As usual, Penn & Teller use their mix of humor, vulgarity, and frankness to expose the people who would con the gullible among us. In this case, because they're going after ghost hunters, they've got a veritable army of believers arrayed against this episode. Nothing you do or say can make people who believe in the silly fantasy of hauntings change their mind. They have to come to that themselves, when they finally grow up and get past their delusional need to believe in life after death... So Penn & Teller have their work cut out for them! They make a valiant attempt, pointing out the various contradictions and inconsistencies in the ghost hunters' claims, and performing their own tests in a humorous manner, but in the end it all boils down to personal preference and the ability to let go of long-held convictions, and these people just won't do that. So while the episode is entertaining for those of us who know Penn & Teller speak the truth, they're only preaching to the choir with this one, as the people they're debunking aren't likely to accept any evidence that shatters their pseudo-religious attachment to the belief in ghosts.
Penn & Teller are, as usual, entertaining, but they ultimately fail to change any minds because honestly, that would take more than an hour of television. That takes years of introspection and reflection, and quite a bit of real science, and Penn & Teller just can't get that deep on their show.
Still, it's a good effort, and it's fun for the non-deluded members of their audience to watch the ghostophiles spin like crazy trying to justify their irrational hobby with their (former?) love for Penn & Teller. Penn & Teller must know this, which makes one wonder what they were going for in this episode.
The way I see it, is that this is essentially Penn & Teller trolling the ghost-hunting community, and they do it successfully. Granted, it's not hard to pick on people who wander around in the dark with tape recorders and a bucket-load of paranoia, but hey; It's entertainment!
Penn & Teller are, as usual, entertaining, but they ultimately fail to change any minds because honestly, that would take more than an hour of television. That takes years of introspection and reflection, and quite a bit of real science, and Penn & Teller just can't get that deep on their show.
Still, it's a good effort, and it's fun for the non-deluded members of their audience to watch the ghostophiles spin like crazy trying to justify their irrational hobby with their (former?) love for Penn & Teller. Penn & Teller must know this, which makes one wonder what they were going for in this episode.
The way I see it, is that this is essentially Penn & Teller trolling the ghost-hunting community, and they do it successfully. Granted, it's not hard to pick on people who wander around in the dark with tape recorders and a bucket-load of paranoia, but hey; It's entertainment!