The Phil Silvers Show 2.32

The Big Scandal

Bilko accidentally hynotizes Doberman into falling in love with Colonel Hall's wife. Bilko finds out that someone is in love with Mrs. Hall but doesn't know that person is Doberman. He gets Barbella and Henshaw to help him track down the identity of the Mrs. Hall's mystery lover. Bilko hires Stacked Suzie, a waitress, to be the Hall's new maid in an effort to make Mrs. Hall jealous and rethink her supposed affair.

Thoughts

This is a fun episode. It kind of silly but I like it. I like how Bilko is too confident in his own abilities to consider that the answer to the problem at hand is right in front of his face.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.31

Bilko Acres

A rumor starts that the units stationed at Camp Baxter are being moving overseas. Bilko is unintentionally and unknowingly responsible for the rumor. His read of the situation is that the base is going to be expanded so he uses some of his platoon's welfare fund to buy some swampland (aka Bimmelman's Swamp) adjacent to the base. Once he discovers that the base isn't going to be expanded he has to come up with another scheme to offload the swampland.

Thoughts

This episode felt unnecessarily complicated. In the end it didn't really seem to lead anywhere. It kept my attention but when it was over I was left wondering what just happened. 

The label on the box for the platoon's welfare fund reads: Co B 3rd Platoon. I don't recall Bilko's unit being given a designation before this episode.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.30

Bilko the Marriage Broker

Bilko tries to fix up his platoon's new commanding officer, Lt Tom Wallace, with Lt Virginia Rogers, not realizing that they already know one another. Not only does she know him but she wants to marry him but he won't until he gets promoted to captain. Wallace and Rogers conceal their relationship from Bilko which just makes him try harder to get them together.

Thoughts

This was a fun episode. I liked the turmoil created by the arrival of Lt Wallace. It took a little while before it occurred to Bilko to try and find him a gal.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.29

Radio Station B.I.L.K.O.

Bilko and his platoon take over the airwaves when Roseville's only radio station goes off the air. They talk local businesses into paying for advertising and then produce new shows based on the businesses' needs. The most popular show is a soap opera which inadvertently stars Colonel Hall and his wife.

Thoughts

This was fun but not great. It felt a little like the they had three ideas for this episode. First the episode seems to be about getting the radio station up and running, including selling air time to local businesses. The second chunk of this episode is about hiding the radio station from a general who has come to inspect the Fort Baxter. The third and final act is focused on the soap opera that winds up starring the colonel and his wife. I think it would have worked better if they had wove the three parts of the episode together such that there were callbacks to the first two parts in the third one.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.28

The Secret Life of Sergeant Bilko

A reporter comes to town in the hopes of writing an expose about Fort Baxter. The first soldiers he meets are Bilko and some of his men. They figure out who he is and give him the run around. Bilko get the reporter to cough up some money for worthless information. Bilko changes his approach once the reporter gets wise to Bilko's scheme. Bilko then makes it look like they are planing to blow up the Pentagon.

Thoughts

Colonel Hall is in this episode. He wasn't in the last four episodes.

This was a fun episode. It isn't great. It is a bit one note but I like it for what it is.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.27

The Mess Hall Mess

Sgt Bilko schemes with Sgt Ritzik and Sgt Grover to get the secret recipe for Casserole a la Boudreau, the specialty of a local restaurant. He tries several different approaches but Marcel Boudreau, the owner of the recipe and the local restaurant, refuses to share the recipe with the soldiers. Bilko goes to extraordinary lengths and finally gets the recipe only to discover it isn't as original as he thought it was.

Thoughts

Colonel Hall, Corporal Barbella, and Corporal Henshaw are not in this episode.

This is a fun episode.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.26

Bilko Goes Around the World

Sgt Bilko tries to win $20,000 by flying around the world in 80 hours. He makes arrangements for flights but at the last minute his place is taken by a young boy named Sidney.

The Phil Silvers Show 2.25

Bilko Goes South

Bilko unintentionally signs his platoon up as volunteers for medical testing in Miami, FL. He and his platoon don't read the fine print and think that they are going to take part in a singing contest. The officers in charge of the medical tests think that Bilko and his men think they know that they are putting their lives on the line but it isn't until the very end of the episode that they find out how close they were to death.