It has become quite clear that all three actors are being pushed out. Let's keep this thing rolling! We are going to bring the network back to the table and they are going to give us what we want, and the actors and their characters the RESPECT THAT THEY DESERVE!!!

I am printing out 40 more postcards and sending them. Tigger was kind enough to allow me to use her "fluff" signature for them!

Everyone,

please read the comment here by vincents sister. not sure if it's been shared yet...

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=31...43679&pli=1


(and probably also best to say - please dont turn that in to a huge deal, I doubt she really wants her blog being taken over by fans of her brother )

Well, that clears things up. it will be great to see him in other projects!!

Thank you for posting this!!

Well this sucks! this is my fave show and they are my 2 favorite actors , and quite frankly goldblume should have stayed with movies where his presence doesn't have to be noticed so much.

That's a little rude, it's not his fault, and JG is a great actor!

This has nothing to do with Goldblum. NBCU simply doesn't want to pay Mr. D'Onfrio and Ms. Erbe what they're worth. The pair were asked to take a 50% paycut. (meanwhile Meloni and Hagarity get 400,000 per episode) My advice to you LOCILVR1 is to use your anger in a positive way. Send email, postcards, and fluff if you aren't already. We can make a difference if we stick together!

I wonder how much they'll have to pay VDO and KE if next season's ratings are low and they are needed back on board

I'm STILL waiting for VINCENT to say it's his choice because his contract ended. My friend has sent the latest Auseillo reoprt thing to EDO, so, if she acknowledges it at all, and I wouldn't hold my breath, EDO tends to acknowledge her brother's existence when it suits her, it will be interesting to hear what she has to say to the charge that it's not Vincent's choice at all - and that's coming from someone who, however odious he is, has so far been right on the money with the 'news'.

I still say this whole thing isn't 'right' somehow, so lets keep up the pressure on USA, until Vincent says 'Hey guys, it's alright, thanks for everything but, I was the one who decided it was over....'

He hasn't said any such thing yet, but I'm waiting and listening, baby

I know your friend was meaning well and trying to find out "the truth" as the rest of us are, but let me reiterate:

Please, please, please, do not let anyone involve the D'Onofrio family. Family is off-limits. That would apply to EDO, even though she has a public blog. Do not send her questions and/or comments.

This is a business-related issue between USA and Vincent. I am sure EDO appreciates our concern for her brother, but we shold not be sending her questions. She has her own life, as noted in her blog. Efforts should be directed toward USA Network.

Thanks.

I agree with you on the point that I too would like to hear an actual quote from VDO. But I'm not sure addressing EDO is the way to go. I think family is off limits in a situation like this.

I wonder if VDO is keeping his mouth shut until KE's situation is figured out.

This whole thing is a train wreck

If it was a done deal I would think that we would be reading about their departure EVERYWHERE. Am I wrong? I'm thinking there's a holdup that, unfortunately, we don't know all the details of with any certainty.

Agreed. I hope people will leave his sister and his family alone. If and when VDO feels it is appropriate to make further statements, he will.

"I'm STILL waiting for VINCENT to say it's his choice because his contract ended. My friend has sent the latest Auseillo reoprt thing to EDO, so, if she acknowledges it at all, and I wouldn't hold my breath, EDO tends to acknowledge her brother's existence when it suits her, it will be interesting to hear what she has to say to the charge that it's not Vincent's choice at all - and that's coming from someone who, however odious he is, has so far been right on the money with the 'news'".


Please leave the actor's family out of this. This is about money, we can get Mr. D'Onofrio and Ms. Erbe back by protesting. If we make enough"noise" they are bound to renew their contracts.

WE as consumers are why the "bigwigs" have jobs, WE are why the USA network has been successful. Please send in postcards, email, and fluff as a way to protest. There is information on this board as well as, criminal intent us.

I read ausiellos reply to the question, " did Vincent quit or was he fired?" his answer while rude and unprofessional ( which frankly, he is) was" Quit that's hilarious I needed the laugh". He may be an A..hole but so far he has proven to be correct about Vincent's abrupt departure, could also explain why Vince is only doing one show, with that kind of behaviour he doesn't owe them anything, he's just to classy a man to leave without giving his fans at least a small amount of closure. We fans of his have to continue to let USA and NBC and I'll add Wolf in here( he could have and should have faught harder for them, they helped make him a very rich man) that they can have the show but without an audience they can save even more money and just film an empty set. Let's just shut this show down, period, they don't respect us why should we support them.

