreated the Short-Spike call, was a perfect way to top off everything. I think one day, Spike Scholars** will look back on this show as key moments in examining Spike's life.
* The figurative mask that is the Spike persona, not the literal leather and zipper one, nor the one made from human flesh.
** FBI criminal profilers and Fangoria staff writers