Corinne Marrinan On 'CSI' Risque Plots

Associate producer and co-author of the CSI Companion, Corinne Marrinan recently discussed CSI's affinity for sexual subculture plots.

"We know sometimes we push the envelope," Marrinan told Phil Kloer of the Arizona Republic. "Instead of glorifying this (fetish) or saying it's right or wrong, we say it's there and let's deal with it. It's taking a lot of things out of the shadows."

Some viewers, however, believe CSI's agenda is more conservative than it comes across. "Every time they take a trip into a wacky subculture, the message is that everybody gets punished for wanting to have sex. The idea that you're free to let your freak flag fly is smacked down repeatedly," said Lisa Schmeiser, otherwise known as Television Without Pity's CSI recapper, Sobell. "The reason these subcultures are brought up is it's a cheap way to titillate people."

But despite the shock value label some place on these episodes, CSI seems to get more and more popular with each controversial plot. The show's 100th episode, "Ch-Ch-Changes", which dealt with the transsexual culture and even touched on genital mutilation, was watched by a record breaking 31.4 million viewers. Marrinan maintained it's not so much the content but the way CSI explores such plots. "We always try to deal with those things in a tasteful manner rather than a gratuitous, shocking way. That's the fine line we always walk."

To read the full article, visit the Arizona Republic.

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