TheGaspode
Xander did, and Giles certainly suggested it after they defeated Adam (Giles: “One might argue that you saved us just so we wouldn’t stake you right now for helping Adam.” Spike: “Did it work?”). IIRC others discussed it but Buffy was all like, it wouldn’t be sporting while he’s all helpless (I don’t remember her exact words). Spike’s presence on the show as a regular has always seemed a little forced to me and there really hasn’t been a rational reason for Buffy to keep him around.
My mistake - I mean here on SDMB.
If Spike has no other redeeming social value, his keen observation of human nature makes him worth keeping around. If it weren’t for the fact that most humans don’t like having certain parts of their natures observed and remarked on, Buffy and the Scoobies might see this as a valuable talent. The only thing I’ve ever known him to be wrong about, human-natrue wise was when he was fairly certain that Riley was in on Maggie Walsh’s plot to off Buffy in “The ‘I’ in Team”.
I think Spike is dead on in his assessment of Buffy’s taste in men.
There is a good sized chunk of her personality that can’t handle a nice, normal man, which is part of the reason her relationship with Riley imploded- the other part being that Riley can’t deal with a woman who is stronger than he is. She does hate herself, especially since she came back from that nice cozy heaven dimension, and has that resentment of her friends for bringing her back.
Now- what’s Principal Wood going to do when he goes down into the basement and finds the hole the Uber Vamp made and Spike hanging from a rack suspended from the ceiling?
I don’t think Principal Wood is evil. He can’t be. He’s the first Sunnydale Hight School Principal who’s been, like, a real person instead of an enfleshed collection of personality quirks. If he turns out to be evil, I will lose all faith in Joss.
Maybe we should save this, just in case… 
Quick note, on Spike’s observations on Buffy’s taste in men…
Last night on the FX Buffython, “Something Blue” was aired (of course), and early on in the ep, Buffy and Willow are patrolling and Buffy says “Buffy: But I can’t help thinking — isn’t that where the fire comes from? Can a nice, safe relationship be that intense? I know it’s nuts, but… part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with pain and fighting.”
Hmmm.
I don’t think the Council HQ was blown up by enemies. I think they cleared out all their essential info & weaponry & blew it up themselves- ala ATLAS SHRUGGED- so their enemies couldn’t salvage anything they left behind.
Spoiler warning. I picked this up about episode 12. This week’s ep was nine, so this is serious spoilage:
[spoiler]The big news involves Dawn. It would seem that Dawn has just discovered that she is a Slayer Candidate, and is having a hard time dealing with the news.
source: Spoilerslayer
Setting up for a spin off? Do we want to see this?
[/spoiler]
[spoiler] Yeah, I saw that, too. I don’t see it being really a workable thing. I like Dawn, but I still don’t think she’s that strong of a character. I think Joss and the PTB at ME should be focussing on her being the Key, and having latent powers related to that, which she should be discovering.
Nice to see the Peroxided One is back in action by Episode Twelve, though. [/spoiler]
FriarTed, I think you’re dead on. That was my first thought when I saw the building go kerblooey.
Maybe this is waht Joyce was talking about. “Buffy won’t choose you…” Maybe Buffy has the oppurtunity to choose who the next Slayer will be, and she doesn’t choose Dawn.
My gut feeling is that ME is playing with us…we won’t see a DtVS spinoff.
And Thea, re: Something Blue quote, when I heard that I immediately linked it with the basement conversation in NLM and started shouting “She’s over Angel, she’s over Angel!”
Foul temptors with your little black boxes! 
Spike has really grown on me this season. I almost liike him… There I said it.
I have arrived at the conclusion that SMG is tired of playing Buffy. Reason:- She’s lost the “righteous indignation” edge. In the early seasons, and especially in S-5 when she faces down the Council delegation, she came off as being very strong. But this season, and in S-6, her best scenes are when she’s being either snarky or TFE Buffy. She really seems to enjoy being evil. Although in the basement scent with Spike, she did come off quite well- not the best acting I’ve seen her do, but then again, she was doing a warm fuzzy scene with a vampire she’s hated for the last five seasons, so it was a different type of character interaction. But she did seem very strong during the “I’ve seen you change” speech. Or maybe I’m just biased in favor of any scene that has the Peroxided One in it.
Also, I don’t think it’s insignificant that the very last five words that Spike heard just before the Harbingers came crashing through the window were Buffy saying “I believe in you, Spike”. I think this is going to come up later, because I’m pretty certain that Spike is due to have nastier things done to him than just being bled to raise the Uber Vamp during the next few episodes, and, hell, during the holiday season hiatus. So, what does he have to sustain him?
[sub]Buffy believes in Spike. Amen.[/sub]