A writer tries to get a love story published. Two bureaucratic editors ask for more and more changes. But even his spiced-up version, with smoking chimneys and steel production, gets rejected.
This episode features a pompous customer and a West Berlin cab driver. Their conversation, full of wit and double-entendres, revolves around city government under mayor Willie Brandt and the American occupation. Punch line? The driver would rather have his cab occupied than free!
Anton misunderstands the barkeeper's refusal to keep serving a drunken guest, leading him to believe that there is an impending alcohol shortage. This news spreads with the help of a report from West Berlin radio and Anton stashes away a stockpile of liquor.
Four colleagues sit down for an important business meeting and do not want to be disturbed. First, the chairperson of the meeting is called away to answer an important phone call and passes the leadership on to a colleague, who also turns out to have an important errand to run...
Pustekuchen, the administrator of a wholesale distributor, is only interested in bonuses. His irresponsible management causes significant shortages for customers, so that one local store only has cleaning products left in stock.
A long line of teenagers are standing outside a dance club. Traudchen and her boyfriend Johannes get split up, but they both eventually are admitted. Meanwhile, Ede strolls past those waiting in line and bribes the bouncer to get inside.
Two groups of craftsmen, painters and stovefitters, are hired to repair the same apartment. When their attempts to work simultaneously only cause chaos, they contact the building management to figure out who should do their job first.
“Poisoned sausages in East Germany!” Karl gets scared when he hears this news on the West Berlin radio station RIAS (Radio in the American Sector). What a surprise to see his supposedly dead friends a few days later – sitting happily in the pub.
Zeus' secretary informs him about complaints about shortages on Earth: people in Leipzig are protesting a lack of matches. Zeus sends Prometheus to deal with the situation in the GDR and discover the cause of the shortage.
A shipment of aluminum pots have arrived at a home goods store, but they can't be sold because the staff can't find the bill.