There are times I wish I had premium channels on cable. When Penn & Teller began doing their show Penn & Teller: Bulls**t! on Showtime in 2003, that was one of those times.
If you've never seen the show, Penn Jillette and Teller (a pair of magicians/comedians who have been working together since the '70s) basically try to point out where things don't pass the sniff test. They poke holes in the facts or arguments for anything that just doesn't smell right, including supernatural beliefs, fads, marketing misconceptions, pseudo-science, and so on. Each episode is about 30 minutes long, works its way through a particular topic, and uses magic, comedy, blue language, and sex to keep things entertaining.
In season six, they continue their antics, covering such diverse topics as porn, NASA, dolphins, sleep, and world peace. Though they are definitely funny, I think after years of not watching those "premium" channels, I've forgotten how racy some of the shows get at times. I was afraid to count the number of four-letter words used in a couple of episodes simply because I don't think I can count that high.
That said, my favorite episodes of the season debunked the pseudo-science behind the entire sleep industry, global warming, and "New Age" medicine.
As someone who has sleep issues, I'm always looking for ways to increase the quality of sleep when I actually get some. Because of this, I was both disheartened and amused by the facts presented by the comedic duo in the episode "Sleep, Inc." I was already aware that each mattress company has its own way of spinning the truth. Sometimes the spring was wrapped once, sometimes twice, and sometimes it was placed between layers of foam... but in all cases it's still a spring. And then there were all the New Age solutions, including a heating pad with magic crystals the salesperson couldn't even explain. Honestly, I think a mallet applied to the forehead would work as well as some of the things being marketed to insomniacs!
In "Being Green," the duo work to debunk global warming but come to the conclusion that they really can't. It may or may not be happening due to our own naive way of destroying the environment around the world, but you can't prove it yet either way. As such, it once again turns out to be a way to make a quick buck for a few people and a way to make others simply feel like they're doing their part to offset any perceived damage they may have done.
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