Everything I knew and believed in since I was a little boy, has been proved to be true by Penn and Teller.
From churches, to security, to rehabilitation, to martial arts, to the boy scouts, to the bible, to UFOs, to anything else.
This is now my 4th favorite show of all time. And that's important, because prior to that I only had three; original 1960's "Star Trek", "Cadfael" and "Sharpe's Rifles". But now "Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t!" has made that list. Even Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" doesn't make that list, and loved that show.
There is nothing extraordinary about this show other than these men, their cast, their crew, have the gumption and audacity to skewer the most high profile sacred cows through their exposing hucksters and frauds on all levels.
From the jerk who gives lie detector tests, to the nut cases who trespass into Area 51 looking for aliens, to a similar group who claim to have been molested by said ETs, to the paranoids who claim "9/11 was an inside job", to the less paranoid but strangely more articulate and more deceptive health-meisters who want to do away with fast food, to the crime that is exposing young women to the hazards of cheerleading industry without better oversight, to any other falsehood you can think of.
The only thing I ever disagreed with was one select stance on the death penalty, and even then it was under special circumstances, and even then those special circumstances would have to be extraordinary.
I'm am so sorry and regretful that I did NOT see this program when it first aired. I consider that a personal tragedy.
There's lots of swearing, quite a bit of nudity, and the occasional sexual situation. But I swear to you that this documentary series ranks up there with "The World at War", James Burke's "Connections", as I mentioned earlier Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" and any National Geographic special or NOVA. It's that good.
There are some notable changes in production from the first few seasons to the last few; notably that the last few seasons were shot with hi- definition cameras, and the CGI titles were a little more sleek. Some reviewers have mentioned that the subjects tackled in either the 2nd or 3rd season were not as hard hitting. As I've watched this series I've not noticed any change in social veracity of the topics chosen for the show. Some may be more "profound" to some than others, but otherwise every topic is compelling.
I can't say enough good things about this show. I missed it, and am kicking myself for missing it the first time, but lo and behold, thanks to the miracle of online streaming, I am catching up.
Am I a fan-boy? Perhaps. But imagine you were told your entire life that a bunch of artificial human social institutions were right, when all the time you knew they were wrong, and, you were berated for disagreeing, and, could not find barely a single soul to share your views, and then, suddenly, you saw an entire show and audience dedicated to your point of view on the world. That's the impact this show has had on this particular viewer.
Again; as great as this series is, it's not for the feint of heart for those of you with issues in etiquette. But hey, there's even a show on that, and one on swearing.
You must see this series. A must for all critical thinkers.
From churches, to security, to rehabilitation, to martial arts, to the boy scouts, to the bible, to UFOs, to anything else.
This is now my 4th favorite show of all time. And that's important, because prior to that I only had three; original 1960's "Star Trek", "Cadfael" and "Sharpe's Rifles". But now "Penn and Teller's Bullsh*t!" has made that list. Even Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" doesn't make that list, and loved that show.
There is nothing extraordinary about this show other than these men, their cast, their crew, have the gumption and audacity to skewer the most high profile sacred cows through their exposing hucksters and frauds on all levels.
From the jerk who gives lie detector tests, to the nut cases who trespass into Area 51 looking for aliens, to a similar group who claim to have been molested by said ETs, to the paranoids who claim "9/11 was an inside job", to the less paranoid but strangely more articulate and more deceptive health-meisters who want to do away with fast food, to the crime that is exposing young women to the hazards of cheerleading industry without better oversight, to any other falsehood you can think of.
The only thing I ever disagreed with was one select stance on the death penalty, and even then it was under special circumstances, and even then those special circumstances would have to be extraordinary.
I'm am so sorry and regretful that I did NOT see this program when it first aired. I consider that a personal tragedy.
There's lots of swearing, quite a bit of nudity, and the occasional sexual situation. But I swear to you that this documentary series ranks up there with "The World at War", James Burke's "Connections", as I mentioned earlier Carl Sagan's "COSMOS" and any National Geographic special or NOVA. It's that good.
There are some notable changes in production from the first few seasons to the last few; notably that the last few seasons were shot with hi- definition cameras, and the CGI titles were a little more sleek. Some reviewers have mentioned that the subjects tackled in either the 2nd or 3rd season were not as hard hitting. As I've watched this series I've not noticed any change in social veracity of the topics chosen for the show. Some may be more "profound" to some than others, but otherwise every topic is compelling.
I can't say enough good things about this show. I missed it, and am kicking myself for missing it the first time, but lo and behold, thanks to the miracle of online streaming, I am catching up.
Am I a fan-boy? Perhaps. But imagine you were told your entire life that a bunch of artificial human social institutions were right, when all the time you knew they were wrong, and, you were berated for disagreeing, and, could not find barely a single soul to share your views, and then, suddenly, you saw an entire show and audience dedicated to your point of view on the world. That's the impact this show has had on this particular viewer.
Again; as great as this series is, it's not for the feint of heart for those of you with issues in etiquette. But hey, there's even a show on that, and one on swearing.
You must see this series. A must for all critical thinkers.