Gotcha

In the third TV Sweeps week, it looks like the local ratings battle is developing into a two-way titillation contest between Channels 2 and 7. 2's taking a weeklong look at L.A. dating ("Checking out the Meet Market"). Reporter Steve Kmetko asks, "What's being served up in the Southland single scene? Are shoppers getting what they want?"

American General Life Insurance Co. markets its policies as protection for "the hopes and dreams of American families" ? a promise Ian Weissberger took to heart during his losing battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. But after the Cathedral City mortgage broker died in 2005, American General cancelled his life insurance policy and refused to pay his widow the $250,000 benefit. The Weissbergers' premiums were paid up. There was no foul play suspected. There was no question Sheila Weissberger was the widow and sole beneficiary.

Before his ascension to Oscar-sanctioned respectability with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "The Social Network," David Fincher was a cult filmmaker par excellence. "Se7en" (1995) and "Fight Club" (1999) quickly entered the fanboy pantheon, but it was the thriller he made in between, "The Game" (1997), that is perhaps most overdue for reappraisal. Widely dismissed (and not without reason) as a gimmicky prank at the time of its release, Fincher's third feature has just been issued on DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection.

Some people can't take a hint. First, Inglewood police warned owners of liquor stores in the city that a sting operation would send underage booze buyers into their stores. They offered free training about what to do when a minor tries to buy alcohol. In May, a crew of teen-agers visited 54 stores and tried to buy the beverages. The decoys, ages 17 to 19, were not allowed to present false identification. They even told the truth if a store employee asked their ages.

I ONCE KNEW a reporter who went to jail for weeks for refusing to reveal his source. He didn't get a million-dollar book deal out of it. His bosses didn't take him out for a martini and a massage when he got sprung after 46 days in the slammer. He died at age 52, a regular old shoe-leather reporter. Because of what he did, Californians enshrined the reporter shield law in the state Constitution.

Films by several legendary directors arrive today on DVD. After working as a cameraman and co-director for underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, Louis Malle made his self-assured feature film directorial debut with the gripping 1957 romantic thriller "Elevator to the Gallows" (Criterion, $40).