It was definitely viewable in at least one episode where it had no plot point, I remember your glee at spotting it. We should have been taking notes, mauv. Oh, gee, guess we’ll just have to watch them all again.
I noticed Spike’s accent slipping really badly in his first full episode on Angel, and I’m usually horrible at spotting fake accents. Haven’t noticed it in any of the later episodes, though.
I noticed Spike’s accent slipping too and Marsters usually does a really good job. Oh, and I checked my recording, all Vale says is, “If it should break around someone whose mind had been altered, all his old memories would come rushing back.” Not very specific, but probably just refers to Wes and Connor.
-Lil
My personal theory about JM’s lapsing accent is that he’s not working with ASH any more. Before ASH helped coach him (ASH’s real accent is much closer to Spike’s than to Giles’) but now he doesn’t have a real Englishman around to coach him. AD is very good with his English accent, but his real accent is as flat and odd as JM’s real accent…
I haven’t noticed JM’s accent going awry, but I have noticed far fewer Britishisms in his Spike’s dialogue. One thing I have noticed is that it’s leveling off. What it sound like more than anything is an English guy who has been in America so long he’s losing his accent, or picking up an American one, if you prefer. And, remember, Angel is actually Irish, but (probably because DB doesn’t do accents well) he has no trace of an accent.
What James needs to do is get all the Monty Python videos he can lay his hands on- tapes of old episodes, the movies, the Secret Policeman’s Balls, anything, plus all the Fawlty Towers he can get hold of, and watch them incessantly. I used to watch old Monty Python eps my ex had taped on an almost daily basis, and I can still do an almost passable British accent, even though I don’t get that much exposure as I used to.