"Burt Landau" is the seventh episode in the fourth season of the FX medical drama Nip/Tuck. It originally aired on October 17, in 2006.
Synopsis[]
Dawn Budge needs an ear transplant. Burt Landau suffered a stroke and asks Christian and Sean to fix his face.
Plot[]
The scene opens on Sean and Christian standing over a woman, who is lying on the operating table. They are trimming her facial hair and discussing their pro-bono work, when Liz collapses.
In the emergency room, Liz is telling Sean and Christian that she is fine and that they can leave, but then her doctor walks in. The doctor tells her that her kidney is failing and that she will need a kidney transplant. The doctor then informs Liz that she will need to start dialysis immediately and that she has been added to the donor list, but she is number 62,342 on the list. When asked if she has any family, Liz tells them that her only family is her mother, but her mother is convinced that Liz being gay is what killed her father, so her mother would not even let her come to her fathers funeral, let alone give her a kidney. Without even asking Sean, Christian tells Liz that he and Sean will get tested. Sean looks back at him very strangely, but when Liz asks if he would do that for her, he agrees. Liz begins to cry.
The next scene opens on Michelle bent over a table with Christian behind her as they are having sex. Then Burt says, “It’s not your face I want to see, it’s hers”. Christian gets angry and stops. Burt threatens him, but Christian still leaves. Michelle runs out after him and asks him not to leave, but she said that Burt has done too much for her and that she won’t go back to what she was before.
Back at the office, Dawn Budge has returned and she informs Sean and Christian that she has been “ear jacked”. She explains that after Dwight left her for Mallory, she went out and bought a very expensive pair of earrings to make herself feel better, but when she left the jewelry store two people on a motorcycle drove by and cut her ear off and stole the earring. Sean gives her three options, they can rebuild her ear using other parts of her body, they could give her a silicone ear, or they could use a new technology to grow her a new one. Dawn smiles and the scene changes.
Kimber is sitting up moving back and forth making moaning sounds. The camera moves left and we see Matt standing behind her with Kimber telling him that it feels good and to go harder. Kimber then stands up and you can see that the two are in the sauna and Matt is giving Kimber a massage. She then lowers her towel and requests that Matt rub her lower back. As he is rubbing her back he moves his hands forward, down her stomach. Kimber stops his hands and asks what he is doing. He tells her that she was moaning so he thought she wanted it. Kimber puts her towel back on and tells him that they are friends and she thought she could trust him. He apologizes, but he tells her that he likes her and that the reason he has been doing the Scientology thing was to impress her. Kimber then asks him to leave, because she does not feel safe with him there anymore.
Christian is talking to a redheaded woman about being a kidney donor. She is asking questions about Christian’s sex life. She tells him that his blood tested positive for an antibody that is present in people who have had a large number of sexual partners and because of that, he cannot donate his kidney. The woman is then in the room with Sean telling him that he is a match for Liz - 5 out of 6 - but that he is responsible for telling this to Liz and no one needs to know if he doesn't want them to. Nurse Linda then walks in and informs Sean that Mr. Landau is waiting to see him and Sean leaves the room. He meets up with Christian in the hall and Christian tells Sean that he is not a match; Sean lies and says he also is not a match. Sean then asks Christian what the meeting is about. Christian tells him that Burt found out about the affair and that they are going to get fired.
The two finally open the door and find Burt setting in a wheelchair. Michelle tells them that Burt had a stroke two nights ago while they were having sex. Burt then tells them that he wants the droop on the left side of his face fixed.
Sean and Dawn are sitting in the hallway of the lab where her new ear is being grown, when a doctor shows them a mouse with an ear growing out the side of it. The doctor explains that they implant a piece of cartilage in the mouse’s back and that after six weeks the ear grows. Dawn suggests that she take the mouse home and take care of it until the surgery, but the doctors inform her that he can not live outside of a sterile environment. Dawn gives in, but she demands that she be able to hold him so that she can bond with her ear. As she is holding the mouse Dawn makes a comment on how the mouse is giving so much so that she can wear sunglasses again and the doctor tells her, “we like to think that we are creating life of the noblest form, dedicated solely to making others well”. Dawn then looks at Sean and says, “just like you doc” and he looks back at her surprised.
Sean is carrying flowers down the hall of the hospital, going to visit Liz during her dialysis. He walks in a room to join her and Christian and she asks them who the match is. They pause for a moment and Sean tells her that neither one of them was a match. Liz is devastated, but she tries to distract herself by asking Sean how the baby is. Sean tells her that Connor is doing great and she replies by saying, “it’s great when they start to give a little something back huh”. Sean only stares back at her with a guilty look.
Back at the office Christian is on the phone trying to talk someone named Jim into bumping Liz up on the donor list. He tells him that he helped Jim getting in to the pants of a Radiologist, but Jim tells Christian that he married her and Christian just gives up and hangs up the phone. Then Nurse Linda walks in to give Christian Burt’s test results. She told Christian that Burt was on Viagra the night that he had his stroke.
Christian throws Burt’s file down on the table in the room with Michelle and tells her that he know that she gave Burt Viagra. He implies that she gave it to him to kill him, because all of Burt’s doctors have told him that it would kill him if he took it. Michelle swears that she is innocent, but Christian tells her that he will find out.
Christian goes to Burt and asks him who gave him the Viagra. Burt tells Christian that he took it himself; that Michelle was not trying to kill him. Burt then told Christian that 3 minutes inside of her was worth dying for.
Outside of Burt’s room Christian tries to apologize, but Michelle tells him that from now on he should consider them business associates. Then Michelle walks off and leaves him standing alone.
