Ebert and company disappear in the dust

Word is breaking that the last vestiges of what once was a groundbreaking movie-criticism show, “Siskel and Ebert at the Movies,” has ceased to be.

Ebert, whose medical problems have kept him off the air for much of the past two years, broke with Disney-ABC Domestic Television – the company that had produced the latest incarnation of the show – after learning that Richard Roeper had already quit.

Roeper had kept the show alive with guest cohosts while Ebert dealt with his health.

Prepare yourself for an onslaught of stories about how bad this is, both for movie lovers and for the art of movie criticism itself. And there is good reason for such sadness. Because without even knowing for sure what “new direction” the company is planning to pursue, it’s safe enough to say that anything “new” is likely to be more Adam Sandler than Akira Kurosawa .

Dumbing down of the critical mind is just another sign of the times .