Could I just say that I'd quite happily leave Vincent's family out of this - it's nothing to do with them - but please remember, I didn't ask EDO to say ANYTHING at all on the current situation. She chose to respond to a comment someone left on her blog - and I don't think that person held a gun on her either

Hey everyone,
I know these next few thoughts are going to anger some of you and i want to say right off the bat that I mean absolutely NO disrespect to anyone. But I need to get this out. I am a fan of the show, and I will miss Goren and Eames. A lot. (I like them shippy, but that's besides the point). The reason I'm writing is this. I just read something that made me lose a lot of respect for Mr. D'onofrio and Ms. Erbe as people. I can't remember where I read it, but somewhere, someone said that they were asked to take a 50% salary cut. That would bring them from $350,000 PER EPISODE to $175,000 PER EPISODE. They refused. $175,000 is not enough? Really? Everyone in this country by now has been affected or knows people affected by this recession.

Case in point. My husband is an attorney. By many standards, he makes a good living. We have a nice house. We drive nice cars. Our children have nice clothes and things. We would take two vacations a year. Our children go to sleepaway summer camp. We are a helluva lot better off than others. HOWEVER, in January my husband was faced with taking a 6% pay cut and forgo his bonus. (money that we depended on). It was that, or lose some other people in the company. They need him. They've said as much. But you know what? He took the cut. And yes, we have had to change our lives. We don't go out nearly as much. We aren't going away two times this year. Our next car is not going to be so nice. But I can't imagine a scenario where he said, 'you know what, no. I need to make this amount of money and that's the way it is. I deserve it.'.

Now, he works harder and longer than ever before. In addition, I work three days a week at a preschool for children with disabilities. Two weeks ago they told my boss that between my coworker and I one of us had to go down to two days a week (we overalpped on Thursdays). I've been there 12 years, she's been there 5. My boss said it was up to me. But you know what? She is putting her son through college. Her husband works on and off. I said it could be me but we decided to split the time.

I just think it is so sad that this was made public. Somehow knowing that $175,000 per episode for 8 episodes (not including percentages and rerun money they make) is not enough for them makes my stomach turn. Thats $1.4 million dollars folks. They could have taken the cut, given the fans one more season and been done. They can say all they want about how much they appreciate the fans and blah, blah, blah. It comes down to money. period. And I'm saying this as a fan. Maybe i got the article wrong. I hope so and will re-read it.

One last thing. Please don't be angry with me. I just wanted to vent my opinion. I'm as sad as the next one. Just a little ticked off as well.

Fluff, huh? Interesting!

I went to check out that blog, but it has been removed. That's ok, though.

I'm not angry with you, likeit. I do think that it's unfair for them to be asked to do this when all of their colleagues were offered a 5% increase in pay, though. If none of their colleagues are having to lose half of their annual TV income it seems insulting that they would be asked to. They would be working just as hard for half the income with mortgages/debts/bills matching their former income. And I think there's a link to that article in the Save the Real LOCI Campaign thread because I think this is where I first heard about it.

I'm not angry, likeit. I understand where you're coming from...the numbers are mind-boggling. I was recently transferred from the job I had been in for 8 years to one that is probably the LAST job I would ever apply for, and then a 40 hour furlough was imposed. And meanwhile, many, many of my coworkers are being laid off. For me the pay cut wasn't too painful and it turns out I absolutely love my new job...who would have thought?

However, a 50% pay cut is just unreasonable...no matter how much money you are earning. I realize that there is a much smaller budget at USA than there is at NBC, but 50%? Are the executives taking a 50% pay cut? Personally, I think VDO and KE are worth every penny of that $350,000....much more than I think Mariska Haritay and Chris Meloni are worth $4000,000/episode...but I'll leave that judgment to their fans.

And finally...we don't really know what happened behind those closed doors. It's very possible that VDO, KE, and EB simply wanted out of the show. 8 years is a long time to spend playing one character. But since no one is talking, it seems unlikely that this was their first choice. So I will continue to protest their treatment until and unless I hear confirmation either that they didn't want to stay with the show or that their demands were completely unreasonable.



There is a new one up already. Let me see if I can find the link.

Here it is:

http://savinggorenandeamesnow.blogspot.com/

Except I suspect unless this economy really rebounds in the next year or so, we are going to see a lot of shows get hit with a financial bloodbath. What happened with VDO and KE may very be happening with a lot of other shows because of lower ad revenue and the like.

