Penn & Teller: Bullshit! The Complete Third Season

First, a warning: if you’re among one of the following groups — conspiracy theorists, paranormal investigators, gun control advocates, psychics, campus PC zealots, Chomskyites, environmentalists, members of any major religion and those who hate being referred to as assholes — it’s possible they you may very well find something on Penn & Teller: Bullshit! offensive. It may also be in your best interest to pass on this if you’re bothered by rude words, naked people, footage of circumcisions or if you lack both a sense of humour and any form of critical thought. Yes indeed, Penn & Teller have returned for a third season of fraud busting, hypocrite bashing and sacred cow toppling that spares almost nobody (including the Dalai Lama and Gandhi) from their scrutiny and ire. Armed with a crack crew of experts, Penn’s mad as hell, swear-happy delivery and Candid Camera like segments, the show hilariously attempts to undermine many widely held beliefs and to inform the (American) public that they’re being ripped off both intellectually and financially. Some viewers may dislike the show based on Penn’s bully pulpit demeanour and the feeling that many of their interviewees have been set up to look like schmucks, not to mention the heavy libertarian political bias. However, Penn’s filling the same role that Bill O’Reilly and Michael Moore have both used to great success (albeit he’s far more entertaining and interesting than either) and many of the subjects deserve to be ridiculed. In their favour, they make no claims to absolute truths and don’t believe that they’ll change many people’s minds. All things considered, it’s take no prisoners attitude makes Bullshit one of the most entertaining and consistently funny shows in recent memory. If the viewer can pause to just think and possibly question things a little bit more between laughs, then the show has done its job.