Rating: 
Summary: Two Great Guys, One Great Show
Review: I have been a huge fan of the self-proclaimed "Bad Boys of Magic" ever since I first saw them on "Saturday Night Live" in the late eightites. When I heard about "Bulls---" I was very anxious to see it. I was not disappointed. "Bulls---" is very informative and also very funny. The topics presented are very well researched and get the point across quicky and easily. Nobody who believes Nostordomus could see into the future or that Johnathan Edward can actually talk to the dead will think that after watching the show. Not only do you learn something when you watch "Bulls---" you have a lot of laughs too. I laughed myself silly while watching the episode "Environmental Hysteria." Penn & Teller showed how stupid and misinformed the environmetalists featured in the episode are by showing them signing a petition to ban water and asking them simple questions they could not answer such as why global warming is bad for the planet and why they were so dedicated to their cause. The laughs continue through other episodes especially the episode titled "The End of the World." You will be entertained and you will learn a lot watching Penn & Teller's excellent show "Bulls---." I highly recommend everybody catches it
Rating:
Summary: Stupidity as well as Truth hurts...
Review: I have been surveying this presentation by long-since favorite prestidigitation performers Penn & Teller, and have found it to be humorous, elucidating, and edifying. Entering the various realms of the paranormal racket, they tear the lid off of charlatans and hoaxers with a critical eye and incisive commentary spiced with their particuar brand of humor and intelligent, sarcastic wit. I find this to be useful as a form of stratification, dividing between all of the so-called "genuine" gobbledigook, and actual practitioners. But like LaVey said, "everybody is on the take", which I believe would account for about 99% of the genre, but there are certinaly diamonds in the rough, although a sizable minority at that. Topics that are covered is the objective study of "Feng Shuey", which in My opinion, is simply nonsense; the power of suggestion is practiced in a segment about bottled water - My favorite is "Agua De Culo"; Creationism vs. Evolution {the latter simply makes more sense}; Apocalyptic mythologies; "self-helpless" programs; urban legends, The Ouija Board, ghosts, mediums, and much more. Segments are introduced and concluded with sharp and concise commentary based upon subjective reasoning, scientific fact, as well as visual demonstrations illustrating the wonderful element of Doubt, through which truth is obtained. Thuroughly entertaining from beginning to end. It is known that the sheeple desire to be fooled for some sense of closure for tragedies, and will frequently seek out various placebos to fill their empty lives with some sort of external 'meaning', which, if they cannot figure it out for themselves, is none, but to remain puppets for the clever who will prey upon the suckers of humanity. And this is how it has been since the beginning of human evolution.
Rating: 
Summary: A show every "new age" person should see.
Review: I have mixed feelings about this series. I really like what Penn and Teller are trying to do with this show, and I tend agree with them more than I disagree. When someone is arguing a point that I agree with, I have a tendency to be even more critical of their arguments; so, I am very critical of any weak arguments that they may make. Regardless, we are in dire need of more skeptics in this society, so I am glad that this show exists.
Michael Shermer stated in his book, "Why People Believe Weird Things", two fallacies of being a skeptic. One is that when a skeptic disagrees with absolutely everything at face value, their arguments become less valuable. The other is that skeptics are often so used to arguing against others, that they forget to closely analyze their own stance; thereby not accepting the skeptics of their skepticism. This could lead to the false belief that any form of disagreement is correct, which Penn and Teller are occasionally guilty of in this series. This is the mistake of using skepticism as a dogma rather than as a scientific method.
Episode one is a great starter to the series. It exposes mediums as frauds who use techniques, much like psychics do, to hot and cold read people. The second episode on alternative medicine is one of my favorites. They informatively use science and logic to debunk reflexology, magnet therapy, and chiropractors. The Alien abduction episode was a little sad, because a lot of people who believed in it seemed lost, or searching for something more. It was really sad to see how they were exploited by people trying to milk dollars out of them.
