Penn & Teller Bullsh*t! The Complete Sixth Season – DVD Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

penntellerbullshit6

Ive been a fan of Penn & Teller ever since I was a little. Like most boys I had more than a passing fancy in magic. I read all about Harry Houdini and watched every magic special on TV. I even dabbled in card magic, although I quickly found that I dont have the dexterity to perform even the simplest of tricks—which is why I keep my acts of prestidigitation strictly to the computer screen.

Anyway, of all the magicians during that time I liked Penn & Teller the best. They were edgy and funny, more like rock stars than stage magicians. At times Penn could come off as abrasive and annoying (I know—shocking!) but even then I still found him charming enough to keep watching.

Like all great magicians (at least by my reckoning), Penn & Teller eventually branched out into other areas. Following in the footsteps of Houdini and the Amazing Randi, the two applied the skills they gained in performing magic to investigate and uncover various frauds who would play on peoples hopes and beliefs to make a quick buck. Magicians, after all, are at heart con artists—albeit the innocuous kind—and as the saying goes, it takes a thief to catch a thief.

For six seasons now they have hosted Bullshit! (redubbed B.S! for the DVD I imagine so it could be sold in places like Wal-Mart) on Showtime tackling subjects as diverse as alien abductions to circumcision. In Season Six they cover:

The War on Porn
New Age Medicine
NASA
Dolphins
Sleep, Inc.
Being Green
Sensitivity Training
Stranger Danger
World Peace
The Good Ol Days

This is certainly an eclectic range of topics, and some of them, like Dolphins, seem rather silly as the subject of an entire show. However, each episode manages to be funny and thought-provoking.

However, as much as I like this show, its definitely not for everyone. First of all, Penn & Teller make no bones on where they stand on an issue, and savagely attack those who believe otherwise. As entertainment it works fine and can be quite amusing, but in terms of crafting a valid argument its tantamount to suicide. Most of the time they seem to find the craziest and/or sleaziest people to represent the opposition, which again does not help their case. Also, they feature large amounts of nudity in each season, even on episodes where nudity has no involvement with the subject. Again, thats good entertainment (at least for me), but not great argumentation.

What saves Bullshit! from these major flaws is the sincerity of Penn & Teller. They are people who absolutely care about human beings and despise those who prey on our hopes, beliefs, and goodwill. As much as they take delight in butchering our sacred cows, its not out of any sense of mean spiritedness (okay, maybe just a little bit) but because they firmly believe that illogical thinking is harmful to human beings. There are certain things we want to believe in—that theres life after death, that there is a God, that there really was a simpler time free of the moral gray areas we face every day. In and of themselves these beliefs are natural and perhaps even beneficial, but there are those out there who use those to manipulate and abuse those ideas for their own benefit.

And then there are ideas which are absolutely harmful, such as believing that all strangers are child molesters or that vaccines are a scam perpetrated by a corrupt insurance industry. These beliefs which are not based on any kind of rational thinking or scientific research, and can lead to seriously harmful consequences.

Penn & Teller take aim without regard for peoples feelings, and that can make episodes difficult to watch. However, what they are doing is important, and even when I dont agree with their assessment, they do make you think, and I appreciate that. I can also appreciate the honesty and empathy with which they approach their topics. Sure, they unapologetically attack those they believe to be predators or those who espouse hateful, illogical thinking, but their empathy is always with the people who get caught up in scams, or who suffer because of the prejudices that illogical thinking often creates. Underneath the jokes, the cursing, and the gratuitous nudity Bullshit! is about examining the beliefs and institutions that influence our lives and freeing us from the superstitions and prejudices that keep us from becoming happy, healthy individuals.


The episodes are presented in Full Screen with the audio in Dolby Digital stereo. The production values for the show are top-notch and there were no problems with either the audio or the video.


Penn & Teller Biography – This is a brief text biography of their career. Its by no means exhaustive, but gives a good overview of what theyve done and how long theyve been around.


It may seem that Im taking a comedy show a bit too seriously. And make no mistake, the episodes are very entertaining as well as informative. But what theyre doing is important. I could go on and make grand historical connections between Penn & Teller and the court jester, the holy fool, or the trickster, but that would be my particular brand of academic bullshit. Bottom line, while this show is definitely infotainment (to use an odious term), its one of the most intelligent and thought-provoking examples of that genre out there. Highly recommended.

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Showtime presents Penn & Teller: B.S. !. Directed by Star Price. Starring Penn Jillette and Teller. Written by Penn Jillette, Teller, Star Price, Cliff Schoenberg, Michael Goudeau, David Wechter, Rich Nathanson, and Sheryl Zohan. Running time: 4 hours 30 minutes. Rated NR. Released on DVD: May 12, 2009. Available at Amazon.