The BEST episodes of The Phil Silvers Show

Every episode of The Phil Silvers Show ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Phil Silvers Show!

Classic military comedy set on the fictional Army base of Fort Baxter in Kansas and starred Phil Silvers as Sgt. Ernest Bilko, a fast-talking sharpster who would do anything to make an extra buck. Paul Ford co-starred as Colonel Hall, Bilko's harried commanding officer who often found himself stuck in the middle of Bilko's schemes.

Last Updated: 9/4/2025Network: CBSStatus: Ended

8.36

11 votes

#1 - Rock 'n' Roll Rookie

Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/5/1957

When singer Elvin Pelvin joins the platoon, Bilko sees a way to make money but he can't get him to sing.

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8.36

11 votes

#2 - Love That Guardhouse

Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/15/1957

After winning 1500 dollars in Las Vegas, Ritzik is desperate to play poker with Bilko, so the Colonel locks him up in the guardhouse for his own protection.

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8.22

9 votes

#3 - Doberman the Crooner

Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/10/1958

Bilko discovers that Doberman has a beautiful singing voice but only when he has a cold. So Bilko gets him to make a record, but by then the doctors have cured his cold and his real voice returns.

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8.18

11 votes

#4 - Bilko Goes South

Season 2 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/26/1957

During a cold spell the platoon think that they are entering a singing contest which will be held in Florida, but instead they take part in a dangerous medical experiment.

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8.16

43 votes

#5 - 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

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8.16

44 votes

#6 - 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

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8.14

7 votes

#7 - Bilko's Hollywood Romance

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/9/1959

A film star's agent decides that a romance with a soldier would be a good public relations exercise. Bilko gets chosen but in next to no time he becomes to powerful.

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8.10

10 votes

#8 - Sergeant Bilko Presents Bing Crosby

Season 2 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/22/1957

Bilko promotes a show starring Bing Crosby, but when Bing suddenly fails to show up, Bilko has to find a lookalike as a replacement.

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8.10

10 votes

#9 - The Blue Blood of the Bilkos

Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/8/1957

A sergeant from Fort Baxter is to be excluded from his son's wedding to an heiress. They only want officers to attend so Bilko decides to change their minds

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8.10

42 votes

#10 - 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.

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8.08

12 votes

#11 - Bilko Gets Some Sleep

Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/25/1956

Unable to sleep Bilko goes to the camp psychiatrist for advice. He is told to give up gambling and women.

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8.08

39 votes

#12 - 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

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8.08

39 votes

#13 - 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

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8.07

41 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.

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8.07

46 votes

#15 - 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.

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8.05

40 votes

#16 - Bilko and the Beast

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/27/1956

When a new drill sergeant known as "The Beast" takes over at Fort Baxter Bilko and the platoon come up with a scheme to get rid of him

Writer: Coleman Jacoby, Nat Hiken, Tony Webster

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8.05

41 votes

#17 - 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.

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8.02

40 votes

#18 - 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

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8.02

43 votes

#19 - 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

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8.02

45 votes

#20 - 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

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8.00

49 votes

#21 - 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.

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8.00

49 votes

#22 - 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

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8.00

8 votes

#23 - Bilko Joins the Navy

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/28/1958

When word of a big crap game for sailors only gets around Bilko Paparelli, and Zimmerman join the navy to take part but somehow they all end up at sea and have problems getting back ashore.

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8.00

9 votes

#24 - Bilko's Cousin

Season 3 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/24/1958

When the Colonel hears that another Bilko is about to arrive he hopes that he is no relation to Ernie because with two Bilko's at the camp life is going to be worse that ever but he turns out to be Ernie's cousin Swifty, but there is a surprise in store for everybody.

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8.00

15 votes

#25 - It's for the Birds

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/25/1956

Bilko looks around for an expert to go on the 64,000 Dollar quiz show on TV. He ends up with Pvt Honnegar who is an expert on wildlife, After surviving a loss of memory he wins the money but he has a surprise in store for Bilko

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