Maximum Homerdrive

The episode features references to comedian Tony Randall, model Bettie Page, and science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey, among other things.

Homer brings the family, and stumbles upon the "Sir Loin-a-Lot" challenge and accepts an offer from truck driver Red Barclay to see who can finish the entire 16-pound sirloin steak first.

Although the system ejects itself from Homer's truck in response to his reckless driving, he and Bart manage to escape from the mob and deliver the shipment (artichokes and migrant workers) to Atlanta on time.

The doorbell store's mascot, Señor Ding-Dong, appears and silences the bell with one crack of his whip; when he tries to leave, though, his car will not start.

"Maximum Homerdrive", originally called "Homer the Trucker",[1] was written by staff writer John Swartzwelder and directed by Simpsons director Swinton O. Scott III.

Eventually, staff writer and co-executive producer George Meyer pitched the idea that the truckers would have "a secret device, that actually did all the driving for them", called the Navitron Autodrive System.

Originally, the writers wanted to show the cows being killed, however when Scott saw the scene in the storyboards, the Simpsons staff instead decided to make the deaths "indirect".

[4] During the meat eating contest, Homer becomes exhausted and sees two wine glass holding cows, who appear as "wavy" figures.

In order to achieve the "wavy" effect, the Simpsons animators put a ripple glass on the cels and moved it around while shooting the scene.

It was sung by main cast member Dan Castellaneta, included mentions of "scraping blood and guts off the road" and was eventually dropped because it was considered too gruesome by the staff.

While eating dinner at Joe's Diner, "12 Bar Blues" by NRBQ (a band that Mike Scully was fond of) can be heard playing from a jukebox.

Red Barclay, the trucker who dies of "beef poisoning" in The Slaughterhouse, was portrayed by regular cast member Hank Azaria.

And though he promises to keep the device a secret, Homer can't keep his mouth shut, and so shamefully exposes to the world his un-manful behavior concerning the mates.

The line, as well as the Navitron Autodrive System's voice, is a reference to HAL 9000, the antagonist in the 1968 science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[6] The title of the episode references the 1986 horror film Maximum Overdrive, which was one of Simpsons cast member Yeardley Smith's first credited screen roles.

Among adults between ages 18 and 49, the episode received a 7.8 rating/20 percent share, the strongest rating The Simpsons had in the demographic since "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", which aired on January 17 the same year.

"[6] On the other hand, giving the episode a more mixed review, Colin Jacobson of DVD Movie Guide wrote "If nothing else, 'Homerdrive' takes unanticipated paths.