7.3/1075 votesLoading...#1 - The Vacation
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 12/26/1952
Bud and Lou head off to the Biltmore Hotel near Phoenix for a vacation. "Hertz U-Drive" and the "Pack-Unpack" routines are performed.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.5/1077 votesLoading...#2 - The Birthday Party
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/2/1953
Lou throws a birthday party for himself, but nearly poisons his guests when he puts ant paste on his hors d'oeurves instead of anti pasto. Bud throws him out and Lou consoles himself by ordering a giant decorated cake.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Eddie Forman
7.5/1047 votesLoading...#3 - Police Rookies
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 5/22/1953
Mike the Cop helps Bud and Lou enroll in the Police Rookie School, where Lou blows up the gymnasium while playing with a hand grenade.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.6/1048 votesLoading...#4 - Life Insurance
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 11/28/1953
Mr. Fields takes out an insurance policy on Lou. Later, Bud takes Lou on a hunting trip, and Lou suspects Bud and Mr. Fields have plotted to kill him for the insurance money.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields, Clyde Bruckman
7.6/1051 votesLoading...#5 - South of Dixie
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 12/26/1953
Lou accidentally lands himself and Bud roles in a Civil War melodrama.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.6/1041 votesLoading...#6 - Car Trouble
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 1/30/1954
When Lou wins a car, Bud sells it to buy a cheaper one, using the profits to try to finance a vacation in Flint, Michigan.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.6/1046 votesLoading...#7 - Honeymoon House
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 4/3/1954
When Bud and Mr. Fields help Lou put together a prefab house in order to impress his fiancée and her parents, a jealous former boyfriend sabotages their work.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.7/10121 votesLoading...#8 - The Drug Store
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 12/5/1952
Bud and Lou find jobs in Fields' drugstore and nearly wreck the place. This episode opens with the famous "Jonah and the Whale" routine.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.7/1057 votesLoading...#9 - Bingo the Chimp
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/10/1953
Mike the Cop tells Lou that he must have a license for his pet chimp. But Lou accidentally applies for a marriage license.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.7/1043 votesLoading...#10 - From Bed to Worse
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 1/2/1954
Bud and Lou attempt to plant a backyard garden in order to win a cash prize offered by a civic group.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.7/1042 votesLoading...#11 - Efficiency Experts
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 1/23/1954
Bud and Lou land jobs as efficiency experts, and are assigned to restrain their client’s daughters from spending money. The young women, however, get the boys to buy them expensive dresses and take them to a casino, where they end up in a brawl.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.7/1047 votesLoading...#12 - Public Enemies
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 3/6/1954
Lou is mistaken for a crook named Dapper Dan and is forced to take part in a robbery.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.8/10100 votesLoading...#13 - The Dentist's Office
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 12/12/1952
When Lou gets a toothache he attempts to get arrested so he can receive free treatment while incarcerated.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.8/1073 votesLoading...#14 - Alaska
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 1/9/1953
When news arrives that Lou's uncle has struck gold in Alaska, Bud and Lou plan to help him spend it.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Eddie Forman
7.8/1060 votesLoading...#15 - The Western Story
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 2/13/1953
Bud and Lou accept Hillary's invitation to visit her uncle's B-Bar-Bop ranch.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields, Eddie Forman
7.8/1059 votesLoading...#16 - Hillary's Birthday
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 4/17/1953
While shopping for Hillary's birthday present, Lou nearly destroys a grocery store. Later, at her party, Mr. Fields becomes upset about the noise.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.8/1047 votesLoading...#17 - Little Old Lady
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 5/8/1953
Bud and Lou attempt to help an old lady who has been evicted. They raise $300 and she uses the money to bet on a racehorse.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.8/1048 votesLoading...#18 - Safari
Season 1 Episode 26 - Aired 5/29/1953
When Bingo gets sick, the whole gang travels to Africa to find his parents.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.8/1044 votesLoading...#19 - Wife Wanted
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 2/6/1954
When Lou finds out he will inherit $10,000 provided that he has a wife, he tries to marry a former girlfriend—who is dating a man named Bonebender Brodsky.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.8/1050 votesLoading...#20 - Fall Guy
Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 4/24/1954
Bud and Lou want to take two sisters on a date but their father convinces the boys to put an antenna on his roof instead.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
7.9/1076 votesLoading...#21 - The Haunted House
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 2/20/1953
Hillary will inherit a castle if she spends one night there. Bud and Lou come along with her for protection and Lou is scared out of his mind by frightful encounters.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields, Eddie Forman
- 7.9/1062 votesLoading...
#22 - Peace and Quiet
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/27/1953
Lou sleeps all day but can't sleep at night. Bud takes him to see a psychiatrist. Eventually Bud checks him into a sanitarium for a night's rest. "Crazy House" is performed.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Eddie Forman
7.9/1065 votesLoading...#23 - The Wrestling Story
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/27/1953
Lou and Stinky agree to settle their differences with a wrestling match. When Stinky becomes ill, his little brother Ivan the Terrible takes his place.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields
7.9/1056 votesLoading...#24 - The Paper Hangers
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 11/7/1953
To pay back rent, Bud and Lou attempt to wallpaper an apartment. Later, as waiters in a restaurant, they brawl with hoodlums.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Sid Fields, Clyde Bruckman
7.9/1051 votesLoading...#25 - Uncle Bozzo's Visit
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 11/14/1953
Lou's eccentric opera singing uncle comes to stay with the boys for a couple of months.
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Writer: Clyde Bruckman
The Worst Episodes of The Abbott and Costello Show
Every episode of The Abbott and Costello Show ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Abbott and Costello Show!
Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick...
Genres:ComedyFamily
Network:Syndication
Worst Episodes Summary
"The Vacation" is the worst rated episode of "The Abbott and Costello Show". It scored 7.3/10 based on 75 votes. Directed by Jean Yarbrough and written by Sid Fields, it aired on 12/26/1952. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Birthday Party".