Comedic magicians Penn & Teller’s television show is no wilting flower. The two take on any subject and investigate, refute and make fun of them. They expose many a falsehood. No joke but funny, the show has won an Emmy Award. There is humour certainly though most important is the quality.
Episode 1: Cheerleaders: Cheerleaders have always been there at sports games and are as American as apple pie. Largely seen as the epitome of femininity, cheerleading is tough. Sixty-five percent of serious female sport injuries occur in cheerleading. As such it is one of the most dangerous high school activities. What is most worrisome is that the multi-million dollar industry seems only to be concerned with the bottom line.
Episode 2: Fast Food: An all-out war against fast food has been led by activists and health agencies. Penn and Teller look into whether the government should step in and decide what we eat.
Episode 3: Martial Arts: Most of us think of martial arts as spiritual but Penn and Teller look into the combat form to see if it is more than breaking boards with your feet, misleading people into thinking if they are proficient in it that they can defend themselves against anything and what the heck “chi” is.
Episode 4: Teen Sex: Today we worry about the teen generation and sex. We think that they are having sex too early. What Penn and Teller uncover is that they are not having more sex but that parents are more hysterical about the subject. Parents and adults are overreacting about “sexting” and gay-straight alliances.
Episode 5: Easy Money: We all are looking to get rich quick. Multi-level marketing, is it the answer? How about direct sales companies?
Episode 6: Area 51: Does the American government have alien spaceships? We follow a team of UFO hunters on an expedition in search of alien spaceships that are said to fly over a secret military facility.
Episode 7: Criminal Justice: Is the American Criminal Justice System ineffective, incompetent and corrupt? Penn and Teller show that it is not crime that we should be most scared of rather it is the war on crime that should keep us up at night.
Episode 8: Old People: Penn and Teller show how little American society values seniors. They are stripped of their dignity and are victims of stereotypes like that they cannot drive, don’t have sex and smell awful.
Episode 9: Self Esteem: Research shows that attempts to raise self-esteem is ineffective. Ignoring this parents, social workers and coaches continue to try and are just creating a generation that believes without valid reason that they are special.
Episode 10: Vaccinations: Most believe that vaccinations are how we combat disease but there are some who believe that they are harmful. Some have linked vaccinations to autism. The debate continues. Who should we believe? Celebrities or doctors?
Special Features:
-Episode 1 + 2 of Episodes
-Biographies
-Photo Galleries
