History Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E11BurnsVerkaufenDerKraftwerk

* AllOfThem: Homer's answer to the question of what initiatives he has spearheaded during his two years as a safety inspector.

* InsultBackfire

* OhCrap

* GratuitousGerman: Naturally a lot, since German businessmen buy the power plant. Even Smithers tries to learn German. The title is a horribly mangled translation of "Burns Sells the Power Plant." For one thing, "Kraftwerk" ("power plant") is a neuter noun, so it would need "das" (which is a neuter definite article) instead of "der" (which is used for masculine nouns). For another, "verkaufen" (the infinitive) is used instead of "verkauft" (which is the third-person conjugation). The correct German title of this episode would be "Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk." On the DVDCommentary, the writers simply give up and refer to it as [[TheOneWith "The German Episode."]][[invoked]]

* BuffySpeak:
** Homer, when he thinks he's made a major profit off his sale of his stock: "I may just quit my job at the power plant and become a full-time ... stock market guy."
** Later, he tells a coworker, "Safen [sic] up!"

* GilliganCut: Upon realizing the townsfolk won't fear him unless he's an employer to most of them, Mr. Burns decided to buy the plant back. After doing so, he wanted to put Homer in a position where Burns could exact revenge on him. Cut to Homer gleefully telling Marge he recovered his job.

* OhCrap:

** Bart sings to Moe's patrons in a manner reminiscent of ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: For most of the episode, the German businessmen are depicted as honest, friendly, workaholic people who want nothing but the best for their employees and the power plant. Even Lenny puts aside his initial prejudices. Only near the end, the Germans get frightened when the safety levels of the power plant become dangerous and let Mr. Burns buy it back from them. When Burns pays them a low price, they naturally feel angry and warn Burns, "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine". As they say this, some sinister music starts playing. The Mexican Spanish dub [[{{Woolseyism}} changes]] "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine" to "Los alemanes no perdonamos nada" ("We Germans do not ''forgive anything''"), turning them into outright jerkasses.

** While the plant, as usual, is depicted as poorly maintained, the episode singles out Homer as the only employee the Germans consider inefficient. Very soon afterward, the show would make endless gags about the plant being [[IncompetenceInc incompetently managed as a whole]], including such bizarre choices of employment by Burns as [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E7TheLastTemptationOfHomer hiring a duck]].

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/burns_verkaufen_der_kraftwerk.gif]]

** Horst, the German who looks like Sgt. Shultz, asked Homer if they could talk, Homer said no. But Horst thought maybe Homer didn't understand him, so he tries to make himself clearer until Homer screams [[BigNo "NOOO!!"]] Since asking didn't work, Horst likely ''demanded'' he comes with him.

** While the plant, as usual, is depicted as poorly maintained, the episode singles out Homer as the only employee the Germans consider inefficient. Very soon afterward, the show would make endless gags about the plant being [[IncompetenceInc incompetently managed as a whole]], including such bizarre choices of employment by Burns as hiring a duck.

* GratuitousGerman: Naturally a lot, since German businessmen buy the power plant. Even Smithers tries to learn German. The title is a horribly mangled translation of "Burns Sells the Power Plant." For one thing, "Kraftwerk" ("power plant") is a neuter noun, so it would need "das" (which is a neuter definite article) instead of "der" (which is used for masculine nouns). For another, "verkaufen" (the infinitive) is used instead of "verkauft" (which is the third-person conjugation). The correct German title of this episode would be "Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk." On the DVDCommentary, the writers simply give up and refer to it as [[TheOneWith "The German Episode."]]
* HiddenDepths: Mr. Burns is revealed to be fluent in German (though a native German-speaker would realize that some of what he says isn't correct). This becomes FridgeHorror when, in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E18AStarIsBurns A Star Is Burns]]", he reveals that he's a lot like Oskar Schindler (of ''Film/SchindlersList'' fame) in that he made artillery shells for the Nazis (with the only difference being that Burns's shells "''worked'', damnit!").

-->'''Horst:''' Then you must have some plans for the future as well?

* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe ...[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster ... connected to an overloaded mains.]] He later says it's Mr. Burns's fault for wanting an extra hundred million dollars. Then again, a dissatisfied Burns was ''thinking'' of selling the plant before that.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Homer repeatedly screws himself and his family out of a fortune and eventually ends up jobless and bankrupt. He sells all his company stocks just before they shoot up tremendously, he obliviously gives the Germans a price to buy out Burns's position and then gets himself fired when they discover his incompetence.

