Tim and Mr. Burns' nephew, Freddie Carson, are in the running for promotion to journeyman reporter at the newspaper. After finding out that Mr. Burns is a gourmet, Martin decides that a way to swing the tide in Tim's favor is to cook Mr. Burns a special meal, one which includes some special Martian condiments. The Martian ingredients however react with the Earth ingredients to cause Mr. Burns to move in slow motion. The effect of the antidote Martin has on hand has the opposite effect of speeding up Mr. Burns' movements. Meanwhile, Freddie arrives on the scene to take Mr. Burns to the airport to meet a newspaper bigwig. Tim and Martin hide Mr. Burns in his catatonic state in the bedroom while Martin works on figuring out the correct antidote to cure Mr. Burns. Freddie, unaware that his uncle is there, shoots himself in the foot in the quest for what he feels is the sure promotion for himself with some disparaging remarks about a certain uncle.