About the original series, Hosny said, "I loved it. I take off my chapeau: they are very good artists. And the writers are unbelievable. I loved the character of Homer. There is something very strange about this character. It’s very close to the Egyptian point of view. He’s a very simple and kind person; from some points of view you feel that he’s incredibly stupid, and from some points of view you feel he is wise. Sometimes I felt I was talking about an Egyptian person. Nothing is certain and taken for granted—it’s not ipso facto—and this makes good art". Hosny said that the sheiks who owned MBC interfered in the creative process, making the show more edited and less comprehensible. For instance, Hosny wanted to make a "Little Arab Town" where it would be explained why there were many Arab people living in the middle of the United States. The sheiks rejected Hosny's suggestions. Poplak said, "Instead, Springfield remained, and there was no coherent explanation given as to why a full Arab community exists within the middle of Middle America". Hosny wanted Homer to drink she'er, a non-alcoholic malt drink, so dubbing would be easy. The sheiks insisted that Homer drink juice. Hosny also stated that he tried to underemphasize Waylon Smithers's homosexual attraction to Mr. Burns. Poplak said, "Through a steady process of cross-cultural attrition—no bacon sandwiches, no Moe’s Tavern, church becomes masjid (mosque)—"The Simpsons" was whittled down to a shadow of itself."