I won't describe Roger Ebert as "the pre-eminent film critic" as that would lump him among such people as Pauline Kael, and I'm not sure that what he does fits him into that category. I doubt that Roger has ever entered into a detailed discussion of "auteur theory" in his entire career, for which I for one am truly grateful. I will however award him what I think is an accolade that describes what he does - he is North America's pre-eminent film reviewer. His work, both in the newspapers and on television, is both accessible to the average reader/viewer and more importantly gives his audience the information that we need to know to make decisions on the movies that we go to see. That's what Roger Ebert does so much better than just about any of his competition.

To me, Roger Ebert is still the preeminent film critic. Whenever a new film came out, I would check his review first. It's sad to see that he has been out of commission for so long.

I caught Ebert & Roeper last week, for the first time in a long time, and was wondering how he was doing. It sounds like he still has a long way to go and I wish him all the best.

I hope Roger is back really soon. He has been sorely missed. I too was wondering if his recovering was going ok or not? Glad to hear he is doing better.

I totally agree, I've missed him in that other seat. I've been a fan of his since the old PBS days, and if losing Siskel wasn't bad enough, his extended absence did nothing but make me wonder if he was really doing well or not. Glad to hear he is!