Simon plotted the blue-print that made the show what it was at its peak and what it continues to be today. Had he not brought on the team of writers and changed the spirit of the show entirely, it simply would not have lasted (which perhaps accounts for his lack of confidence in its longevity). It was his creative direction that added depth to the characters that added relatable experiences to their humour, turning them from figures like Bugs Bunny into something with far more authenticity. That was the key. It was probably also he who added Homer's child-like inner spirit, as he saw it in himself, and as fellow writer Wallace Wolodarsky said, he entirely reinvented the capacity for cartoons to be something more:
Sam opened our eyes to the possibilities of what an animated show could be, which is to say we could go anywhere in the world, we could do anything, and that was incredibly liberating.