* SarcasmMode: Mr. Burns's response to the Germans swearing revenge is full of this.

* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Mr. Burns's German during the dinner with the German businessmen is correct, even if it has a few grammatical errors. On the other hand, the Mexican Spanish dub replaced Burns and the other Germans' speech with German-sounding gibberish, as neither of the voice actors spoke German.
* TakeThat: When Homer originally leaks Burns's asking price ($100 million) to the German businessmen, they observe that "[they]'ll still have enough left to buy the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Cleveland Browns]]."

* BewareTheNiceOnes: For most of the episode, the German businessmen are depicted as honest, friendly, workaholic people who want nothing but the best for their employees and the power plant. Even Lenny puts aside his initial prejudices. Only near the end the Germans get frightened when the safety levels of the power plant become dangerous and let Mr. Burns buy it back from them. When Burns pays them a low price, they naturally feel angry and warn Burns, "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine". As they say this, some sinister music starts playing. The Mexican Spanish dub [[{{Woolseyism}} changes]] "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine" to "Los alemanes no perdonamos nada" ("We Germans do not ''forgive anything''"), turning them into outright jerkasses.

** While the plant as usual is depicted as poorly maintained, the episode singles out Homer as the only employee the Germans consider inefficient. Very soon afterwards, the show would make endless gags about the plant being [[IncompetenceInc incompetently managed as a whole]], including such bizarre choices of employment by Burns as hiring a duck.

* HiddenDepths: Mr. Burns is revealed to be fluent in German (though a native German-speaker would realize that some of what he says isn't correct). This becomes FridgeHorror when, in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E18AStarIsBurns A Star Is Burns]]", he reveals that he's a lot like Oskar Schindler (of ''Film/SchindlersList'' fame) in that he made artillery shells for the Nazis (with the only difference being that Burns' shells "''worked'', damnit!").

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Horst tries to arrange a private meeting with Homer but he keeps nervously refusing. Horst thinks that it's because his English is poor, but in fact it's because Homer doesn't want to be outed as a terrible employee.

* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe ...[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster ... connected to an overloaded mains.]] He later says it's Mr. Burns' fault for wanting an extra hundred million dollars. Then again, a dissatisfied Burns was ''thinking'' of selling the plant before that.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Homer repeatedly screws himself and his family out of fortune and eventually ends up jobless and bankrupt. He sells all his company stocks just before they shoot up tremendously, he obliviously gives the Germans a price to buy out Burns' position, and then gets himself fired when they discover his incompetence.

* SarcasmMode: Mr. Burns' response to the Germans swearing revenge is full of this.

* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Mr. Burns' German during the dinner with the German businessmen is correct, even if it has a few grammatical errors. On the other hand, the Mexican Spanish dub replaced Burns and the other Germans' speech with German-sounding gibberish, as neither of the voice actors spoke German.
* TakeThat: When Homer originally leaks Burns' asking price ($100 million) to the German businessmen, they observe that "[they]'ll still have enough left to buy the [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Cleveland Browns]]."

Depressed that he's spending his autumn years working at the nuclear plant, Mr. Burns decides to sell his beloved plant to German investors, who are planning to get rid of all that is considered "inefficient" with the plant (which means that Homer is once again out of a job).

** Homer talks about "becom[ing] a full-time ... stock market guy" when he thinks he's made a major profit on his sale of his share in the power plant.

** Horst, the German who looks like Sgt. Shultz, asked Homer if they could talk, Homer said no. But Horst thought maybe Homer didn't understand him, so he tries to make himself clearer until Homer screams [[BigNo "NOOO!!"]]. Since asking didn't work, Horst likely ''demanded'' he comes with him.

** While the plant as usual is depicted as poorly maintained, the episode singles out Homer as the only employee the Germans consider inefficient. From a very quick point afterwards, the show would make endless gags about the plant being incompetently managed as a whole, including bizarre choices of employment by Burns such as hiring a duck.
* EitherOrTitle: The Itchy & Scratchy Show has an episode titled "House of Pain" or "This Old Mouse".

* HiddenDepths: Mr. Burns is revealed to be fluent in German (though some of what he says wouldn't be considered correct if you're a native German speaker). This becomes FridgeHorror when, in a later episode, "A Star Is Burns", he reveals that he's a lot like Oskar Schindler (of ''Film/SchindlersList'' fame) in that he made artillery shells for the Nazis (with the only difference being that Burns' shells actually worked, damnit!).

