‘Melrose’ to Tackle Gay Bashing : Television: The homosexual character on Fox’s ‘Melrose Place’ takes center stage when he is publicly assaulted and fired from his job.

After months of criticism for keeping the private life of prime-time network television’s only continuing gay character in a closet, Fox’s “Melrose Place” will thrust him center stage Wednesday night when he is physically assaulted on the streets and fired from work because of his sexual orientation.

The episode comes just in time for the November ratings sweeps--one of four months a year when the audience for every TV station in the country is measured.

“That’s Hollywood. That’s television,” said Robert Bray, a representative for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington. Nevertheless, he and other gay activists are pleased that the story is being done.

“This is a very valid story because it happens every day of the week,” said David Ehrenstein, media writer for the Advocate, a monthly gay and lesbian magazine. “I don’t think people realize how much everyone in the gay community risks each day just by stepping outside their homes.”

The story will play out over the next four weeks of the one-hour drama about a group of fashionable young friends living in a West Hollywood apartment complex, with the gay character, Matt Fielding (played by Doug Savant), suing his former employer for sexual discrimination.

Executive producer Darren Star said that scheduling the episode during sweeps was not a calculated move for ratings--although the show could certainly use a boost. Following an intensive promotional campaign and a big July premiere, “Melrose” took a dive and currently ranks No. 92 out of 98 network prime-time series. Star said that the time had simply come to turn the spotlight on Fielding.

“When you have an ensemble cast, it’s tough to focus on everyone right away,” said Star, who created both “Melrose” and the Fox show from which it spun off, “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

“I think because he (Matt) is gay, people are definitely more sensitive to the fact that we’re not exploring him,” Star said. “My feeling from the beginning was, let’s establish this character first as a person who’s likable, part of this group, whose sexuality is not an issue. The fact that a lot of people say, ‘Gee, we didn’t even know he’s gay’--my feeling is that’s good. So what? Sexuality does not define the person.”

Last month, the newsletter for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation chided “Melrose” producers for not utilizing Fielding more, pointing out that the majority of gay bashers are between the ages of 16 and 21--the same demographic audience targeted by “Melrose.”

One national TV critic recently wrote of Savant’s character: “Given the size of his role so far, I get the feeling we won’t be meeting any of Matt’s lovers until Fox gets around to premiering its 21st Century show, ‘Melrose Retirement Community.’ ”

Critics charge that Fielding was not featured earlier because Fox has been fearful of losing advertising revenue. Two years ago, ABC claimed $1.5 million in losses when advertisers, worried about potential controversy, pulled out of two “thirtysomething” episodes that featured gay characters.

“I think the fact that there was an advertiser pullout on that show was a scary proposition in doing our show. And I think that’s the bottom line for television,” Star said.

One “Melrose” source said that Fox wanted to be cautious in developing the Fielding character, avoiding anything controversial that might hurt the series’ early chances of survival. Several potential story lines were scrapped along the way, most notably one in episode No. 7 in which Fielding was supposed to reveal his sexual orientation to his brother.

Fox executives declined requests for interviews, but a Fox spokeswoman said Friday that advertisers, who employ services to screen programs for content, have not voiced any concerns over Wednesday’s episode. Gene DeWitt, president of DeWitt Media, an ad agency in New York, suggested that the climate toward such programming may be softening.

“I think today people are much more sophisticated than they were two years ago, as are viewers,” he said. “Advertisers are more likely to say, ‘That will be fine. Just make sure my spots are not next to anything objectionable.’ Because of that, it’s not an enormous problem for the network.”

The question now is: When will Matt go out on a date? After all, love and romance is a central theme in the lives of every other “Melrose” character.

“I’m still waiting for the guy to have a gay identity,” gay activist Bray complained. “All we’ve seen him do is pal around with his African-American neighbor and lounge around the pool as a plot distraction, but we’re still waiting for something, anything, to tell us that he’s gay--like maybe a visit to the AIDS quilt, or participating in an AIDS protest, or developing a relationship with the same sex.”

Star said he has no immediate plans for Fielding’s romantic life. “We can’t obviously go forever without addressing that fact, that his character has a romantic life,” he said. “The more familiar people become with this character, and the more positively the viewers respond to this character, I would hope that reluctance starts to fade a bit. Not just from the network, but from the advertisers who support the show.”

Savant, 28, said that he is anxious to portray such a relationship: “I would like to be able to expose to the American public that love is love, for two men or women or people of the opposite sex.”

The sticking point involves showing same-sex intimacy on national television, which Star said no network is anxious to do. Perhaps because of that taboo, gay bashing has become a popular way to deal with homosexuality, as has been done in “21 Jump Street,” “L.A. Law,” “Civil Wars,” a “CBS Schoolbreak Special” and an upcoming episode of “Life Goes On.”

“We proposed other story lines, but this is the one (Fox) responded to,” Star said. “Fox responded favorably to this story, because they saw it as a story that can address an issue out there.”

“That’s the down side of it,” countered Richard Jennings, executive director of Hollywood Supports, an organization funded by the entertainment industry to encourage more accurate depictions and greater inclusion of gay and lesbian characters. “Gay bashing and having heavy encounters with parents are becoming such a cliche. Those are the most popular ways ‘serious television’ has chosen to portray our lives--the one-shot, exotic, flavor-of-the-week treatment.”

Savant argued that “we’re being very responsible to the issues and the character,” but conceded, “I would like to go further. I’m hoping because this is a Fox show, from a network that has made a name for itself by being on the edge, that we will be leaders and make a stand. Someone needs to.”