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Somebody & Someone: Ebert & Roeper leave TV
When I read this afternoon that both Roger Ebert AND Richard Roeper had left the show that bears their name, I was struck by how sad I didn’t feel.
The show hadn’t been relevant in a long time, and I can tell you the exact date it stopped being relevant: Feb. 20, 1999, the day Gene Siskel died.
I don’t want to come down too hard on Roeper, an eminently decent man and a good writer - but he was simply never a movie guy. He was always the eager young cadet to Ebert’s seasoned old pro, whereas Siskel and Ebert were equals. Once that chemistry was gone, there was no recapturing it, no matter who sat in those theater seats.
Quite frankly, since Ebert was laid low by health issues that left him unable to speak, I’m surprised the show has lasted this long.
There’s some speculation about what kind of show might take its place. I’ve heard more than one person suggest that film writers David Poland (Movie City News) and Jeffrey Wells (Hollywood Elsewhere) have a show. These two know their movies, and they have a long-standing rivalry, just like Siskel and Ebert had, particularly in their early days.
Still, I think the chances of getting those two together are not much better than a snowball’s in Hades. Poland, in particular, seems to have no love lost for Wells, recently remarking on his blog: “I have no idea what Jeff is up to. I don’t read him, don’t talk to him. Last time I heard about him, he was still banned by a bunch of studios for incredibly bad behavior.”
After Poland got married recently, Wells shot off this missive: “When I was sick with possible blood poisoning a year and a half or two years ago Poland left a ‘get well’ phone message, so it seemed okay and symmetrical to send him a ‘congratulations and good for you’ e-mail a few months ago when I heard he was moving in a marital direction. Poland being Poland, he ignored it.”
The more pressing question to me is, do we even NEED TV for critics? Who turns to TV for reviews anymore, especially when the Internet gives us instant access to everyone from a legend like Andrew Sarris to little guys like me? I would be willing to bet a lot of people didn’t even know an Ebert and Roeper show was still on the air. (For all intents and purposes, it wasn’t.)
What do you think?
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Other critics
Comments
By SRCputt
July 22, 2008 3:54 PM | Link to this
UPDATE: Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz have been hired to continue the show. I’ll call the show Mankiewicz and Moron because Lyons is a poor excuse for a reviewer. And there is no way I will watch it.By SRCputt
July 22, 2008 7:00 AM | Link to this
What a review show needs is two guys who are equal footing. I think the personalities of Wells and Poland would be the most intertaining, but another I would enjoy watching would be the New York Times writers AO Scott (who guested plenty for Ebert) and Manohla Dargis. That’s two smart writers who I enjoy reading.By Rob
July 21, 2008 5:48 PM | Link to this
I am kind of intrigued by Roeper’s statement that he would go on to co-host a movie review show upholding the original Siskel and Ebert standards and Ebert’s “the ‘thumbs’ will return” statement. I kind of wonder if this isn’t just an effort on the part of both Ebert and Roeper to get out from under Disney’s thumb and make the show the way they want to make it. I fully expect to see Roeper once again giving a “Thumb Up” to films soon.By Rich
July 21, 2008 5:38 PM | Link to this
To be totally honest, I haven’t watched the show in years either — mostly because of the terrible time slots where it was dumped, as well as the its less-than-stellar hosts recently. It’s sad that a program ABOUT movies can’t find a niche any longer. Roeper was quoted in another news story published today that Disney was toying with idea of converting the show into another celebrity/showbiz/glitz program, like ALL the others already on the air. As if we need another one? Uh, no.By Allie D.
July 21, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this
I watched Ebert & Roeper for Ebert. I do like Richard Roeper for the same reasons as you, but not for his movie stuff. I do think he’s improved a good bit over the years, but I still don’t look at him as a movie guy. I would watch the show from time to time with the guest critics, but generally I would skip it. Do I need a TV film critic? Absolutely not. I don’t read very many critics anyway. I can generally get what I need from the aggregates. I read Ebert and I read you. I figure if I can’t get the insight I need on a film from you two, then there is something wrong. lol