History YMMV / SiskelAndEbert

* HePannedItNowHeSucks: Siskel tended to be one who sometimes took a contrary stand against a film that other critics and audiences praised, or films that later became regarded as classics, which led some fans to view him as having poorer taste than Ebert (though Ebert had moments of this too).
** While Siskel liked ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', he got flak from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' fans after he said he didn't like Creator/MarkHamill's performance as the Joker.
** When they reviewed ''Film/HomeAlone2LostInNewYork'', Siskel admitted that probably every kid in America is going to hate him for voting thumbs down.
** The duo gave thumbs up to ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'' but thought the story and characters could've been better (although Ebert is far more enthusiastic in his written review, raving about the art direction, dark humor, and music). Among Henry Selick/Tim Burton fans, their praise wasn't enough, especially since they were far more enthusiastic about ''Literature/JamesAndTheGiantPeach'', which doesn't have as big a fanbase as ''Nightmare''.
** While he gave it a marginal thumbs up, Siskel wasn't all that impressed by ''Film/BoogieNights'', which has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. He felt that the film didn't give much new insight about the porn industry and felt the film had no point.
** The duo gave two thumbs up to ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'', but didn't consider it as good as the [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 previous]] [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast three]] [[WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} films.]] It ended up being one of Disney's biggest hits of all time.
** Ebert famously disliked ''Film/BlueVelvet'' (basically feeling that it had some powerful moments, but was ultimately incoherent), an opinion that was controversial enough at the time that he penned a second review explaining his issues with the film more in-depth. Meanwhile, Siskel picked it as one his top 10 films of the year (an interesting reversal of the conventional wisdom that Ebert was the one who was more receptive to unconventional films). Ebert also didn't care much for Creator/DavidLynch's later efforts (a sore spot with Lynch fans).

** For one of the holiday gift guide episodes, Siskel & Ebert had to demonstrate the ill-fated and unresponsive Activator peripheral for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAtr7LsenJ8 Watching them flail around trying to use it]] on national syndicated TV could make it easier to understand why Ebert was never fond of the medium.

** A case ironically highlighted by Gene ''shaving'' his mustache. The first episodes of ''Sneak Previews'' (then called ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You'') were very dry and the duo were clearly not used to being on camera, as it showed in their deadpan and stilted deliveries. Things quickly improved, and by the time the early '80s arrived, the duo had found a groove and their disagreements got more entertaining.

** Ebert famously disliked ''Film/BlueVelvet'', an opinion that was controversial enough at the time that he penned a second review explaining his feelings more in-depth. Meanwhile, Siskel picked it as one his top 10 films of the year (an interesting reversal of the conventional wisdom that Ebert was the one who was more receptive of unconventional films).

* HePannedItNowHeSucks:
** While Gene Siskel liked ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm'', he got flak from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' fans after he said he didn't like Creator/MarkHamill's performance as the Joker.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Dave Karger, who was then a senior editor for ''Entertainment Weekly'' and a frequent guest on ''Series/Today'', served as a guest host in the summer of 2007. Karger would go on to become one of the hosts for Creator/TurnerClassicMovies.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Dave Karger, who was then a senior editor for ''Entertainment Weekly'' and a frequent guest on ''Creator/Today'', served as a guest host in the summer of 2007. Karger would go on to become one of the hosts for Creator/TurnerClassicMovies.

** During their 1988 Oscars show, Siskel asserted that Anthony Hopkins was the only actor who could portray Hannibal Lecter, prompting Ebert to agree by stating that someone named Creator/BrianCox had already done it, and no one knew who he was.

*** Similarly, during their review of ''Film/ThePinkPanther2006'', Roger noted how Hollywood was going through a season of remakes, followed by a disgusted "ugh!" from Richard. They had no idea how much ''more'' prevalent this would become in the [=2010s=] and beyond.

* AudienceAlienatingEra: The "Two Bens" era of ''At the Movies'' is widely considered the low-point of the show's history, being set up to revise the show for a younger audience following the departure of Roeper as host and Ebert as producer, but falling tremendously flat. [[ReplacementScrappy Not only was the chemistry between Ben Mankiewicz and Ben Lyons nowhere near as interesting as that of their predecessors]], as well as there being more extraneous gimmicks like interviews and opening nights, much criticism was levied specifically against Ben Lyons, [[WTHCastingAgency who was not a film critic and demonstrated a lack of knowledge in the field]], making the show feel disingenuous and out of touch (Lyons was primarily a celebrity news reporter, with many seeing him getting chummy with popular actors and doling out positive quotes that were transparently meant for use in movie promotions being moves to increase his own profile despite being a massive conflict of interests). Ratings plummeted during their tenure, and while the two were booted after one season and replaced with the better-received A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips, the damage was already done and the ratings stayed where they were, leading to the show getting the axe.