WITH another Oscar weekend upon us, it’s worth asking: Whatever happened to movie criticism on TV?

Once upon a time, full-time critics – who delivered reviews on movies and theater – were staples of local news. But today, there seems to be fewer of them.

Here’s a quick inventory:

WPIX/Ch. 11 doesn’t have one. Neither does WNYW/Ch. 5.

WABC/Ch. 7 shares one – Joel Siegel, 61 – with ABC’s national morning show, “Good Morning America.” And, of course, Gene Shalit, 72, has been doing movie reviews on NBC’s “Today” show since 1968.

Pat Collins does reviews on WWOR/Ch. 9, but she also doubles as an entertainment reporter.

WCBS/Ch. 2 has a stringer from People magazine – Jess Cagle (whose age is a closely guarded secret) – who reviews the weekend’s big movies on Friday’s 5 p.m. news.

Cable’s New York 1 News has full-time critic, Neil Rosen.

But of the broadcast stations, only WNBC/Ch. 4 has a full-timer – Jeffrey Lyons – who also handles theater reviews.

“I’m thrilled there aren’t more movie critics on TV,” said Lyons, who is a youthful 60 years old.

Back when he started, on Ch. 11 in 1970, he said, “It was pretty competitive.”

Remember Len Harris, Dennis Cunningham, Pia Lindstrom and Stewart Klein? These were just some of the critics viewers depended on to guide them toward the best movie and Broadway offerings, and away from the worst.

Critics on local TV might seem less visible to some because they are rarely seen anymore on the 11 p.m. news – except for occasional reviews of Broadway openings.

“I don’t know that it went out of fashion,” said Dianne Doctor, senior vice president and news director of Ch. 2. “Maybe you’re not seeing it as much.”

Today, the movie critics are generally seen on the 5 p.m. newscasts. And only toward the end of the week – sometimes Thursday, but mostly Friday.

Ch. 4’s Lyons might be the most visible of all of them. He’s seen Thursdays and Fridays on “Live At Five,” and Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings.

But the era of the movie critic on TV is not quite over.

Ch. 2’s hiring last November of People magazine’s Cagle – who already contributed entertainment reports to CBS’s “Early Show” – represents a reversal of the trend.

“I don’t think there are enough critics, which is why we went out and hired Jess Cagle,” Doctor said.