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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bullsh!t Returns To Form, November 30, 2006
After a slightly messy third season, I was a little wary of whether magicians Penn and Teller would be able to keep my interest going for much longer. The first two seasons of their show were amazing and dealt with great topics like Profanity, the truth of the Bible, PETA, talking to the dead, and creationism. However, the third season just couldn't compare. While there were a few very good episodes (family values, signs from Heaven), most dealt with topics that I see as harmless, and the jokes seemed to be falling flat. So I was pleasantly surprised when the fourth season began and the quality had been restored. The episodes once again dealt with controversial issues and the humor seemed to work again.
Nearly every episode this season dealt with its topic in an interesting way; if the topic was controversial, Penn and Teller didn't back down from remaining edgy, and if it wasn't, the duo exposed a new side of the topic. The best example is the Manners episode; in it, they criticize people who take good manners way too seriously. One of their guests is a guy from Chicago who gets annoyed to the extent of anger by even the tiniest of impolite gestures. Their look at the Boy Scouts was intriguing to me due to my feelings for the organization; a lot of the Scouts' policies are pretty discriminatory, and though they have received some heat in the past few years, there are some things that they do that haven't been brought to light.
Some of the episodes were really fun and allowed us to have a slight laugh as well as think about certain issues. Cryptozoology, the "study" of mystical creatures like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, was hilarious due to the so-called "proof" used by some people to show the existence of certain animals, while the Pet Love episode taught us something that I have been saying for years: snakes do not make good pets! However, other episodes were very serious and heart-wrenching, and none more than the one on Ground Zero. Penn and Teller talk about how the events after the 9/11 attack have been terribly mismanaged and that we should have had construction on at least SOMETHING started in at least 2003, whether it be a memorial or new towers. The Death Penalty episode was also emotional; Penn and Teller argued against it, but when some of their guests gave arguments in favor of it, the duo handled their rebuttle very eloquently. Most of the guests they had who were pro-death penalty had suffered losses in their families, and Penn and Teller were able to skillfully present their argument while respecting the way the grieving family members felt.
My favorite episode was the one on Abstinence; in fact, it is one of the few episodes to rival the Profanity episode's spot as my favorite. The arguments used by abstinence-only educators were silly and trivial, and Penn and Teller were masterfully able to point out the fallacies and hypocrisy.
Hopefully the level of quality shown in this season will continue on in Season 5 (I'm pretty sure there will be one). The topics were well-chosen and argued, and Penn and Teller were able to keep things funny (when the situation called for it).
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great at What They Do, March 18, 2007
Penn and Teller are often abrasive but they are good at what they do. They are good entertainers. They are good magicians. For the purposes of this program, they are good at debunking BS.
They go about their work methodically and give both sides' arguments to an issue. They then systematically destroy the arguments of the side they disagree with. This is usually done with a lot of sarcasm and contempt but there are exceptions. They do not try to gratuitously hurt people who are not trying to take advantage of others. If people are trying to take advantage, they take no prisoners.
Episode synopses appear below:
Boy Scouts - I really wanted to take exception with this one because I am a big fan of the BSA. Unfortunately, some things hit home. The BSA discriminates against gays and against atheists. Even P&T agree that, as a private organization, they have the right to set their own membership guidelines. The problem comes from the unique federal charter. The BSA does get tax payer support in some areas. They have a habit of claiming to be a private organization when that suits them and claiming to be entitled to public funds when that suits them. They need to decide who and what they are.
Prostitution - This is another episode where I have to agree with them on principle even though I don't want to. They argue that the criminalization of prostitution cause many more problems than it solves. As usual, they interview people on both sides of the issue. Unusually, they are fairly respectful of most. Their arguments are several. Prostitution will exists, whether legal or illegal; legalization will get rid of many of the abuses. Their biggest argument, though, is that big brother has no business telling people what two consenting adults can do: if you don't like it, don't do it.
