Customer Reviews

Penn & Teller - Bullsh*t! - The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a long-time fan of Bullsh^t for all five (now six) years and, as a long-time fan, I am rather ambivalent about this latest season. I agree with the positive reviewers that Penn & Teller's show is still capable of packing a mighty wallop against insane ideas like exorcism and toxicity cleansing. On the other hand, I sympathize with the negative reviewers who note that the show has gone down hill, and what used to be an intellectual show with humor has turned into a humorous show with smatterings of intellectual argument.

I will start off with the better episodes: the episodes rebuking Americans with Disabilities Act, anti-immigration policies, and anti-Walmart stances were phenomenal! While some episodes in this season are intellectually "light weight," these two were of "first season quality." The shows did a great job refuting the key arguments of the opposition, and showing the superiority of P&T's more libertarian approaches (capitalism is generally more efficient and cost-effective than coercion).

The episodes on exorcism and toxic cleansing were good for a different reason. These episodes were closer to those in the first and second season, where we were able to have a good laugh at some easy targets. Yes, P%T refute these notions, but they are easy targets to refute. Unlike the episodes noted in the previous paragraph, the fun of these two episodes was less in the argument than in the exposee.

A lot of the rest of these episodes, though, were less than good. Penn and Teller try to refute the use of hybrid cars by showing that they they are small and a bit slower than standard cars (that they are more energy efficient, P&T very quietly acknowledge). P&T try to refute the idea - that no one I know of actually holds - that the four presidents on Mount Rushmore were saints. These episodes seriously lacked intellectual argumenmt and even though I agree with P&T's position on most things, I still found myself spotting easy holes in arguments they made. (For instance, while they are against government regulation in many episodes, they are against anger management coaches, in part, because they are unregulated?!)

Overall, then, I give this set 3 of 5 stars. This is nowhere near the first two seasons' quality, but is a step up from some of the most recent seasons. Penn and Teller may be getting a little rusty with age, but they are still very watchable.

Penn & Teller have done it again. Okay, they love knocking down the occasional straw man to make it funny, but it's still good, libertarian skepticism. Well worth the time, and the money!

Some reviewers have complained that the quality of this season is markedly lower than its predecessors, so I ordered it under advisement. Thankfully, I found most of their complaints to be unwarranted---or at least exaggerated.

True, in a couple of episodes, the strength of their argument seemed to be sacrificed to some extent to sheer entertainment value, such as the lesbian road trip in the hybrid car episode. But most of the episodes did a good job making their point, while also making fun of their opponents---something the show has always done. The Wal-Mart episode, the immigration episode, the ADA episode, and the nuclear power episode were all very well done. (Also, loved the gratuitous Ayn Rand plug in the anger management episode.)

And the exorcism episode was hilarious.

I love and fully support this show. I may not always agree with their assesments, but the spirit of the show is the best thing on T.V. In a society bogged down in B.S., this is a breath of fresh air. One note, and why I held back a star, On the DVD and on it's back cover, it talks of an interview with the "Black Pope" of the Church of Satan on it's Exorcism segment. No such interview is on the DVD. False adverisement, B.S.!!

Normally I give everything in this series 5 stars but this current offering is not as good as the rest. Maybe it is because Penn & Teller have gone through all the subjects thay are passionate about and are now getting to lesser material. Don't get me wrong, this is still good just not as good as seasons 1-4.

I like this show so much... I starred in one of its episodes.

When they wanted to demonstrate the evils of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA, I jumped at the chance to help. If you thought the ADA was a good thing, think again. It costs your family a LOT more than just money (and it costs you a LOT of money).

Using Disabling America: The Unintended Consequences of the Government's Protection of the Handicapped as a foundation, the show blew the lid off the ADA, mocking it as it deserves, and proves it's nothing more than a bad idea. The ADA is not a good idea gone bad, it was evil from the start and designed to make YOUR life miserable, especially if you're normal.

The truth about the ADA is just one of several episodes this season that reveals the dangers behind what most Americans blindingly accept as good. KEEP YOUR KIDS AWAY, THE LANGUAGE IS ROUTINELY HORRIBLE AND GRATUITIOUS. That is a shame because it keeps many families from ever watching the series.

Given that, you owe it to your family's future, your family's income, your family's well-being, and your country's success to learn the truths that P&T teach.

My particular criticsm of this product is a little different from the other reviews I have read. I dont have any problem with topics, politics, and complaints covered in the episodes, nor am I bothered by the language or nudity. What bothered me is the lack of content. Unlike previous seasons of B.S. this one is quite short (at only 10 episodes), and each episode is only about 25 minutes long. For the topics covered, 25 minutes is barely enough time to introduce the topic, let alone discuss it thoroughly and talk to supporters and detracters. Despite this, many episodes also feature a great deal of filler. Such as the Fat Guy Olympics in an episode about the diet industry, and a blind date sequence in an episode about alternative energy. Gone is the in-depth analysis of supporter`s positions and criticisms of why they are wrong. Instead you get a position, a statement that its wrong, maybe an expert`s input, some filler, and the episodes over just as it is starting to get interesting. Related to the lack of content, there are also two episodes that have summarys on the packaging and on the discs that list things covered in the episode THAT ARE NOT EVEN IN THE EPISODE. In addition, there arent even any extras in the set, none. All this makes me wonder if the episodes got shortened for the DVD release, or if they intended to add additional content but ran out of time. Overall I gave this title 3 stars, but the 1st disc really only deserves 2. I cant really recommend this DVD, even to fans of the show, which is sad because the episodes about the ADA, and Anger Management are pretty good. Rent it, watch it all in one night (quite easy to do), and hope that next season is better.

Much swearing and nudity, but fun. The debunking of these sacred cow topics is a breath of fresh air. I am buying all seasons of this show as I can afford them.

More great entertainment from the thought-provoking mad geniuses. By now, you know what you're going to get from this series. Some insight, some over the top opinions, and a few good laughs. While I think the series is not as consistently great as it was in the beginning, I'll keep buying as long as they're producing.

I just love this series--I've reviewed another season too, but I can't remember which one at the moment. I watched season 5 on Netflix (it's now up for instant-view for members) and enjoyed every minute of it. Especially their episodes on the breast hysteria in America, and "Nukes, Hybrids, and Lesbians." Ever wonder how someone could bring those three things together into a (mostly) cohesive, political statement? Well, P&T did it!

The language has never bothered me, largely for reasons covered by their episode on profanity. And if you've watched the first episode of the first season, you'll know that they actually have a legal reason for using the words they do. I can understand why other parents might not want their children watching it, but sometimes I really think adults need to give kids more credit. They hear all these words from their classmates, and usually the context is far worse.
The one thing that did disappoint me with this season was that it really seemed shorter than the others to me--like there were fewer episodes than seasons 1 through 4.
I could be mistaken, and I'm sure other people will comment if I am. And maybe Netflix just didn't release a few for various copyright reasons; all the more reason to buy the DVDs I guess. One thing's for sure, this series is always worth the money. I find myself watching this over and over.