Well...I'm going to be blunt and hope y'all don't take offense.

I really don't care how much money they make. I don't make but a fraction of what they do, and that's fine for what I do right now. I have a future and a skill to ply and I will make quite a bit of money one day selling books. I am not begrudging anyone their salary. I don't care what it is. Because I think we could all agree that if we were in their shoes, we'd be plenty offended if people told us we shouldn't balk at a reduction in pay because we make so much money anyway. I'd be plenty offended if someone told me that I shouldn't get a thirty or forty-thousand dollar advance for expected book sales (when the time comes - and it WILL!). I'd have to ask...why not?

And really, the fact is, people live on what they make. They make decisions based on salary. Their mortgage payments, monthly expenses and business ventures are based on their salary. A pay cut means they have financial issues to contend with, just like the rest of us. We look at those numbers and get upset because most of us don't see those kinds of salaries. But you know what...if we were talented actors who worked our asses off for twelve hours a day during filming, we COULD.

:off my little libertarian soapbox now:

I'll buy your books, OBC! I don't have any hope of actually earning money by writing (I wish!). My dream is to win the lottery so I can stay home and write to my heart's content just for fun. But...I guess I would have a better chance of winning the lottery if I actually played it.

And I agree. If they were demanding a 50% increase in their salaries and so their contracts were not renewed, then I'd sadly say goodbye to Goren, Eames, and Ross and gladly continue watching Nichols. Not that I don't think they are 'worth' the increase, I just wouldn't feel so passionate about keeping them if I felt their demands were out of line. But while I think demanding a 50% increase would be unrealistic...I also think expecting them to accept a 50% decrease is just as ludicrous.

And we are not asking anyone to join in our campaign who doesn't feel as we do. There are people out there who are fine with VDO, KE, and EB leaving and who will watch the show with Nichols and his new partner. Or there are those who are sad to see them leave but don't feel it's worthwhile protesting. That's all great. I encourage everyone to act (or not act) on your own convictions.

I agree with OBC and ciaddict! And I'll also buy your books, OBC!

Also, I think that if I was an actor and found myself in such a situation, I would accept a decrease in the salary IF and only IF I wasn't the only one. My point is, OK, there's a world crisis and bla bla bla, less money circulating, even in the entertainment business... Fine. Let it be less money circulating for everyone, network, cast, crew, publicity people, whatever... Not just the actors. Instead, those who get millions, still get millions. Those who get less, get even less. Seems like being a TV show actor is like being a factory worker of the ether

I have a feeling I'll be sending out a few signed copies of my first book when the time comes!

And yeah, it does seem like TV actors get a lot less respect than the big-time Hollywood types. So unfair. There is a lot of really, really GREAT talent on TV.

Yes, I totally agre with you that T.V actors get a lot less respect and there are a lot great talent on t.v . its a shame

EDO has words to say on her blog today:
EDO blog (http://www.donofrioe.com/blogger.html)

We can't.



Now, now... Please don't blame Jeff... It's USA Network we blame.

I would like half Bobby shows and half Nichols shows. I NEED BOBBY!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the forum, LOCILVR1!!!!!



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But it actually was USA Network that let them go, right, unless they took half pay?

That's right, we won't!

That's right LOCI#1, don't blame Jeff Goldblum! It was the LOCI ceo's that made the decision, I assume. He's gonna be back they said for guest appearances, so he won't be killed off. Welcome to the forum, LOCILVR1.

As if she would say anything different from her brother right now.

It is the same thing he said, in different words. And I still think that people should be leaving Elizabeth D'Onofrio out of this completely! It's SO tacky to bug her for answers about her brother like that! She doesn't owe it to anyone to explain anything and people should not be asking her to.

Well...I'm going to have to think about this one because she is saying that he told the family while on vacation that he isn't renewing his contract. That makes a difference to me. But at the same time it doesn't explain why KE and EB are leaving. Maybe a "one for all and all for one" kind of thing. But if he just doesn't want to do the show, why would he need their "support"? Nichols and Eames teamed up on two episodes last season and they were well received. Why would KE leave just because VDO feels it's time for him to leave? And why would EB? The silence...it's deafening!

And I agree about leaving EDO alone. I don't follow her blog, so I haven't seen if she is getting a lot of comments and questions about her brother leaving. I don't know if that prompted this latest post. But if they are bugging her...tacky, people, tacky!

