Sneak Previews

Before the Thumbs, There was Yes and No. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert Were both on the Fence of Annie 1982, but gave it a Yes. Gene Siskel Roger Ebert two Men that knew how to do a Review This gets My TM S for Satisfactory.

When this first aired on a local PBS station in Chicago along with many PBS stations in 1975, it became a huge hit and coined the prhase Two Thumbs up!!! The show would go on into syndication on network TV under Disney and became the most popular movie review show of all time, paving the way for rivals and even Youtube critics and a cartoon parody starring Jon Lovitz.

I first saw this show in late 1980 when Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were reviewing the worst movies of 1980. I was immediately impressed by their chemistry and charm and by their approach to reviewing films. I grew up reading Pauline Kael's reviews, and I'm certain that she hated every movie she ever saw. However, Siskel and Ebert were willing to watch and review movies in a different light and even though they often disagreed, they were always entertaining and refreshing. The team sadly came to an end with Gene Siskel's untimely death in 1999, but Roger Ebert continued with his insightful reviews until his passing about 12 years later. In retrospect, I took this show and its charming leads for granted back in the 1980s and 1990s, since no film review show since has even come close.

In the mid 1970's, public television station WTTW/Chicago wanted to do a movie review program which was unheard of at the time. This show was called "Coming Soon to a Theater near You" and it paired two movie critics from two rival newspapers in Chicago. Gene Siskel from the Tribune and Roger Ebert of the Sun-Times.

Coming Soon... started out as a local show for WTTW, but the show's popularity caught the attention of PBS, who wanted to distribute the show nationally. Coming Soon... changed its name to "Sneak Previews" and the rest is history.

Siskel and Ebert would discuss the current movies that were playing and one of the best parts of their show is where they disagree on film in which one liked and the other lumped it. Keep in mind however that their trademark "Thumbs Up/Down" was not used here. Rather they used a basic Yes/No regarding their take on the movies. For example when recapping the movies you would see a Yes or No on screen and who said. Something like, Ebert: Yes, Siskel: Yes. Not as great as "Two Thumbs Up" but you get the drift.

Siskel and Ebert had a very strong following. A little too strong however and the two had to grow and to do that they had to move to commercial TV. WTTW remained committed to the show and brought in Neal Gabler and Jeffery Lyons to review the movies. In 1985 Gabler was replaced by Michael Medved who brought a conservative slant on the movies.

Sneak Previews had difficulties trying to reclaim its popularity without Siskel & Ebert. It switched to cable and back to PBS in mid 80's. In the late 80's/early 90's Sneak Previews switched its focus on movies on home video rather than at the theater, and then going back to the original format more/less before Sneak Previews ended its run for good in 1996.

Lyons and Medved were critics in their own right, and conservative thinking people that wanted a different slant on the movies had Medved on their side. However that was not enough to keep the show going.

If anything Sneak Previews brought the ideal of movie review shows to the little screen. Without Sneak Previews their would not be a "Siskel & Ebert."

"Sneak Previews" debuted in the fall of 1978 on PBS and I'm happy to say I was pretty much there from the beginning. I didn't see its debut show but I do recall watching them preview,"Concorde:Airport '79". Boy did they skewer that one! I went and saw it just the same.

Roger Ebert and the now,late Gene Siskel were a perfect team up. They could get into slightly heated discussions about the movies they reviewed but never let it become a blow to their egos.

I could make a list of all the movies I watched them review together,both on this and "At The Movies" (which was later just "Siskel & Ebert")but it would be too long. I will say that recently I rented a documentary movie that they championed & campaigned for in 1994 (on "At the Movies". That of course is,"Hoop Dreams". Which as we know The Academy Awards did not bestow an Oscar on.

Roger & Gene's various discussions of that movie are on that DVD as extras. I can honestly say,that was truly their finest moments together. Not just as movie critics but as experts,who were more in touch with movie goers than the Oscar Academy. Hard to watch and realize that,this was 12 years ago and how much of an absence is really felt with Gene Siskel being gone.

Here's to the professionalism of Roger Ebert & Gene Siskel and Sneak Previews,that made it safe to go to the movies again and not waste one's money.

Which is the most important lesson I learned watching Snaek Prviews and their later shows. (END)