8.1/1080 votes#1 - New Recruits
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/20/1955
During a poker game the other sergeant's cheat and clean Bilko out of his bankroll so he has to look around for some more money. Just when it looks like he will miss out a new squad of rookies arrive for basic training. With a new source of cash the platoon think he can get back into the game but Bilko's conscience will not let him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/1067 votes#2 - The Empty Store
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1955
Bilko is still broke and can't find a way back into the big poker game. When the three sergeant's win again, by beating one of the new recruits, Bilko decides to get even by renting an empty store and getting the sergeant's to invest in it
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1068 votes#3 - The WAC
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/4/1955
A job comes up for a sergeant that has a jeep allocated Bilko applies for it only to find that he is beaten by a Sgt Joan Hogan. (1st appearance by Elisabeth Fraser As Joan Hogan)
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/1064 votes#4 - The Horse
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/1955
Bilko loses the platoon welfare money on a horse only to find out that it is suffering from a minor leg injury, with the last of the platoon's money he buys the horse and has to keep it on the post until it is fit to run Then a visiting general comes on a surprise visit
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/1049 votes#5 - AWOL
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/18/1955
Pvt Steve Nagy goes awol so Bilko has to go and fetch him back only to find himself caught up in the middle of a family feud
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1055 votes#6 - The Boxer
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/1955
Bilko discovers that one of the platoon Claude Dillingham is a boxing champ so Bilko enters him for the interplatoon championship only to learn that Dillingham refuses to fight
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/1051 votes#7 - The Hoodlum
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/1/1955
After several transfers a young tough guy is moved to the motor pool platoon and it is left to the Bilko to cut him down to size. Meanwhile Bilko is after the ' Soldier of the Month' competition. Little does he know that the tough guy will spring a surprise.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1054 votes#8 - Mardi Gras
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/8/1955
When the platoon ask local socialite Miss Joy Landers to be their Mardi Gras queen she laughs and turns them down flat, so Bilko finds a way to change her mind.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/1079 votes#9 - The Eating Contest
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/1955
In an eating contest between the platoons Bilko puts his money on a new member of the platoon nicknamed 'The Stomach' only to find that he can only eat when he is depressed
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1047 votes#10 - The Centennial
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1955
Bilko organises a pageant to celebrate 100 years of Camp Baxter but after some investigation finds that it does not show the camp in a very good light
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/1064 votes#11 - Bivouac
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 11/29/1955
When maneuvers come round again the Colonel is interested in which illness Bilko has in order to miss out on the joys of marching through the countryside. In order to make him go the colonel uses reverse psychology
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1042 votes#12 - The Singing Contest
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/1955
Bilko hears of a singing contest in Miami and to get away from the bitterly cold weather he enters the platoon but on hearing them sing he puts a bet on for them to lose. While he is putting on the bet a new platoon member is found to have a beautiful singing voice
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1065 votes#13 - The Twitch
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 12/13/1955
Colonel Hall tells Bilko to provide an audience for a lecture on music. He finds that nobody wants to come until they learn that the lecture will be given by a friend of the Colonel's wife and they can bet on the number of ' twitches' that she will give during the lecture
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.5/1042 votes#14 - The Reunion
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 12/20/1955
When Bilko meets up with his old army buddies, he thinks that they are going to be so short of money, that he is going to have to help them out , but it turns out that they have all been very successful.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1043 votes#15 - The Rich Kid
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 12/27/1955
Bilko gets an idea to buy the local bar and grill, but he is stumped for cash, until he learns that one of the platoon's new recruits, is heir to a steel fortune. So they play up to him in order to get him to invest in their scheme, but Bilko's conscience wins out in the end.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1056 votes#16 - Hollywood
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/3/1956
Hollywood plans a film of the ' Battle of Kabuchi' and they hire Bilko as the technical adviser, but after a couple of days he has taken over the whole production, and the film people want shot of him.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/1054 votes#17 - The Investigation
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/10/1956
A Congressional committee visit Fort Baxter to investigate waste and high living but Bilko has other ideas, he wants a pay rise instead
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/1044 votes#18 - Kids In the Trailer
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/17/1956
While babysitting for a member of the platoon Bilko panics when he finds that he can't change the baby's nappy
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/1057 votes#19 - The Revolutionary War
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 1/24/1956
Bilko's aunt sends him a diary showing him that his great uncle Joshua was on the staff of George Washington so Bilko applies to become an officer but on reading the diary he discovers that Joshua was a traitor so Bilko keeps quiet and withdraws his application
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/1051 votes#20 - The Transfer
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 1/31/1956
When the Colonel makes life difficult Bilko decides to bluff and puts in a transfer, but the Colonel calls the bluff and Bilko is on his way, but at his new camp life is to easy and Bilko hopes he can find a way to get back to Camp Baxter
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1043 votes#21 - The Rest Cure
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 2/7/1956
During a heat wave Bilko discovers that the army have a rest centre in the Rockies but the trick is trying to persuade the doctors and the Colonel to let him go there
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/1065 votes#22 - Dinner at Sowici's
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 2/14/1956
When Bilko thinks that Joan is trying to trap him into marriage, he takes her to dinner at Sgt Sowici's to see how bad marriage can be, but they are in for a surprise.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1051 votes#23 - Army Memoirs
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 2/21/1956
When Sgt's Pendleton,Grover, and Sowici get Bilko busted to private, he gets his own back by pretending to write a book on his army life
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/1046 votes#24 - Miss America
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 2/28/1956
When Bilko asks for pictures of the platoons girlfriends Pvt Honnagar shows them a photo of a beautiful girl taken years ago. they think it is his girl but they have a surprise in store
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.2/10113 votes#25 - The Court Martial
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 3/6/1956
When Zippo the ape is accidently inducted into the army the only way to get the army off the hook is to get Bilko as defense council and court martial the ape before anybody finds out
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Phil Silvers Show Season 1
Every episode of The Phil Silvers Show Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Phil Silvers Show Season 1!
The Phil Silvers Show, originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, was a sitcom which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1959 for 142 episodes, plus...
Genre:Comedy
Network:CBS
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"New Recruits" is the best rated episode of "The Phil Silvers Show" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 80 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 9/20/1955. This episode is rated 0.6 points higher than the second-best, "The Empty Store".