I watched HBO's Autopsy special on demand last night and I'm sorry to say I was a little disappointed. The premise: HBO asked viewers to e-mail them with stories of mysterious deaths/disappearances and they would pick 2 that Dr. Michael Baden would investigate. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the whole thing felt exploitive (exploitative?), especially the first story (the conclusion of which I saw coming early on). I think I prefer the detachment of the earlier shows - more documentary style reporting and less reality show drama, please. That said, I will admit that the best (or most touching) part of the hour came in the second story, when the grown son of a woman gone missing for 21 years asks Dr. Baden if he can touch her skeletal remains. The tenderness with which he cradled his mother's skull was heartbreaking.

Oh, and Dr. Baden is much taller than I thought he was.