"Nip/Tuck"'s Gay Paradox

Christian (Almost) Goes Gay

When it comes to gays on Nip/Tuck, nothing tops the shocking storyline of season four, in which Christian starts to think he might be gay and in love with Sean. Given that Christian had always been emphatically heterosexual (not to mention occasionally homophobic), the storyline was perfectly in keeping with the show’s ongoing theme of how one’s exterior is no reflection on the interior.

Christian

Over the course of the season, Christian, in a classic case of projection, first tries to turn a questioning gay guy straight. Then he finds himself drawn to the sight of a good-looking young plastic surgeon soaping up in the shower (played by Mario Lopez, the role gave his career its biggest boost since being cast on Saved By the Bell; if Mary Hart insured her legs for a million dollars, Lopez should consider insuring his ass).

Some viewers were disappointed by the fact that Christian and Sean didn’t end up together (except in dream sequences), but that was probably never in the cards. “I thought [what] would be interesting was to do a love story about two men who are heterosexual,” Murphy told Entertainment Weekly, talking about the whole series, not just the fourth season.

Still, the show “goes there” in a way never before seen on commercial television, especially in extended dream sequence when Christian imagines a “gay” life with Sean, and later when they playfully pretend to be a couple in real life. When Murphy decided to have one of his two male leads spend a whole season thinking he might be gay, it was one of boldest, most interesting programming decisions in decades.

"Come on!" Plotnick said. "A lead character questions whether he's gay! It's incredible! And then in this season, Julia goes lesbian?"

Meanwhile, while season four playfully sends up the looks-conscious gay community, or at least Christian’s impression of it, it never has Christian consider that his same-sex feelings for Sean are the result of the years of abuse he suffered by his foster father, revealed in the show’s first season, or the rape he endured at the end of season two. Here is one Rubicon — the idea that gayness is caused by sexual abuse — that, incredibly, even Nip/Tuck wasn’t willing to cross.

Angry Parents and Prickly Gays: Together at Last

From its debut, Nip/Tuck has inspired controversy. The Parents Television Council recently mounted an advertiser boycott. And gay viewers are often just as outraged.

So far, none of the criticism has had an impact. "We never think about any of that when the show is in production," Murphy told a gathering of television critics last summer. "And for every advertiser that left, another one stepped in. We've never made any apologies for content. This is a 10 o'clock show, and there are viewer warning labels all over it. There are always going to be people who don't like what you do, particularly if you're taking chances."

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