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

Horrible Language, Wonderful Messages

Greg Perry | Oklahoma | 03/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Outstanding! Thank you!

Eric | Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States | 07/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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!"

Still Crazy After All These Years!

Kevin Currie-Knight | Newark, Delaware | 02/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Still a great show

Ash Ryan | Salt Lake City, Utah | 03/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."