View Full Version : The Al Robbins Scene That Went Too Far On CSI


TMC
03-16-2022, 08:54 PM
https://www.looper.com/800095/the-al-robbins-scene-that-went-too-far-on-csi/

Al Robbins' behavior in one Season 6 scene is in poor taste

In Season 6, Episode 9, "Dog Eat Dog," (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534677/?ref_=ttep_ep9) there are actually two fairly stomach-churning plot lines the episode focuses on. In one arc, a portion of the CSI team investigates a dog who kills one of its owners. The other storyline centers around a man who suffers from Prader-Willi Syndrome (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prader-willi-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20355997), which is characterized in part by uncontrollable overeating. His body is brought into the lab after it is discovered in a dumpster behind a buffet restaurant, and Robbins' assessment of the man's physical state at the time of his death leads to some uncharacteristic behavior from the normally pragmatic coroner.

In perhaps the single most shocking moment in the entire series, the man lies on the autopsy table with his torso already cut wide open. With his organs fully exposed, Robbins casually explains to investigator Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger) that he had stuffed six times the normal volume of a human stomach into his. The coroner casually remarks the incident will "keep me on my diet for a couple more weeks" and punctuates the scene by slicing into the man's stomach and declaring him a "walking buffet."

The sheer volume of interior human body parts on display is jarring enough, but Robbins' casual disregard for what was obviously an excruciating death — both emotionally and physically — makes this scene even more horrifying. While wisecracks were often part of his way of coping with the job's stress, this is one moment where even Robbins should have opted for tact over snark.