"Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" (2003) TV series 2003-????

Creators:

Randall Moldave
Eric Small

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

24 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Documentary

Tagline:

They can smell it from miles away!

Plot:

Using a combination of set ups, descriptions, rants and film of practitioners, Penn & Teller show the Bull Shit that's everywhere...

Plot Keywords:

Profanity In Title | Punctuation In Title | Magician | Exposé | Scam

Awards:

Nominated for 13 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Teller	...	Himself (69 episodes, 2003-2009)
Penn Jillette	...	Himself (67 episodes, 2003-2009)

Also Known As:

Penn & Teller: BS! (USA) (promotional title)
Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t! (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (most episodes) | USA:TV-PG (early episodes) | Australia:MA (some episodes) | Australia:R (some episodes) | USA:TV-14

Company:

Penn & Teller

Trivia:

The title of the show and the constant use of profanity is, according to Penn Jillette a "legal maneuver". Because while calling people liars, frauds, charlatans and hacks could be construed as slander, calling someone a "fucker" and say that they're selling "bullshit" is okay.

Quotes:

[on the subject of decoding Nostradamus' writings]
John Hogue: Quatrain 97 of century vol 6 reads, "At 45 degrees latitude, the sky will burn. Fire approaches the great city." At latitude 45 degrees the only new city since Nostradamus' time that you could call great and new and vast is the city that rests between 40 degrees and 41 degrees degree latitude, which is Manhattan and New York. Now... That's a little off.
James Randi: He's way off in Canada some place.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Michael Moore Hates America (2004)

It may not be objective, but at least it'll make you think.

This is one of the most interesting shows I've ever seen. OK, so the portrayal of some of the issues is a bit biased, and it does descend into ad-hominem with worrying frequency, but it gets two very important things right: it's thought-provoking, and it's funny. So, although many of the arguments given seem watertight enough to me, if it's a fair and rigorous exploration of the issues that you're after, you're going to be disappointed; however, if you want to be introduced to new, intellectually-stimulating topics in an entertaining way then it's just what you're looking for. Oh, and they do have a talent for picking the funniest nutters imaginable when they're choosing their interview-fodder.