The second hand smoke episode was interesting. The episode was not so much about debunking the idea that second hand smoke is harmful. Rather, it was about exposing the fanaticism in the anti-smoking movement, and forces non-smokers to think about the implications their movement has on civil liberties. P&T lost me a little here, using a radio DJ as an expert, whereas in previous episodes they had used doctors, academics, as well as reputable psychologists and scientists. Also, they start to expose their bias. P&T are admitted Libertarians, and use data from the Cato institute, a free market biased libertarian think tank. That's not to imply that the data gathered by Cato is wrong, but I hope anyone watching this show considers all of the sources, especially when political issues are involved. Though they show that there is not current data to support the theory that second hand smoke is harmful, they don't really discuss that proper studies have not been done to prove it safe, either. As a scientist who studies public health and statistics (there's my bias), I can tell you that such a study would be extremely complicated and expensive to design. Still, from a civil liberties point of view, it is a very interesting episode to watch.
The "Sex" episode exposes the lengths (no pun intended) people go to in order to improve their self esteem. As with many of these episodes, it is sad to see how people get duped out of their money. The "Feng Shui", "Self-Help", "ESP", "Ouija Board", and diet episodes were much the same. The portion of the Feng Shui episode focusing on bottled water being very informative, and P&T give a link to the NRDC paper on their web site, which everyone should read. The diet episode is very interesting, but I think they only presented half of the "genetic" foods issue. It can be very beneficial to produce more abundant crops for third world countries. Though, I wish they had addressed the issue that some corporation have been accused of engineering seeds that are only viable for one generation, making farmers dependent on the seed companies.
The final episode, on environmentalism, was the most frustrating. Their main source against the argument of global warming is author Bjorn Lomborg, who many scientists have accused of extrapolating his conclusions from cherry picked data. Any statistician who is aware of environmental issues would know that Lomborg's data does very little to prove that global warming is wrong. Many Nobel laureates have signed an anti-global warming statement, and it is a shame that none of them could be interviewed to defend global warming. The argument they make that "there would not be any trees, were it not be for the paper industry" was flat out ridiculous. Unfortunately, the environmental activists deserve the treatment that they got in this episode. As I said, I am even more critical of people arguing for my own side, because I don't want my side to sound ignorant. In this episode, ill informed activists who have no idea what they are talking about are the best the environmentalists could produce to represent their side. The kind of people in college who would have drum circles and protests, without ever taking a biology or chemistry class to really understand the implications of what they are fighting about. Doing research after this show, many of the pro-environment academics have said that their interviews were dramatically edited. So, once again, a person needs to remember that this is a T.V. show that is trying to prove a point, and the creators will rarely want to look incorrect.
In the introduction to his book, Michael Shermer stated that people often ask him why they should believe him. He replied, as all skeptics should, "They shouldn't." The controversial political analyst Noam Chomsky advises his readers to never believe anything he talks about without researching it for themselves. That advice should also be taken when watching P&T's show. Just because they are funny, charismatic, and sure of themselves does not mean that they are correct. To their credit, Penn and Teller post many of their sources and links for each episode on their web site. All in all, I think this is a series that everyone should watch. Especially if they watch it critically, and can remove themselves from the passionate arguments that Penn makes.
Rating:
Summary: Best TV in years
Review: I have only had the chance to see the programme on TV at the current time but as this DVD is comprised of the TV show I thought I would write a review anyway. This show is one of the most well put together programmes I have seen in years. Along with giving truths about a lot of issues including, enviromentalists, second hand smoke, nostradamus and many others it gives a voice for people who aren't into political correctness and such annoyances as this.
If you are a sceptic on any of the issues they cover then most definatly check this one out.
Rating:
Summary: Four and a half stars, actually.
