At the Movies
Absolute Power/That Darn Cat/Fools Rush In/Johns
TV Flash files “Absolute Power/That Darn Cat/Fools Rush In/Johns” as hour 490 of 616 in the TV Flash guide — At the Movies (1982–1990) on Syndication, season 11, episode 24, aired 1997-02-15, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S11E24: listed hour 490 of 616 in the At the Movies guide, hour 24 of 52 in season 11. It aired 1997-02-15 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Dante's Peak/SubUrbia/The Beautician and the Beast/Rosewood/The Whole Wide World” (S11E23). Next is “The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition/When We Were Kings/Blood & Wine/Lost Highway/Margaret's Museum” (S11E25). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Viewer FAQ
Where does Absolute Power/That Darn Cat/Fools Rush In/Johns sit in the At the Movies guide?
S11E24 is listed hour 490 of 616 — hour 24 of 52 in season 11, season 11 episode 24.
When did At the Movies S11E24 air?
Absolute Power/That Darn Cat/Fools Rush In/Johns aired 1997-02-15 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 11
- S11E01 Bogus/The Big Squeeze/Bulletproof/The Trigger Effect/The Island of Dr. Moreau
- S11E02 American Buffalo/Fly Away Home/Feeling Minnesota/The Rich Man's Wife/Grace of My Heart/The Wife
- S11E03 The First Wives Club/Big Night/Surviving Picasso/Last Man Standing/Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
- S11E04 Extreme Measures/Secrets & Lies/2 Days in the Valley/Caught/Ed's Next Move
- S11E05 That Thing You Do!/Bound/Michael Collins/Infinity/If These Walls Could Talk
- S11E06 The Chamber/The Ghost and the Darkness/The Long Kiss Goodnight/Looking for Richard/Freeway