The Triumphant Return of 'At the Movies'

The show that Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel started in 1975 as "Opening Soon at a Theather Near You" and, in its most recent (and recently-canceled) incarnation, was called "At the Movies" featuring A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips, is set to return to public television. Roger Ebert announced yesterday on his blog that the show will be returning in January of 2011.

The new show will also include the return of the beloved, trademarked, and much-disputed Thumbs(tm) Up(tm) and Thumbs(tm) Down(tm) ratings. The Thumbs(tm) will be given out primarily by Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Elvis Mitchel of National Public Radio.

In addition to onscreen movie reviews, the new format for "At the Movies" will "expand into coverage of New Media, special segments on classics, on-demand viewing and genres, and an extended website." The show will be shot at WTTW in Chicago, and will be distributed nationwide by American Public Television. It will feature regular appearances by film bloggers Kim Morgan of Sunset Gun and Omar Moore of The Popcorn Reel.

Lemire, Mitchell, and Morgan have all previously appeared as guest co-hosts with Ebert on "At the Movies," in the period following Gene Siskel's death and before Ebert settled on Richard Roeper as his regular co-host. Since that time, Ebert has battled cancer and lost the use of his voice, but he still plans to appear on the new version of the show thanks to his custom computerized voice. These segments will be called "Roger's Office," and will be "devoted to classic, overlooked and new films."

A pilot for the new-format "At the Movies" was shot earlier this summer, and a sampling of that taping has been posted to YouTube:

I know I'm in a quickly-dwindling minority, but I've kept up with "At the Movies" over the years, through all the ups and downs and host changes (even during the often-painful Lyons-Mankiewicz period). This new format sounds like an interesting endeavor, and while I'm not sold on the idea just yet, I'll certainly give it a chance. Ebert has embraced "new media" in recent years—particularly following the loss of his voice—from his widely-read blog to his much-followed Twitter account, so I think he probably has a pretty good idea of what he's doing here.

The new hosts, while experienced in their own rights, will be new voices (and faces) to most of the show's viewership, which may be just what was needed. I think the concept of a weekly syndicated movie review show still has relevance, and with the modern spin this new incarnation of "Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies" is planning to take, it just may be able to reclaim an audience that's hungry for this type of thing. I know I'll be watching.

Comments

[rk]

Will we get to hear Ebert's nasty political propaganda and Sarah Palin rants? Because that's all his twitter feed is good for now. It's sad.