Is Two and Half Men Ready to Exit Stage Left?

Charlie Sheen has just been given the boot. Will Two and Half Men survive this cut? It might be interesting to look at how the elimination of other thoroughbred characters affected lengthy network programming.

It was just a matter of time. The two-part "Law and Order: CI" Season 9 premiere still brought its fevered fans Vincent D' Onofrio as Detective Robert Goren, and Kathryn Erbe as Alexandra Eames.

Even though, it had been rumored that Goren might pop back into future episodes of the show from time, it would never be enough for the fans who had fallen in love with the most intelligent, and articulate detective duo on any "Law and Order" franchise. Jeff Goldblum was just glum, and any partner the show brought in perpetuated the belief that the day that D'Onofrio and Erbe left the studio for the last time was the day that '˜Law and Order: CI' became a part of television history.

"Law and Order: Criminal Intent" had brought in singular episodes in the past, with Chris North coming back in as banished Detective Mike Logan, and a variety of female partners to round out the shift. But, no matter how they set up the change, the team of Detective Robert Goren and Detective Alexandra Eames made and were "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and they always will be thought of in just that way.

And, so after over 131 episodes, beginning in 2001, the genius duo became a thing of television past.
In my estimation, this historic television exit is no different than if Stable and Benson were suddenly eliminated from "Law and Order: SVU" or if Jack McCoy had been skewered out of the original "Law and Order". But, in one way that did happen and it could have also signaled what became the end of the original "Law and Order".

The beauty of Jack McCoy was his resistance against the political machinery that had to be tinkered with as a district attorney of New York. And, try as they might, it is hard to change the audience perception of one true blue ADA into the sight of a newly political district attorney.

People out here in TV land living rooms fall in love with certain characters, and no matter what they do, or how they act, if the living room audience is used to them or the show in a certain way, change can lead to exit.

It will be interesting to see how the Charlie Sheen story will turn out.