Where's the info coming from that people are bugging her and why? Sounds strange to me!

It IS totally unfair -- (I have a really hard time understanding why anyone feels Hargitay and Meloni are worth $400,000 apiece for their sad acting, and Vince and Katie are not, but that's a matter of opinion, I guess) --- but Vince and Katie, and any actor really, future livelihood hinges on contract negotiations. When word got out that they were willing to do the same work for half the money after 9 years, 1) it would not reflect well on the status they've built over the years, and 2) other future projects would start out offering them less money than they are worth and it may actually tick the unions off and projects they would otherwise be offered would go to other people. So I have no problem with them refusing to work for half of what they had been making, for these reasons and the fact that lesser actors are making more, and the fact that everyone got a 5% raise is just quite frankly a slap in the face to both of them.

Wow, good points Mogirl! I hadn't thought about how it might affect their other work, or the work of other actors.

Well, I wish I hadn't read that about EDO's blog. I just keep thinking that we're all gonna look stupid if Vince comes out and says, "Look, fans, this is over. Yes, it was my decision." At what point do we say, "Okay, we'll accept that comment as fact"? I know it still seems weird that the main actors aren't really saying anything about the situation. Well, even if he did choose to leave, maybe all the fan support and a hefty paycheck would convince him to do this one last season (1/2 the season, at least) to really give the character closure. I ust still can't believe he would intend to do just 2 crappy episodes to wrap up 8 yrs of a character. Negotiations must have broken down. But, if he did say on a vacation that he wouldn't renew his contract, maybe he was sick of playing Bobby? I just hate to think that, though. I still think that all the silence means he may be reconsidering due to fan support.

No one from here (to my knowledge) has ever posted anything on her blog, krod, they have just posted a link for us to read what others have sent her and her replies.

Yeah, I doubt the actors will make anything more than a vague public statement until their agents allow them to. (Sigh) I doubt that he would say anything to make his fans feel stupid. I would think it more likely that an actor would be surprised and flattered by fan support.

Indeed is strange. So far it´s just rumors and posts on blogs, we don´t know for sure and if both leave, the series will continue, just Like law and Order, which had a variety of detectives and survived, i know Goren and ems are essential and important for the show but it´s not the end of the world, i think it´s not, I´m a big fan since season one and I´m not happy either but we have to wait to know more.

Sounds like the Disney vacation a couple of weeks ago. They would have already been well into negotiations by then. So the whole renewing the contract scenario was already happening at that point.

The way I feel is that if Vincent actually came out and said, "Okay, guys, you don't have to do this anymore. It's all my doing. I don't want to stay." Well, fine. No egg here. I am fighting the good fight until the end. That's just how I approach life.

So far, he hasn't said word one beyond that very polite statement and it seems as though he's taking the heat off of the others by doing so. I still believe it is very, very important that no one else has said a single word.

As for me - if this thing does not ultimately turn around - I am done with LOCI. I will not watch a S9 without Goren and Eames. It's the principal of the thing.

NBCU/USA had better wake up, and fast. Because if they follow through with this, the show tanks. Same thing with SVU - NBC KNEW better. And I don't think the network people are really that stupid. I think they were arrogant and thought that they had all they needed to put on the show. The Nichols episodes got good ratings, after all.

It never crossed their greedy little minds that a great many of us watched Nichols because 1) We wanted to support the whole show and 2) We always worry about our shows ratings so we tried to keep all of the episodes ratings up. Oh, and then there's 3) We felt good about giving the other team a chance because they worked in tandem with our favorite team and kept our show on the air. Some of us enjoyed the episodes, some didn't. But we kept watching and supported the whole show.

Now they are eviscerating the show, and leaving us with only Nichols - someone who has not been on long enough to even have his character built into anything resembling a show-carrier. He's had eight episodes and the benefit of Goren and Eames on the alternate weeks. USA is stupid to think that dumping Goren and Eames won't hurt the show.

Keep their "core" audience? Really? And how, pray tell, do they plan to do that when they are gutting the "core" of the SHOW ITSELF???

Nice going, USA! NO SOUP FOR YOU!

What others? From another board, or fans? Confused?

I am gonna repost the gist of what I told my shippy peeps.

It ain't over yet, and that's not just my gut telling me that. It's the deafening "cricket cricket cricket" from KE, and the sweet but diplomatic and vague comment from VDO.