* InhibitionDestroyingPuppet: Mr. Burns is reluctant to open up to Smithers but he can pour his soul out to "Snappy the Alligator".

* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Horst tries to arrange a private meeting with Homer but he keeps nervously refusing. Horst thinks that it's because his English is poor, but in reality it's because Homer doesn't want to be outed as a terrible employee.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Homer repeatedly screws him and his family out of fortune and eventually ends up jobless and bankrupt. He sells all his company stocks just before they shoot up tremendously, he obliviously gives the Germans a price to buy out Burns' position, and then gets himself fired when they discover his incompetence.
* OhCrap: Mr. Burns when he realizes the people of Springfield aren't afraid of him anymore.

* SpecialGuest: Creator/PhilHartman as Stockbroker/Horst.
* StatusQuoIsGod: A DoubleSubversion at the end of the episode, when it seems like Mr. Burns is planning to get revenge on Homer at some point. In later episodes, Burns has completely forgotten who Homer is and Smithers has to remind Burns of his past interactions with Homer.

* TakeThat: When Homer originally leaks Burns' asking price ($100 million) to the German businessmen, they observe that "[they]'ll still have enough left to buy the UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}} Browns."

-->'''Bart:''' Excuse me. I'm looking for--\\
'''Moe:''' ''(ominously)'' Wait a minute. I know that voice.\\
''([[OhCrap Bart gulps]])''\\
'''Moe:''' ''(cheerfully)'' If it isn't little Bart Simpson! I haven't seen you in years!
* BewareTheNiceOnes: For most of the episode, the German businessmen are depicted as honest, friendly, workaholic people who want nothing but the best for their employees and the power plant. Even Lenny puts aside his initial prejudices. Only near the end the Germans get frightened when the safety levels of the power plant become dangerous and let Mr. Burns buy it back from them. When Burns pays them a low price, they naturally feel angry and warn Burns that "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine". As they say this, some sinister music starts playing. The Mexican Spanish dub [[{{Woolseyism}} changes]] the "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine" line with "Los alemanes no perdonamos nada" (We Germans do not ''forgive anything''), turning them into outright jerkasses.

** In Homer's "Land of Chocolate" ImagineSpot, everything is made of edible chocolate, including living animals, and chocolate falls from the sky like rain... but what really impresses Homer is chocolate being on sale for half price.
* DreamSequence: Homer imagines a literal "land of chocolate".
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** Burns hoots and holler for joy at getting $100,000,000 for his plant. Most later episodes would portray him as a multi-billionaire.

* GratuitousGerman: Naturally a lot, since German industrials buy the power plant. Even Smithers tries to learn German. The title is a horribly mangled translation of "Burns Sells the Power Plant." For one thing, "Kraftwerk" ("power plant") is a neuter noun, so it would need "das" (which is a neuter definite article) instead of "der" (which is used for masculine nouns). For another, "verkaufen" (the infinitive) is used instead of "verkauft" (which is the third-person conjugation). The correct German title of this episode would be "Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk." On the DVDCommentary, the writers simply give up and refer to it as [[TheOneWith "The German Episode."]]

-->'''Homer:''' Let me ask you something, does your money make you happy?\\
'''Mr. Burns:''' Yes.\\
'''Homer:''' Okay, bad example.

--> '''Burns''': I keep my enemies close, and my enemies even closer. He'll slowly regain his confidence as the months and years drift by, blissfully unaware that the sword of Damocles is dangling just above his head. And then one day, when he least expects it...

--> '''Horst:''' Then you must have some plans for the future as well?\\
'''Homer:''' I sure do!\\
''(really long {{beat}})''\\
'''Hans:''' ...Such as?

-->'''Homer:''' ''(nervously)'' No.
-->'''Horst:''' I must have phrased that badly. My English is, [[HowYouSay how you say]], inelegant. I meant to say, may we have a brief, friendly chat?

-->'''Horst:''' Once again I have failed. ''(takes out a German-English dictionary)'' We request the pleasure of your company for a free exchange of ideas.
-->'''Homer:''' NOOOOOO! ''(runs out of the room)''
* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe....[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster...connected to an overloaded mains.]] He later says it's Mr. Burns' fault for wanting an extra hundred million dollars. Then again, a dissatisfied Burns was ''thinking'' of selling the plant before that.

