The Bladerunner question is a little tricky because Scott is very consciously framing Zhora and Pris as mannequin and wind up doll. It's not unconscious, or falling for an unexamined trope, but carefully designed and purposeful. Which could be his sexism, but I always thought it was to underscore Deckard's POV that the replicants were not human.

Because Zhora is also presented as formidable - Deckard escapes more by luck than anything - and her death has pathos to it. The scene where she comes out of the shower naked and looking him over plays as if she's in control, she's exploiting his gaze to drop his guard. And while Pris' death is made to look grotesque and inhuman, previous to that her character was fairly sympathetic. (Though the later developments indicate she was just being manipulative.)

Certainly both of their deaths were sexualized as the essay notes.

But I don't see the same sexism in Ridley Scott's filmmaking that I see in Brian Depalma's so I wonder how I'm supposed to read such purposeful visual cues to the dehumanization of Zhora and Pris. The arc of the film is that Deckard is constantly confronted with his prejudice against replicants until with Roy and then Rachel he has to accept their humanity. With of course the subtext throughout the movie being that Deckard himself is unfeeling, inhuman and probably a replicant.

Incidentally, Mr. Trick was killed off because the actor begged out of the role to take another opportunity.

They could've done more with him, though I don't think all of the writers got him. He was best in his first few episodes and after that his characterization wasn't as consistently good. Sort of like Anya who descended to being a joke machine with certain writers, whereas other writers got her character better.

Hee. I just saw Mr. Trick in Chicago. He's playing Dr. Dillamond in Wicked.

I screamed MR TRIIIIIIICKKK!! when he took his curtain call. Great singing voice.

eh, I hated it when Spike got a soul. I felt like it messed up both his character AND Angel's. And I think they shoulda killed him off, but whatev.

Incidentally, Mr. Trick was killed off because the actor begged out of the role to take another opportunity.

Dammit!

Hee. I just saw Mr. Trick in Chicago. He's playing Dr. Dillamond in Wicked.

I saw him in Art ! It was awesome.

I really got bored with Buffy defending Spike with "he has a soul", which she seemed to forget that Warren had a soul and it didn't stop him from doing bad.

I think that Willow may have made this point at one point. um, you know what I mean.

I screamed MR TRIIIIIIICKKK!! when he took his curtain call. Great singing voice.

could have come back in Once More, With Feeling. How funny would it have been for him to show up, do a verse or a song and say "hell no, I'm outta here"

Hee! There were folks with Wicked playbills on the train home with us last night.

I kinda wanted Buffy to dust Spike one day in a fit of annoyance. They're just hangin' out, he says something lame and she goes, "bam!" right in the heart and maybe doesn't even tell anybody until a few episodes later. I am glad he got to save the world but I think an offhand dusting would have been more representative of the Spike/Buffy relationship.

I kinda wanted Buffy to dust Spike one day in a fit of annoyance. They're just hangin' out, he says something lame and she goes, "bam!" right in the heart and maybe doesn't even tell anybody until a few episodes later.

Bwahahaha! Oh man, that would have been great. Not really in character for Buffy, but I would have laughed for days and days.

And we thought the uproar of crazy Tara fans was loud...

And we thought the uproar of crazy Tara fans was loud...

I was just typing that very thing, Matt. So many ways to have killed Spike and made the show better, so many writer crushes not letting him go.