TV & VIDEO - Oct. 3, 1988

From our Trial Balloon Testing Department: Merv Griffin Enterprises and King World, the people who bring you “Jeopardy!” each weeknight, are considering inviting the four presidential and vice-presidential candidates to appear on the program before the election. Commented one official from King World, the show’s distributor: “A ‘Jeopardy!’ match will give voters the opportunity to see the candidates in a stressful, demanding situation . . . the ideal forum to expose candidates to the largest possible audience.” As of Sunday, the four campaign staffs behind Gov. Michael Dukakis (D-Mass.), Vice President George Bush, Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.) and Sen. Dan Quayle (R-Ind.) had not exactly trampled each other to respond to the invitation.