At the Movies
The Worst Films of 1997
TV Flash files “The Worst Films of 1997” as hour 538 of 616 in the TV Flash guide — At the Movies (1982–1990) on Syndication, season 12, episode 20, aired 1998-01-17, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S12E20: listed hour 538 of 616 in the At the Movies guide, hour 20 of 50 in season 12. It aired 1998-01-17 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Memo to the Academy - 1998” (S12E19). Next is “Spice World/Hard Rain/Fallen/The Gingerbread Man/Phantoms/Star Kid” (S12E21). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Worst Films of 1997 sit in the At the Movies guide?
S12E20 is listed hour 538 of 616 — hour 20 of 50 in season 12, season 12 episode 20.
When did At the Movies S12E20 air?
The Worst Films of 1997 aired 1998-01-17 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 12
- S12E01 Fire Down Below/In and Out/Julian Po/Bang
- S12E02 The Game/The End of Violence/L.A. Confidential/The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca
- S12E03 A Thousand Acres/The Myth of Fingerprints/Going All the Way/Waco: The Rules of Engagement/Gravesend/Fire
- S12E04 The Peacemaker/Soul Food/The Edge/The Ice Storm/The Assignment
- S12E05 Kiss the Girls/The Matchmaker/U Turn/The Locusts/Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
- S12E06 Seven Years in Tibet/RocketMan/Boogie Nights/Gang Related/Washington Square