Americans will spend millions this 4th of July weekend in air-conditioned movie theaters watching Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer in the new movie version of "The Lone Ranger."

Here’s a wild and crazy baby-boomer alternatiive: Hunker down and binge-watch all 221 episodes of the classic TV version of "The Lone Ranger," starring Clayton Moore as the masked former Texas Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto. The series was a staple on ABC when commercial TV was in its infancy, running originally from 1949 until 1957 in prime time, and then for years afterward in syndication.

One way to accomplish your binge watching is by purchasing the beautiful collectors’ edition DVD box set that’s been recently released by Classic Media. The entire series run is on 30 DVDs. Its suggested retail price is $200, but as of this writing, Amazon has a few left at $129. And we saw some at Costco that were even less.

Also, here’s an interesting program note for any "Lone Ranger" fan who lives in the Los Angeles area, or is familiar with the area: Much of the TV show was shot at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., where many of the distinctive sandstone boulders seen in the show — including the rock seen with Silver rearing up in the opening sequence to every episode, which became known as Lone Ranger Rock — remain in place and can be seen in person.

The Lone Ranger and Silver, with Lone Ranger Rock