Television: Dann v. Klein: The Best Game in Town

The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game are popular enough TV pastimes. But the most expensive, bitter and hilarious game of all is the one that the public never gets to see: the Rating Game. The rules are vague, the scoring is arbitrary, and the pawns are prime-time programs. Top network executives claim to have outgrown the game and have tried to call it off, but two of the all-time great competitors—CBS Senior Programming Vice President Michael Dann and NBC Audience Measurement Vice President Paul Klein—somehow did not give up the fight. The fascination lies not in who wins or loses...