History Series / SiskelAndEbert

* AuthorAppeal: In Siskel's case, he pointed out that he loved doing the show because it combined three things he passionately love: movies, television and journalism.

* InsaneTrollLogic: One particularly baffling Viewer's Thumb entry claimed that the only reason the duo gave ''Film/SpaceJam'' two thumbs up is because Michael Jordan is from Chicago, where the show was filmed.

''Siskel & Ebert'' (''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'' in its first season) was a FirstRunSyndication American television series that ran from 1986 to 1999. It was a continuation of three previous shows they'd done together: ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' on Chicago Creator/{{PBS}} affiliate WTTW (1975-77); ''Sneak Previews'' (1977-82), a renamed version of the first show that went national on PBS in 1978 and became massively popular; and ''At the Movies'' (1982-86), the first show they did after leaving public television for syndication (''Sneak Previews'' and ''At the Movies'' both continued for several years with different hosts after Siskel and Ebert left, but eventually folded). All of the shows had the same basic format: two critics, Creator/GeneSiskel of the ''UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Tribune'' and Creator/RogerEbert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', discuss and debate the week's new films. Roughly four or five films were critiqued per episode. It usually ended with a special segment like "Video/Laserdisc Pick of the Week/Month", an interview with a celebrity or director, or a short-lived segment where viewers wrote in to provide a second opinion or correct S&E about something. The show taped at [[Creator/AmericanBroadcastingCompany ABC's]] Chicago affiliate, WLS-TV, which is also where ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' initially taped as well.

* BigGuyLittleGuy: They both fit either role, depending on how looked at it. Hefty Ebert contrasted with skinny Siskel, but Siskel was the taller of the two (by about 6 inches[=/=]15cm).

* BigGuyLittleGuy: Siskel was tall and skinny; Ebert was short and fat.

** Another good one was when they reviewed Creator/NicolasCage's ''It Could Happen To You'', which they were '''very''' enthusiastic about, calling it one of the best films of the year... After the commercial that followed this review came the ''Film/{{North}}'' review, which doesn't need an explanation.

''Siskel & Ebert'' (''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'' in its first season) was a FirstRunSyndication American television series that ran from 1986 to 1999. It was a continuation of three previous shows they'd done together: ''Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You'' on Chicago Creator/{{PBS}} affiliate WTTW (1975-77); ''Sneak Previews'' (1977-82), a renamed version of the first show that went national on PBS in 1978 and became massively popular; and ''At the Movies'' (1982-86), the first show they did after leaving public television for syndication. All of the shows had the same basic format: two critics, Creator/GeneSiskel of the ''UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Tribune'' and Creator/RogerEbert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', discuss and debate the week's new films. Roughly four or five films were critiqued per episode. It usually ended with a special segment like "Video/Laserdisc Pick of the Week/Month", an interview with a celebrity or director, or a short-lived segment where viewers wrote in to provide a second opinion or correct S&E about something. The show taped at [[Creator/AmericanBroadcastingCompany ABC's]] Chicago affiliate, WLS-TV, which is also where ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' initially taped as well.

''Siskel & Ebert'' (''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'' in its first season) was a syndicated American television series that ran from 1986 to 1999, spun off from an earlier show on Creator/{{PBS}}: ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You''[=/=]''Sneak Previews'' (1975 to 1982), as well as the syndicated ''At the Movies'' (1982 to 1986), both of which utilized a similar format of two critics, Creator/GeneSiskel of the ''UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Tribune'' and Creator/RogerEbert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', discussing and debating the week's new films. Roughly four or five films were critiqued per episode. It usually ended with a special segment like "Video/Laserdisc Pick of the Week/Month", an interview with a celebrity or director, or a short-lived segment where viewers wrote in to provide a second opinion or correct S&E about something. The show taped at Creator/{{ABC}}'s Chicago station, WLS-TV, which is also where ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' initially taped as well.

* ConspiracyTheorist: PlayedForLaughs in the infamous outtakes. Siskel, in a very tongue-in-cheek manner, rallies against [=WASPs=], claiming they run the country, and Ebert name-drops the "international bankers" and the Vatican.

