I thought Pen & Teller were magician-comedians. When did they get a T.V. show? Call me out of touch, but I hadn�t heard of Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! until this third season set was sent my way to review.
Obviously, I�m in no position to make comments like, �season three of Bullsh*t! (for short) is by far the best yet.� I can say it�s the finest season of Bullsh*t! I�ve ever seen in my entire life, but that means jack-all since I�ve already explained that it�s the only season of Bullsh*t! I�ve watched.
Why don�t I just get to the freakin� point already? You think that last paragraph went nowhere? Well, I did have a point. Two, in fact. First, I wanted to type Bullsh*t! three times in one paragraph. I�ve never done that before. Wasn�t as fun as I thought it�d be. My second point was to pretend I was Penn for a minute. See, he likes to talk (and swear) a lot. It seems like straight talk, but often it�s more like misdirection. When he�s narrating an episode that�s, for example, debunking conspiracy theories, he likes to undermine the show�s guests by throwing out cheap-shot insults about aspects of their person that are mostly unrelated to the topic they�re on the show to defend. Since Penn talks so much, and he�s funny, these comments come across as the humour part of the show, but they definitely also influence the bullsh*t part.
But whatever, I�m not interested in debunking the debunkers. To really get into that, I�d have to do some actual research on the wide-ranging subjects they attack throughout the season, including circumcision, the traditional family and gun control. Frankly, I don�t have the motivation to do that. So let�s discuss Bullsh*t! for its entertainment value.
This show is very enjoyable. It mixes humour with no-holds-barred coverage of a lot of interesting topics, and most importantly, it�s short. Each episode comes in at about 29 minutes, which is just long enough to feel substantive, and brief enough to keep you hooked the whole way through. It�s funny to watch kooky people get ripped apart for their wacky views, and you feel like you�re learning stuff at the same time.
All of this makes for a pretty sweet combination, and a show that�s worth watching, especially if you�re one who enjoys laughing at others and sticking it to various forms of �the man.� Think of Bullsh*t!
as Michael Moore but funny and vulgar. Sound good? Check it out.
So the show is the cat�s ass. How�s the DVD set?
Video
Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! � The Complete Third Season is presented on three discs, with all 13 episodes in 1.33:1 full-screen format. Due to the variety of source material included in each episode, don�t expect excellent video. There�s as much handy cam footage as there is quality stuff, so even if the transfer is good, you still end up with a mishmash.
The menus are static, and include music.
Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 is available in English, while Stereo 2.0 is offered for both English and Spanish. The mix is just fine, with everything sounding nice and clear. It�s lackluster only because the show is pretty much all dialogue, and very light on score and effects.
Closed captions are offered for the hearing impaired.
Special Features
Not much in the way of bonus material in this set, with just a photo gallery and filmographies of Pen & Teller. Might as well be no extras, if you ask me.
Final Thoughts
Pen & Teller: Bullsh*t! � The Complete Third Season offers up 13 short-but-sweet attacks on various modern institutions. They�re vulgar, but certainly enjoyable to watch, and they�re presented here in a decent DVD set. The lack of extras is a disappointment, but I would still recommend picking this up if you�re a fan.
Special Features List
- Photo galleries
- Filmographies of Pen & Teller
