tv death... it's catching...

So reports are starting to circulate today as filming is wrapping up on the Law and Order: Criminal Intent season nine opener (air date still very much up in the air) ...  that one of the three departing stars ... D'Onofrio, Erbe, or Bogosian, is being killed off.

Backlash against the fluffers who sent marshmallow fluff to the set protesting the perceived bias of the USA Networks towards lighter fare?

Probably not... but you do have to wonder for at least a second whether all that silliness got up  somebody's nose.

Will Eames follow after her late lamented Santa mug?
Will someone put Bobby out of his epic manpain angst?
Will Captain Ross get tossed to the lions as the most junior member of the triumvirate, causing him to drop the Coke can soldered to his hand?

No doubt there will be leaks. They try hard to re-cast repeaters as they did during the 'Roy Scheider is Bobby's serial killer Father on death row while Rita Moreno is his mother on her deathbed' episode "Endgame." But surely someone will blab to the wrong person.

Let's all just take a moment to empathize with Jeff Goldblum's character Zach Nichols who will be left standing in the rubble, with a new, as yet unconfirmed partner and no boss. For a character with a back story that includes leaving the police force after 9/11 to find himself ... and is Danny Ross' old partner. Way to transfer the manpain there USA...

Its sounding more like Torchwood every day...