* SarcasmMode: Mr. Burns's response to the Germans swearing revenge is full of this.

* SeriesContinuityError: When Bart visits Moe's Tavern, Moe says he hasn't seen Bart in years, even though he visited the Simpsons home and saw Bart in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E13HomerVsLisaAndThe8thCommandment "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment"]] from the previous season.

** Mayor Quimby welcomes the new German bosses with the phrase: "Ich bin ein Springfielder", which is a reference to UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's famous 1961 quote during his visit to Berlin: "Ich bin ein Berliner".
** Homer sings "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam.

* SpecialGuest: Creator/PhilHartman as Stockbroker/Horst
* StatusQuoIsGod: DoubleSubverted at the end of the episode, when it seems like Mr. Burns is planning to get revenge on Homer at some point. In later episodes, Burns has completely forgotten who Homer is and Smithers has to remind Burns of his past interactions with Homer.
* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Mr. Burns' German during the dinner with the German businessmen is correct, even if it has a few grammatical errors. On the other hand, the Mexican Spanish dub replaced Burns and the other Germans' speech with German-sounding gibberish, as neither one of the voice actors spoke German.

** One of the Germans (drawn to resemble John Banner) relaxes the workers by telling them to think of him as the lovable Sgt. Shultz from ''Series/HogansHeroes''.

** The German who looks like Sgt. Shultz asked Homer if they could talk, Homer said no. But the German thought maybe Homer didn't understand him, so he tries to make himself clearer until Homer screams [[BigNo "NOOO!!"]]. Since asking didn't work, the German likely ''demanded'' he comes with him.

-->'''Horst:''' I must have phrased that badly. My English is, how you say, inelegant. I meant to say, may we have a brief, friendly chat?

** The German who looks like Sgt Shultz asked Homer if they could talk, Homer said no. But the German thought maybe Homer didn't understand him, so he tries to make himself clearer until Homer screams [[BigNo "NOOO!!"]]. Since asking didn't work, the German likely ''demanded'' he comes with him.

** Homer sings "Na Na Na (Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye)" by Steam
** One of the Germans (drawn to resemble John Banner) relaxes the workers by telling them to think of him as the lovable Sgt Shultz from ''Series/HogansHeroes''.

* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe....[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster...connected to an overloaded mains.]] He later says it's Mr. Burns' fault for wanting an extra hundred million dollars. Then again, a dissatisfied Burns was considering selling the plant before that.

* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe....[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster...connected to an overloaded mains.]] He later says it's Mr. Burns' fault for wanting an extra hundred million dollars.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The German who looks like Sgt Shultz asked Homer if they could talk, Homer said no. But the German thought maybe Homer didn't understand him, so he tries to make himself clearer until Homer screams [[BigNo "NOOO!!"]]. Since asking didn't work, the German likely ''demanded'' he comes with him.

* AmusinglyShortList: The new plant owners quickly fire Homer for his incompetence and disingenuously phrase is as a layoff.

* GilliganCut: Upon realizing the townsfolk won't fear him unless he's employer to most of them, Mr. Burns decided to buy the plant back. After doing so, he wanted to put Homer in a position where Burns could exact revenge on him. Cut to Homer gleefully telling Marge he recovered his job.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: For most of the episode the German businessmen are depicted as honest, friendly, workaholic people who want nothing but the best for their employees and the power plant. Even Lenny puts aside his initial prejudices. Only near the end the Germans get frightened when the safety levels of the power plant become dangerous and let Mr. Burns buy it back from them. When Burns pays them a low price, they naturally feel angry and warn Burns that "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine". As they say this, some sinister music starts playing. The Mexican Spanish dub [[{{Woolseyism}} changes]] the "We Germans aren't all smiles ''und'' sunshine" line with "Los alemanes no perdonamos nada" (We Germans do not ''forgive anything''), turning them into outright jerkasses.

** Seeing Burns hoot and holler for joy at the price the Germans give him for his plant, given his wealth has reached Scrooge [=McDuck=] levels of ridiculousness over the years.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Seeing Burns hoot and holler for joy at the price the Germans give him for his plant, given his wealth has reached Scrooge [=McDuck=] levels of ridiculousness over the years.

* NeverMyFault: Homer grumbles about losing his job, insisting the Germans have no right to declare him unsafe....[[HypocriticalHumor while rummaging a fork inside a toaster...connected to an overloaded mains.]]