''At the Movies'' (also known as ''At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert'') is an American movie review

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

that aired from 1982 to 1990. It was produced by

Tribune Entertainment Tribune Entertainment (formerly Mid-America Video Tape Productions, WGN Continental Productions, Tribune Productions and Tribune Entertainment Company) was a television production and broadcast syndication company owned and operated by Tribune Br ...

and was created by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert when they left their show '' Sneak Previews'', which they began on Chicago's

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

station, WTTW, in 1975.

Background

For ''At the Movies'', Siskel and Ebert adopted the same format they had used in their previous series, '' Sneak Previews'': two critics from opposing newspapers view clips from the week's new movies, discuss them, then pass judgment expressed in thumbs up (to approve) or thumbs down (not worth seeing). During this run, they would adopt several elements that would make the show lively. For example, they would bring on an animal called "Spot the Wonder Dog" to help lead into a segment called "The Dog of the Week," covering the week's worst movie. Later, they used another animal, "Aroma the Educated Skunk." Siskel and Ebert would also occasionally feature an "X-Ray segment," in which they discussed current trends happening in the movies. None of these features were carried over when Siskel and Ebert left Tribune/PBS in 1986 over a contract dispute and created ''

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies ''At the Movies'' (originally ''Siskel & Ebert & the Movies'', and later ''At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper'') is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share the ...

'' with

Buena Vista Television Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Rex Reed Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for '' The New York Observer''. Early life Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wo ...

and Bill Harris, the latter a gossip correspondent for '' Entertainment Tonight'' (''ET''). Under Reed and Harris, the show expanded beyond movie reviews, adding

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

news and gossip. Harris left in 1988 and was replaced by former '' ET'' host

Dixie Whatley Dixie Whatley is an American television personality, an early co-host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program '' Entertainment Tonight'' during 1981–1982. After Mary Hart took over as co-anchor in 1982, Whatley continue ...

References

External links

* 1982 American television series debuts 1990 American television series endings English-language television shows Film criticism television series First-run syndicated television programs in the United States Gene Siskel Roger Ebert Television series by Tribune Entertainment Siskel and Ebert {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub