the cleaner intervention - why watch?

LOVE Intervention!!!! LOVE IT. If you watch it the right way, (the mean, snarky way) it's the funniest shit on tv. Some of it is sad, but once you get past it, it's a riot!

My friend and I even created a drinking game to go with it. Every time they do their vice, you drink. If the dad cries, you drink. If they say "no" to the intervention, you drink.

It's bad....I know.

I am also horribly addicted to CSI (the Vegas one only). Sucks that all the good cast members are slowly leaving the show.

Actually, as the number of old episodes I haven't seen dwindles, I've started watching The First 48. Its like CSI--except real!

I LOVE intervention. I think it's incredibly important for people to put a face on drug use- heroin addicts aren't just homeless people and meth addicts aren't just hillbillies or trailer trash in the midwest. I think it's especially important for parents to see shows like this- it gives some background into what these people were going through (generally as kids or young adults) that led to their use. As someone who will readily admit to having done LOTS of drugs in my life and has seen both responsible recreational use and also lives ruined by drugs, I think shows like this are necessary.

On a sort of related note, I do with the media/education focused more on harm-reduction type drug education programs and taught responsibility in drug use. Abstention only drug ed is about as effective as abstention only sex ed...totally ineffective.

I totally blame it on my voyeristic tendencies. I love documentaries. Watching real people deal with real situations is far more interesting to me than some of the manufactured dramas on TV.

HBO is great for good documentaries. I recently watched three of the best I've seen in a long time back to back: Hard Times at Douglas High, Resolved, and China's Stolen Children. Now those are compelling TV.

Lucille wrote: It also crossed my mind that the people-- family members, I'm guessing-- who consented to have a camera crew ride along weren't thinking so much about their distressed, beloved family member. My family has pulled me out of some dark places in the past, the distant past fortunately, and I can't imagine them subjecting me to camera disclosure when I was at my worst. My worst wasn't caused by drug or alcohol abuse, but still, when I was there I could have been found drunk enough on enough occasions to make good viewing. Who does that?

Actually, the way that it works is that the family approaches the intervention people to ask for an intervention. The producers make a decision about whether they think that the story is compelling. If the person makes the cut, the addict is approached directly by the producers and asked to particpate in a documentary about addiction. Each addict agrees to being filmed on their own. I don't think that the family can agree on someone else's behalf.

In addition the following info was on the Intervention website. "Before appearing on Intervention™, potential participants undergo clinical evaluations in order to determine the appropriate treatment for their addictions. All participating therapists are licensed and in good standing."

I think that many families take the step because the benefits are so great. The addict gets 90 days of inpatient treatment which is far more than most private insurance companies provide (I think the standard is 30 days) plus transportation to facilities far away from their communities. Many of the families could not afford to pay for that type of treatment. I think that intervention also covers sober living for people who are released from inpatient treatment before the 90 days is up. For families that either have no insurance or those that have exhausted their own benefits this type of treatment at no charge is a godsend.