A Leading Man "Vanish"es

So, this week, “Vanished” attempted its first major “24”-like twist by killing its main character.

I say “attempted,” because in the world of TV gossip, it was the season’s worst kept secret. In fact, I had a post already written about it, but I didn’t put it on the site because I realized that in discussing what was going on behind the scenes, I was probably giving away the show’s biggest twist.

You can thank me later.

If you missed it, or don’t watch “Vanished,” Monday night, Agent Graham Kelton (Gale Harold) was killed after he started getting too close to the truth.

Rumors had been swirling for weeks that the leading man of a new show was being replaced by an actor who had already been announced as joining the show. All clues pointed to Gale Harold being replaced by Eddie Cibrian (“Third Watch,” “Invasion”); and Monday, we finally got confirmation of that.

So what was the reason?

Reps for the show say that they were strictly going for the shock factor and that any rumors of Harold being difficult on the set are totally untrue. In fact, they say it was always their plan to kill Kelton; but they had planned to do it later in the season. However, the baseball hiatus gave them a chance to do a major cliffhanger, so they moved his death to episode seven.

You know that I never really liked Harold so I applaud the change. But I can’t believe that a “storyline dictated death” would have created so many rumors, so I feel quite certain that someone at FOX didn’t care for Harold either.

When the show returns after baseball, Danny Lucas (Cibrian) will take over the Sara Collins case. Unlike the tortured Kelton, Lucas will be much more comfortable with himself and should give the show a different feel.

Plus, where Sara Collins is will be answered by episode 13. As you may know, that’s the number of episodes in an initial series order. So, if FOX chose to cancel the show, there would be some kind of resolution. The producers promise new facets of the Sara mystery if the show continues.

Though I’ve totally lost track of this one thanks to “Heroes” (I haven’t even seen the episode I’m writing about!), I’ll be sure to jump back in when it returns to see where it’s going—and of course, to see Eddie Cibrian (The writers are probably already plotting ways to get his shirt off.).

“Vanished” airs Fridays at 8 p.m. beginning October 27th on FOX.