In 1989, Matt Groening first introduced the world to the town of Springfield and its denizens. Homer Simpson uttered his first “D’oh!” on the small screen. Since then “The Simpsons” have became one of television’s most beloved families. Millions of viewers still tune into to the Fox network every Sunday night to check out Homer and the gang’s latest misadventures.

Now, at long last, Simpsons fans can bring the town of Springfield into their own home on a much more permanent basis. Twentieth Century Fox has just released the first collection of Simpons’ episodes on DVD.

The three disc set sales for near $30 and includes not only the very first 13 episodes of the series but also an assortment of outages, commentary by Matt Groenig himself, early stretches of the characters and even a Tracy Pullman short called “Goodnight Simpsons.”

Among the episodes featured in the set are “Homer’s Odyssey” which first introduces the infamous Mr. Burns and his side-kick Smithers, “There’s No Disgrace Like Home” which includes the first Itchy and Scratchy scenes, and the classic “Krusty gets Busted” featuring Kesley Grammer as the over intellectualized villain Sideshow Bob.

In this collection other such key characters as Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy and Santa’s Little Helper are also introduced in episodes like “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire,” “Bart the General,” “The Call of the Simpsons,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “The Crepes of Wrath,” “Moaning Lisa,” “Homer’s Night Out,” and “The Telltale Head.”

Even Blinky, the three-eyed fish, makes an early appearance, pre-dating the “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish” episode in which Mr. Burns runs for mayor in order to change the regulations imposed by the government that are threatening to cost him a great deal of money or force him to shut down the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

The collection is truly exceptional, but it is important to note that these 13 episodes were the beginnings of the show. Some fans may be put off by the older animation style and the fact that some of their favorite characters have different voices from the ones we so love today. Indeed, some of these differences in the old episodes are very profound, but to own these shows in DVD format and to be able to watch them at one’s leisure is what makes them endearing and enduring.

The Simpsons are as addictive and enjoyable to fans as Duff Beer is to Homer, and fans will find themselves longing for the next complete season collection. Unfortunately, my desire for that second season led me to the DVD store and the bad news — the second season is still months away.

Rest assured however that all 280-some odd episodes so far are on the way. It is only a matter of time. Let us fans be patient, wait and be thankful that we still have Homer, Bart, Burns, Marge, Flanders and the gang every Sunday night on Fox to tide us over until then.

(Eric Brown lives in Sylva and is the author of more than a dozen published short stories and is assistant editor of a cyberzine, www.the-swamp.net. He can be reached at incubusvane@aol.com)