The Morning Watch: Siskel & Ebert on Johnny Carson in 1986, The Layers of ‘Mad Men’ & More

Siskel and Ebert on Johnny Carson

The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.

In this edition, watch a throwback clip to an appearance by famed film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Plus, check out a video essay about Mad Men exploring how the show skillfully employs text, subtext, and symbolic imagery to emotionally sway the audience. And finally, Friends stars Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston talk to each other about The Morning Show and Space Force, and more.

First up, watch a throwback clip of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson back in 1986, along with fellow guest Chevy Chase. Two of the most famous film critics ever talk about whether it’s easier to review a comedy or a drama, share some playful jabs with Chevy Chase and his performances, and have some good laughs.

Next up, Lessons from the Screenplay is back with a video essay looking at the many layers of meaning in the Emmy-winning drama series. Specifically, this essay focuses on the first season finale, “The Wheel,” to uncover how Don Draper utilizes all the meaning-making tools at his disposal to make a sale, even as the show’s creators use those same tools to evoke a response in us.

Finally, Friends stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow both had new shows this year in the form of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show and Netflix’s Space Force respectively. In this hour-long discussion for Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, they talk about their careers since Friends, the aforementioned new shows, and how each of them worked with Steve Carell.

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