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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 a 1959 special. The series starred Phil Silvers as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko of the United States Army. The series was created and largely written by Nat Hiken, and won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Comedy Series. The show is sometimes titled Sergeant Bilko or simply Bilko in reruns, and is very often referred to by these names, both on-screen and by viewers. The show's success transformed Silvers from a journeyman comedian into a star, and writer-producer Hiken from a highly-regarded behind-the-scenes comedy writer into a publicly recognized creator.

Genre:Comedy
Network:CBS

Season 1 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "The Phil Silvers Show" season 1 is "New Recruits", rated 8.1/10 from 80 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "New Recruits" aired on 9/20/1955 and is rated 0.6 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "The Empty Store".

  • New Recruits
    8.1/10 80 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

  • The Empty Store
    8.7/10 67 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

  • The WAC
    7.9/10 68 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

  • The Horse
    8.3/10 64 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

  • AWOL
    7.6/10 49 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

  • The Boxer
    8.5/10 55 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

  • The Hoodlum
    8.3/10 51 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

  • Mardi Gras
    8.2/10 54 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

  • The Eating Contest
    8.6/10 79 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

  • The Centennial
    8.0/10 47 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

  • Bivouac
    8.6/10 64 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

  • The Singing Contest
    7.9/10 42 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

  • The Twitch
    8.5/10 65 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

  • The Reunion
    7.5/10 42 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

  • The Rich Kid
    8.0/10 43 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

  • Hollywood
    8.5/10 56 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

  • The Investigation
    7.8/10 54 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

  • Kids In the Trailer
    7.4/10 44 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

  • The Revolutionary War
    8.0/10 57 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

  • The Transfer
    8.1/10 51 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

  • The Rest Cure
    8.2/10 43 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

  • Dinner at Sowici's
    8.7/10 65 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

  • Army Memoirs
    8.2/10 51 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

  • Miss America
    7.9/10 46 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

  • The Court Martial
    9.2/10 113 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