In this excerpt from The Ringer’s narrative podcast sequences’ Gene and Roger, ’ Brian Raftery examines the Siskel and Ebert effect on cinema criticism–and the many shows that tried to copy their acquire formula
When Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert first teamed up in the ’7 0s , no one had seen–or heard–anything fairly like them before. But throughout the ’8 0s, the small screen would become full of movie commentators trying to imitate Gene and Roger’s style–and replicate their success.
Whenever Gene and Roger became forestalled with their hassle, or their foremen, they’d simply take their business elsewhere. It happened in 1982 when, after growing miserable with PBS–the company that had propelled their TV careers–Gene and Roger ratified a syndication deal with Tribune Entertainment. And it happened again a few years later, when they fled Tribune and landed million-dollar contracts with Walt Disney’s television division to start a brand-new see, which would eventually be named Siskel& Ebert.
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