You don't negotiate for 6 weeks and then just up and quit. You don't get fired and then get asked to come back for a few shows now and then. So what happened? USA didn't offer enough money--I'm certain the paycut thing is true. Then things fell apart.

If your company tells you to take a 50% pay cut, and you say "sorry, but no", at some point you say, "gee I've really liked working for you, Company X, and I've really liked my role here, but it's time to do different projects". Sound familiar? But if Company X suddenly finds money to keep you, and all of your co-workers (fans) beg you not to leave, then maybe just maybe you'll reconsider, with a fixed exit date in mind, to wrap up your old projects. Just my guess. Feel free to disagree. But I think that's what's going on. And we're trying to persuade Company USA to find the money to do just that.

If everything were "done done" as my daughter says, Goldblum in particular would come out and say how wonderful it's been working with VDO and Erbe, and what I've learned from them, blah blah blah. Have we heard anything regarding VDO and Erbe from Goldblum? Please let me know if so. If not, stuff is definitely still up in the air. That's what you do when people "retire". And I haven't seen that. SO DON'T GIVE UP HOPE YET!

And no, we don't look stupid if he comes out and says, "Guys, I'm done". He hasn't said "stop". I can't for a minute think with his assistant(s) and agency that he doesn't know what we're doing. And if he knows what we're doing and he hasn't said "stop", then I think there is still a reason to believe we can change or at least influence the situation. I believe we'll know definitively when to stop, and it ain't yet.

EDO doesn't say he wanted to leave. She says heard on the radio that VDO and KE "got the boot". They didn't get the boot in that they weren't fired. If they were fired, it would "buh-bye", right now, not "can we call you again in the future". EDO said the same thing Vincent said. And yes, I'll say it again--everybody needs to leave her out of it. Of course they talked about projects on the family vacation. Don't you ask your siblings what they've been up to in their work?

Keep the faith!

GO TEAM GOREN AND EAMES!

But didn't EDO say on the blog that Vince told her he was not going to renew his contract? That he was moving on to other projects? So, isn't that saying he didn't want to return? I think one comment from EDO just restating what Vince said maybe can be explained away, but why would she say he told her this in a second post? Maybe to get people to stop harrassing her, but, still, I don't think she'd lie about his comments. I just have to believe that maybe he did want to leave, but he might reconsider due to his fans and a potential pay raise by USA (w/ enough pressure from us!).

NO SOUP FOR YOU! LMAO funny stuff!

I watched season 8 for obvious reasons, I like Goren and Eames, and I like the story lines. But I also like Jeff Goldblum. His episodes were ok, I mean, I think the writers favored the Zach/ Wheeler scripts more then the Goren/Eames ones. (dunno if I can forgive that but..) I watched them to see who his character was, what he's all about.. But I did find the more I watched , the more he seemed...Gorenish...like the writers tried to throw in some Bobby into his mix. (Now I know why. Guess they figured hey, He's tall, He's dark, he's handsome, hes quirky and fun, we'll make him supersmart too, and how bout some trouble with his parents? Hey it could work?!)...I also wanted to keep up with the characters just in case there was a crossover like "The Wee Small Hours". I never really watched the Logan ones..*gasp* I know...*hangs head in shame*..so when it came time for the crossover show, I had to play catch up. well I didnt HAVE to but I did.

I still dont know what happened to Logan...it must have happened when I went for a snack run, but *poof* he was gone...I'm like okay....humm...

I'm really, really hoping that if Vincent does leave the show, that at least his sendoff will be more then a ok, cya laters, its been nice knowing you...NEXT! I want a Heros journey till the end.

As much as I like Goldblum, his character may be mildly interesting, but still underdeveloped, I dont think he will be able to carry the show. It sucks for him, that this ball was dropped in his court, and I believe he will give it his all. But I dont think his all will be enough...Vinces shoes are to big too fill.

There are all kinds of things to take into consideration. I would assume they've most likely been in contract negotiations almost since they wrapped shooting on Season 8, since both of them would want to know how to plan for the long term, i.e., whether they'd be able to accept other projects or have to turn them down because of commitment to the show. Vincent could very well have told his family while on vacation that he wasn't renewing his contract -- but his sister doesn't really give a definite REASON why he wasn't renewing his contract, and given he had said he was in for the long haul, the most likely reason is the money angle. BUT, as others have said, that there has been nothing from Katie is telling -- you would think she would have issued some kind of statement by now. The "no comment" thing just doesn't seem to fit with her open and honest personality, given the way she treats the fans and the people she works with. There hasn't been anything from Eric, either, to my knowledge. It's very odd.

