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Penn & Teller Tell a Lie

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Penn & Teller Tell a Lie
Created byPenn Jillette
Teller
Golden
Developed by117 Productions
StarringPenn Jillette
Teller
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6[1] (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerPeter Adam Golden
Running time45 minutes
Original release
NetworkDiscovery Channel
ReleaseOctober 5 (2011-10-5) –
November 9, 2011 (2011-11-9)

Penn & Teller Tell a Lie is a six-part series starring Penn Jillette and Teller. Each episode contains six or seven stories,[2] including a demonstration performed by the hosts during the recording of the show as the last story. One of the stories is falsified, and the rest are true. During each broadcast, viewers can guess which story is the lie, voting on Discovery's website, with the answer and voting results revealed at the end of the episode.

The series aired on the Discovery Channel beginning Wednesday, October 5, 2011.[3][4] The show is also broadcast in the UK on Channel Quest which premiered on 2 May 2012.

Development

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On April 14, 2011, Penn and Teller announced that their previous show, Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, had ended and that a new show, Penn & Teller: Secrets of the Universe, would begin on the Discovery Channel.[5] The show was later renamed Penn & Teller Tell a Lie.[6]

Recording of the first episode began on June 1, 2011.[7] The show started airing Wednesday, October 5, 2011.[4]

Critical reception

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Reviews of the show have been mostly positive, although many reviewers compare the show to the Discovery Channel's other skepticism-themed show, MythBusters. Matt Blum of Wired Magazine wrote:

Skeptics, rejoice! MythBusters no longer is the only show that aims to teach its viewers to question their perceptions of reality before deciding what to believe. [...] It’s a very good show, which MythBusters fans will almost certainly enjoy and which non-MythBusters fans (if there are any who read this blog) should give a try.[8]

Brian Lowry of Variety wrote that the show was "A perfect companion for Mythbusters" and "a clever way for Discovery to ventilate its whimsical side without pandering".[9] Kevin McFarland of The A.V. Club called the show a mix of the icebreaker game "Two Truths And A Lie" mixed with a "Mythbusters-type reality show". He went on to say that the show was "sincerely watchable", but noted that "there are still kinks to be worked out".[10]

Episodes

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Main article: List of Penn & Teller Tell a Lie episodes


No. in series No. in season Title Original air date U.S. viewers (million)
11"Head of Hair Can Lift a Mustang"[11]October 5, 2011 (2011-10-5)1.259[12]
Claims about airplanes, alligators, heat shields, tigers, obscenity, picking up girls, and picking up mustangs
22"You Can Blow Out a Forest Fire"[11]October 12, 2011 (2011-10-12)1.025[13]
Stories featuring wing-walkers, bacon, wallpaper, didgeridoos, "mighty cheese", lasers, and forest fires
33"Piranha Will Not Kill You"[11]October 19, 2011 (2011-10-19)1.185[14]
Featuring gas tanks, wine, roadkill, eggs, robots, and piranha
44"You Can Fly Using Hair Bleach for Fuel"[11]October 26, 2011 (2011-10-26)1.596[15]
Butter knife, termites, panning for gold, coin toss, crooked house, peroxide rocket
55"Hook and Loop Fabric is Stronger than Two Monster Trucks"[11]November 2, 2011 (2011-11-02)1.256[16]
Machine guns, milk cloth, pizza in space, man vs horse, floating dessert, bottle game, velcro
66"You Can Crack a Safe with Liquid Nitrogen"[11]November 9, 2011 (2011-11-09)0.970[17]
Liquid nitrogen, tattoos, highway music and echolocation


References

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  1. ^ "Shows A-Z - Penn & Teller Tell a Lie on Discovery". TheFutonCritic.com. October 5, 2011. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  2. ^ Mattise, Nathan (August 8, 2011). "Storyboard: Penn & Teller Talk Deception and Performance at Comic-Con". Wired.
  3. ^ "Penn & Teller Come to Discovery Channel". The Discovery Insider Blog. Discovery Channel. April 15, 2011. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Can You Guess the Lie?". Discovery Channel Shows Listing. Discovery Channel. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  5. ^ Jillette, Penn. "Twitter post". Twitter. Retrieved April 15, 2011. We are in NYC to announce "Penn & Teller: Secrets of the Universe" on The Discovery Channel. We'll tell the truth & we'll lie. No Bullshit.
  6. ^ Jillette, Penn. "Twitter post". Twitter. Retrieved June 5, 2011. It's now called 'Tell a Lie', and it seemed pretty good.
  7. ^ Jillette, Penn. "Twitter post". Retrieved June 5, 2011. This is it. Up early to head to set to start our first day of recording on Penn & Teller Tell a Lie! I'm stupid excited. It's happening.
  8. ^ Blum, Matt (October 5, 2011). "Penn & Teller Tell a Lie Is MythBusters Turned Sideways". Wired. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  9. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 30, 2011). "Penn & Teller Tell a Lie". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  10. ^ McFarland, Kevin (October 5, 2011). "Penn & Teller Tell A Lie debuts tonight on the Discovery Channel at 10 p.m. Eastern". The A.V. Club. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Penn and Teller tell a Lie: Episode Guide". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  12. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 7, 2011). "Wednesday Cable: 'American Horror Story' Premiere, 'South Park' Return Top MLB Playoffs + 'Ghost Hunters,' 'Nick Swardson' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  13. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 13, 2011). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'South Park' Rises; 'American Horror Story' Falls; + Brewers/Cards NLCS, 'Psych' Premiere, 'Ghost Hunters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  14. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 20, 2011). "Wednesday Cable Ratings:'Storage Wars' Tops Night, 'American Horror Story' Rises; 'South Park' Falls + 'Psych,' 'Pretty Little Liars' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  15. ^ Seidman, Robert (October 27, 2011). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story' Series High Edges 'South Park' + 'Psych,' 'Daily Show,' 'Ultimate Fighter' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  16. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 3, 2011). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'South Park,' 'American Horror Story' Lead + 'Psych,' 'Real World,' 'Mythbusters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  17. ^ Seidman, Robert (November 10, 2011). "Wednesday Cable Ratings: 'American Horror Story,' 'South Park' Lead; 'Psych' Lower + 'Real World,' 'Mythbusters' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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