Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular

Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular

1998
Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular
Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular

Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular

5.4 | en | Comedy

Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular was a weekly American television variety show hosted by Penn and Teller that appeared on the FX Networks from August 10, 1998 - June 30, 1999. The show's aim was to revive the genuine variety shows from the past, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, where, as Penn put it, you could see Pavarotti singing an aria, followed by a man with trained performing housecats.

View More
AD

WATCH FREEFOR 30 DAYS

All Prime Video
Cancel anytime

Watch Now

Seasons & Episodes

1
EP24  Show No. 124
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 124

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP23  Show No. 123
Mar. 19,1999
Show No. 123

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP22  Show No. 122
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 122

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP21  Show No. 121
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 121

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP20  Show No. 120
Jan. 18,1999
Show No. 120

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP19  Show No. 119
Jan. 01,1999
Show No. 119

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP18  Show No. 118
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 118

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP17  Show No. 117
Feb. 01,1999
Show No. 117

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP16  Show No. 116
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 116

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP15  Show No. 115
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 115

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP14  Show No. 114
Nov. 22,1998
Show No. 114

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP13  Show No. 113
Dec. 06,1998
Show No. 113

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP12  Show No. 112
Nov. 08,1998
Show No. 112

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP11  Show No. 111
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 111

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP10  Show No. 110
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 110

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP9  Show No. 109
Oct. 04,1998
Show No. 109

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP8  Show No. 108
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 108

Long Pig Luau with the Passing Zone Momix Charo Jim Belushi Balloon Man Greg Proops Call Phone with Jennie Garth Yan Yan & Yan Ping the Acrobatic Bikers Henry Rollins Masked Magician

EP7  Show No. 106
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 106

Chinese Sticks with Jerry Springer Chester Cable the table juggler Mr. Spoons Fruit with Thomas Gibson Jerry Springer sings Masked Magician Match Box Tap Dogs remote at the Stratosphere Cathy Ladman Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

EP6  Show No. 104
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 104

Snake (with Alice Cooper) Long Twins (contortionists) Balloon of Blood Andy Dick's Salute to Tap Dancing Slash (with a magic trick) Jimmy Pardo Table Top Theater Space Hog Forever Tango Who's On First with Penn & Gilbert Gottfried

EP5  Show No. 103
Sep. 14,1998
Show No. 103

Famous Magicians Michael Moschen the Juggler Guy To Gorilla with Rodney Dangerfield Fan Dance with Kevin Meany Kevin Sorbo Remote Andy Kindler Cell Phone Sir Rubber Man and the Tennis Racket Jay Marshall Sister Hazel

EP4  Show No. 107
Sep. 07,1998
Show No. 107

Wendy Malick (Just Shoot Me) performs a card trick with P&T John Twomey shows off his unique talent Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect) gets blood from a stone Todd Robbins (He eats a light bulb) Mo'Nique (Comedienne) Dr. Joyce Brothers does a card trick poolside with P&T and the 8 Deadly Sin Dancers Brandon Hammond (Soul Food) does magic with showgirls David Cassidy sings

EP3  Show No. 101
Jan. 01,0001
Show No. 101

Assistants' Revenge Rollerskating Puppets The Legend of Diamond Jack with John Popper Trained Housecats WWW's Hacksaw Jim Duggan John Popper and The National Anthem Margaret Smith Cheech Marin The Steven Segal Band Super Dave Osborne Remote

EP2  Show No. 105
Aug. 17,1998
Show No. 105

Cow Todd Robbins Baby Card Trick with Gena Lee Nolan Smashmouth with Engelbert Humperdink Fausto Scorpion Acrobats with Andy Dick Death with Dylan McDermott Mac King Heartless Suli McCullough

EP1  Show No. 102
Aug. 10,1998
Show No. 102

Paint Balls with Drew Carey Floppy Doll Rob Schneider Rats with Drew Carey Save Ferris Magic In Bed Todd Oliver & Irving Lou Reed

SEE MORE
5.4 | en | Comedy | More Info
Released: 1998-08-10 | Released Producted By: , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular was a weekly American television variety show hosted by Penn and Teller that appeared on the FX Networks from August 10, 1998 - June 30, 1999. The show's aim was to revive the genuine variety shows from the past, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, where, as Penn put it, you could see Pavarotti singing an aria, followed by a man with trained performing housecats.

