Penn & Teller: Bullshit!: The Second Season
Comedy

8.8 (2,637 votes)

Showtime  (2004) 120 mins UR (Unrated)
In society, there are many products and ideas that we buy in to. Some of these products, services or ideas are just plain bullsh**. Well-known magicians, Penn and Teller, are here to knock some sense into people in a humorous and informal way and to explain why some things in life are just plain bullsh**.
  Ep# Description Date Time


1 P.E.T.A.: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (P.E.T.A.) plays on our compassion for other living things while laying a trap to turn the tables on us: P.E.T.A. is against all forms of medical testing involving animals-regardless of the potential benefits to human beings...it's enough to make a vegetarian eat meat! 30 mins


2 Safety Hysteria: Penn and Teller examine the hucksters that tap into hysteria over personal safety to make big bucks from such products as gas masks, paper toilet seat covers and cell phones - while the average person is four times more likely to be struck by lightning than to be killed violently at school. 30 mins


3 The Business of Love: Penn and Teller explore the concept of romantic love - a fantasy akin to believing in Santa Claus - and expose the truth that love is a chemical reaction that, like all drugs, wears off after a while. 30 mins


4 War on Drugs: Penn and Teller examine the ongoing drug prohibition (the war on drugs), "Voodoo Pharmacology" (clips from the film Reefer Madness and "this is your brain on drugs" commercials are used as examples), and the theory of medical marijuana 30 mins
N/A 5 Recycling: Exposing the reality behind recycling, a supposedly pro-environment activity that in actuality creates pollution, has to be subsidized by the government because it's cost ineffective, and is completely unnecessary because, contrary to popular belief, our landfills are not running out of space. 30 mins


6 Profanity: A whole show on words and the power we give them, focusing on the latest actions of the FCC and other anti-profanity groups. The First Amendment is under attack. Hey, what country do we live in? 30 mins


7 Yoga / Tantric Sex: From yoga to crystals to herbs, New Age crap is everywhere. The hosts gleefully expose the B.S. of Tarot Cards, then travel to the Mecca of the New Age movement: Sedona, Arizona, where they chant, sing, and unsuccessfully seek a higher consciousness. 30 mins


8 Fountain of Youth: From nutty diets to expensive facial creams that don't do anything, the magicians blow apart the efforts by those who are living longer than ever to turn back the clock, whether they are lining up for Botox injections or extensive plastic surgery. 30 mins


9 Death, Inc.: Penn and Teller face their fears to deal with the subject of the impending demise that awaits us all - and the efforts of a highly profitable industry of death to profit from it. 30 mins


10 12-Stepping: The hosts step into the debate between those that espouse the efficacy of 12-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and those who assert that there is no proof that such programs are any more effective than seeking traditional medical help. Also: is alcoholism really a "disease?" 30 mins


11 The Bible: Noting its contradictions and implausibilities, the boys question the reliability of the Bible as a true historical record. 30 mins


12 Exercise vs. Genetics: Penn & Teller interview various fitness gurus such as Clack Bartram and Tamilee, and catch them in contradictions, in order to prove that genetics is really more important than fitness. 30 mins


13 Hypnosis: While there is some truth to the power of hypnosis in helping patients relax and focus mentally, Penn and Teller explore the more outrageous claims of hypno-charlatans that assert they can enlarge the size of male genitals and achieve other impossible results. 30 mins
Cast and Crew
Penn Jillette  ......  Himself
Teller  ......  Himself
Director  .....  Scott Schaefer; Tim Rogan; Star Price; Joshua E. Kessler
Producer  .....  Peter Adam Golden; Maurice H. Patrykus; June Molgaard; Alex Walton
Writer  .....  Cliff Schoenberg; Penn Jillette
Musician  .....  Gary Stockdale
Notes
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. (more)

Quotes:
Penn Jillette: Life coaches are like hookers, which is good, except you're renting their ears instead of their genital and you never get to come! (more)

Awards:
Nominated for 11 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 4 nominations (more)