Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

The big problem with "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" is that very little of the debunking that goes on in the show is all that scientific. Too many of their episodes come down to Penn calling people assholes and just contradicting what the targets of his ire are saying. The Gun Control episode is a perfect example - Penn and Teller interview an anti-gun nut and call him an 'asshole', then they interview a pro-gun nut and (without showing us compelling evidence) tell us he's right. That's not skepticism - it's propaganda, and not very well camouflaged propaganda at that. While encouraging the audience to laugh derisively along with Penn might be entertaining if one agrees with him, it's not all that convincing to someone who's truly skeptical (as opposed to merely cynical).

'Bullshit!' seems to me to be long on ridicule and short on hard evidence. In a way, what the presenters are doing is combating what they see as lunacy with empty rhetoric and bombast - it's sort of like their magic show - they present the audience with the illusion that their argument has weight when in fact it often does not. When I first saw 'Bullshit!' I was taken in by it, but it soon became clear what they were doing.

I would prefer such a show to do what the show 'Mythbusters' does - i.e. prove beyond a reasonable doubt that what they're saying must be the case. It's simply not convincing to tell me that I'm a dumbass if I don't believe Penn and Teller. In fact it's abusive. Penn and Teller should stick to magic tricks, because it seems to me that too many of their attempts at skepticism are doing true skeptics a disservice because their show merely polarizes opinion rather than teaching critical thinking.

In short, Penn and Teller are full of it. Their latest show is just as full of illusion as their magic shows are, and that's no bullshit.

This is one of the most interesting shows I've ever seen. OK, so the portrayal of some of the issues is a bit biased, and it does descend into ad-hominem with worrying frequency, but it gets two very important things right: it's thought-provoking, and it's funny. So, although many of the arguments given seem watertight enough to me, if it's a fair and rigorous exploration of the issues that you're after, you're going to be disappointed; however, if you want to be introduced to new, intellectually-stimulating topics in an entertaining way then it's just what you're looking for. Oh, and they do have a talent for picking the funniest nutters imaginable when they're choosing their interview-fodder.

Real people like us are used every single day, people we love, even ourselves. I have to admit that I even fell for some con men with a lot of visibility, some self-help pseudo guru and some pseudo alternate medicine.

From the Mozart effect to reflexology, alien abductees and fire walkers, the bullshit gets exposed the way only Penn & Teller can do it. The truth is distorted every where, from second hand smoke reports to the real effects of Mozart Music on babies (what effect?).

The real self-help is to not get conned, and it starts with the Penn & Teller Bullshit show. It can't be viewed in Canada but I got the DVD of the first season from their website.

Hilarious stuff.

"Bulls***", on Showtime, investigates things from the pop culture (like feng shui, bottled water) and reveals that they are, indeed, BS. There is also a bit of a candid camera element to them, making sure that the people look as stupid as possible.

e.g. They filled up fancy looking bottles with hose water and gave them what sounds like fancy names (like Aqua de Culo, which means "butt water" in Italian)...and people at a restaurant raved about how clean and tasty the waters were, as opposed to tap water.

Penn's cynical commentary is also hilarious. Him and Teller do a great job with this show.

How can this be? Not only does America finally get a skeptic-oriented cable show, but one hosted by Penn and Teller! The joy was almost too much for me, especially since the first episode was about communing with the dead, a scam enjoying a huge surge in popularity.

The opening dialogue by Penn was sometimes a bit shaky, but I suspect he'll adapt to the format soon enough. The series will hopefully continue to do what the first episode did: show the methods by which mystics and pseudoscientific opportunists take advantage of people in need.

Finally, I was impressed that the show managed to walk the line between skepticism and cynicism, never falling into the simple close-minded denial of the latter. There certainly is anger and sarcasm from the narrators/hosts, but nothing too terrible.

This is a funny show that is entirely relevant. I now have something to counter the pain of Dennis Miller's show being canceled. Watch a few of the episodes and decide for yourself.