The Phil Silvers Show

• Main
• Trivia
• YMMV
• Wikipedia
• All Subpages
• Create New

Phil Silvers as Sgt. Bilko (center), surrounded by the soldiers of the motor pool

"BILKO!" —Colonel Hall, on many occasions

Originally titled You'll Never Get Rich, The Phil Silvers Show was a popular [[The Fifties|1950] [[sitco] created by Nat Hiken and starring [[The Eponymous Show|Phil Silver] as Sgt. Ernest Bilko, the man in charge of the motor pool at the fictional Fort Baxter military base in Kansas. Running from 1955 to 1959 on CBS (notably over a decade before the same network ran M*A*S*H), a total of 143 episodes were produced, of which only 18 have yet been released on DVD.

Most of the episodes revolved around Sgt. Bilko's incessant quest for wealth and influence, which usually took the form of get-rich-quick schemes ranging from (supposedly) simple games of poker to trying to dupe [[Bing Crosb] into performing a show on the base. Standing in his way was Colonel Hall (Paul Ford), the commanding officer of the base, who was always suspicious of Bilko's motives for anything he did. Luckily for Bilko, the Colonel was also quite gullible and manipulable, something he frequently took advantage of. Bilko frequently showed an ability to manipulate a wide range of other people as well. Nevertheless, like in many sitcoms to follow, the [[Reset Butto] was all-powerful, and by the end of the episode Bilko would inevitably end up back in roughly the same position he started, but occasionally slightly better or worse off.

After the original show had ended, in 1963, Phil Silvers attempted to start a new show to match his previous outing. Called The New Phil Silvers Show, it featured Silvers as Sgt. Bilko-[[Exp] Harry Grafton, foreman at a factory; the new show lasted less than a year. A film based on the original show, called Sgt. Bilko and starring [[Steve Marti] in the title role, was released in 1996, but it was panned by critics and audiences alike.

Despite its relative obscurity compared to other contemporary sitcoms like [[I Love Luc], The Phil Silvers Show was highly critically acclaimed in its day and still remains popular among critics. It won three consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series from 1956 to 1958, and in 2003, the Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy named it the best sitcom ever mad, beating Seinfeld and [[Fawlty Tower to the top spot.

---

Tropes used in The Phil Silvers Show include:

• [[Animated Credits Openin]: Albeit a very tame one.
• [[Armed Farce]
• Bald of Evil: While not evil per see, Bilko tends to be self-centered and manipulative, and his baldness is one of his signature physical traits.
• [[Batman Gambi]: Frequently used by Bilko.
• [[Braids, Beads, and Buckskin]: Subverted and played straight in "Cherokee Ernie": While traveling to the home of a Native American soldier, Bilko daydreams about the stereotypical Indian village only to find himself on a rather standard upper-middle-class ranch. The elders, on the other hand, are depicted in full traditional dress and living in tipis.
• [[Brick Jok]: In the movie, there's an early throwaway line about Bilko's department being one of the best military glee clubs around. Turns out later on that they really are.
• [[Butt Monke]: Duane Doberman.
• [[Disability Superpowe]: Doberman gains the ability to sing beautifully when he catches a cold.
• [[Dream Sequenc]: In one episode, Bilko tricks the platoon into thinking that Doberman's sister is a beauty, and we see the men dreaming of her.
• The Eponymous Show
• [[A Father to His Me]: Bilko tries to pass himself off as one of these, but is quick to drop the ruse when it is no longer useful to him.
  • This is altered slightly for [[The Movi], where it's obvious that Bilko really does care about and like his subordinates, he's just not above insulting them or using them as necessary as well.
• [[The Film of the Serie]: Sgt. Bilko (1996), starring [[Steve Marti].
• [[Framing the Guilty Part]: In the movie, Sgt. Thorn's decision to do this is ultimately his downfall. He has proof of every single one of Bilko's actual crimes, any handful of which would suit his purposes, but instead chooses to frame Bilko for sabotaging the already nonfunctional hovertank. Bilko manages to turn this around on him by convincing Thorn to frame himself and then [[Engineered Public Confession|admit it in front of the bras].
• [[Game Show Appearanc]: In one episode, Bilko trys to cheat on the already rigged [[The Sixty Four Thousand Dollar Questio] about a year before the quiz show scandals broke.
• [[Get Rich Quick Schem]
• [[Good-Looking Private]: The WACs.
• Honest John's Dealership: While Bilko never has a formal store, it doesn't stop him from always thinking about profit and acting accordingly.
• [[Meaningful Nam]: Ernest Bilko. Please don't make me explain it.
• [[Mighty White]: In "Cherokee Ernie", having been re-baptized as Bald Eagle of the Cherokee Nation, Bilko uses inconsistencies in the original treaty ceding Oklahoma to the United States to lead a statewide Cherokee secessionist movement.
• [[Once Per Episod]: Bilko's get-rich-quick schemes.
• [[Playing Cyran]: Bilko plays this role for one of his soldiers in one episode, aptly titled "Cyrano de Bilko".
• [[Real Life Writes the Plo]: The drafting of Elvis inspired an episode in which rock star Elvin Pelvin gets transferred to Bilko's platoon.
• [[Reset Butto]
• [[Screw the Money, I Have Rule]: Bilko's good side occasionally shines through. Occasionally.
• [[A Simple Pla]
• [[Soldiers At the Rea]
• [[Special Gues]: Bing Crosby (and his brother/manager Everett Crosby), [[Ed Sulliva], Kay Kendall, and others appeared as themselves, with the three major ones mentioned here receiving top billing in three separate episodes titled "[Sergean Bilko Presents [name of celebrit".
• [[Studio Audienc]: The first 59 episodes were performed similarly to stage plays in front of a live audience; this changed when Around the World in Eighty Days (1956) producer Mike Todd, who was making a guest appearance, suggested that it would be better to film the show out-of-sequence like a Hollywood movie.
  • In both cases, no laugh track was used... the completed episodes would be screened exclusively for an audience of Military personnel whose laughter would be recorded and dubbed in later.
• [[Syndication Titl]: Sergeant Bilko, or simply Bilko.
• Title Drop: The army chant that serves as the source of the original title of the series is often recited by new recruits to show their eagerness.

Privates: We're in the army now / We're not behind a plow / You'll never get rich / By digging a ditch / We're in the army now.

• • Doubles as a Bowdlerized version from the [[Precision F-Strike|original Army chan].
• [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonis]: Bilko.
• [[Xanatos Speed Ches]: Not only the speed at which Bilko changes plans, but also how he formulates his schemes in the first place.

[[Category:Comedy Serie] [[Category:Films of the 1990] [[Category:Military and Warfare Televisio] [[Category:American Serie] [[Category:The Fiftie] [[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1950] [[Category:Multiple Works Need Separate Page]

[[Category:Western Animatio]