‘NCIS’ Season 12 Cast: Brian Dietzen Talks To Real Medical Examiner, ‘Try To Be As True To Life As Possible’ [VIDEO]
NCIS star Brian Dietzen portrays Jimmy Palmer who is medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard's (David McCallum) assistant.
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Last week the NCIS star got the chance to sit and chat with the medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Cina, from the Cook County Morgue in Chicago.
CBS Chicago uploaded the video Friday of the two talking along with CBS' Rob Johnson about how the series delivers accuracy for what actually happens in real life.
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The video, which is below shows Dr. Cina stating, "They know what they're doing. The respect they show the patient is apparent. We treat our people like patients as well."
"I think the detail for the anatomy is very good. I think the special effects are actually quite good," the real medical examiner added.
"They really stay with ancillary role of the medical examiner or forensic pathologist. They're not central to solving a crime. That's not our role. We bring out medical fact," Dr. Cina explained of how NCIS carries out what a medical examiner does in real life.
"We try to be as true to life as possible," Dietzen said of the series, adding, "But within the reality of we have to tell the story in 42 minutes or less. That's our biggest cheat probably. The amount of time it takes to do what you guys do, which might take weeks."
Dietzen also commented on how his character and Dr. Mallard "have a life outside of the victims".
"You have to have fun, you have to joke, you have to talk about the game last night, you have to talk about your girlfriend or your wife, talk about real life," he shared.
"In our show that really translates to a lot of funny stuff," Dietzen added.
NCIS airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