Review: I have very little gripes about this television show. Penn and Teller always pick interesting topics and they consisently have a well-rounded presentation for each show. Penn's comments are usually funny and each episode is an invitation for thought, debate, and careful consideration. I deduct one-half a star, however, because of two problems: 1 - (Minor) Occasionally, Penn's rants run a little long, when you could be presented with more information. 2 - (Major) The "Environmentalists" episode was flawed in presentation; usually, the guest interviewees that are on the show are plentiful in number and represent the issue equally. However, in this episode, Penn and Teller's sole "expert" (Bjorn Lomborg) that was meant to explain why environmentalism is fanatical is himself the center of debate; his book, "The Skeptical Environmentalist" has received much criticism for being a distortion of statistics. Whether or not this is true is a moot point--the simple fact is, Penn and Teller portray Lomborg's testimony as undeniable truth, when in fact, he is under very serious scrutiny. This contradicts the major message of the show, which is basically, "Don't believe everything you hear at face value." For the most part, Penn and Teller have a great show, and their information is well-presented. But there are a few times when they tend to let themselves slip into opinions and conjecture rather than stick to firmly established ideas. I highly recommend the episodes on bottled water, second-hand smoke, and creationism. Not only are these some of the funniest episodes, but they are also the most alarming, controversial, and thought-provoking of the bunch.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant at magic, foolish at environmental science
Review: I love Penn and Teller. Their stage show is quite possibly the greatest live performance I have ever seen, and I have seen it twice. What they have done for the world of magic is inestimable, and their atheism and scepticism regarding the paranormal is commendable. BUT... This DVD seems to catch them in some sort of decline, due in part to their surprising devotion to infantile Ayn Rand-ish ideas of free market ends-justify-the-means-ism. As has been noted by other reviewers, this easily-refuted, overly-simplistic ideology has committed them to the preposterous idea that the environment is in great shape, and in order to support this blatantly false idea they have had to turn to Bjorn Lomborg, a pseudoscientist whose views go beyond self-interested wild-guessing and into the realm of blatant falsehoods and wilful distortion of information. It should be kept in mind that, despite the positively vast anti-environmentalist lobby, Lomborg's views are so far from scientific consensus that over 1/2 of the world's living nobel laureates have signed a document against all Lomborg says -- something that has never taken place for any other cause. And yet Penn and Teller wish to use Lomborg to support their views here? Please -- this is as bad a case of rational minds falling into irrationalism as was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's falling for spiritualism. I hope to see the bad boys of magic get over this pitfall and onto the right side of things scientifically, rather than engaging in this empty and harmful wishful thinking.
Rating:
Summary: I can't wait
Review: I really cannot wait for this. I never had Showtime but after I mentioned to my friend about how much I would like to strange John Edward he came to me with this show and I was blown off my rocker. It's one of the greatest shows to hit the air in a very long time and I'm glad it's been picked up for a second season. Although I have only seen 3 or 4 episodes I'm sure I'll love this whole thing. I love debunking the myths of the liberal liars it's just so much fun and Penn & Teller present nothing but the best.
Rating:
Summary: P&T: Indispensable Dogma-killers
Review: I TIVO'd every episode of Bullsh*t the first season and have repeatedly re-played several episodes for friends. This is definitely TV worth owning. [..]it's a very good thing Penn and Teller have this forum: Bullsh*t offers an entertaining and thoughtful alternative to some of society's sacred cows--there's something that will offend the dogmatic left and the dogmatic right--for the rest of us willing to question and think, the show is a refreshing, intelligent, bitingly funny look at all of us. One of the highlights of the first season is the oft-mentioned Environment episode, where P&T drill past the frozen dogma of the politically correct to ask some new questions and actually uncover an intelligent middle ground where dialogue can occur--their use of the brilliant and besieged Bjorn Lomborg is thought-provoking. For the blindingly dogmatic among us, P&T will either force you to question your assumptions or turn the channel--which lifts them above mere comedy. I plan on passing copies of this set out for Christmas: it's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I was blown away when I first saw this show because I couldn't believe that there were others out their with my political beliefs on television, besides Trey Parker and John Stossell. I was never too familiar with Penn & Teller before the show because I don't like magic but these guys to a terrific job of debunking the bunk. .(...) But anyway this is an excellent television program, and hopefully Season 2 is just as good.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the price of admission!
Review: I've been a P&T fan for years, seen them onstage many times and met them several times. I love the way they present themselves, be it in the format of a live performance, in print (they have several books out), on the web, or in this series. I watched the entire first season on Showtime and am anxiously awaiting the DVD release just to have the extras (and good quality recordings of the episodes, which I TiVoed the first time around then archived to VHS). Many others seem to pick the environmental episode as a keystone in the series, but I have to say my favorite was the episode on alien abductions. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the show yet, but I consider that one hands-down to be the funniest in the entire season, especially Penn yelling "A foot doctor?" and the woman happily looking over a device she thinks is an alien scientific tool. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you will when you see the DVD! A worthwhile addition to anyone's DVD collection, skeptics and comedy fans alike... as long as you have an open mind.
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