The show that began as "Siskel & Ebert," then became "Ebert & Roeper" after Siskel died, is finally disappearing after limping along without the ailing Ebert for a couple of years:
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert says he's cutting ties with the television show that he and the late Gene Siskel made famous.
[. . .]
Ebert's announcement came a day after Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper said he was leaving the nationally syndicated show.
Roeper said in a statement Sunday that he had failed to agree on a contract extension with Disney-ABC Domestic Television so his last appearance on the show will air the weekend of August 16-17.
Sounds like it got a little ugly there at the end; too bad. I was a tremendous fan of the original incarnation of the show. It was a kick to watch two heartland guys become the most famous movie critics in the country, because they got such a kick out of arguing with each other over something they both loved. They managed to sound knowledgeable and passionate without coming across as pompous (or snobbish, Nance). I've always liked movies. Those two made me love them.
And they taught me something else, too, about how to disagree without being disagreeable, how to argue without being argumentative. I was just beginning as an editorial writer when I started watchting them, and they were more like my mentors than my mentors were. If only all who make a living dispensing opinions could be as cheerfully productive.
UPDATE: Commentary from the Los Angeles Times, which also includes a couple of clips from the Siskel & Ebert days.