Christian is standing outside Kimber’s door asking to come in so that they can talk. When she lets him in Christian is all over her and Kimber notices that he has been drinking. She then makes a comment about where Matt gets his sex drive from. Christian pours himself a drink and apologizes to Kimber for Matt’s behavior. Kimber tells him not to worry though, because Matt is not old enough to understand how to give himself to something. They then begin to talk about their relationship and Kimber goes to another room. Christian follows and starts to undress her; telling her that he knows she masturbates to the thought of him. Christian then turns her around and sits her on the sink and they start having sex. Afterwards, Kimber is lying in the bed with Christian and is telling him that he should come to church to be audited. Christian tells her that he was never planning on joining her church; that he only told her what she needed to hear so she would have sex with him. Kimber becomes very upset and hits Christian in the face; he throws her back on the bed and leaves.
Sean returns home to find Liz and Julia talking at the kitchen table. Liz and Julia tell Sean that Julia has been tested to be a kidney donor, but she is not a match. Then Matt walks in and informs him that he is a match and that he is going to do it. Liz tells Matt that he is her hero, but she won’t allow him to donate his kidney. Matt tells his dad that Liz is family and that he wants to do this for her, because his family has raised him to help people. Sean is angry that Julia allowed Matt to be tested, but Matt and Julia both tell him that Matt is 18 and he can do what he wants. Matt then tells his dad that he has spent his whole life taking and now he wants to give back by giving Liz his kidney.
The scene changes to the mouse running on an exercise wheel and Dawn is lying on the operating table beside him asking Christian what will happen when they take the ear off of him. Christian makes a joke, but Sean tells her that the mouse will not survive the surgery. They then put the mouse and Dawn to sleep, remove the ear from the mouse and attach it to Dawn. Over the surgery Sean tells Christian that Matt is back and that he wants to give Liz his kidney. Christian says that the kid has balls, but he won’t allow Matt to do it. Christian states that Matt did not get his kidneys and this prompts Sean to reveal that he lied about being a match for Liz. Christian can’t understand why Sean would lie, so Sean tells him that he has a handicap kid that he will have to operate on and that he can’t be out of commission for three months. Christian knows that Sean is just scared, but they both agree that Matt can not give Liz this kidney.
Kimber is in her home busting all the frames containing Christian’s photos when the doorbell rings. She opens the door to find Matt standing there and tells him that he's early. He walks in and says he's surprised she called after what happened, but Kimber tells him she over reacted and that everything is fine. She then asks if he would like a drink, but he declines, as he has to be clean to donate his kidney to Liz. She tells him that he is being very generous and that he has a beautiful soul. She then makes small talk and starts grabbing his penis. As he kisses her neck, Kimber has a look of sorrow.
Christian is scrubbing up for surgery when Michelle walks in and informs him that she will be overlooking Burt’s surgery. Christian makes a sarcastic comment about how she and her husband like to watch each other and she just walks off into the operating room.
As Michelle observes, Christian begins to operate on Burt. He is working on Burt’s mouth when Burt goes into v-fib. Christian calls for the crash cart and Michelle looks at him as if to tell him not to try, but Christian shocks Burt and brings him back.
Dawn is in recovery looking at her ear in the mirror when Liz, lying in the bed next to her, asks what happened. Dawn explains that she was ear-jacked and Liz tells Dawn that someone stole her kidney. Dawn then looks at the dialysis machine hooked up to Liz and says she didn't know that McNamara/Troy did such procedures there. Liz explains to her that Sean and Christian only set that up for her so that she could still work a couple hours a day. Dawn is amazed that people care so much about Liz and is jealous that she does not have anyone. She tells Liz that she would give $40 million to have someone come hold her hand, that she felt like she sold her soul for that money. Dawn is crying, and Liz puts out her hand for her and they share a moment.
Christian and Michelle are in Burt’s house discussing the man's health. Christian tells Michelle that Burt needs to be in a facility, but Michelle asserts that he needs to be at home so that she can take care of him. She tells him that she is going to take a leave of absence so that she can stay with him and she has a nurse to come in at night. Christian tells her that she is just doing it so that Burt won’t take her out of his will; he insists that she does not love Burt anymore, because she loves him. She tells him that he saved Burt and now it is her turn; they kiss and she walks back to sit at her husband’s side. Christian only looks at her once and then walks away.
Back at the clinic Sean goes to Liz and tells her that he is going to give her his kidney. He tells her that he lied about his test results, because he was scared. She wants to know why he changed his mind and he tells her that he loves her and that he does not want to lose her. Liz tells him that she never asked him to do this for her, but Sean tells her that she should not have had to and that he scheduled that surgery for tomorrow. Liz smiles and tells him that she has already found a better match. She says that Dawn is a 6 out of 6 and that she is going to give her one of hers. As Dawn and Liz are lying on the table before the surgery, Dawn tells everyone how she and Christian had sex. Then she looks a Liz and asks if she can come by and visit her kidney every now and then. Sean and Christian then begin to put the two women to sleep as they are holding hands.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Dylan Walsh as Dr. Sean McNamara
- Julian McMahon as Dr. Christian Troy
- John Hensley as Matt McNamara
- Roma Maffia as Dr. Liz Cruz
- Kelly Carlson as Kimber Henry
- Joely Richardson as Julia McNamara
Guest Starring[]
- Rosie O'Donnell as Dawn Budge
- Sanaa Lathan as Michelle Landau
- Stephen Spinella as Dr. Capler
- Meera Simhan as Dr. Meera Muthara
- Maria Thayer as Transplant Consultant
- Larry Hagman as Burt Landau
Co-Starring[]
- Tommy Hasou as Mr. Rodriguez
- Linda Klein as Nurse Linda
Uncredited[]
- Steven Koller as Man with dog
Music[]
Trivia[]
- This episode had the production code 3T5007.
- The episode had 3.98 million U.S. viewers upon release.
Gallery[]
