Predecessors The show's origins and format trace back to
Sneak Previews (1975), a PBS series produced by
WTTW that originally featured Ebert and Siskel, and
At the Movies, a follow-up show that the two created with
Tribune Entertainment. The program was originally recorded in the studios of
WBBM-TV, Chicago's
CBS owned-and-operated station. In August 2001, a few years after Disney's 1996 purchase of
Capital Cities/ABC, the show's tapings were moved to ABC's Chicago station,
WLS-TV, where it remained for its duration. Siskel and Ebert often had notably divergent tastes, and as a result, heated arguments and spats that added to the series's popularity. Many viewers considered such "fights" the highlight of the program. In joint appearances on the talk show circuit, especially
David Letterman's
NBC and
CBS shows, the two critics indicated a mutual respect and friendship off screen. Widely circulated outtakes from promo-recording sessions show the two both bickering and joking off-air. On May 11, 1998, Siskel was hospitalized for treatment of a
brain tumor. For a few weeks, the show was taped with Siskel on the telephone (from his hospital bed) and Ebert in the studio. Siskel eventually returned to the studio, but he seemed noticeably more lethargic and mellow. In February 1999, he announced he was taking a leave of absence for further treatment of the tumor, hoping to return. The weekend after Siskel's death, Ebert devoted the entire half-hour to a tribute to him. On the show were various clips from shows past as well as their history together as journalists and then on television. On that show, they reviewed
At First Sight,
Another Day in Paradise,
The Hi-Lo Country,
Playing by Heart, and
The Theory of Flight. Ebert gave thumbs down to all but
Another Day In Paradise, while Siskel gave thumbs up to all but
Playing by Heart. Originally retaining the
Siskel & Ebert title, the program was renamed
Roger Ebert & the Movies on the weekend of September 4–5, 1999, after Siskel's death. The guests matched wits with Ebert and tested their chemistry. Ebert and film director
Martin Scorsese co-hosted one noteworthy episode about the best films of the 1990s. This format continued through the end of the 1998–99 season and into 2000 before Ebert named fellow
Chicago Sun-Times columnist
Richard Roeper as his permanent co-host. Critics
Joyce Kulhawik and
Michaela Pereira were the other two finalists for the role before the job ultimately went to Roeper.
Critics substituting for Gene Siskel after his death The following critics substituted for Siskel after his death: •
David Ansen •
Peter Bogdanovich •
Jeff Greenfield • Jane Horwitz •
Desson Howe •
Harry Knowles •
Joyce Kulhawik • Norman Mark •
Janet Maslin •
Todd McCarthy •
Elvis Mitchell •
Joe Morgenstern •
Wesley Morris • Howie Moshovitz •
Michaela Pereira • David Poland •
B. Ruby Rich •
Richard Roeper (who became one of the show's hosts from 2000 to 2008) •
Jonathan Rosenbaum • Leah Rozen •
Lisa Schwarzbaum •
Martin Scorsese (film director) •
Tom Shales •
Joel Siegel (until their "Worst of 1999" show) •
Kenneth Turan • Jan Wahl • Michael Wilmington • Ray Pride • Dann Gire
Ebert & Roeper and the Movies (2000–2001) The addition of Roeper as permanent co-host led to the show's name change on September 9–10, 2000 to
Ebert & Roeper and the Movies. The show's name was shortened to
Ebert & Roeper in September 2001.
Ebert & Roeper (2001–2007) With the rebranding to
Ebert & Roeper in 2001, the series gained a new set, replacing the one that had been used since its 1986 debut. In 2002, Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent radiation treatments for tumors on his
thyroid and a
salivary gland while continuing to work. Complications led to an emergency operation in 2006, which interrupted his reviewing schedule. (A few reviews written or taped in advance were released shortly afterward.) For the remainder of the 2006–07 season, the show continued with guest hosts during his recuperation. By October 2006, Ebert had recovered sufficiently to resume writing published reviews on a limited basis and later he was able to make a few public appearances, but due to his difficulty speaking, he did not return to the show. As Ebert's doctors attempted to reconstruct his jawbone, his face and neck became increasingly malformed with each surgery. After the show's cancellation in 2010, the archive and site were shut down.
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper (2007–2008) Over the summer of 2007, the show's official name was changed again to
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper, although the show's main title graphics continued to use the shortened name. As Ebert's absence from the show continued, a handful of critics became frequent guests.
