My Summer Lair Chapter #292: Do You Miss Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert?
This My Summer Lair episode requires a DeLorean because we’re going back to November 26, 1975.
Sneak Previews (originally called Opening Soon…at a Theater Near You), was a film review show created by WTTW, a PBS member station in Chicago. WTTW stood for…Window To The World. That would prove to be prophetically accurate with this first episode the station broadcast.
Sneak Previews was a film review TV show featuring two newspaper critics who presented short clips of movies in current release and then debated the movie’s merits (or lack of) while energetically defending their remarks if the other critic disagreed. (“I love watching the bald guy argue with the fat tub of lard.” A Homer Simpson quote that summed up the appeal of Siskel & Ebert.)
Of course those two critics and TV hosts were: Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. Over time the TV show would evolve, the name would change, they left PBS but at its core it remained Siskel & Ebert discussing and debating the week’s latest releases.
Initially, the show’s rating system was Yes and No. Thumbs-Up/Thumbs-Down wouldn’t be introduced until 1982. I learned those Fun Facts because my guest Matt Singer has written: Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever.
From the title…this part seems aggressive: “How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever.” As you’ll hear in my conversation with Matt, Siskel & Ebert truly did change the movies. Obviously, the elegant shorthand Thumbs-Up/Thumbs-Down.
However, the use of clips decades before YouTube and easier online access is notable. One of the fascinating aspects of growing up in the ’80s is that I rarely if ever saw trailers for beloved movies. Breakfast Club, Terminator, RoboCop, Rocky, Beverly Hills Cop, Back To The Future…I don’t know how these movies came into my life. I never saw a trailer and decided to check em out based on the marketing. What prompted me to take a chance on them? No clue.
So, yes: Opposable Thumbs is a biography of the enduring film criticism TV show. It’s a highly recommended read. And equally fascinating because it documents an era―our era―that’s mostly gone now. This is how Siskel & Ebert’s TV show became an established cultural institution influencing TV (especially ESPN), film criticism, film marketing and so much more.
And taste. Matt used used the word taste 13 times in Opposable Thumbs. Like, yo: Siskel & Ebert gave Speed 2: Cruise Control Two Thumbs Up. Bad taste? Also curious for this episode: how does film criticism age compared to the actual movie?
Opposable Thumbs goes behind-the-scenes with many of the people responsible for the TV show in its numerous incarnations. Matt’s compelling biography reveals a wealth of stories about various high noon showdowns between the hosts and experimental TV gimmicks. (Like Stinker of the Week, a terrible movie section where they added a third co-host on set: a live skunk. Hah, that stinks.)
With so much to unpack and so much history to visit, I start the MSL conversation in the ’70s with Gene Siskel’s startling mustache.
Matt Singer @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Tuesday June 4, 2024 at 11:00 am (EST)
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