Line #42 Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E11BurnsVerkaufenDerKraftwerk


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7	'''Original air date:''' 12/5/1991
8
9	'''Production code:''' 8F09
10
11	Dispirited 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 again out of a job).
12
13	----
14	!!This episode contains examples of:
15
16	* AintTooProudToBeg: Burns begs the Germans to buy the plant back. When he hears they're eager to sell, though, he puts the screws in them.
17	-->'''Burns:''' Advantage: Burns.
18	* AllOfThem: Homer's answer to the question of what initiatives he has spearheaded during his two years as a safety inspector.
19	* AmusinglyShortList: The new plant owners quickly fire Homer for his incompetence and disingenuously phrase it as a layoff.
20	-->''Attention, workers: we have completed our evaluation of the plant. We regret to announce the following layoffs, which I will read in alphabetical order: Simpson, Homer. That is all.''
21	* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: All it takes is a mention of "the land of chocolate" for Homer to get lost in thought imagining a literal land of chocolate for ten minutes while he's interviewing to keep his job.
22	* BaitAndSwitch: When Bart goes to pick up Homer at Moe's after making a prank phone call there:
23	-->'''Bart:''' Excuse me. I'm looking for--
24	-->'''Moe:''' [''Ominously''] Wait a minute. I know that voice.
25	-->[''[[OhCrap Bart gulps]]'']
26	-->'''Moe:''' [''Cheerfully''] If it isn't little Bart Simpson! I haven't seen you in years!
27	* BenevolentBoss: Horst quickly proves this compared to Mr. Burns; he's friendly, involved with his employees' lives and takes actual steps to spearhead safety around the nuclear plant (as well as turning Mr. Burns' office into a daycare). While a lot of this seems like simple basic employer competency, it highlights just how out of his depth he is in a place like [[WretchedHive Springfield]]; Horst quickly finds himself losing patience with the stagnant idiocy of workers like [[CloudCuckoolander Homer]].
28	* BestServedCold: After Homer humiliate him at Moe's, Mr. Burns rehires him on the basis of this. He explains to Smithers that he'll put Homer in a place where he can be easily observed and lulled into a false sense of security, at which point, Burns will finally take revenge on him.
29	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
30	** 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.
31	** Even beforehand, Homer's incompetence is clearly testing their patience, and when it becomes obvious he is a burden to the company, they fire him, bluntly and humiliatingly over a public announcement.
32	* BlindIdiotTranslation: "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" is a mistranslation of the intended title (in English), which is "Burns Sells the Power Plant". The verb is unconjugated and the article is both the wrong gender and the wrong case. The correct translation would be "Burns ''Verkauft das'' Kraftwerk".
33	* BuffySpeak: Homer has three examples.
34	** 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."
35	** Fretting about his job security to Marge: "My job is my identity. If I'm not a safety whatchamajigger, I'm nothing."
36	** To a coworker on the day he's ultimately fired: "Smitty ... safen up!"
37	* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
38	** Horst, the German who looks like Sgt. Shultz, asks Homer to talk. Homer says no. But Horst thinks Homer might have misunderstood 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.
39	** 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.
40	* ComicBookTime: Homer is mentioned to have been safety inspector for three years, a job he got in the third episode, yet his kids are the exact same age they were there.
41	* CouchGag: Santa’s Little Helper is asleep on the couch. When the family comes in, he wakes up and growls ferociously, causing the family to back away slowly.
42	* DramaticIrony: Moe, as it turns out, actually really likes Homer's kids, completely unaware that Bart is the one tormenting him with prank phone calls. He even recognizes Bart's voice as the caller, but seems to dismiss the possibility after seeing that it's him.
43	* DreamSequence: Homer imagines a literal "land of chocolate".
44	-->'''Homer''': La la la la la la la la la...\
45	'''Fritz''': Mr. Simpson? Mr. Simpson?\
46	'''Homer''': Oh, I'm sorry. We were talking about chocolate?\
47	'''Horst''': ''(exasperatedly)'' That was ten minutes ago!
48	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
49	** Burns hoots and hollers for joy at getting $100,000,000 for his plant. Most later episodes would portray him as a multi-billionaire.
50	** 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/TheSimpsonsS5E9TheLastTemptationOfHomer hiring a duck]].
51	* EitherOrTitle: ''The Itchy & Scratchy Show'' has an episode titled "House of Pain" or "This Old Mouse".
52	* ForeignLanguageTitle: The title is German and means "Burns Sells the Power Plant". But it's deliberately using [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign poor grammar]].
53	* 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 and the kids he recovered his job.
54	* GourmetPetFood: {{Inverted}}. Bart opens a can of "Carrot Cat Food" which is advertised as 88% ash and 12% carrots. They are actually quite common ingredients, though certainly not in those proportions. Snowball II is understandably disappointed when the food lands in her dish with a puff of gray dust.
55	* GratuitousGerman: Naturally a lot, since German businessmen buy the power plant. Even Smithers tries to learn German. The title itself is a (mis)translation of "Burns Sells the Power Plant." On the DVDCommentary, the writers referred to it as "The German Episode."
56	* HiddenDepths:
57	** 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[[invoked]] 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!").
58	** It'd been hinted at a few episodes beforehand, but this episode is the first to firmly establish [[FaceOfAThug Moe's]] status as a FriendToAllChildren and Homer's kids in particular.
59	* HypocriticalHumor: Moe is infuriated by the prank calls he receives and always vows revenge, but he finds the idea of Bart doing that to people (not knowing he's Bart's victim) hilarious.
60	* ImagineSpot: The famous "Land of Chocolate" sequence.
