Penn and Teller's 'Bullshit!" (C+) Showtime cable show by Vegas 'post-modern' magicians Penn and Teller. It's half a debunking of pop mythologies like Bigfoot, psychics, and self-help programs. The other half is an endorsement of the Libertarian creed. Obviously, it's at its best in the former, and as for the latter part, well...
I'm of the belief that a Libertarian is just a Republican who reads too much Ayn Rand and smokes pot on the weekend, so I'm a little biased in terms of how I view this show. While their debunking of folk beliefs like psychics, pet-marketers (one show depicts a guy who sells silicone testicles to neutered dogs...) and the like is entertaining, in my case, they're preachin' to the choir. When Penn (the big loud guy who looks like he played a lot of D&D in high school) gets on the Libertarian soapbox, there's problems. Mainly 'cause they frame their cases in 'straw man' arguments...
Take, for example, the show that's pro-legalizing prostitution. On the most pragmatic level, it seems legalizing it would make a lot of sense. Sex workers would be a lot safer, their job would allow them access to health benefits and reduce the spread of venereal diseases (and possibly other bennies like pension plans), and the potential for pimps to exploit sex workers (and underage sex workers, particularly,) would drop like a stone. The thing is, in most cities, 'escort services' already provide a measure of control in that regard. ('cept for the pension plan thingy...) My understanding is the police usually turn a blind eye to escort services anyway, unless a disgruntled rival or former employee raises a stink. If we provide a controlled environment for sex workers to legally provide their services, while insisting they maintain a standard of cleanliness and sobriety, any sex workers who don't meet the criteria won't be allowed to work legitimately. However, you don't think for a minute someone who's got say, a drug habit to support isn't going to refrain from walking the streets, do you? The practical result is that any tentative experiments to legalize it in North America will end in failure; the puritans of the left and right will fight tooth and nail to stop it. All they have to do is show the facts that the sex workers most in need of protection, the diseased, the addicts, the just plain desperate, won't get the support that they need.
Well, I'm starting to rant, so I'd better wrap this up. In spite of my whinging, Penn and Teller are pretty entertaining in delivering their message. Overall, it's worth a look, especially if you're a Libertarian.
The Sarah Silverman Program (C+) Absurd sitcom depicting the day-to-day shenanigans of comic Sarah Silverman. The humour is derived from the fact her character is the most spoiled, selfish, egomanical, lazy person this side of Eric Cartman. The jokes are pretty hit-or-miss, mostly on the hit side. She's an appealing comic, though I'd like to see just once in the show to have one of the other characters rip on her for being such a jerk. As a "Mr. Show" fan, it's nice to see alumni like Brian Posehn and Jill Telley make appearances, though. (One character wears a 'Titanica' t-shirt.) For what it's worth, my favorite bit of hers that she ever did was on the movie, "The Aristocrats", where she relates the anecdote that her family came to fame performing the dreaded 'routine' of that venerable comic joke. Sarah reveals that Joe Frankin used to 'help' her over the more difficult bits, going so far as to stand in for Sarah's other family members...
"Joe Franklin RAPED me!"
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