Yes, I mentioned it in my post! I remember following Ellis on Livejournal way back in the day after reading some of his stuff, looking at his little vb forum, and realising it was a sad cult of personality with a host of very specific-looking female orbiters (thin, miniskirt, corsety tit, and most particularly goggles worn on top of coloured hair) trying to emulate some particular image and attitude within his work that he would deign to respond to. It was no surprise to me there was transactional tit going on there.
Then in retrospect, you see it in his biggest work - Transmetropolitan - the lunatic egotistical alcoholic, drug addled writer alter ego Spider Jerusalem with the two young female 'filthy assistants'. One of whom said alter ego Spider accidentally, oh no, shags after an epic binge. Hhahaha. It's always a moment when you realise how much some writers insert themselves brazenly into their work.
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Haven't heard anything bad about Fillion at all. I loved Firefly too and think it has aged pretty well. In retrospect you see the 'crazy waif who can inexplicably beat up huge men' trope Whedon made his entire career on with Buffy in River, who despite all this is a good, interesting character. He resurrected River again in a lesser, unintersting bit equally teeny-waify character in Dollhouse. He has his type, and his type is teenage-looking. Inara isn't his fantasy, it's always the little waif who can end you cos she has Special Powers. Dollhouse epitomized his whole desired female aesthetic with the tiny, bony, zonked out girls in their braless little strappy tops with the only average sized one being sort of talked down to and dressed all frumpy and admitting she isn't 'the gold standard'. And he had his affair partner Eliza Dushku in there playing the special-ist waif of all, Echo! The one with POWERS. Jesus. Talk about wearing out your one idea.
Whedon has done some great genre telly (and some horrible movie and comics writing), but he lets his sexual fixations bleed into everything, and tried to cover it up with a big LOOK AT ME I AM THE BIGGIST FEMINIST )crap with that 'Feminism Now!' thing that he - and people didn't like it when it was pointed out at the time - he made all about Joss Whedon and how cool he is for supporting women.