Classics on Tape

For those who prefer to own their favorite episodes, some of the best series available on videocassette:

The I Love Lucy Collection, 8 volumes (CBS/Fox; $14.98 each; running time: 51 mins.)
Each volume has two episodes. Highlights include a grape-stomppng Lucy in Italy, and some panicky on-the-job chocolate eating in a candy factory.

The Twilight Zone, 4 volumes (CBS/Fox; $14.98 each; running time: 51 mins.)
Each volume has two episodes from the 1959-65 Rod Serling series. Especially eerie selections: ''The Invaders'' (Agnes Moorehead stoically battles tiny outer-space robots) and ''Nightmare at 20,000 Feet'' (William Shatner tries to convince a stewardess there's a gremlin outside the airplane window).

Star Trek, 79 episodes (Paramount; $12.95 per episode; running time: 51 mins.)
Trekkies, take note: All 78 episodes of the 1966-69 series are here, including a pilot never shown on television.

Death Valley Days, 9 volumes (Rhino; $9.95 per volume; running time: 55 mins.)
Each volume has two episodes. More an anthology of the 1962-65 Wild West stories than a series, with performances by Robert Blake and Carroll O'Connor.

The Outer Limits, 49 volumes (MGM/UA; $12.98 per episode; running time: 52 mins.)
Scary stuff, from 1963 to '65, big on scheming beings from outer space and scientific experiments gone wrong.

Peter Gunn, 5 volumes (Rhino; $19.95 per volume; running time: 55 mins.)
Each volume has two episodes. Produced by Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther, Victor/Victoria), this 1958-61 private-eye series starring Craig Stevens was as cool as its Grammy-winning Henry Mancini theme.

Car 54, Where Are You?, 4 volumes (Republic; $14.98 per volume; running time: 50 mins.)
Each volume has two episodes from this 1961-63 series. Fred Gwynne and Joe E. Ross as two goofy — and endearing — New York City cops.

Bonanza, 4 volumes (Republic; $14.98 per volume; running time: 60 mins.)
Home video on the range.