Sgt. Bilko - The Phil Silvers Show - Complete Collection (20 disc set) [DVD]

A must for all Phil silvers fans, brilliant

If you've any interest in comedy you need this set. Bilko is the granddaddy of American television comedy and set the template which has been followed ever since. You've heard the superlatives before - they're all true. The series itself is 5 stars and then some. Get this.That's the show itself out of the way. Now to look at the set itself as a product. All four seasons are included in seperate cases, five discs per case. An episode list with guest stars and brief synopses is included on the reverse of each sleeve. The text is obscured by the discs so the sleeves need to be removed for this info to be read which is a little annoying.A nicely illustrated booklet is included in the season one case with a history of the show and biographies of Silvers and Nat Hiken. I'd have liked the episode list to be included in this booklet as well to solve the problem with the sleeves.The menus are nicely designed, simply laid out by episode. Extras are thoughfully also directly accessible from the main menu. An option for subtitles is also included. Unfortunately the planned "play all" feature was vetoed by CBS; it's not really an issue as this isn't a show to be left running, half-watched while doing something else. I won't detail the extras as others have done so; most of the major items from previous releases seem to be included, plus some new material (the BBC documentary "Bilko on Parade" is of note).Now to look at the already contentious issue of the quality of the episodes themselves. Disagreements are already evident in other reviews and their comments about whether these are better or worse than the episodes previously released on DVD (the anniversary set and the standalone season one). I've been running a side-by-side comparison of the S1 episode "The Horse" for reference, although I've watched about a dozen from different seasons so far.What immediately struck me with this new set is that the episodes are conversions from NTSC film transfers and not transfered from film to PAL. As the episodes were supplied by CBS to Mediumrare this isn't really surprising. However, those of us used to having watched Bilko on the BBC may find this disappointing (they transmitted directly from film until the late eighties, then from VT transfers of those film prints; as a result the quality was generally very good indeed). The NTSC transfer here results in the rather soft and unstable image which is a signature of the NTSC standard, lacking the finer detail evident on the Season One release. It can be most easily seen in the title sequence, where the flat grey of the background shifts constantly in tone.On the other hand...the actual quality of the originating prints is much better (or at least the transfers have been cleaned up at some point). The 2010 Season One release prints are very dirty and quite scratchy, clearly not well looked after. There's also heavy grain which some have complained about (a matter of taste I think, but it does seem to be heavier than one would expect).So picture-wise this is a swings-and-roundabouts situation; nice clean prints unfortunately mastered in an inferior broadcast standard. In an ideal world this series would have received the same love and attention from CBS that The Twilight Zone did; beautifully restored prints transferred in high definition and released on blu-ray; they almost look like they were made yesterday. Unfortunately CBS have never valued this wonderful series; the mere fact that they could have released a set like this themselves at any time since DVD arrived (about 14 years ago) and declined to do so speaks volumes.I was tempted to give four stars to take the quality issue into account but in my heart I couldn't give this wonderful series anything less than the full five. Whatever your view of the picture quality (and despite my criticisms many won't notice a problem) this is the complete Bilko and for that we must be immensely grateful to the British Phil Silvers Appreciation Society for lobbying for this for so long. Time to start the campaign for a 4k blu-ray release.

I cannot speak too highly about this box set or the comedian concerned - Phil Silvers.I can remember watching them as a 6 or 7 year old on UK tv and though not really understanding the plots, found the overall comedy really funny. As years passed, the BBC started repeats around the late 70's and I started video recording the shows. I think I wore the tapes out as they easily surpassed any comedy, including current alternative comedy, present at the time. So the fact that this box set of complete series of Bilko became available was a dream come true. The extra icing on the cake was the fact that it came down from the original retail price of around £60. I believe I bought it for £30 !Unbelievably funny comedy from a different era, but stands up even more so today.Not even my own contemporary at the time favourite other comedy/comedians such as Morecambe and Wise, Monty Python, Black Adder , Red Dwarf and too many others to mention, touch this genius.Treat yourself to this box set - your life will never be the same again !!!!

"JERKS..!!!" "what do you think I've been doing here the past 5 days, balancing the military budget?" "I'm telling you I went over every system, pro and con, I added and subtracted.... 1 in every 3 numbers hits!!" "Here's where you come in....I need at least $1000...!!!"Bilko does get to a roulette wheel but in Monte Carlo and back to Fort Baxter in 36 hours! He loves to gamble and play Poker but always ending up giving the money back or having his winnings taken away for some reason. I read once that his character is a bad man who fiddles money out of people... that couldn't have been further from the truth, he actually is a GOOD man who looks after his men , be it Doberman being done over by the card sharps (season 1, disc 4, episode 32....Goosenheimer cant be beat , no sir, no sir.. away , away in Iowa), or looking after Native Americans who he rejects a Million dollars for giving up the fight to re name Oklahoma (any Indian worth his salt could get more than $100 a day at Warner Bros...!!).If this series was made in the U.K. by an ITV company we would be reviewing the remaining 37 episodes in the archive. If this was made by the B.B.C. , there would probably be less than 5 complete episodes left and we would be doing the 'missing, presumed wiped' search for the next 100 years.... Thank Goodness this was produced by CBS and we can enjoy ALL episodes EVER made!!!The best comedy of all time? Well, I would say YES it was by a LONG mile. Buy this set as soon as you can and please do not allow yourselves to be put off by moaning of picture quality as the quality is as good as it ever was, even on a 55" TV. Who knows they may even bring out a super duper blu ray one day? You will not be disappointed and I am SO grateful that I am not allergic to cellutoids and like Bilko, enjoy these 20 spinning friends.....I'd better go now, just been joined by a film star, well bless my soul, its Mrs. Hall.... BUY !!!

Great show. DVD's were zone 2 as described. Good quality conversion, very little noise and very sharp quality. Some extras a well. Nice booklet about the show and its history as well.Arrived before the estimated arrival date by a day or two.

I've been watching these episodes at the rate of one a day, and most of them are really very funny. I wouldn't have bought them without the subtitles, because I'm hard of hearing and I need them. It's too bad that the only people in the United States who can enjoy these are people who have bought a multi-region DVD player. Apparently Sergeant Bilko is more popular in England than here, which is puzzling.

Rápido y buen resultado como regalo

To say that "Sgt Bilko" is a classic comedy series is like saying the sky is blue. Phil Silvers was already a well know performer before he made this show - but he completely made this role his own. Silvers "set the bar" for many future shows to (try) to follow. He pretty much set the tone for any fast-talking con-man working every angle he can to profit in every possible way. This is clearly a fine piece of comedic work and will please anyone looking for Golden Age comedy.

This UK version is the one to have.