One of my Sunday morning rituals... to be gone

For the last 10-15 years, I usually do two things, without fail: watch CBS Sunday Morning; and watch At the Movies. Last week, an announcement came - At the Movies is being canceled.

A colossal disappointment to me and I've been very vocal about not allowing critics to dictate people's movie choices, namely mine. I came to this conclusion last year because the two Bens were at the helm, plus I exposed myself to Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB way too much. But I fixed part of the issue by not camping out at RT and IMDB and the powers that be at Disney took care of the other problems. And now, it looks like Disney think that they are fixing things by canceling At the Movies altogether, but per usual, Disney went a bit too far.

Disney were idiots to not negotiate with Roger Ebert to keep the thumps up/down rating system and they were definitely idiots for hiring the smarmy, much too green Bens, and having a panel of critics discussing films like it was a lightning round on a game show. Yes, Disney was very stupid. But the one thing they got right was hiring A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips, who did manage to recapture some of Siskel and Ebert's chemistry. Sure, they were within the league of Ebert and Roeper, but it was good enough and certainly, compelling enough to watch.

The time to cancel the show was when Ebert finally had to bow out. Not to take anything away from Richard Roeper, since he didn't do anything wrong, but Ebert was the last vestige of the Siskel and Ebert brand. His presence was reassuring to people. But with him gone and Disney's stubbornness about trying to keep some trace of the Siskel and Ebert legacy (read: the thumbs up/down), At the Movies became just another movie review show... for a time. I truly believe that Scott and Phillip could've made a successful go of it, if given a legitimate chance.

Disney, of all companies, should've understood how certain components can solidify a brand. How many years have 'When You Wish Upon a Star' been their signature song? And if that wasn't enough of an example (although it should've been), they could look at my other favorite, CBS Sunday Morning. That show suffered a huge blow when Charles Kuralt died, but they took their time and found a suitable replacement in Charles Osgood. And most importantly, they retained the show's identity by not changing the opening credits too much and keeping the trumpet fanfare. That trumpet fanfare is part of CBS Sunday Morning's identity, and although they rerecord the fanfare every few years, it retains its integrity.

Subtle things like this is important to people. I only wished that, along the way, Disney would've recognized this and treated At the Movies with the respect that it deserved.

Well, at least I have it until August.