...... View More
Stream Online

The tv show is currently not available onine

Cast

Andy Dick , Teller , Penn Jillette

Director

Producted By

,

AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime.

Watch Now

Reviews

TelrChic Magic, you say? Oh yes, there's plenty of that! Music, you mention? Yes, complete with Lou Reed and the rather well-chestily endowed Candye Kane! Sex, you whisper? Well, not much of it...but Teller does get some attention paid to his magic wand! Talking Cutlery?!!? Ja, complete with horrendous, horrendous German accents and silly stage-blocking!Yup, you read right! Penn & Teller's SinCity Spectacular had it all! It debuted on August 10th, 1998 to rave reviews from many newspapers across the country, and online newswires as well. "Sinfully delightful" shouted one headline.I agree! Penn & Teller set out to show it all, and that's what the average viewer saw: Variety at its' most unusual and most talented. I mean, where else on ANY program could you have seen a veteran performer like Frank Gorshin doing impressions and perhaps later in the show, see Tom Comet shoot bottle rockets out of his %$#&.The only bad point I would give SCS was that, if you are a die-hard Penn & Teller fan, it sometimes put them in a rather embarrassing light. As the season went on, the musical numbers that Penn & Teller would appear in just became inane and drawn out, making them wear ridiculous costumes, and not using either of their skills as performers.If I may tip my hat to sorely missed reviewer Gene Siskel, I give Penn & Teller's SinCity Spectacular a THUMBS UP!
Rosabel "Sin City" was a boon to Penn and Teller fans, delivering a guaranteed weekly fix of these two brilliant and uncommon performers. Although they acted as the hosts of the show, performing themselves for only a small percentage of the time, they almost always made the hour-long program worth watching. The idea of the show was to revive the genuine variety shows from the past, such as Ed Sullivan, where, as Penn put it, you could see Pavarotti singing an aria, followed by a man with trained performing housecats. Although Pavarotti for some unaccountable reason never performed on SCS, we did get to see the amazing housecats, and the show was always to true to this genuinely democratic approach to performing. A lot of the acts featured on the program were bizarre, sideshow-type performances, like Katzen, the tattooed lady who ate bugs, and her husband, the Enigma, also covered with tattoos, who swallowed swords and lightbulbs, and had two horns surgically implanted into his forehead. I think it would be almost impossible for any one person to like everything on SCS, but its varied format ensured that eventually something would come along to interest the viewer and keep him watching. Most of the musical guests I found frankly uninteresting, and often painful to listen to, but there were some pleasant surprises, like the barbershop quartet that sang "Cocaine", and great performers like Dr. John and John Popper. (They should have won an Emmy for the piece where Popper jams on the harmonica while Penn narrates a story and Teller illustrates it with tricks done with a deck of cards.) But it was really Penn and Teller themselves who made the show great. Some of their pieces, like "Cuffed to a Creep" where Penn finds himself handcuffed to a bizarre stranger (Teller) on a park bench, and "Balloon of Blood" in which Penn eloquently describes the strength and vulnerability of humanity, were borrowed from their stage show, while others, like Teller's unforgettable Hitchcockian "zippo lighter" piece, were written especially for the TV show.To match its ability to entertain everyone, this show was also guaranteed to have something, somewhere that would offend pretty well everyone. As the season went on, however, the hosts became more careful about warning people in advance when controversial subject matter was about to appear, so the chances of being unfairly ambushed by lewd material and Christian-slamming diminished. One thing that never did let up, however, was the show's generally demeaning approach to women. With the exception of a few female guest performers, most of the women on the show (especially the attractive ones) were treated pretty insultingly, despite Penn's frequent claims to the contrary. Perhaps this may be because of the very obvious minority status of women in the credits at the end of the show - I have a feeling that this was a largely male-written and driven program.The show completed one season and then was not renewed by the FX network. It will stand as a collection of some of the most unusual and unlikely acts you will ever see on TV, punctuated by moments of breathtaking genius from Penn and Teller.