Death Penalty - These two are vehemently opposed to the death penalty. These guys are starting to hack me off. Again, I find myself opposed to their point of view and again I find that they have made some very good points. The point I would agree with them the most one is this: Once innocent person executed by mistake is too many. Their arguments are well reasoned and well presented. Again, a big one is the idea of trusting the government to get it right. On the other side, there are some vermin out there I would lose no sleep over exterminating...but, most importantly, I would have to be convinced beyond any doubt at all that there is no mistake.
Cryptozoology - It's fake. That's the gist of it. The people who go out looking for Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and such are either charlatans or extremely gullible.
Ground Zero - This is one that can really make the blood boil. It concerns the inept efforts to rebuild something on the site of the World Trade Center. It is a story of corruption, incompetence and politicians out for their own ends instead of those of their constituents. In other words, it is situation normal.
Pet Love - Lots of people love their animals. Some people take it to extremes and do really silly things, spending inordinate amounts of money. Some are...crazy. This episode looks at a lot of them.
Reparations - It seems as if every group that has ever been mistreated now expects the taxpayers to pony up and give them a free ride, even if they themselves have not been the victims. This episode looks at the reparations movement. Three cases are looked at in particular. Reparations for slavery, recognizing that the last slaves died long ago and many blacks trace their immigrant ancestors to the generations after slavery. It people making the arguments in this one are sometimes surprising. Reparations, in the form of the right to run casinos, for native Americans, examining a queer money trail. Reparations for Japanese Americans interred during WWII. The conclusions for each case are different.
Manners - Penn and Teller have no problem with treating others politely or being considerate of them; this episode is instead a rant against those who would enforce nit-picky rules of conduct that benefit nobody at the expense of ostracism. The manners police come off as self-righteous Nazis.
Numbers - People use numbers to lie. This includes con artists, politicians, pollsters, politicians, lottery officials, politicians, time share salesman, politicians, others with axes to grind and, don't forget, politicians. The numbers are truthful, it is the way they are used which is deceitful.
Abstinence - This episode looks at abstinence only sex education programs. Needless to say, they are against them. They raise some good points but they leave out one facet. For preventing pregnancy and STDs, abstinence has a 100% success rate. Of course the kicker is that when people fall off the wagon, the consequences are severe.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Still Nothing Like It, April 15, 2007
No one else has done what Penn and Teller have done in this ruthlessly original series. With this season it's even harder to "pin" any political label on them; they seem to attack the left as energetically as the right. I guess if a label is needed, it's "libertarian." That is, any incursion into individual liberty by government is highly suspicious. By their topics:
Boy Scouts - in essence, Penn and Teller think that if the BSA wants to exclude gays and atheists, they should refuse direct and in-kind federal and state support. I agree - too much of what the Scouts do is uncomfortably close to "state action" and the establishment of religion.
Prostitution - according to the boys, it will be with us always, and making it illegal only makes things worse. It was a good segment, but I felt it soft-pedaled the viability of prostitution in Nevada. I saw a very pastel-colored picture of things out there from the boys, and I cannot say that it is as rosy as they depicted to serve their political ends...
Death Penalty - if we kill somebody, we run a big risk of regretting it later because we were wrong. Well, with our better technology of proof that we have today, does that mean that we should use the death penalty more? Not according to P&T.
Cryptozoology - irrelevant, although funny.
Ground Zero - I wish they would have "weighed in" on what their own preferred solution would be. Here, a lot of rocks are thrown but no viable solutions advanced.
Pet Love - I could not finish this one. It made me sick. However, if this is what makes people happy, I guess it's better than injecting heroin.
Reparations - hey, justice is as justice does, right? This epsiode is a great argument for why we have a statute of limitations...
Manners - well, manners is, at heart, being considerate of others. P&T don't always exhibit that trait, so you would not expect them to be that supportive of a mannerly society, right?
Numbers - figures don't lie, but liars figure. Are you surprised?
Abstinence - remember, even though P&T don't like abstinence in sex education, abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.
You'll like this season - always entertaining and thought-provoking, whether you agree with these guys or not. That's what makes the first amendment so great.
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