Classics On DVD Are Sure Stocking Stuffers

Hi-Yo Silver! The Lone Ranger rides again. This time the masked man is on DVD.

Arriving just in time for the couch potato on your Christmas shopping list is "The Lone Ranger: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition," containing the first and second seasons of the original TV series (1949-51) starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto.

It tops my list of DVD stocking stuffers for baby boomers.

Introduced in 1933 as a radio serial on WXYZ in Detroit, The Lone Ranger was voiced by about six different actors with Earle W. Graser in the role for most of 3,000-plus episodes. The radio version ran until 1954.

The TV series (1949-57) made Moore a hero to the first wave of baby boomers.

This new DVD is something Lone Ranger fans have been waiting for because only a handful of episodes have been available and those were poor quality videotaped copies.

Yes, Kemo Sabe, there is a Lone Ranger fan club with hundreds of members who long to "return to those thrilling days of yesteryear" (www.loneranger fanclub.com).

Now they can thrill to the familiar theme (the "cavalry charge" from the "William Tell Overture") and watch 78 episodes.

There's also an 88-page color booklet and episode guide; a radio episode from 1950; three episodes from a 1960s cartoon series and rare comic book images (list price is $119.95, Entertainment Rights).

SOLID GOLD: "A Christmas Story: 25th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition" ($39.95, Warner Home Video) was released two weeks ago.

This two-disc DVD includes the widescreen and full-screen versions of the 1983 film about young Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wanting a BB gun during a Christmas in the 1940s.

The film is a holiday staple that most of us have seen many times. But for some, it's more than just an entertaining movie.

Thousands have made the trek to The Christmas Story House and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, where it's Christmas all year. The annual "Christmas Story" convention is this weekend (see www.achristmasstoryhouse.com).

The "Ultimate" edition also offers an apron with the film's logo; a set of cookie cutters (a star, a house, a turkey, a leg lamp, and an outline of Ralphie in his bunny costume); and a 48-page cookbook with recipes inspired by the film such as Chinese turkey (decapitated duck) - all packaged in a metal casing that resembles a vintage cookie tin.

But wait, there's more, including a commentary by the late director Bob Clark; a deleted scene; an 18-minute documentary with cast member interviews; author Jean Shepherd's original radio readings of the story; and short films on the props (love that leg lamp) and the history of the Red Ryder BB gun.

PENNY PINCHER: "The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet: Christmas with the Nelsons" ($9.99, Shout Factory) is for nostalgia buffs.

This recently released DVD has four holiday-themed black and white episodes from the long-running 1950s family comedy. Not the best episodes from this series, they are more like curious artifacts from a simpler time in suburban America.

Young Ricky Nelson steals all the scenes. You can see him as a brash, young and dreamy-eyed teen who sings "Baby, I'm Sorry."

TUNE IN TONIGHT

"Dancing With the Stars," 9 p.m., ABC

Tonight we find out if Warren Sapp is this season's dancing champ, right after "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" at 8.