“Two Thumbs Up” was the shorthand for a positive verdict on the movie-review program hosted by Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper. This guide focuses on their era within a series that changed names and hosts over time—not on an official collection of favorite reviews. The surviving online archive spans multiple incarnations of the program, and its coverage of early episodes is incomplete.
What “Two Thumbs Up” meant
On the program, each critic gave a film a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. When both critics approved, the combined verdict was “Two Thumbs Up.” The Television Academy describes the phrase as a distinctive feature of the Siskel and Ebert years and says the Siskel and Ebert families held the trademark. The shorthand was dropped after Ebert left the program. Television Academy: Ebert & Roeper
The phrase is closely associated with the show’s broader legacy, but it should not be taken as the name of a verified Ebert-and-Roeper review collection.
When Roeper joined Ebert
Richard Roeper joined Roger Ebert in 2000, after the death of Ebert’s longtime co-host Gene Siskel. Ebert and Roeper were one pairing in a longer-running program lineage. The show changed names over its history, including At the Movies and At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper. Television Academy: Roger Ebert
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
The Television Academy says the final episode of the series aired on August 14, 2010. A later version launched on public television in January 2011 and went on indefinite hiatus in December 2011. Those dates describe distinct stages of the program, rather than an uninterrupted Ebert-and-Roeper run. Television Academy: Ebert & Roeper
What the archive contains—and what it does not
In 2012, Ebert described an archive covering “more than 1,000 TV programs” and “more than 5,000 movies” reviewed across the show’s various incarnations. These are separate counts: one measures programs, the other films. They are not totals for Ebert and Roeper episodes alone. Roger Ebert, “Siskel & Ebert & Roeper archived”
Rank #2
- Used Book in Good Condition
The archive was built so visitors could search and watch past reviews and debates, including by movie title. Ebert also wrote that older tapes were being digitized, but many earlier programs had not survived. As he put it, “Television lived for today’s program, not yesterday’s.” The archive is therefore a valuable record, not a complete run of every episode. Roger Ebert, “Siskel & Ebert & Roeper archived”
How to interpret a review or recording
- Check the hosts: Ebert and Roeper reviews belong to one chapter in a series that also featured other pairings.
- Check the program name and period: The titles changed, so a listing under At the Movies may belong to a different point in the show’s history.
- Check the verdict format: “Two Thumbs Up” refers to both critics approving; it is not a general label for every positive review.
- Check availability: A missing recording does not establish that a particular review never aired; the archive’s early coverage is incomplete.
Further reading on the show’s history
Matt Singer’s Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever is a broader history of the critics’ partnership and their television program. It is useful context, but it is not a collection specifically devoted to Ebert and Roeper’s positive reviews. Penguin Random House: Opposable Thumbs
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