--->'''Siskel:''' As I once said to you on another film, many years ago: "Date her, don't give the film a positive review."\\

->''"That's next week, and until then, the balcony is closed."''

----

* TheAnnouncer: The series had a ColdOpen announcer for many years, but around 1996, Siskel and Ebert began introducing the shows themselves.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: Towards the end of the ''Roeper & guest'' era, the thumbs up/down rating was replaced by See It, Rent It, or Skip It, as Disney/ABC refused to pay Ebert and the Siskel estate for continued use of the "Two Thumbs Up" trademark.
** The second half of the 1998-1999 season is this, due to every episode containing a different guest host, due to Gene Siskel's sudden death. The 1999-2000 season also had this, but by then they had narrowed the stable a bit until they decided on Richard Roeper as his permanent co-host.

* OddballInTheSeries: The 1996 season introduced a couple new segments that were quickly dropped: The Viewer's Thumb (video criticisms from viewers), which was quickly dropped, and The Revolving Thumb (the duo giving thumbs up or down to a trend in the movies), which lasted a little longer but was mostly gone from the series by 1997.

* VocalEvolution: Due to throat surgery, Ebert's voice changed in late 2003/early 2004.

** ''Sneak Previews'' didn't use the trademark thumbs up and down yet; the votes were merely YES or NO.
** In the show's 1970s incarnation, the pair occasionally reviewed pornos.

** The ''Ebert & Roeper'' era initially used the ''Siskel & Ebert'' set, but with alterations. The set was remodeled in 2001.

* TruncatedThemeTune: The remaining episodes in the 1998-1999 season after Gene's passing cut the intro short after the title graphic.

''Siskel & Ebert and the Movies'' (usually just called ''Siskel & Ebert'') was a syndicated American television series that ran from 1986 to 1999, spun off from an earlier show on Creator/{{PBS}}: ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You''[=/=]''Sneak Previews'' (1975 to 1982), as well as the syndicated ''At the Movies'' (1982 to 1986), both of which utilized a similar format of two critics, Creator/GeneSiskel of the ''UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Tribune'' and Creator/RogerEbert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', discussing and debating the week's new films. Roughly four or five films were critiqued per episode. It usually ended with a special segment like "Video/Laserdisc Pick of the Week/Month", an interview with a celebrity or director, or a short-lived segment where viewers wrote in to provide a second opinion or correct S&E about something. The show taped at Creator/{{ABC}}'s Chicago station, WLS-TV, which is also where ''Series/TheOprahWinfreyShow'' initially taped as well.

** Also, in the early shows, Ebert had thicker glasses and bushier hair.
** During the show's earliest incarnation in the 1970s, Siskel had a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD2RhWCJkWk thick mustache]].

** ''Sneak Previews'' didn't use the trademark thumbs up & down yet; the votes were merely YES or NO.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Nothing major, as the show stayed roughly the same since it began in 1986, but in 1992, the show's backdrop switched from a yellow-ish hue to a blue one.

* ColdOpen: Every episode began with an announcer telling a few of the movies Siskel and Ebert would be reviewing.

* MilestoneCelebration: The 500th episode of their show was a live full-hour performance as Disneyland.

** Siskel made one in the episode where Ebert gave ''Film/FullMetalJacket'' a marginal thumbs down. Siskel said it was absurd that Ebert was giving a Kubrick film that rating, while in the same show he gave a recommendation to ''Benji the Hunted'' (which he disliked). As Ebert rightfully pointed out, ''Jacket'' and ''Benji'' are two totally different genres and as such, deserve to have different criteria for judging them[[note]]Long-time readers of Ebert's reviews and website would be aware that this was a major aspect of the way he reviewed films - when scoring a movie like ''Film/SpiderMan2'' or ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', he would compare it to ''Film/{{Superman}}'' (which he considered the greatest comic book/Superhero movie ever), not to something like ''Film/TheGodfather'' or ''Film/CitizenKane''[[/note]].