‘Tis the season for turning down the lights and curling up on my sofa with a hot cup of tea…and then spilling it all over my pajamas as I literally wring my hands over a new episode of Intervention on A&E. (The dramatic documentary series premiered its fourth season on Monday with the story of Emily, an anorexic identical twin with bizarre eating and workout rituals, whose sisters beg her to try treatment for the third time).
If you’ve never tuned in, let me warn you: entertaining is not exactly the word for this show. But just try to look away as cameras follow Sylvia, the formerly well-to-do interior designer with the Southern accent of a debutante who ducks into her car to chug miniature (easier to hide) bottles of booze; or Jessica, the addict who binges on heroin as soon as she wakes up; or Leslie, the onetime mother-of-the-year type in Tulsa who guzzles gallons of store brand mouthwash (“this…helps me… get drunk”) despite her kids’ and ex-husbands’ efforts to keep her sober for a court date.
If you’ve seen episodes past, you know that the set-up (some argue that it literally is a set-up), as explained to viewers, is that the subjects have agreed to be in a filmed project about addiction, but don’t know that an intervention and rehab offer is coming. The show’s formula plays out with unflinching footage of the addict’s shockingly self-destructive habits and loved ones describing their feelings of helplessness, before an “intervention specialist” moderates the tense meeting where the addict is always given an ultimatum: agree to enter treatment today, or else (and here the relatives pledge immediate consequences). Is this exploitative? Probably. Is it riveting? Absolutely. The show starts, and I can barely blink or budge till it ends (and it always ends with a brief, frequently gasp-inducing followup narrative to let us know whether the addict recovered or relapsed).
Why I’m so compelled to watch people this troubled hit bottom—and I don’t mean celebrities hooked on substances and hair extensions and teasing the paparazzi, I mean regular people who make regular incomes (or at least it seems they had regular incomes until booze or smack or barfing or coke took over)—is a mystery to me. I only know that Intervention is very, very addictive. If any Popwatchers out there have seen the show, would you agree?
I had to stop watching this show a few months ago. It used to come on every sunday night and I swear, I would be depressed starting off my work week. It is riveting, but for me, it was way too heartbreaking to watch these people go through their struggles with addictions. The hardest ones to stomach are the ones that fall back into drugs after rehab, I just want to reach into the tv and give them a hug.
I agree. Its an awesomely painful show to watch. But it is so riveting. I have to keep reminding myself that this is real and not a scripted. I am addicted.
OMG! I love this show but it is not for weak of heart or stomach! It is painful, raw and very honest….especially about the inter-sibling riverly between the “good one” and the “bad one”. During the intervention, the most compeling stories from the brother/sister of the addict tired of being the go-to person.
I have been hooked on this show since it began. I have to record it or watch on demand as my b-friend HATES IT! I can’t look away. I always end up a blubbering mess at the end. I always wonder how they are doing after a year or two not just after a few months.
I have seen both Sylvia and Leslie (mentioned above) and the eps made me think that while my life sux hard sometimes, it is not THAT bad. but I probably could not watch every week. Too depressing.
the most annoying was that former child prodigy gambler boy who blamed everyone for everything. i hate him
I appreciate what the show has to offer because it’s fairly educational and in your face. Families of people that need intervention need to see someone else going through it. Heck, there are times when some of the addicts’ personalities remind me of my sister. And I know how hard it is for my parents to deal with her *without* her having an addiction (unless being addicted to melodrama is a possibility).
So glad to read that I am not the only one who can’t turn away when this show is on – I feel guilty for liking it so much (the back-to-back-to-back episodes A&E occasionaly airs are more addictive than a day of I Love New York on VH1 …you all know what I’m talking about).
I think the most pathetic one I’ve seen is Cristy from season 2…alcoholic and meth-head. She chose going to jail over rehab during the episode. If watching that pathetic waste of DNA doesn’t prevent at least one person from taking the same path then there is just no hope for humanity.
I am with you on the back to back marathon (Shout out to VH1′s I love NY)….but here’s to hoping that they show the marathon on Christmas Day. Why? Cause it is better than dealing with mine.
Feeling down? Think your family is the worst? Watch Intervention. Now call mom and dad and tell them you’re taking them out to dinner at Red Lobster. They at least deserve that, don’t they?
hannah – I remember that episode! That boy was totally addicted to video games and refused to admit it. So sad.
I watch this show when I happen to catch it, but some episodes are very disheartening. The last ep I saw was about a homeless former chef who was hooked on heroin, and he actually pulled himself together. That was the most hopeful episode I’ve ever seen.
i had never watched this show til i happened to stumble opon it in my cable’s “on demand” section, and then i think i watched 5 or 6 episodes in one sitting. in addition to what’s already been mentioned, i think another one of the show’s important messages is that addiction can happen to ANYONE, in any walk of life. i mean, there are definitely some people featured on the show that i’ve felt sorry for more than others, but i think there tends to be a stereotype about what kind of people end up addicted to drugs or alcohol and that intervention shows us that’s not necessarily always the case.
I totally agree!! People tend to think “that’s only in the big cities” THIS IS NOT TRUE, I am from a small farming community in PA and it is everywhere! Every corner you turn and even in my own family,”we thought the same thing”, It can’t be happening to us. This show actually helped my family make decisions, look for signs and look for help immediately after watching episode after episode. Drug/Alcohol addiction is an epidemic,it is a choice but it is also a disease and if you or someone you know is an addict..watch the show and find them help ASAP. There are govt. programs that are willing to help addicts of all walks recover. THANKS A&E I believe you are saving lives and providing education to critics everywhere.
I love this show. Everything else stops for me when it is on. My hubby hates it because he’s a social worker and he has to deal with it all the time, but I just can’t stop watching. He teases me that I need an intervention for “Intervention”. It is truly amazing to see how far people can fall and I am always heartbroken when things turn out badly in the end. I always just hope for that happy tagline at the end.
I have been watching this show forever! I got my cop husband recently hooked on it as well. We both deal with people like this in our careers, yet we still watch! You definitely feel like you’ve been put through the emotional ringer. My mom refuses to watch it when she comes to visit, because her dad was an abusive drunk and her mom was a pill popper. Now that I have a baby, this show is a how to on NOT enabling your troubled kids!!! Some of the parents are horrible; giving their addicted kids $ or driving them to the dealer. Sad…