Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2360 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-09-25
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3

Synopsis
Comedian Phil Silvers created one of the most beloved characters in television history with his portrayal of Sergeant Bilko on THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW (aka YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH). Set on a U.S. Army base, the 1950s-era series followed the smooth-talking Bilko as he attempted a hilarious string of get-rich-quick schemes with the help of his hapless underlings--and the consternation of his beleaguered commanding officer, Colonel Hall (Paul Ford). Renowned for its complex, screwball storylines and witty, rapidfire dialogue, the Emmy Award-winning series is resurrected in this collection of 21 remastered episodes, including the never-before-seen pilot.

Customer Reviews

One of the all-time great sitcoms.
I once bought all 144 (I think it was) episodes of Bilko of a guy on ebay. They were of course awful quality, but it was better than nothing. Now we AT LAST have 18 top quality episodes of one of the greatest sitcoms of all time on DVD and it's time for the world to re-discover for me, the greatest single sitcom performance of all time. Phil Silvers' portrayal of Sgt Ernest Bilko is awesome to behold. It almost takes your breath away, except of course what breath remains you need of course to laugh. This DVD set gives you 18 cracking examples of Bilko and although I don't buy DVD's for extras, the extras here are ok. But really you should be buying it (a) to laugh (b) to marvel at Phil Silvers and (c) to participate in TV history. There will never be anything like it again. Bilko - what can you say, the funniest, most brilliantly written and best cast sitcom ever made.

Phil Silvers as Bilko is comedy heaven
This is a 3 DVD compilation of classic Sergeant Bilko episodes from the 1950's to commemorate the show's 50th Anniversary and it definately leaves you wanting more.

The shows included are:
New Recruits/The WAC/The Horse/The Eating Contest/Bivouac/The Twitch/The Investigation/The Revolutionary War/The Court Martial/The Con Men/A Mess Sergeant Can't win/Doberman's Sister/Bilko's tax Trouble/The Big Scandal/Hillbilly Whiz/Bilko the Art lover/Bilko joins the Navy/Weekend Colonel

My personal favourite is the Court Martial - an absolute gem (which I won't spoil by telling you the plot) - but many others are in the same class.Phil Silvers is a marvel as the manipulative sergeant but the rest of the cast are also excellent and these episodes come up as fresh today as they were 50 years ago - putting most modern comedies in the shade. Brilliant and well worth watching - I'm looking forward to seeing the rest when they finally surface.

It's great, but...
In one of those good news-bad news scenarios, the real Sergeant Bilko - the original Phil Silvers Show - has finally made it onto DVD in time for its 50th anniversary, but Paramount have definitely erred on the side of caution with the treatment.

Not that Sergeant Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show 50th Anniversary Edition isn't a bad presentation: it is, with more extras than you could realistically expect from a show this old, including the unseen 33-minute pilot episode when the show was still going to be called You'll Never Get Rich, vintage interviews, audio commentaries (including one by George Kennedy, who began his screen career as the army's advisor and sometime extra on the show) and much, much more. But rather than opting for a season-by-season release, Paramount have gone for a 'Best of' three-disc set. With a show as strong as Bilko, that ensures that a lot of great episodes are missing (including one of the greatest, The Empty Store, as well as Mardi Gras, Hollywood, The Rest Cure, Bilko and the Beast, The Song of the Motor Pool and Bilko's Perfect Day), and, even worse, it also means that this is probably all we'll ever get. And boycotting this release will only drive sales figures down even further until the chance of a full release is even more remote.

It's a good overview of the show from first to last episode, and some of the episdes are 100%-proof classics, like The Twitch (where Bilko runs a nationwide book on how many times a lecturer brought in to stop the men from gambling will compulsively twitch), The Court Martial (the one where a chimp on rollerskates is inducted into the army as Private Harry Speakup, coming third in the intelligence test in the process!) and The Eating Contest. But it just ain't nearly enough for a show with such a consistent standard of great writing, outrageously anarchic satire and some brilliant improvisation from Phil Silvers... More, please, and soon - that's an order!