Heffernan a Big-'Game' Hunter

It seems like NYTimes TV critic Virginia Heffernan went out of her way to take a poke at former colleague Neil Strauss in a review of VH1’s The Pick-Up Artist today. The reality show is centered around a gent named Mystery, who’s mastered the art of picking up women through a method known as "The Game."

Heff cites the book midway through her review, then tacks on what looks like a gratuitous dig. "Neil Strauss, a former reporter and critic for The New York Times, chronicled Mystery’s methods and adventures in his best seller The Game. He was also won over to the technique, and used it to seduce women himself."

Maybe it’s just me, but when I read that last line, the opening bars of "You’re So Vain" kept running through my head.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.