Talk:Penn & Teller

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Teller speaks

Small correction -- Teller DOES speak onstage, he is just not normally miked. At several points during a performance you actually _can_ hear what he is saying (most notably during the spirit cabinet illusion).

Of course, standing next to Penn, anybody would sound like he wasn't talking.

Penn is larger?

Penn is described as "the larger of the two". He is taller, and heftier, but the word 'larger' seems more appropriate for describing inanimate objects, and less appropriate for describing people. No pressing need to change the phrasing, but odd enough to make me notice. BlueNight 04:46, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC)

A comment, just for the record: the official Penn & Teller website describes Penn as "the larger, louder half" and Teller as "the smaller, quieter half." They apparently use the size terminology to refer to themselves. Kevyn 10:01, 20 Feb 2005 (UTC)

2 separate guys?

I moved a few things around. And added some information--more on that later. Most notably are separate "Penn" and "Teller" sections to emphasize that each has their own style/history/identity. I'm not sure if each of them need their own separate articles, each addressing "Penn" and "Teller" as individuals and their respective independant projects; talking more about them combined in the "Penn and Teller" article. The 2 sections are pretty rough. I'll probably add to them in the future. This article needs some cleaning, I think.

I'm not sure if the "Quotation" section adds anything to the article.

It's difficult to compile a comprehensive list of television (guests as well as P&T specials) appearances, and--more importantly--which ones merit mention. I think it's important to not ignore that part of their history--they were kind of pop-culture icons during the late 1980s. The pair self-promoted their way into stardom through all kinds of guest appearances.

It's also difficult to define their style, what they do, their ideology, etc. in a concise fashion without ignoring or alienating something or another. Long-standing have been their ideologies of skepticism, atheism, teetotaling, libertarianism, and iconoclasm towards magic. These subjects, I think, should definitely be included in this article.

28 Feb 05

Babylon 5

Can anyone remember enough about their guest spot on Babylon 5 as Reebo and Zootie (or some such) to add a relevant entry here? They cracked up Sheridan in at least one episode.

"Zoot! Zoot!" Rlw 00:39, Apr 29, 2005 (UTC)

Rebo and Zooty appeared in the episode "Day of the Dead", written by Neil Gaiman. I've stuck in a link to the Lurker's Guide page for the episode -- the authoritative online reference for B5 episodes.

It's quite an unusual episode, since it deals with unexplained paranormal events (namely, visitation by the spirits of dead people) in what's otherwise a mostly-hard-SF show. Penn and Teller's characters are very similar to their usual stage personae, with the exception that Zooty (Teller) speaks through a machine. The characters are mentioned in a couple of other episodes, as I recall. --FOo 23:53, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Career

I noticed while reading about the books they have written the original author describes the content of one of their books ("how to play in Traffic") in one paragraph but in the next they introduce the book. Shouldnt these 2 paragraphs be switched? Its purely grammatical since it makes more sense to do that however if you do switch the paragraphs you break the train of thought regarding their (personal) poltics [TheHoustonKid|TheHoustonKid] 1:45 14 July 2007

Penn and libertarianism

Politics section needs a better source on the claim Penn “disavowed libertarianism and is no longer affiliated with the Cato Institute”. The sole source currently cited is a CNN piece from 2020 where all Penn says is that he used to openly ID as libertarian, but voted Biden because he didn’t like Trump. He still hints at being anti regulation in the very piece linked! So to say he “disavowed libertarianism” at least on the basis of that link is a stretch. The link also says nothing about the Cato Institute. 2601:547:1980:3010:CDF2:CF28:60D3:A15B (talk) 22:24, 16 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]