I can’t help but feel sad watching this knowing it would be the last time these two old pros would work together, Gene fought a hard fight and his illness was obvious to even casual viewers at this point. I can’t believe it’s been twelve years, RIP Gene.

Yes, it’s really a sad moment on hindsight. But didn’t Gene "phone in" his reviews from his hospital bed in later shows? So technically this wasn’t his last show, but only his last show on camera. If anyone has those phoned-in reviews please upload them since I don’t have them.

If I recall correctly he did those shows earlier in the season then came back to the show on set, looking at an episode guide it appears that they used guest hosts from this point forward.

Gene called in some of his reviews in 1998. Roger said Gene would take the rest of the season off after the January 23 1999 show. I have that somewhere along with Gene calling in in that same location in my pile. I will try to have them up soon.

Sure, it is heartbreaking to see Gene this concentrated not to make a mistake throughout this show but on the other side, he left a legacy behind that is unparalleled in the world of film criticism. And that counts a lot more in the long run than the disease to which he succumbed.

R.I.P. Gene Siskel.

I actually just found which reviews Gene phoned in: "The Opposite of Sex" and "The Last Days of Disco." You can find them on YouTube, but I’d like to see the entire episode.

I have them buried in a box.No timeline yet when they will make it on this site. Slowly getting there!

This was awful enough,but now even Roger cannot speak on camera any longer. Always knew these two were two of a kind and to this day no one has emerged to even come close. Thankfully at least Roger survived his battle and can at least still be read online.

The amazing thing about Ebert is his reviews are sharper than ever.

@videogoodies, Actually that was a year earlier when he first started treatment for the brain tumor. This was after this show, he’d check himself in the hospital again, and then sadly die from complications of brain surgery.

Amazing to think these two unlikely ’stars’ would create one of the best movie review shows of all time.

Their chemistry together was unbelievable, which is why, I guess, they ended up becoming the ’rock stars’ of their profession.

So sad that those days are now gone forever......

You can notice that Gene’s speech has been affected by his rehab treatment. There’s a slight lisp, and it’s slower & more deliberate than usual. Roger has said that Gene needed his nephew to escort & seat him during some of their final screenings & tapings that they mutually attended/taped.

> But didn’t Gene "phone in" his reviews from his hospital bed in later shows?

He did immediately after having surgery in the spring/summer of 98, then he returned for some shows in the 98-99 season. Right after they had announced that he would take the rest of the season off, he passed away.

I had heard him tell the joke about the two goats in the past. He acted like it was on old favorite of his. It looks like he made it a point to work it into his final review.

I had really wished gene would’ve lived just one more year cause 1999 was truly one the best years for movies ever! I really would’ve like to see what he thought of films like: being john malkovich, sixth sense, topsy-turvy, eyes wide shut, fight club, star wars the phatom menace, all about my mother, american beauty, magnolia, three kings, toy story 2, south park bigger longer and uncut, green mile, austin powers, american movie, iron giant, cookie’s fortune, straight story, election, american pie, the matrix, tarzan, boys don’t cry, the insider, talented mr ripley, blair witch project, bowfinger, office space,dogma, fantasia 2000, man on the moon,

I always considered this period not only when Gene died, but when Roger did as well.

As soon as Gene got sick, Roger totally dulled his edge because he couldn’t spar with Gene as he had in the past.

After Gene passed away, Roger never got that edge back IMO. When Roper joined, you always got this impression that Ebert was up on a hill and Roeper wasn’t the same calibre film critic.

If recent history has shown us, magic like the type they shared, is hard to recreate.

who did the Breakout Stars episode with Roger if it wasn’t Gene?