March 25th, 2010 -- Written by Rodney
After 24 years on the air, this will be the last season of the classic movie review TV show At the Movies that made Siskel and Ebert (later Ebert and Roper) household names.
The Hollywood Reporter says:
After 24 seasons with us in national syndication, the highly regarded movie review show “At the Movies” (formerly known as “Siskel & Ebert” and “Ebert & Roeper”) will air its last original broadcast the weekend of August 14, 2010.
This was a very difficult decision, especially considering the program’s rich history and iconic status within the entertainment industry, but from a business perspective it became clear this weekly, half-hour, broadcast syndication series was no longer sustainable.
Sustainable? More accurate to say no longer Media Relevant?
I am not saying that they are not doing their job, or that their reviews are not relevant but frankly who really watches this show? Most of the clips and reviews by these guys can be viewed online, which is limiting the audience already. And with blogs and online media being the new tastemakers is this just a sign that the times are changing with new media?
I think that tradition and respect was the only thing that kept them going this long. They are a valid contribution, just that their medium became irrelevant (like newspapers and Blockbuster)
It isn’t a statement against them as reviewers or personalities, but the days of full TV shows dedicated to reviews seems a little overkill. A segment on a entertainment news show? Sure. But how long before those shows lose media relevance too?
Honestly, while this may be an end of an era for the TV program, it was people like these critics that made me want to do what I am doing today.
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I haven’t kept up with the show. Last I remember Ebert got sick and it was Roeper and guest critics from Kevin Smith to Jay Leno. And then the actual critics. Toward the end there was another critic that became a regular. I forgot his name.
Then Roeper left and the show changed it format and had some 20 year olds replacing him. I never watched it again. And if they continued that way then there is no surprise that the show is getting canceled. I’m sure if it were still Ebert and Roeper, the show would be as relevant as it ever was.
sad
“It isn’t a statement against them as reviewers or personalities, but the days of full TV shows dedicated to reviews seems a little overkill. A segment on a entertainment news show? Sure. But how long before those shows lose media relevance too?”
To answer your question, *I* (as well as many others, I’m sure) watch these kind of shows. I am a movie buff, and I find it extremely hard to believe that you - of all people - are saying that it’s no longer ‘media relevant’. I, personally, cannot sit through any of the current ‘entertainment news shows’, as you call them, because I do not care about the real lives of the actors - I’m tuning in to see the information on the disconnected reality that movies give me. I want to know the plot, whether or not the story/acting is believable, and whether it’s worth it for me to spend my hard-earned money on the flick.
As for losing media relevance, please. These entertainment shows should be shucked from the TV for not being ‘on point’. A show like “At The Movies” gave you exactly what you were looking for - information on the movies themselves, with no fluff. No “who’s dating who”. No BS.
I never said the content or them as journalists was EVER in question Rick. Read the article.
The point of Media Relevance is whether its at all relevant to use a slotted half hour TV program to deliver this news.
Daily, this movie buff reads dozens of articles giving me up to date news that will be so media saturated by the time their weekly show comes up.
Even Entertainment Weekly stopped publishing their magazine, because everything in it was old news by the time the WEEKLY publication came out.
Thats MEDIA relevance. At no point did I say that the personalities on the show, or the content they share is irrelevant.
Sad to see an old horse go to pasture but I think Rodney has a point. By the time their weekly show came on the news would have already been on the net for several days already. Just look at video game review shows. While they never took off and had a big tv presence like movie review shows the small presence they had is almost completely gone now. In fact other than XPlay (on G4 network) and GameTrailers (on Spike TV) are there any of them left? And the real for this is the same as for movie review shows. By the several days it takes for the game release, someone on the staff to play it, and whip up a 3 minute review segment the likes of IGN, Kotaku, and who knows how many other sites have already gotten the game, played it, and written a 4 page review to post on a site…at a much cheaper cost.
They aren’t bad reviewers they are just part of a dying breed. And they aren’t dying out because they are bad at their jobs, its just that their method of distribution is being (or has been) outpaced by new methods.
Good. I never really cared for the show anyway. I’ve never paid attention to critics that much (except for John Campea when he was still running this site, and even then, sometimes I majorly disagreed with something he said) and I always got the impression that Ebert was a little bit pretentious and self-righteous when it came to his critiques. I always preferred Siskel or Roeper. Although, that being said, Ebert does make some good points when he posts on his blog about something outside of the subject of movies and talks more about current real-life events. But hey, I’m sure some people will miss the show.
That’s what happens when you get old, stuff starts passin’ you by. in this case it was the internet and our hunger for instant information.
loved those 2 original guys of the show. as a movie buff they were the captains of the review ship IMO
In a way, it’s sad.
It was Siskel & Ebert who turned my attention to many a film and/or filmmaker. It was those critics than made me- yes, made me- seek out one of my favorite films, in fact, One False Move (1992)…
But, on the flip side …
I could not agree more. Not because it had lost relevance, but because it lost direction. It proved to be a chore finding the show a number of years ago because it wound up being time filler or getting pre-empted for infomercials. Then it was on late at night to early morning- and this was pre DVR.
When Siskel passed on, the show was still good to watch due to Ebert. Ebert left for health reasons, leaving the well meaning but bland Roeper. Then it was celeb critics. Then the young turks.
It was on life support.
Time to pull the plug.
One False Move! I kinda forgot how good that was, for some reason I always thought (mistaken)that Sam Raimi had something to do with that (producer)film in some capacity.
weird!
I loved Siskel and Ebert. When Siskel died I lost interest. However, I always read Ebert’s movie review at the Chicago Sun Times is it? I forget the newspaper name. Anyway, Ebert is one of the last great movie critics and I’ll always have respect for his opinions on film. The medium he used back then is dying out today but his opinions will always remain relevant to me.
I think the show would be fine with Ebert still on it, but he obviously can’t be. He was always what was interesting about that show IMO.
I think there can be room for weekly 1/2 review shows… but the Rotten Tomatoe show has it right. I think that review show is hilarious… and with the stinkers pervading the industry, no review show should take movies these days too seriously.
When Ebert left the show, you know that was the beginning of the end.
Ebert was the real star of the show, he kept it alive even when Roeper was cohost.
I agree, a show entirely on movie reviews is just not in much demand.
We can get video reviews in so many sources these days via youtube and other sites.
Do I wish Siskel and Ebert were, respectively, still alive and still able to speak? You bet I do. But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect and enjoy what Roeper and Scott and Phillips and all those guest reviewers have done. They have brought strong and articulate opinions, well-honed intelligence and a certain gravitas to their reviews that just isn’t that common amongst all the bloggers and lightweights of “entertainment journalism”-at least that I’ve seen. These guys are the class of the movie reviewing world. I think what killed the show was Disney’s decision to put in two young reviewers who were in way over their heads, after Roeper left. Many of the show’s loyal viewers (like yours truly) abandoned it in droves and it was never able to recover after Scott and Phillips came back. The show’s cancellation is a real loss to a lot of movie fans. The fact that Ebert is trying to develop a new show with two reviewers of his choice (he’s not saying who), for all available media, is encouraging. With any luck, the two thumbs (to which he and the Siskel estate own the trademark) will be back very soon.