Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk
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| The Simpsons episode | |
| "Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" | |
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| Episode no. | 46 |
| Prod. code | 8F09 |
| Orig. Airdate | December 5, 1991 |
| Writer(s) | Jon Vitti |
| Director | Mark Kirkland |
| Chalkboard | "The Christmas pageant does not stink." |
| Couch gag | Santa's Little Helper is on the couch and growls menacingly. The family back away slowly. |
| Guest star(s) | Phil Hartman |
| SNPP capsule | |
| Season 3 September 19, 1991 – August 27, 1992 |
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| List of all Simpsons episodes... | |
"Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk" (German: Burns Sell (sic) the Power Plant) is the eleventh episode of The Simpsons' third season. The incorrect German grammar (it should be Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk) is thought by many to be meant jokingly. The episode aired on December 5, 1991.
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[edit] Synopsis
Homer learns he owns stock in the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and sells his 100 shares for 25 cents apiece to a shady stock broker, netting $25. Soon after the sale he learns that the value of the stock was $52 per share. While Homer misses out on the windfall – he could have made $5,200 – other employees make small fortunes.
The reason for the stock's inflated value is because a depressed Mr. Burns wants to sell the plant to pursue other interests. The sale is completed at a value of $100 million to two German businessmen, Hans and Fritz, who have been hanging out in Moe's looking for just such an opportunity (provided the purchase leaves them with enough change to buy the Cleveland Browns). They immediately begin a thorough evaluation of the plant and its employees. When they interview Homer, he is unable to intelligently answer their questions and begins slipping into a dream about cavorting through "The Land of Chocolate." It isn't long before Homer gets laid off.
A depressed Homer mopes around the house, insisting he is a competent safety-minded worker. Meanwhile, Burns is not having a good time in retirement and decides to go to Moe's Tavern to have a drink. There, Homer and the other bar patrons laugh scornfully at Burns. Burns realizes his job as owner of a nuclear plant gives him power and is resolved to buy back the plant.
The German investors are more than willing to sell the plant back to Burns because as they say, it will cost another $100 million dollars to bring the plant up to code. Burns, noting their desperation to sell and saying so offers them $50 million for the plant saying that, "you will find it {his offer} most unfair." Homer is re-hired, and Burns plots his revenge at some unspecified point in the future.
[edit] Trivia
- The two German investors make several more silent appearances in Springfield for example the creation of the Matlock expressway.
[edit] Cultural References
- Mr. Burns has a photo of himself with Elvis Presley (similar to a real life photo of Richard Nixon with Elvis).
[edit] Grammar of the title
(Many think the grammatical faux pas was an intentional joke on the part of the creators.) The German episode title is generally translated as "Burns sells the power plant." However, it is grammatically incorrect in two ways:
First of all, and most strikingly, the verb "verkaufen" ("to sell") is the wrong conjugation. As the subject of the sentence ("Burns") is third-person singular, the verb should be "verkauft" ("sells").
Furthermore, the title displays the usage of incorrect gender. The word "Kraftwerk" ("power plant") is neuter, not masculine, and should therefore be written "das Kraftwerk", not "der Kraftwerk". If the noun was in fact masculine (e.g. Burns sells the television [der Fernseher]), the correct wording would be Burns verkauft den Fernseher, as "verkaufen" is a transitive verb and the accusative form of der is den.
A proper German translation of "Burns sells the power plant" would be "Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk." If one wished to translate "Burns sells them the power plant", one would write "Burns verkauft ihnen das Kraftwerk", while "Burns verkauft das Kraftwerk an sie" means "Burns sells / is selling the power plant to them".
Alternatively, one could assume that the intended correct (but uncommon and clumsy) phrase was "Burns' Verkauf des Kraftwerks" (Burns's sale of the power plant).
The title for the dubbed German version was changed to "Kraftwerk zu verkaufen", which means "Powerplant for sale".
[edit] Goofs
- The check is from "Zwei Reihe Typen Inc.", which means "Two row guys Inc." in English, but it was meant to be "Zwei Reiche Typen Inc." (two rich guys).
- Lenny's plastic surgery-stiffened face returns to normal at the beginning of the second act.
- Fritz states that he is from the East, and owned a big company there. This would be impossible, as East Germany had a centrally planned economy, with the government controlling most of the industries.