Since both D'Onofrio and Erbe seem to be extremely private people, are fans really expecting them to release detailed explanatory statements on why they left, if they were pushed out or why their contract negotiations failed and who is at fault?

Something else that occurs to me - perhaps Goldblum isn't so hot on working with Katie, given that apparently C.I. is now going to be "his" show (AS IF) and he doesn't want to "compete" with her already established popularity.

Probably part of the reason why NBC was able to pay Hargitay and Meloni their salaries, by cutting from C.I. -- NBC viewership is WAY down, as evidenced by the dropping numbers SVU is pulling.

I doubt that Goldblum would have a problem working with Erbe. If anything, keeping her would help CI's future ratings. I always thought that Hargitay and Meloni were paid the big bucks because SVU was the only L&O in recent years to always be in the Top 10 or 20 in ratings.

I think she put it in a second post because, unfortunately, people have been contacting her about it. Some people are just going to ask her, even if we post at a bajillion web sites not to. They just will. She's saying "please stop asking me that question".

As far as him mentioning the non-renewal at the end of August, I think it was just from the dragging on and on crap due to negotiations. If you're a contractor and you've done great work, and you start haggling with your employer for several months about next year with them, at some point you resign yourself to, "I'm not renewing my contract with these bozos next year". But you don't burn bridges and you make a graceful exit. Especially when the bozos say they want you back on a whim.

If he didn't want to return, ain't no amount of money that would have kept him there. And that means ain't no amount of "negotiating" would have kept him there. You don't negotiate if you want out--it's pointless and wastes everyone's time.

If he wanted to go, you would have heard all the accolades by now from the other actors, but we haven't. Because he didn't want to go. He had no choice in the sense that he was standing up for himself. He was not fired. But it's insulting to work for USA if USA is going to "play" like that, so in that sense, he "chose" to leave rather than stay and be insulted pay-wise.

And no, they won't release detailed accounts of what happened--they're too classy for that. But you DO say, "Gee, I had a great time, what a wonderful group of people, etc. etc. and the guy who stays chimes in with how wonderful they were, etc. None of that has happened from Erbe or Goldblum (or Bogosian) at all.

If you leave a company voluntarily, you have a nice get together and people say nice things about you and how they are going to miss you. When an 8 year veteran of a show leaves voluntarily, you expect the same thing--it's just a public general statement instead of the private general statement you get at your own going-away. That hasn't happened. What's most telling is KE only saying "No Comment". If things were just peachy, you'd expect the focus of the going-away niceties to at least say "thanks, it's been awesome". But nothing. Something's up, and it ain't them deciding to go because "it's been a great 8 years" kind of thing. They chose to leave because USA gave them no choice--it was an insulting offer. Does that make sense?

No, but SOME comment would help a lot, considering there are people in the media, like Ausiello, implying leaving was not their choice. VDO's only statement has been a vague, diplomatic, "I'm moving on to other projects". KE and EB have said nothing at all. And when asked for a comment, KE's publicist (or agent or whoever) said "No comment". Why no comment? Why not a comment saying, "I've enjoyed working on this show for the last 8 years but now it's time to do something else." As has been pointed out here, KE is known to be very gracious to her fans and her coworkers. "No comment" sounds like someone (as Tigger suggests) who is still negotiating and can't comment.

As for feeling stupid (was that you who said that, Filigree?). I don't think we have anything to feel stupid for, even if we find out that all 3 wanted to leave. We are making our feelings known. If any or all of them are still negotiating, support from the fans can only help them. If USA is forcing them out, we may not stop them but we will sure let them know what the consequences will be. And if all 3 make statements that they simply don't want to be on the show anymore...OK, now they know how much we love them. And I've expended a bit of money, time, and energy. It's not like I was planning to bring about peace in the Middle East this week anyway. I think this is time well spent.

You may be right, but if he's wanting to take the show in a "new direction" and put his mark on it, I think he'd not be happy about it. The point is obviously moot, and just idle speculation on my part. He didn't work with his costar, or Katie, as though they were truly partners, anyway. If neither of them had been there, they wouldn't have been missed as far as storyline, because he is very obviously a solo act.