Heat And A Few Ch-Ch-Changes Behind The Scenes

See Also: 'Ch-Ch-Changes' Episode Guide

Want to find out how to legally set a man on fire? That's just one of the hot topics covered by two new backstage looks at upcoming CSI episodes, now available to see online.

ET! Online yesterday took viewers on to the sets of CSI: New York to watch the officially hottest stunt on the freshman show to date- the torching of a stuntman who must run around alight for several seconds before falling to the ground.

"It's not being lit on fire, that's not the hard part; the hard part is walking through all the motions and coming out of the door, spinning, hitting the mark here, hitting the mark there – and seeing through the little tiny pinholes [...] it's just a little weird!" said stuntman Kamin Howell. Howell is recreating the stunt for a man who will come running out of an exploding bank after a botched robbery.

Howell, son of stunt co-ordinator Norman Howell, practiced at home before the shoot and took expert advice from his father on how to breathe so as not inhale smoke. He had to don three pairs of long johns that had been dipped in super-cold gel and then laid on ice for two hours, as well as a special fire-retardant mask to cover his face, with only two tiny pinholes for eyes.

The series stars were on hand to give their take on the death-defying stunt. "You wanna know the real truth? There's guys that I think when they were little wanted to do these things, and, fortunately, we then hire them to make the pretend happen... and they're really good at it!" said Melina Kanakarades (Stella Bonasera).

ET! Online also ran an article today on tonight's special 100th episode, "Ch-Ch-Changes" and its controversial but positive portrayal of transgendered individuals. Lead actress Marg Helgenberger had her own thoughts on the experience. "The tech advisor on the set had been a male surgeon and is now a female surgeon," said Helgenberger. "I could have stayed for several days listening to her stories. She was somebody who had a deep desire to be a different gender. Our show made a real effort not to make light of that and give respect to that community."

The tech advisor in question was one Marci Bowers, a surgeon who performs transgender operations on patients. "I lived my life really privately after my transition, and for the most part people really didn't know about me," said Bowers. "They just judged me based on what kind of doctor I was... which if you think about it, is what it should be."

To read the original articles and see the accompanying video segments, head over to the CSI:NY article and CSI article respectively at ET! Online.

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