alt Hacker NewsIt has been argued that Sam Simons was the one that really honed in the characters of The Simpsons. Groening would throw out all kinds of weird ideas, like Marge was secretly a rabbit (thus the high hair), but Simons kept grounding the characters back into a form of reality.
Sam was a pretty awesome guy. There’s a real sincerity and earnestness to early Simpsons which came from the vision you’re describing.
He left the show after only 4 seasons, but I like to think his influence on the writing was a big contributor to the shows golden years.