Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t!_ seasons three and four. (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

I just finished looking at the DVDs of the two most recent seasons of Penn & Teller's Bullshit and, man, I gotta tell you: These seasons are considerably lesser than the first two. In fact, the third season is nearly unwatchable.

And I think I know why.

To wit: In the first two seasons, our celebrated skeptics took on the traditional pseudoscientific and cultish topics and shot well-deserved holes through them.

By the time of the third season, however, those "traditional" topics had been looked at and it was time for the duo to take on more questionable fare. And here, Penn & Teller often fall short. Seriously, but is "college" truly a worthy topic for debunking?

Of course, I was also put off by the fourth-season putdown of those who love cats and dogs and other nonhumans. While I, too, do not care for the airheadedness of cat show enthusiasts (not to mention the awful things they are doing when breeding their cats -- ever notice how cat-show Siamese cats do not even resemble the traditional Siamese?), what on Earth is wrong with loving a cat (or dog or other nonhuman species)? Really now.

On the other hand, some episodes during these two seasons were passable.

Penn & Teller, still, are terrific at what they do. But now the duo is reaching for stuff. Too bad.

Finally, is the show still running on Showtime?

 

[LewB]

I just got an e-mail from Showtime saying that the new season starts tonight (03/22/07).

 

[WillG]

I didn't really get that impression from the episode that it is wrong to love a pet. To me, it was going after people who exploit pet lovers by trying to sell useless crap (such as the fake dog testicles) and people who take their love of pets beyond what most people would consider normal, such as the lady who takes in all those cats. I guess it's nice what she tries to do, but.........

 

[Chris]

I loved Tonight's ep. Couldn't agree more. It's a subject I wanted them to do for a while.

 

[todd s]

Loved the obesity and Walmart episodes. Especially when they ripped those two Walmart t-shirt protesters.....Alright, I liked the girls wearing(or not wearing) the t-shirts Teller created.

 

[Francois Caron]

I found the "redneck" Wal-Mart t-shirt pretty offensive myself.

As for Wal-Mart creating jobs, I can believe that. Just a few years ago, the parking lot in front of the Blue Bonnets racetrack in Montreal was a desolate place, mainly because harness racing is no longer popular. So the track sold over half of their parking lot to a developer.

The first store in? A Wal-Mart.

But that's not where the story ends. After it was discovered Wal-Mart was moving in, a whole bunch of other stores started to move in on the other side of the parking lot! Shoe stores! Clothing stores! Electronics retailers! Fast-food restaurants! Upscale restaurants! And every day the parking lot is at least half full! At lunchtime, good luck finding a space!

With the arrival of a single Wal-Mart, around TWENTY businesses grew around it! All this in a lot that was vacant for decades.

 

[MarkHastings]

I don't think they're reaching - I think it's just the normal progression with this type of show. Just like how Mythbusters has to go beyond just urban legends.

In fact, season 3 is where I got my new sig. - I don't think I have it down verbatim, but it gets the point across. I love the show because I completely agree with everything Penn talks about. His views are so in tune with how I feel. It's awesome!

 

[Francois Caron]

Man what a titillating episode that was!

SHUT UP! You were all thinking the same thing!

On a side note, it is legal for women to bare their breasts in the province of Ontario, which is unusual since Ontario has always been perceived as a very stuffy and uptight province. Then again, you're not allowed to smoke almost anywhere in Ontario.