Robert Wilonsky of the
Dallas Observer and
HDnet.com,
Chicago Tribune critic
Michael Phillips, and
A. O. Scott of
The New York Times appeared repeatedly. On April 13, 2008, Scott wrote that his "experiences [as guest critic]... ended when Michael Phillips of
The Tribune was made Mr. Roeper's permanent foil". The iconic balcony sets, which existed for decades, were dismantled and destroyed. Ebert had been under the impression that they would be donated to the
Smithsonian.
Critics substituting for Roger Ebert, post-surgery The following critics acted as substitutes for Ebert after his surgery: •
David Edelstein •
Stephen Hunter • Dave Karger • Zorianna Kit •
Christy Lemire •
Jay Leno •
John Mellencamp • Kim Morgan •
Wesley Morris • Govindini Murty • George Pennacchio •
Michael Phillips •
Harold Ramis •
John Ridley •
Peter Sagal •
Lisa Schwarzbaum •
A. O. Scott • Katherine Tulich •
Aisha Tyler •
Mario Van Peebles •
Fred Willard •
Robert Wilonsky At the Movies (2008–2010) Lyons and Mankiewicz (2008–2009) On July 21, 2008, Roeper announced that he was leaving the show after he and
Disney–ABC Domestic Television did not reach an agreement on a new contract. His last show aired on the weekend of August 16. The same day, Ebert announced on his website that Disney had "decided to take the program... in a new direction" and that he would therefore no longer be associated with the show. Both Ebert and Roeper hinted at returning for a new show that would continue the format Ebert and Siskel devised. The next day, Disney announced that
Ben Lyons (whose father,
Jeffrey Lyons succeeded Ebert and Siskel on
Sneak Previews) and
Ben Mankiewicz would take over as the new hosts of
At the Movies beginning on September 6–7, 2008. and for conflicts of interest in posing for photographs with actors whose movies he later reviewed. Without mentioning Ben Lyons by name, Ebert wrote a general commentary on ethical standards for film critics that other commentators interpreted as critical of Lyons and responding to comparisons of Ebert and Lyons. Ebert later acknowledged that Lyons was the subject of the commentary. During the first two months of Lyons & Mankiewicz's first and only season, ratings for the show slumped 23% to 1.7 total million viewers, compared with same period during Roeper's final season as host, according to figures from
Nielsen Media Research, with the program off 25% among the crucial category of adults 25 to 34 (from a 0.8 rating to a 0.6).
Scott and Phillips (2009–2010) On August 5, 2009, ABC announced that Lyons and Mankiewicz had been dropped from the series due to low ratings, with
A. O. Scott and
Michael Phillips returning to the series as the program's new permanent critics. The program returned to most of its former structure in the
Ebert & Roeper era (reviews, the DVD roundup, and "Three to See"), and the "Critics Roundup" segment was fully discontinued. The recap segment moved to within the
closing credits sequence; the "we'll be at the movies" sign-off remained. The theme music was changed to resemble to the
Ebert & Roeper theme more (originally, this theme was used after Siskel died, during the period when Ebert was using different co-hosts).
Cancellation and replacement On March 24, 2010, Disney announced that
At the Movies was being canceled, ending 24 seasons of national syndication on August 14–15, 2010. The final episode included reviews of
Eat Pray Love,
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and
The Expendables. The same day the cancellation was announced, Ebert announced he was "deeply involved" in talks to produce a new film review program called
Ebert Presents: At the Movies, which would make use of the "Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down" formula he and Siskel introduced.
WTTW in Chicago, where Siskel and Ebert had their start, picked up the show, and began to nationally syndicate it on public television on January 21, 2011. The show also aired worldwide on the
Armed Forces Network. Its principal co-hosts were originally announced as
Christy Lemire of the
Associated Press and
Elvis Mitchell of
National Public Radio. Mitchell was dropped before the new series entered regular production; Also, Ebert announced that regular contributors and occasional co-hosts would be Kim Morgan and Omar Moore, both respected and popular film bloggers. Ebert himself hosted a segment called "Roger's Office", in which he used a computer voice or guest narrator to review movies or to talk about the industry; he did not debate the hosts or use the "Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down" method himself for the same film in the same episode as Lemire and Vishnevetsky: "They'll be awarding the Thumbs, and you can't have three Thumbs." As it became more common for Ebert to give solo reviews for films that did not screen in time for the main critics to discuss, he started ending his positive reviews with a thumbs-up. For a time, negative Ebert reviews still received no thumb but later began receiving a thumbs-down. The last show of that program aired on December 30, 2011. ==Review style==