Sgt. Bilko received a frustrating DVD release pattern. First came a compilation boxset followed years later by the first season. This was followed by silence. But Shout! Factory shocked ears with the announcement that Sgt. Bilko / The Phil Silvers Show-The Complete Series would be reporting for duty on November 4. Now the bonus features have been confirmed. It’s a footlocker full of Phil Silvers. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory:
Sgt. Bilko Reporting For Duty!
Sgt. Bilko / The Phil Silvers Show-The Complete Series
Complete Series Available for the First Time on DVD
November 4th, 2014 from Shout! Factory
One of the all-time classic series from the golden age of television, Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show – The Complete Series has finally arrived on DVD! This multiple Primetime Emmy® Award winner for Best Comedy Series, which originally aired from 1955-1959, was one of early television’s biggest smashes and is known today both as a hilarious sitcom and a star-making showcase for legendary comedian Phil Silvers (It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World) in his signature role as Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko.
On November 4th, 2014, Shout! Factory will release all 142 episodes of the Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show – The Complete Series as a 20-disc DVD box set loaded with bonus features, including new interviews with daughters Cathy, Tracey and Nancey Silvers, rare footage from the 1959 television special Keep In Step, an episode of The New Phil Silvers Show and much more!
Fans who pre-order their collection through ShoutFactory.com will not only receive free shipping, but will have their copy shipped October 7th, 2014, four weeks before street date.
Running the motor pool at Fort Baxter, the cagey Sgt. Bilko has always got an ace up his sleeve and a scheme in his head. From get-rich-quick scams to plots designed to keep himself free from the drudgery of work, he’s always running an angle that will be sure to leave his commanding officer Colonel Hall tearing out his hair — and viewers in stitches!
Created by Nat Hiken (Car 54, Where Are You?) and featuring a memorable supporting cast, including Harvey Lembeck, Allan Melvin, Joe E. Ross, and Paul Ford, Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show – The Complete Series also boasts memorable guest stars including Dick Van Dyke, Alan Alda, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball. With some of the snappiest jokes and kookiest characters of all time, Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show – The Complete Series represents a true masterpiece of American comedy.
Sgt. Bilko/The Phil Silvers Show – The Complete Series Bonus Features:
· Lost Audition Show
· Original Network Opening
· Original Cast Commercials
· Photo Gallery
· Audio commentaries with Allan Melvin, George Kennedy, Mickey Freeman, Larry Storch and Dick Van Dyke
· “Lucy and the Efficiency Expert” (from The Lucy Show season 5)
· Allan Melvin (Cpl. Henshaw) Episode Introductions
· Promo for The New Phil Silvers Show
· “Harry, the Good Neighbor” from The New Phil Silvers Show
· Interviews with Phil Silvers (includes rare interview from The Paul Ryan Show)
· Phil Silvers and Jack Benny on The Dick Cavett Show
· Footage from the 1959 TV Special Keep In Step
· The Cast of Phil Silvers On Broadway
· New interviews with daughters Cathy, Tracey and Nancey Silvers
