Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

In the first season of BS, which I've already reviewed, Penn and Teller took on hokey beliefs and scams based on them, from alternative medicine to alien abductions. Most of the things they debunked were pretty far out on the fringe, so people in mainstream society would be likely to agree with the program's hosts most of the time, even if they found their attitude a bit flippant. In the second season, however, they take some more daring stands, as they critique some things much nearer to the center of the mainstream which they think are as full of BS as anything on the fringe.

This time, their targets include the Bible, which they say is full of contradictions and clearly not literally true (and they make no secret of being atheists); the War on Drugs, which they call a complete failure and a violation of individual liberty (they assert that it should be a basic human right to do what you wish to your own body); and recycling, which they say is uneconomical and even harms the environment more than it helps, with the exception of aluminum cans (the only sensibly recyclable item).

Between these and the other topics covered, it's likely the vast majority of the population will have at least one of their sacred cows cooked up by this program. Actually, cooking up animals comes up too, in the program on animal rights activism and PETA.

Whether it'll actually change anybody's mind is another question. It might at least make you think about your beliefs, prejudices, and habits, and make some attempt to evaluate them rationally instead of mindlessly following them. However, if you're determined to hold onto your beliefs and practices, you've got plenty of arguments to throw back at Penn and Teller. You can cite their flippant, humorous style and say they're just getting cheap laughs by ridiculing subjects rather than giving them a serious discussion (although, in fact, many very serious points are made between the jokes). You can say that they carefully picked the most nutcase-ish spokespeople for opposing views in order to knock them down as straw men (which may have some truth -- wackos are certainly more fun on TV -- but they did get some of the more mainstream spokespeople for at least some of the causes they critiqued).

You can also say that at least some of the things both they and their opponents said on the program were statements of philosophy or other such belief that was inherently non-fact-based, and thus not capable of being BS, a concept that requires there to be a true factual situation that the belief differs from. When Penn and Teller assert that the War on Drugs is wrong because people have the right to put any substance they wish in their own body; and when a drug warrior asserts that the war is right because drugs are an evil which must be obliterated, they're both expressing moral, ethical, and philosophical views which are incapable of being falsified by any facts; they simply represent the person's belief structure. Neither belief is BS, though one can (and Penn and Teller do) cite facts to argue about what positive or negative effects this war might be having on society in general, aside from whatever moral basis it may have.

Similarly, believing or not believing in God isn't BS, given the lack of indisputable solid evidence one way or the other (and it's the nature of God that He could make the universe any way He wants, including with apparent evidence of His nonexistence, so it's theoretically impossible to disprove God), but a particular holy book could be BS if it's shown to have contradictory facts in it, as Penn and Teller attempt to do with the Bible.

In each of the topics they cover, Penn and Teller get to solid factual items related to the topic, but they also throw in a lot of philosophical moralizing; if you don't happen to share their (atheist, libertarian, skeptical) ideology, you might question their stands on everything, even when they claim to have facts in their favor. I happen to agree with them on most things, but your mileage may vary.

One timely thing they take on is profanity, including the FCC's big campaign to clean up the airwaves. Currently the FCC rules don't apply to cable, but there are threats from the government to extend it there; this would put this show out of business, given that it makes extensive use of the words you're not supposed to say on TV, even in its title. There's also occasional nudity, though no explicit sex. The show is not intended for children.

There's not much in the way of DVD bonus features this time, unlike in the first season set; just a few still pictures, a plain-text filmography of Penn and Teller, and a trailer advertising the show.

Contents:

Disc 1:
"P.E.T.A."
"Safety Hysteria"
"The Business of Love"
"War on Drugs"

Disc 2:
"Recycling"
"Profanity"
"Yoga, Tantric Sex, Etc."
"The Fountain of Youth"

Disc 3:
"Death, Inc."
"12 Stepping"
"The Bible: Fact or Fiction"
"Exercise vs. Genetics"
"Hypnosis"

Oh, and by the way, my title for this review comes from what is sometimes cited as the true meaning of the college degrees that follow B.S.: M.S. and Ph.D.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age