Siskel & Ebert (1986–2010)
"Siskel & Ebert & the Movies" (original title)

Chicago critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert rate new movies with a thumbs up, or a thumbs down.

Stars:

Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel, Richard Roeper

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Roger Ebert	...	Himself - Host (257 episodes, 1986-2006)
Gene Siskel	...	Himself - Host (187 episodes, 1986-1999)

Storyline

Film critics Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune and A.O. Scott of the New York Times give their opinions on the latest new releases. The films are reviewed with the classifications 'See It', 'Skip It', or 'Rent It'. They also make suggestions as to excellent films they recommend for renting on video.

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Plot Keywords:

critic | video | film critic | discussion | name in title | 

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Genres:

Talk-Show

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

At the Movies

Filming Locations:

WBBM-TV - 630 N. McClurg Court, Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buena Vista Television, Disney-ABC Domestic Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The weekend following Gene Siskel's death, Roger Ebert devoted the entire half hour as a tribute to his memory. On the show were various clips from show's past as well their history together as journalists and then on television.

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Quotes

Richard Roeper: Our next movie is "Son of the Mask", this was almost a landmark for me. In the five years I've been co-hosting this show, this is the closest I've ever come to walking out halfway through the film and now that I look back on the experience, I wish I had!

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Slime People (1990)

User Reviews

Gene, you will be missed

I write this two days after the death of co-host Gene Siskel, and somehow, it doesn't quite seem real yet. I've been watching the show religiously since 1990. In addition to getting to see clips from a movie, and being able to check my opinion next to two critics I respected, it also made good television. Gene was well-known as a basketball fan (the Chicago Bulls in particular), and watching the show was like watching a half-hour one-on-one game every week, though since the movies always changed, it rarely got boring, and while they probably agreed more than they disagreed, the creative tension between them was healthy and made for a dynamic show, considering it's just two guys talking about movies.

Although I probably agreed with Roger more, I identified with Gene more, because he always let you know where he stood, whereas Roger was more objective. And while some may have sniped about him and Roger making appearances on talk shows like Jay Leno and David Letterman, I always thought it was good that he understood that while movies were worth taking seriously, as well as writing about them, there was nothing wrong with having fun with yourself. I'm sure Gene would want people to still watch the show, so I will, but I will certainly miss him.