At the Movies
Why Gump? Why Now?
TV Flash files “Why Gump? Why Now?” as hour 372 of 616 in the TV Flash guide — At the Movies (1982–1990) on Syndication, season 9, episode 2, aired 1994-09-17, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S09E02: listed hour 372 of 616 in the At the Movies guide, hour 2 of 46 in season 9. It aired 1994-09-17 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Quiz Show/Milk Money/A Simple Twist of Fate/A Good Man in Africa/What Happened Was...” (S09E01). Next is “The Shawshank Redemption/Timecop/Terminal Velocity/The New Age/Blue Sky” (S09E03). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Viewer FAQ
Where does Why Gump? Why Now? sit in the At the Movies guide?
S09E02 is listed hour 372 of 616 — hour 2 of 46 in season 9, season 9 episode 2.
When did At the Movies S09E02 air?
Why Gump? Why Now? aired 1994-09-17 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is this the same as Sneak Previews?
Related Chicago-critics lineage; this syndicated 1982–1990 run (under various official titles) is the thumbs-as-shorthand era people mean by At the Movies. Balcony, barbs, mass criticism.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Two thumbs up: Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert turn newspaper rivalry into appointment film talk — balcony seats, clipped verdicts, and fights that were half the entertainment. Syndication made serious criticism mass. The argument as format: two Chicago men teaching America it was allowed to have taste, and to disagree on camera.
The balcony is the silhouette. Syndicated 1982–1990 under various official titles: Chicago critics debate new releases with clips, barbs, and binary thumb verdicts — two thumbs up, newspaper rivals as appointment film talk. At the Movies is Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as celebrity critics: balcony seats, clipped verdicts, fights that were half the entertainment. The thumbs system became cultural shorthand. Serious criticism made mass. The argument as format. *Balcony as civic furniture, a thumb as the accessory…
Filed against
- Gene Siskel as Host/critic
Gene Siskel turned newspaper rivalry into appointment film talk on At the Movies — balcony seats, clipped verdicts, and fights that were half the entertainment. Two thumbs as a national grammar. TV Flash files him as 1980s syndication…
- Roger Ebert as Host/critic
Roger Ebert turned At the Movies into appointment film talk with Gene Siskel — two thumbs up, balcony seats, clipped verdicts, fights that were half the entertainment. Newspaper rivalry as syndication. TV Flash files him as 1980s…
Also in season 9
- S09E01 Quiz Show/Milk Money/A Simple Twist of Fate/A Good Man in Africa/What Happened Was...
- S09E03 The Shawshank Redemption/Timecop/Terminal Velocity/The New Age/Blue Sky
- S09E04 The River Wild/Jason's Lyric/Ed Wood/The Scout/Rapa Nui
- S09E05 Only You/Second Best/Pulp Fiction
- S09E06 Love Affair/Wes Craven's New Nightmare/Exit to Eden/Hoop Dreams/The Specialist/Little Giants
- S09E07 Radioland Murders/I Like It Like That/Bullets Over Broadway/Imaginary Crimes/Clerks