Tad Spencer

Tad Spencer
Clique	Preppies
Gender	Male
Kissable	No
Missions	Tad's House The Eggs Bait The Rumble This Is Your School
Voice Actor	Baron Vaughn

"This whole school is just like a giant version of my Dad!"

— Tad

Tad Spencer is a character in Bully and is a member of the Preppies. He was voiced by Baron Vaughn.

Development and name confusion

Tad was one of the seven characters to be profiled on the Bully Facebook before the game was released. His last name was stated there to be Smith-Althorp Smith, to illustrate the Preppy tendency towards inbreeding. His name would be changed to Tad Spencer for the game, but when the Bully Soundboard was released months after the game itself, it was again given as Smith-Althorp Smith. Many in the Bully fan community simply prefer the name Smith-Althorp Smith, and he regularly appears under that name in fanworks.

Character description

Tad is a short preppy. He has auburn hair styled almost in a pompadour, and brown eyes. He wears the standard Aquaberry sweater vest and tan slacks, and wears a gold watch. In the winter, he wears an Aquaberry sweater and black gloves.

Characteristics

Tad is one of the richest preppies, quite possibly behind only the Harringtons. His family's fortune apparently comes from Spencer Shipping, a shipping company owned by his father that runs out of Blue Skies Industrial Park. Their estate is in the middle of Old Bullworth Vale and is big enough that their garage has its own address. In the Bully Facebook, Tad said that his parents primarily chose Bullworth because it was so expensive, and that "high prices equal high quality."

Even by Preppy standards, Tad is very focused on his social standing. He aspires to take leadership of the Preppy clique from Derby, trying to instigate trouble between him and Bif and to dig up dirt on Derby's name. In free roam dialogue, he states that his father will be displeased "if this year ends without [him] on top"; this suggests that his father is pushing Tad somewhat into taking over the clique. He also has a particular grudge against the Greaser Peanut, and plots against him.

Tad is also troubled by his home life and family, particularly his overbearing and abusive father. He has a love-hate relationship with his father, both wanting to make him proud and to pay him back for the abuse and bad treatment (His father once stabbed him with a pitchfork after he made him a birthday cake). He sometimes mumbles about his parents and their domestic problems under his breath. He is also ashamed that his father is a self-made man rather than old money, and so he puts on faux-British pretentions to cover up this insecurity. It is also implied that the abuse and expectations given to him by his father has taken a toll on his self-esteem, with one line of his dialogue mentioning that he thinks he is too worthless to claim a position of power in the school.

Although Tad is not the only Preppie who is hinted to be inbred, he does have webbed toes on one foot. He also has an older brother who has no chin and is enrolled in the Happy Volts Asylum. Tad's father is clearly stated to be abusive to both Tad and his mother - Tad himself claims that his father taught him the meaning of pain. Some of Tad's dialogue includes apologizing to his father when physically bullied or beaten up ("I'm sorry, Daddy!") and threats regarding his father's fighting prowess ("I learned this move from my dad!" and "I'm going to pound you like my dad pounds me!"). His insult of choice is "dink."

Role in game

Before Jimmy got involved with the Preppies and Greasers, Tad had some sort of relationship with Lola. Lola frequently dated Preppies on the side because they would spend money on her, and Tad was simply one of them. During This Is Your School, Tad was seen in the cafeteria talking with Derby and Pinky.

Tad has a major role in the mission The Eggs. He is leading the trio of himself, Chad and Parker, and planning to egg Mr. Hattrick's house in revenge for Hattrick trying to get Mr. Galloway fired in the previous mission, Hattrick vs. Galloway. However, Gary is waiting at Tad's house, and he claims that Jimmy had made comments about Tad's family and called Tad an inbred hermaphrodite. Tad has the gates to the estate locked, but Jimmy manages to escape.

During the mission Tad's House, Tad gives orders to the Preppies, sending them out to find out who's throwing eggs. In the Chapter 3 mission Bait, he, along with Justin, accompanies Gord to fight back the Greasers at the BMX Park. Later on during the mission The Rumble, Lola claims that Tad was the Prep responsible for rounding up his clique and attacking the Greasers in New Coventry, but he has no individual dialogue or actions during it.

After Chapter 3, Tad plays no further role in the story.

Deleted content

Tad featured in a deleted Chapter 3 mission where he was to meet up with Lola for a "study date" behind the Medical Center. The Greasers would get the wrong idea, attempting to attack Tad, and Jimmy would be conscripted into using his slingshot to drive off the Greasers and protect Tad. The events of this mission are why Tad was supposedly in charge of the Preppies during The Rumble.