"Homer to the Max" is the thirteenth episode of the tenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 7, 1999. In the episode, Homer discovers that a new television show, Police Cops, has a hero also named Homer Simpson. He is delighted with the positive attention he receives because of his name, but when the television character is rewritten from a hero to a bumbling idiot, he is mocked and taunted, so he changes his name to "Max Power" to rid himself of the negative attention. Max gains new friends, and is forced into a protest to prevent a forest from being knocked down. In the end, he changes his name back to Homer Simpson. The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Pete Michels. Since airing, it has received mixed reviews from television critics. Overall, the episode received a Nielsen rating of 8.5. Plot The Simpson family watches the pilot episode of Police Cops, which follows a duo of suave and dashing detectives, Lance Kaufman and Homer Simpson. Homer is delighted with the positive attention he receives from townspeople for sharing the lead character's name, as well as the character's personality, despite the family telling him it is just a coincidence. Following the pilot, however, the Homer Simpson character is rewritten as Lance's overweight and inept comic relief sidekick who mistakes the toys for guns program as "guns for toys" and the police chief's insulin shipment for illegal drugs. He also spouts the mindless catchphrase “Uh-oh! SpaghettiOs!”, resulting in Homer being mocked by the people of Springfield. Humiliated, he appeals to the producers to change the character back, but they refuse. Then, after unsuccessfully attempting to sue the company for improper usage of his old name, Homer legally changes his name to "Max Power", the only correctly spelled or sensible name on the list he presented to the presiding judge. Though the negative attention fades away, Marge is unhappy that Homer changed his name without consulting her. With his new identity comes a massive change in attitude, as Max is much more assertive and freewheeling than Homer was. While shopping at Costington's, Max meets a successful businessman named Trent Steel. Trent invites Max and the family to a garden party, despite Marge's reservations, where they meet many famous people, but Max finds