Sneak Previews

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Sneak Previews
Title card from Sneak Previews.
Also known as	Opening Soon at a Theater Near You (1975–1977)
Genre	Film review
Presented by	Roger Ebert (1975-1982) Gene Siskel (1975-1982) Neal Gabler (1983-1985) Jeffrey Lyons (1983-1996) Michael Medved (1985-1996)
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	1975 – 1996
External links
IMDb profile

Sneak Previews is an American film review show that ran for two decades. It first aired on WTTW, a PBS television station in Chicago, Illinois, and found national airing as other PBS affiliates added the program to their schedules.

1 Opening Soon at a Theater Near You
2 Format
- 2.1 Take 2 shows
3 Post-Siskel and Ebert
- 3.1 Cancellation
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Opening Soon at a Theater Near You

Title card from Opening Soon at a Theater Near You.

The show first aired in 1975 with the name Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, and after two successful seasons, was renamed to Sneak Previews.^[1] The show originally featured Roger Ebert, a film critic from the Chicago Sun-Times and Gene Siskel, a film critic from the Chicago Tribune.

[edit] Format

The format of the program had the two critics review recently released films. The review would end with the each critic providing a simple positive or negative rating for the film. The Dog of the Week, was a segment shown near the end of the program having Siskel and Ebert reviewing their choice for the week's worst movie. The Dog of the Week was generally a humorous review of a B-Movie that otherwise would garner little public attention, but on occasion would be a major studio release.

The episodes ended with the phrase "Until next week, save us the aisle seats."

[edit] Take 2 shows

Some episodes were known as Take 2 shows which replaced the review of recently released films with themed topics such as "Women in Danger", and slasher films of the 1970s and early 1980s. On one occasion, Siskel and Ebert invited the viewer into a day in their lives as they screened films.

[edit] Post-Siskel and Ebert

Siskel and Ebert left Sneak Previews in 1982, citing contractual differences with the PBS station. They indicated that they were offered a contract and asked to "take it or leave it", and they chose the latter option. WTTW quickly searched for replacements, and signed Neal Gabler and Jeffrey Lyons. Neal Gabler left Sneak Previews in 1985, citing philosophical differences with the direction of the show,^{[citation needed]} and was replaced by Michael Medved.

[edit] Cancellation

Sneak Previews was unable to sustain its popularity after the departure of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. PBS continued to air the show until the 1995-1996 season, and then cancelled it.