Mini-DVD Review: Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! (Feb. 20)

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Mini-DVD Review: Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! (Feb. 20)

Welcome to another Saturday edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we have another great mini-DVD review for you! This week we take a look at CBS/Showtime DVD's Fourth Season of Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! Penn & Teller brings us lots of bullsh** in this fourth season with titles like Prostitution and Abstinence. The show streets this Tuesday (Feb. 20). See Seth Thrasher's mini-DVD review of Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! - The Complete Fourth Season:

Penn & Teller: Bullsh**! - The Complete Fourth Season (CBS/Showtime, $29.98) brings us the fourth season of this award winning series. It brings back to us Penn & Teller, debunking another 10 piles of...well...see the title. The third season returns to the outer box and slim case style of packaging. I own all 4 seasons of the show released to DVD thus far, and this is the first time they've used the same packaging style more than once. Nice to finally see some consistency. Thanks to this being on premium/subscription cable (Showtime), the run times are close to a full 30 minutes – you'll never see that on network! Menus are plain yet nice. A bull rams through the background and its horns stick out behind the logo. The episode titles appear in the center, with an underline denoting the selected episode. A 2-D P&T wander around the menu doing various things. Theme plays in the background. Video is nice, except for some mild interlacing issues. Audio is nice – 5.1! The audio sounds nice on both 5.1 and 2.0 No defects, everything is loud and clear. Chapter stops are plentiful, coming 6-7 times per 30 minute episode.
Admittedly, these episodes are new to me, as I don't subscribe to Showtime – but that's another issue for another time. If you disagree with the viewpoint Penn exudes in each 20 minute show, admittedly you’re probably not going to love this show – though if by season four you don't understand that the pieces will be one-sided, you probably just aren’t paying attention. One episode that got my attention is the second episode. It's an interesting one, as they analyze the relative safe environment that prostitution exists in the few Nevada counties it is legal in, compared to the dark corners and red light districts of other areas – pimps are nonexistent, and the women submit to compulsory tests for STDs.
Extras are alarmingly minimal. They can be found on disc 3. More Penn & Teller is just a 30 second promo that plays. The Filmographies are just a static shot of each half of P&T with their respective film credits to their side. Photo Gallery contains a group of publicity stills that you can scroll through with the back/next navigation.
The quality of the show itself picked up from Season 3, in my eyes. Admittedly, if you're not a P&T fan, or you happen to believe in/support the things they shoot down as BS, you may not like this show. If you're on the fence, you might want to check episode summaries online first, or rent the DVD set. Still, I love this show, and highly recommend it. Unless you’re a "cryptozoologist."

-- Reviewed by Seth Thrasher