Posts by Gino Sassani

Phil Silvers was aptly named. If anyone in show business had a silver tongue, it was Phil. He started, like most comedians of the era, in Burlesque and Vaudeville. There he honed the natural talent that would make him one of the first true television stars in the industry. With The Phil Silvers Show he introduced us to the character of Sergeant Bilko. From 1955 to 1959 Silvers and his Bilko character would take the television landscape by storm. In 1956 the show became the very first series in television history to win three Emmy Awards in a single year. That year the wins came in the Best Comedy Series, Best Actor (Silvers) and Best Director. The last honor went to the show's creator, Nat Hiken. 

The Phil Silvers Show would also become one of syndicated television's first mainstays. In syndication it was called Sergeant Bilko. It didn't matter if the show was named after Silvers or Bilko, for they were truly one and the same. Silvers brought his own strong stage presence to the character of Bilko. He was a sergeant in the Army. He was stationed at the fictional Fort Baxter in the fictional town of Rosewood, Kansas. He ran the platoon who worked the motor pool. Suffice it to say that there was little motor pool work being done, and it's a miracle any of the vehicles still ran by the time the show reached its fourth and final season. For you see, Bilko was more interested in his latest money-making scheme than performing his Army duties. And even though he usually touched each and every man in his unit for their last cent, they loved their sergeant. He would have their backs, particularly if there was a percentage to be made in the process.

"Who are the Mythbusters?" 

You know who the Mythbusters are, don't you? They've been a staple on the Discovery Channel for over 12 years now. We're now looking at Collection #13 on DVD. If you really don't know who the Mythbusters are by now, I can't think of a better way to get acquainted than to pick up these collections.

"In New York City on a street in the East Forties there is an ordinary tailor shop. Or is it ordinary? We enter through the agents' entrance, and we are now in U.N.C.L.E. headquarters. U.N.C.L.E. is an international organization consisting of agents of all nationalities. It's involved in maintaining political and legal order anywhere in the world."

Say Uncle. That’s U.N.C.L.E., otherwise known as the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Starting in 1964, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was one of a flurry of shows to take advantage of the new James Bond craze. It featured many of the same elements as the super-spy films. You had sophisticated spies in tuxedos. There were plenty of gadgets. And there were constant threats of world domination, mostly from the evil counter organization, THRUSH. The two top spies for the good guys were Napoleon Solo (Vaughn) and Illya Kuryakin (McCallum). The Bond references were never subtle and always intentional. Ian Fleming himself consulted on the show and named Napoleon Solo after a Bond character. Together Solo and Kuryakin would travel around the globe, saving the world from almost certain doom. The series ran for four years. In 1983 there was talk of bringing the show back. Apparently the two stars were still up to the task, and both could have used the work. Thus was born the television film and potential pilot: The Return Of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen Year Affair. The pilot didn't take off, and the project appeared dead until it was revived once again as a feature film reboot of the franchise ala Mission: Impossible. There was also a short-lived spinoff called The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. that starred Stephanie Powers as the first female field agent for the organization.