April 2004 – Page 8 – Dan Dickinson: The Primary Vivid Weblog

Last night marked the debut of the second season of Bullshit!, the fantastic series on Showtime hosted by Penn & Teller. If you haven’t seen Bullshit!, it has some similarities to MythBusters – the primary focus of the show is debunking things. But while MythBusters targets scientific urban myths, Bullshit! targets shams like speaking to the dead, bottled water, and Nostradamus. Of course, it being on Showtime and vocalized largely by Penn, there’s a boatload of swearing and some drop-dead funny jokes.
For instance: last night’s episode, which targetted PETA (and boy, did they slaughter them – pun slightly intended), began with the guys coming out in all leather, and proceeding to eat a gigantic plate of ribs.
Aside: I’ve had a pretty long standing obsession with P&T. My first exposure was renting the video version of Cruel Tricks For Dear Friends, which mostly went over my head at the age of 10 but I loved regardless. I began buying the books, watching the other films (I was in shock when Teller spoke at the end of P&T Get Killed), and integrating it into my sense of humor. In 7th grade I had to give a speech one time for English class, and it required and attention grabber – so I did the “stab yourself in the eye with a fork” trick* to mass confusion. It’s one of the few memories I’ve held onto from 7th grade.
Back on topic: As the TV landscape right now contains such programming as “The Apprentice” and “Everybody Loves Raymond”, I am not ashamed to say that Bullshit! is one of the very few shows I will watch with any regularity.
The first season was just released on DVD; I give it my highest recommendations. Pick it up immediately – and be sure not to buy it from the mega-retail chains who have the censored box. That in and of itself is bullshit.
(* The stabbing yourself in the eye trick is detailed in How To Play With Your Food, which is the second book. Very simple trick – out of sight from whoever is with you, simply cup a coffee creamer with your thumb and index finger on your weak hand. Make a loose fist with the rest of your hand, as if you were making the universal symbol for masturbation. You should have enough room to stick a fork through your fist. Then, simple bring the creamer hand up to your eye, quickly grab a fork, quickly ram it through your cupped hand into the creamer lid, and squeeze the creamer a bit. Works wonders.)