4/5 pretty cool
  by Jaime Donovan (USA)
This show is pretty cool, yes they are skeptics and make their opinions well known, but why shouldn't they? Christians have had centuries of giving their opinions, while the skeptics have kept back for fear of ruined lives. Now its time for the all skeptics to make their opinions known. Although Penn & Teller are skeptics, they do try to get both sides of the argument. I like the expose feel of the show. One of the cool bonus features of this show was this interview that they did with James Randi.

In some episodes like the one on environmental hysteria, I felt embarrassed for the environmental activists who didn't have logical answers for the most basic questions. Its amazing that they wouldn't ask themselves such questions, and these are people at the top running these things. Its ridiculous, if they can't take themselves seriously then why should anyone else? I'm glad that P & T expose hacks like that.

Anyway check them out. I think that as skeptical as these guys are, they also have hearts and I think they do a great service to expose the charlatans.

4/5 CREATIONISM - Y SO SCARED OFF DISCUSSING?
  by Spaghetti Eddi (Burlington, VT)
I could see points in many episodes. The thing I wish folks to keep in mind as they watch the supposed hidden camera shots and the enormous amounts footage of people supporting P & T's point of view is that even P & T edit stuff out so it sounds more in thier favor. No, they dont present the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But... what they do show is entertaining, and some grains of truth are there. Just keep your head on as you watch and don't get brainwashed by them, either. The Creationsism one I noticed however had a lot of folks who were against creationism, bashing it. Im all for debate but debaters need to tell you why their side is valid, not just bash their opponent. You could convince someone their opponent sucks but that doesnt mean they themselves don't suck also. I needed some positives with those negatives. It also smelled of segregationalism. P & T were saying Creationism has no place in the classroom/ society. I don't see why a view is more acceptable than another and why both views should not be allowed presentation. Creationism got all our forefathers through thousands more years than evolutionism has. I also don't believe that Creationists are "out to do away with science". Creationists do not say science does not exist nor do they wish do put it into extinction. They just want thier voice heard also. (How scary!) Apparently, Orvell was right - "all are created equal, but some are more equal than others." You dont like political commercials were all they do is mud sling other candidates, how is this any better?

2/5 Watch to be entertained, not to learn
  by J Petrille (NYC)
These guys produce a funny, creative show but their arguments are pretty lame and their logic is more sensational than thoughtful. They start off on any subject with an opinion in mind, then search for and massage evidence to support that conclusion. The most egregious example of this, to me, is their show on AA--they pick a loud and articulate woman to support their view and then a meek and nervous guy to speak for the opposition. That kind of cherry-picking is typical, like when they use outtakes of an environmentalist stumbling over her words to make her seem poorly informed and overly emotional, then cut to a slick guy at the CATO institute without explaining its right-wing nature or corporate funding (they call it "libertarian"). Even when I agree with them, such as in the case of the Creationism episode, I find myself annoyed at how they load their debate in favor of their pre-arrived conclusions.

Maybe it's obvious that a couple of TV magicians are in no position to argue anything--but they are superior showmen and they know how to convince their audience regardless of how stupid and shallow their arguments are. And being on tv itself gives them the imprimatur of authority. While I find them entertaining and enjoyable, I just hope they stay on Showtime with a miniscule audience--moving to a bigger forum would just lower American discourse even further than it already is. The world doesn't neeed a secular Ann Coulter.


5/5 Penn and Teller have a fantastic show!
  by C. Johnson (Colorado, USA)
Penn and Teller's BS is one of my favorite shows on television. They cover everything from religion and politics to circumcision and Mount Rushmore. Every episode teaches me something new and interesting, and is absolutely hillarious in the process.

4/5 A Skeptic's Sleight-Of-Hand
  by Mark Eremite (Seoul, South Korea)
Penn & Teller made a name for themselves in the early years of their career together by performing entertaining (sometimes stunning) magical tricks ... and then telling everyone how they did it. Although the pair are avowed hedonists (with an epicurian slant), they are also hardcore teetotalers, eschewing the traditional anesthetics of alcohol, nicotine, and even caffeine in favor of, say, sex and food. Libertarians with the same view of politics that can be found in your typical episode of South Park, Penn & Teller are big fans of the pursuit of knowledge and happiness, as long as it isn't at the expense of someone else's own pursuit. It is this attitude more than anything else that prompts their myth-busting show, and although many episodes come across as mean-spirited, that's because these fellows have little patience for exploitation and willful ignorance.

This three disc set covers all thirteen episodes of the first season, where the foul-mouthed prestidigitarians expose (among other things) sham psychics, the bug-eyed culture of alien abductees, bottled water, the self-help industry, and environmentalism. The episodes are by turns enlightening, informative, thought-provoking, and disturbing.

And when these guys aren't convincing, they are at least entertaining. Some of their targets are admittedly soft (if I promised to buy him an extra controller for his Xbox, my eight year old nephew could probably debunk Ouiji Boards in ten minutes). Others are just excuses to perform silly and titillating "experiments" that are mostly about embarrassing the participants or showing off mostly-naked women (see the entire episode about sex). Still, this IS a television show we're talking about, and not rigorous scientific explorations. A little sensationalism isn't unwarranted.

Along the same lines, there's something to be said for SOME impartiality. Penn & Teller pretend to approach each subject with some degree of openness, but it's quite obvious that no one needs to convince these guys that they're already right. It's not hard, when you're the one calling the shots (or, in this case, edits), to make your competitors seem like manipulative idiots, and there are numerous occasions where Penn & Teller do just that, thumbing through their arguments like a couple of stand-ups who are only pretending that they don't know the punch-line to the joke they're in the midst of telling.

I don't want to harp. After all, I like the show. And I like Penn & Teller. And, more than any of that, I like the spirit in which the show is filmed, the idea that people are too easily pulled by emotional strings and they need to be slapped straight every once in a while, if not with some hilarious side-commentary, then at least with some simple logical application. Along those lines, these guys do a good job of clearly presenting their side of each argument, but I'd say they aren't as skilled at presenting the opposite side. I empathize with their anger when they encounter fraudulent "doctors" and "scientists" who milk both the hearts and wallets of vulnerable fools, but I see a little milking going on with Penn & Teller, too. Theirs is just a bit more subtle and not nearly as self-interested.

Intelligent mockery, crude comedy, and a little explotative sleight-of-hand: these guys have been doing this stuff for years, and doing it very very well. It's just, this time around, they're giving away everyone else's secrets, instead of their own.