I've been watching this show every time it gets on TV for another go 'round and now that it's not on TV where I'm at, I'm watching it on youTube! Phil Silver's Sgt. Bilko is one of the absolute genius comic persona of a fictitious character of all time! Actually, I don't know if the director or the writers had anything to do with the way he portrays the character. But I am assuming he did all the phony smiling, and facial expressions with just the material he was given. And boy, did he translate it into an unforgettable character. Sort of like what Ed O'Neill did with Al Bundy, except Sgt. Bilko is more defined, what a genius of a character!!!

"Bilko" remains one of the funniest shows ever aired on TV. Other reviewers have nicely captured the essence of the show, with one exception. Bilko pokes fun at every human foible, but without malice and nastiness. The show has a respect and love for us humans, warts and all.I have to agree that the "monkey joins the Army show" is the best, but my favorite remains the episode that commences with COL Hall being passed over for promotion to Brigadier again. After he receives the notice he places a call to Washington to complain, and as he waits for his call to go through he practices a tough response to the superior officer with whom he will speak. However, when the call is finally placed all Hall can say is "COL Hall speaking, sir" in the meekest of subordinate tones.Angry at himself for his meekness Hall roars off to Washington to complain in person, and a worried Mrs. Hall and the base chaplain send Bilko after Hall to rescue him.The next scene will resonate with anyone who has served in the military. Hall arrives at the general's office (which is filled with people waiting to see the general), and a rude secretary tells Hall he will have to wait a few days to get in.Bilko arrives, sizes up the situation, and through his usual fast talking wangles a golf game for "Jack Hall, the tiger of New Guinea" with pro Jimmy Demaret and, unknown to Hall, President Eisenhower.After the game, Hall, totally beatified, enters the clubhouse, sees Bilko (who asks about his game) and can only reply: "he called me Jack." In the next scene, Hall returns to the general's office and, Ike obviously having phoned ahead, the general rushes out of his office, embraces Hall while yelling "it's Jack Hall" a the top of his lungs.Hall returns home to Ft. Baxter with his star, but then he removes it, telling his crew that accepting the star would have meant leaving the base for another, and he couldn't face leaving his team, so he remained a colonel.All this in the space of 25 minutes! Truly a wondrous show. Enjoy.

Phil Silvers featured in the show now universally known as 'Bilko', after the character he played, a wisecracking, gambling sergeant in the US Army. A long-running situation comedy from the early years of television, it still stands up as exceptionally funny today.Over 143 episodes, Sgt Ernest Bilko plotted, schemed, and stumbled over his lines (this was live television, after all). The pauses and the ad libs add to the genius of this series, viewed five decades later. It also made a star of Silvers, who up to this point had been a comedian, actor, and singer (he was Gene Kelly's pal in 'Cover Girl', for example) - although following Bilko, he never really found a suitable starring role again.In 1996, a misguided attempt to bring Bilko to the big screen, starring Steve Martin, failed, possibly because the character really could only be played by one man. Original episodes still air regularly over the world, and a collection of episodes (sadly only a fraction of the ones available) were released on DVD for the 50th anniversary of the show.

As time goes on comedies come and go, some stand up to the test of time and some do not. Both the Brits and the Americans have made their share of funny shows: 'Fawlty Towers', 'Frasier', 'Cheers','The Office' etc, but if one show deserves to be the 'daddy' of all comedies then i think 'The Phil Silvers Show' is it! Just even thinking of Sgt Ernie Bilko makes me smile! Mr Silvers played this character to the max along with the rest of the cast. It still pops up from time to time on British t.v., usually at about 2 'o' clock in the morning or something! But if i'm still up and about i will always watch it, with a beer or two, and laugh my a*s off at the funniest comedy character ever created!