View Full Version : TV Show: Bullshit
shinigami052
07-05-2008, 04:14 AM
Anyone seen this show by Penn and Teller on Showtime? It's called Bullshit. It's pretty good.
I've been watching it since season 1.
I think they can be a little heavy handed and over the top sometimes but generally I enjoy it
dolson
07-05-2008, 04:56 AM
Yes... Isn't that show like... many years old by now? I remember watching season 1 and 2 a loooooong time ago. It's still on the air, I guess?
jordanm85
07-05-2008, 06:38 AM
I've seen every episode except for the season that is airing now. It's good for a laugh here and there. But you can't take it too seriously. They need to do a show on their own show.... if that makes any sense.
shinigami052
07-05-2008, 10:09 AM
Wow all these people who've been watching for so long yet never posted about it...
anyway any chance you TRS guys have seen any of it and/or would like to comment? I find their points of view very interesting. I agree with some of it and disagree with some. It's nice to see a contrast and have a different point of view.
gabe_utsecks
07-05-2008, 10:37 AM
It's a great show, but it started to get worse somewhere in season 4. This show at its worst, though, is still damn good. I haven't watched any of the new season yet, but the latest episode should be a a good one.
But you can't take it too seriously. They need to do a show on their own show.... if that makes any sense.
They are going to do an episode about their own show! They are planning to do it as the series finale -- The Bullshit of Bullshit. It's a great idea, because even though I agree with them nearly every subject they cover, they sometimes get lazy and lapse into the same crap (omission, ad hominem attacks, appeals to emotion, et cetera) their opponents so often often do.
The show, or rather its positions, should be taken seriously though. They make very good points, provide evidence, and almost always have very intelligent, educated, logical positions, even though they may seem a little crazy at first glance.
At the very least I appreciate them taking the contrarian view and defending it. We so often only get one side to an issue.
tokenuser
07-05-2008, 04:07 PM
Wow all these people who've been watching for so long yet never posted about it...It was posted about in the past, either in context of another thread or by itself. It has been on for awhile now so, it would be like saying "Wow has anyone seen ER? I am up to the Clooney episodes". Ancient history ... but still enjoyable (Bullshit that is - I am not an ER fan).
iccanui
07-05-2008, 09:19 PM
used to be a real good show the first few seasons. But ive caught them calling bullshit on people and twisting things to make people look stupid even if the logic is questionable. In other words, ratings over truth. So i call bullshit on the show and cant watch it cause its pretty hypocritical.
Was fun for a while though.
shinigami052
07-06-2008, 12:50 AM
used to be a real good show the first few seasons. But ive caught them calling bullshit on people and twisting things to make people look stupid even if the logic is questionable. In other words, ratings over truth. So i call bullshit on the show and cant watch it cause its pretty hypocritical.
Was fun for a while though.
Mind giving an example?
pilot3033
07-06-2008, 01:50 AM
Mind giving an example?
They admit to their hypocrisy in the episode about religion in education. They admit that the same methods and attacks bible thumpers use to demand that their version of christianity be made a national religion and made to be taught in schools are the same Penn and Teller use to call "bullshit!"
quorumcall
07-07-2008, 12:13 AM
They admit to their hypocrisy in the episode about religion in education. They admit that the same methods and attacks bible thumpers use to demand that their version of christianity be made a national religion and made to be taught in schools are the same Penn and Teller use to call "bullshit!"
Could you rephrase this and specify so it's understandable?
It's a great show, and as far as I know it's the only purely skeptical show on TV.
stubadub
07-07-2008, 12:42 AM
I think the first few seasons were outstanding, but they've gotten soft in the years since. I tend to agree with the majority of the points of view they take on, but it seems that increasingly they state their point of view and get pretty lazy with the facts or bullshit social experiments to support their theories.
Take the one on the obeisity epidemic. If I remember correctly the crux of their argument was that BMI is a shitty basis to determine if someone is overweight. They do a reasonable job justifiying that particular point, but there are other metrics to use to support or rebuke the position that Americans are getting unhealthily fatter at an alarming rate. There is no mention of any sort of average weight increase or lack of increase, there is no mention of any increase or decrease in diseases associated with obesity, etc. The fact that BMI is bullshit isn't enough to support the assertion that there is no obesity problem.
I still think the show is entertaining, but I would caution anyone from deciding a position based solely on an episode of Bullshit. Penn would probably tell you the same.