Penn & Teller: Bullshit (Review)

I've always enjoyed the work of the Las Vegas based performers Penn & Teller. The illusions and comedy that they preform have always been incredibly entertaining. I've also come to respect them as advocates of science over superstition and acceptance of facts over wishful thinking. Their television show, Penn & Teller: Bullshit is a documentary series that has run on Showtime for 7 seasons (it's the network's longest running show). Penn and Teller are known for revealing the secrets to their magic acts on stage and in this show they basically do the same thing to hot button topics like gun control, paranormal research, or even the Bible. Every episode has them trying to debunk some common misconception or expose the truth of a well known organization. The camera crew interview people who support the different sides of the arguments and Penn and Teller tape linking studio segments that provide commentary to what was filmed in the field. Penn usually expresses his opinions in a loud, brash, and extremely abrasive manner, the irony being that his arguments are more specific, reasoned and sensible than most of those on the opposing side.

I find the show to be entertaining, informative and able to display a refreshing amount of critical thinking for a television show. I was genuinely surprised that they actually got me to think about some of the issues that were brought up. The guys research is extremely well done and they show an appropriate amount of respect for the topics and still get their arguments across eloquently even with all the profanity they use. The slight downside is that the show's arguments are always one-sided, though, as Penn and Teller get to edit the interview segments however they like and provide plenty of snarky voice-over, while the opposing side never gets a proper chance at a rebuttal. Also as the show has gone on over the years, they seem to have inevitability started running out of topics to debunk as a lot of the recent episodes feature a few subjects that seem an awful lot like those covered on past episodes. Having said all that, I think Bullshit is still an entertaining watch. Whether you agree with their opinions or they outrage you, they'll certainly make you laugh and think, and maybe take a fresh look at what you know.