Penn & Teller's Bullshit!

this is some Stossel-level bullshit innit

From everything I've read about the show, yes.

Disappointing, really, since P&T television specials used to be awesome.

it's more fun to watch if you imagine the people watching aren't the choir, and p/t aren't preaching to it

Right, because this country is FULL of self-described libertarians who love magic and mutes.

The gun control episode is a hoot. "Guns are good, because, uh, freedom is good. And guns = freedom!" I think they even tried a variation on 'overthrowing the multilateralist black helicopter government if need be' line. It was some real Roger Adultery shit.

(nb: and I'm not a supporter of gun control)

The "Wal-Mart is good" episode kinda pissed me off. I didn't watch any more after that.

the show is getting worse and worse.

Right, because this country is FULL of self-described libertarians who love magic and mutes.

Not nec., but plenty of geeks and nerds who love magic & mutes are badly socialized enough to be libertarian. Core audience & whatnot.

ya too many smart kids w/ no friends reading "the fountainhead" in 7th grade and thinking that it explains why they havent gotten laid

or maybe they havent gotten laid in 7th grade because theyre only 11.

Right, and take those people and advance them 40 years, and then have them get put into some apparatchik position in a U.S. Admin.

that or HELLO FARK.COM

isn't this just the magic man's version of john stossel segments?

isn't this just the magic man's version of john stossel segments?

Yeah, the fourth season was all reactionary without any of the fun of the first two seasons.

i called it pretty early on.

http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/063007/twenty-year-old-libertarians.gif

I like the part of the episode where Penn earnestly sympathizes with those in serious emotional pain searching for some comfort. He's not trying to mock their struggles, he has problems too. But the shamelessness of these...ASSHOLES who profit from other people's misery that just gets his blood boiling.

Teller's usually not pulling a bandana through his nose during that speech.

I only got through disc 1 of season 1 before giving up but I gather that it didn't get better.

Right, because this country is FULL of self-described libertarians who love magic and mutes.

I was thinking more like, full of people who think they're smarter than dumb people and love laughing at dumb people's CRAAAAAZY IDEAAAAS (like the healing crystals are bullshit episode-- no healing crystal fans are turning on the TV and thinking, "I want to watch P&T. What? These new age magnets are bullshit?! THANKS GUYS! clearly everyone watching the show was already pretty anti-healing crystals). Also, atheists.

k, I've just seen four episodes of this show....and while I admit some of the episodes are funny, after seeing the environment and diversity episodes,....they make Michael Moore seem fair and balanced (not that I dislike M.M.).

the assessments above are OTM, wish I had read your warnings first.

plenty of geeks and nerds who love magic & mutes are badly socialized enough to be libertarian. Core audience & whatnot.

-- kingfish, Friday, June 29, 2007 6:40 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

this is ridic otm

so many old school magic bros have gone this route it's ;_;

ya scifi writers too.

The show on free range kids has redeemed this season somewhat

Today, they are on ITV doing a Magician's X-Factor type thing.

Wonder if Teller will speak during this? (I know he does when the occasion suits, so ..)

Love this show.. 90% of the time.

OTM episodes: Alt meds, creationism, obesity, detoxing, new age meds, being green, stranger danger, good ol days, antivaxers

The other 10% is infuriating.

That's a good hit rate for that kind of show.

Also hilarious cursing. "What the fucking fuck, fuck you in the neck."

eh their smugness would be more tolerable if i knew they were using reliable data instead of sourcing it from whatever shady corporate funded fake laboratories

Has anyone seen their movie? "Penn & Teller Get Killed"

I read the synopsis, it sounds like the worst thing ever.

Catch them in Run DMC's "It's Tricky" video.

I no longer think this is a great series. Shit went off the rails.

I really enjoyed "Penn & Teller Get Killed" when I was like 13/14, but then again, I was like 13/14

i remember being like "oh wow" about all the references to the Velvet Underground they threw in there...

Yeah I'm pretty confused like everyone else as to what the point of the show is. I like Penn & Teller and think they're funny, but they only make half of the show funny, with the other half being some kind of patched-together debate between a well-spoken professor or scientist and some drugged-out halfwit they pull from the street, it's so intellectually dishonest that not even the hardcore skeptics can agree with the show's message. Which is too bad because I like these guys. But mostly the show just makes me mad, I wish they had like half the diligence of, say, Mythbusters.

i mean i think its biggest problem is that it shouldn't have gone six seasons. like it was pretty funny in the first two seasons watching them take down low hanging fruit like faith healers and psychics in the sense of "here's how these scams work."

i mean but also, just saw the list of eps, and like control+F "scientology" not found

i mean i think its biggest problem is that it shouldn't have gone six seasons. like it was pretty funny in the first two seasons watching them take down low hanging fruit like faith healers and psychics in the sense of "here's how these scams work."

OTM, I more or less jumped off around season 4

Ohhh man, "Penn and Teller Get Killed" was so bad. I saw it at age 20, but I probably would have liked it more at 13 & 14 when I was their #1 fan from their PBS show of my childhood and from their book How to Play With Your Food and How to Play in Traffic. It was just the worst "aren't I the coolest" shit, just the total shit Vegas ego of Penn Jillette jizzing in spurts for 90 minutes. Total fantasy of how they wish they were. The climax is Penn ranting at a psychic surgeon (in a public square iirc?) and taking him down with grand success in a storm of spittle-drenched vituperation. Big close-up of his pointing finger. Just ridiculous. But I still enjoy both of those books.

I am actually still a huge P&T nerd. I watched that British magic contest of theirs and I couldn't believe how pleasantly diplomatic Penn was being. It was a fun show, too – the cell phone fish trick was gross/awesome, and the bolo tie card guy was too great. Not sure why there were so many ppl going the neoclassical route when the goal was to fool ppl, but I appreciated it.

A guy did a trick from ancient Egypt ffs!

It was mainly because Magicians rarely get onto TV over here, so it got PT onto screens here, and also showed that there's roomfor more than one magician on TV (prev: Paul Daniels, now=Derren Brown)

I thought it was nice – Vegas could use some gentle 3,000 year old magic.

Abbbottt, that PBS special was so important for me growing up too. How old r u

I am 27.

Was it Penn & Teller: Don't Try This At Home or another one? (I'm 31)