61	* InhibitionDestroyingPuppet: Mr. Burns is reluctant to talk openly to Smithers but he can pour his soul out to "Snappy the Alligator".
62	* KeepingTheEnemyClose: The reason Burns re-hires Homer.
63	-->'''Burns''': Smithers, I keep my friends 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... [''Stabs a child's toy on his desk'']
64	* LevelAte: Homer's dream of the "Land of Chocolate".
65	* LiteralAssKicking: Bart's reaction to Homer's announcement that he sold his stock for 25 dollars just before it went up.
66	-->'''Bart:''' Come on, everybody, it makes you feel better.
67	* LoudGulp: Bart gets this when Marge orders him to get Homer from Moe's right after he plays his prank phone call on Moe. Also counts as an OhCrap moment.
68	* MathematiciansAnswer: Homer mostly just answers the exact question his new bosses are asking so he doesn't have to expand on the answers (because of course he can't), and show his incompetence.
69	-->'''Horst:''' You've been safety inspector for two years. What initiatives have you spearheaded in that time?
70	-->'''Homer:''' Uh...{{all of them}}.
71	-->'''Horst:''' ...I see. Then you must have some good ideas for the future as well?
72	-->'''Homer:''' I sure do!
73	-->[''Really long {{beat}}'']
74	-->'''Hans:''' ...Such as?
75	* 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.
76	-->'''Horst:''' Homer, could we have a word with you?
77	-->'''Homer:''' [''Nervously''] No.
78	-->'''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?
79	-->'''Homer:''' Nooo!
80	-->'''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.
81	-->'''Homer:''' [[BigNo NOOOOOO!]] [''Runs out of the room'']
82	* 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.
83	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
84	** 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' position and then gets himself fired when they discover his incompetence.
85	** The Germans ended up having to sell the plant at a loss because Horst let it slip that they were "desperate to sell", which Mr. Burns takes advantage of by buying back the plant at half the price he sold it for. Before finding this out, Burns was literally on his knees begging the Germans for his plant back.
86	--->'''Burns:''' [on his knees] Please sell me my plant back, I'll pay anything!
87	--->'''Horst:''' Isn't this a happy coincidence? You are desperate to buy and we are desperate to sell!
88	--->'''Burns:''' Desperate eh? [gets on his feet] Advantage: Burns! [writes on a notepad and hands it to Fritz] This is my offer, I think you'll find it's most unfair but those are the breaks.
89	--->'''Fritz:''' But Mr. Burns, this is half of what we paid you!
90	--->'''Burns:''' That's my final offer. Take it or leave it!
91	* OhCrap:
92	** Homer, when Lenny reminds him that he's the safety inspector, just after having himself encouraged Horst to give that figure a good talking-to.
93	** Mr. Burns, when he realizes the people of Springfield aren't afraid of him anymore.
94	* PerpetualPoverty: The state of the Simpsons' life gets worse once Homer loses his job, leading to compromises like Lisa having to do Marge's BeehiveHairdo (making it look more like a pair of bunny ears in the process) and Bart refusing to take baths and reading comics without actually buying them (which Marge scolds him for).
95	* {{Revenge}}: The implication after Burns paid back way less than what the Germans originally paid for the plant, and then saying they are not all "smiles und sunshine."
96	* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder:
97	-->'''Homer:''' Let me ask you something, does your money cheer you up when you're feeling blue?
98	-->'''Mr. Burns:''' [[BluntYes Yes]].
99	-->'''Homer:''' Okay, bad example.
100	* SarcasmMode: After the Germans swear revenge for Burns swindled them, he sarcastically says he is scared, and that he is worried of their revenge.
101	* ScareChord: When Marge enters the kitchen with a bunny-eared version of her usual BeehiveHairdo.
102	* 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.
103	* ShoutOut:
104	** Mayor Quimby welcomes the new German bosses with the phrase: "Ich bin ein Springfielder", which is a reference to UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy's famous quote during his 1963 visit to Berlin: "Ich bin ein Berliner".
105	** Bart sings to Moe's patrons in a manner reminiscent of a scene in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''.
106	** Bart, Homer, and the barflies sing "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam.
107	** Horst, the German drawn to resemble John Banner, relaxes the workers by telling them to think of him as the lovable Sgt. Shultz from ''Series/HogansHeroes''.
108	** When his fretting about his job security keeps him up at night, Homer does a ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' jigsaw puzzle.
109	* SlummingIt: A recently-retired Burns catches sight of Moe's Tavern and eagerly stops to "go slumming" ("Hold your nose, Smithers, we're going in"). It backfires badly on him when Homer, who he didn't recognize, treats him to a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech in front of the entire bar, blaming his sale of the factory for the loss of his job.
110	* SnubByOmission: Reversed. After evaluating the employees, the German managers announce what appears to be a list of layoffs. They mention Homer's name and then end the transmission.
111	* SpecialGuest: Creator/PhilHartman as the stockbroker and Horst.
112	* 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 tends to forget who Homer is and Smithers has to remind Burns of his past interactions with Homer.
113	* 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]]."
114	* WhatTheHellHero: When Homer sells his power plant stock profits (for $25) and tells Marge he spent it on beer, Patty and Selma aren't surprised when they think that Homer actually spent $5,200. Marge is initially shocked that Homer spent the family's entire $5,200 stock dividend on beer...until Homer tells her he sold it for only $25. Bart then kicks Homer in the butt, telling the rest of the family it'll make them feel better.

Context Recap / TheSimpsonsS3E11BurnsVerkaufenDerKraftwerk