My friend said she loves to watch this show about people who are so screwed up on drugs and alcohol that the family consults a mediator and they stage a confrontation with the addicted person on the hot seat.
I am sorry, but i am convinced that these people are all actors who agree to be fucked up for hollywood purposes. Are you trying to tell me that someone who takes her panties off in front of traffic one day goes into this meeting, doesn’t immediately walk out, and then goes right into rehab and everything is fine after that. These people are screwed up way beyond repair they are the worst cases I have ever seen of complete, total, disgusting long term messes and this actually works? I don’t believe it. 95% of addicted individuals do not ever recover and they are telling us that someone can be addicted for years and then all they need is some facility that they go to and they are all better? Does anyone know of anything like this working that they have actually seen? wouldn’t you feel like walking out if oyu were in room full of people telling you what to do? Wouldn’t you feel cornered and be angry?
I went on an Intervention-watching binge once (amazing what YouTube turns up when you’re looking) and saw probably 15 shows’ worth. IMHO these guys definitely aren’t actors, and it’s likely that they don’t all stay clean. There are a few “success stores” you can follow up on on the show’s web site, but I don’t think that in any of the cases “everything is fine” after they go to rehab. I think the show just highlights the positive choice of going to rehab and ends on that note.
A lot of those addicts are doing it for attention or to lash out at their parents or ex, the show gives them the opportunity to do it. I have no doubt they’re real. I doubt it works as often as they say, but if tv was reality then we’re all suckers for not flipping houses by ourselves every week for $50,000 in profit.
I don’t have numbers in front of me, but I do watch the show. If these people were actors, they’d all have Emmys. There are some reasonable questions to be asked about the show when it comes to editing and ethics, but I don’t believe the addicts in question are putting on a show (except when attention seeking is an obvious part of their personality already).
Many of the on-screen follow-ups include info about the addict in question being kicked out of his/her treatment facility or getting through treatment then relapsing.
And a number of the addicts do feel betrayed by their loved ones when they find out they were part of the show and not a documentary– they yell and scream and need to be coaxed by those closest to them (often a single family member who supplies them with money) or threatened (with jail time or being kicked out) before they agree to get on a plane and get treatment.
Can’t remember the guy’s name, but he stayed in his condo all day and had his assistant totally enabling him. The guy was a total alcoholic and ended up dying shortly after the show was aired. I haven’t watched for awhile, but they’ve been piling up on my dvr. There are plenty that definitely are not success stories, though!
I’m a longtime fan, and I tend to think it’s the real deal. Indeed, one of the interventionists himself recently relapsed and had to take a leave of absence from the show.
My impression is that the interventions can go on for hours, but of course they have to boil it down to just a few minutes. They typically do make an effort to show that the subject is indeed often quite angry at the intervention – last night’s was one such.
Some of the interventions do seem to resolve themselves awfully quickly, although these also seem to be ones where there is a greater likelihood of relapsing.
They will indicate at the end when a subject has relapsed, and often this information gets updated with subsequent reruns.
I agree that it can come sometimes across as over-optimistic despite these cautions, if only because we usually only read about the relapses; we don’t see new footage after an intervention fails.
I’m fairly obsessed with this show, and I get excited when I meet other people who like this show, because then we can talk about favorite episodes. I think the appeal of this show can be summed up in one word: Schadenfreude. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a social worker, so I have sort of a professional interest. I have to admit, I’ve channeled Jeff Van Vonderen at times when speaking to my clients.
Which interventionist relapsed?
I like to watch Intervention with a case of beer at my side. Partly because it’s depressing, but mostly because I’m a bad person.
A Google search indicates it was Jeff VanVonderen who relapsed.
My cousin’s husband was, er intervened on the show. Episode 60.
I promise, he is not an actor.
Aw, man! I was sure it would’ve been Candy Finnegan or the “fuzzy-haired chipmunk dude (my husband’s words, not mine!)” What’s the latest on him?
Am I evil becasue I couldn’t stop laughing everytime I saw that chick take a hit of computer duster?
Intervention has a great success rate in getting people to go to rehab. I think only two or three interventions have failed in that respect. Remember, these addicts are facing not only the pressure of their families urging them to go, but also the pressure of the cameras. Plus, the show pays for the rehab, so it’s not a big sacrifice for them or their families.
That said, the show makes it very clear that the success rate for the addicts staying clean is much, much lower. I think the last figure I saw was something around 50% of those who had gone to rehab who were still sober. The show has done a number of followups, and they usually include about half people who are doing well, and half people who are back to using. As mentioned, there have been a number of participants who have died from their addictions.
Interventions do work, in the real world as well as on T.V., but only to get the addict to go to treatment. The hard work starts after that, and it can take years and involve numerous relapses. There is no addiction treatment with a really high success rate, but Intervention is at least trying to give people a chance at getting sober. Their true successes are really moving. My favorite is Hubert, an alcoholic who was living on the streets, and who had been sober for 18 months at the last reunion show. That doesn’t mean that he won’t relapse at some point in the future, but at least he’s had 18 months of living in a home, holding a job, and having a relationship with his family.
A little. But so did my SO. Though I think it was the kind of laughter that follows something hideous and incomprehensible that looks like it’s out of a cartoon. She was literally rendering herself retarded every few minutes, and the fact that it was from something completely legal just made it all the more ridiculous. That episode and the one with the nudist meth head are my ‘favorites.’ And really, while you know drugs turn people into assholes… what a pair of completely selfish dicks. I think it wa sin one of those where the interventionist pointed out that, while the addict is hurting, she gets to escape the pain if only temporarily while her family has to deal with it all. Just the polar opposite of the addicts who begged for help or wept when it was offered, who truly seemed like nice people under everything (like, the alcoholic homeless guy).
Oh yeah, Hubert! God that episode made me cry. And is it just me, or does every single episode involve molestation or sexual assault in the addict’s childhood or late teens? It really boils my blood and brings to light the far-reaching consequences of one vile act.
Well, thank you for your informative replies. Of course, the show IS shortened for tv purposes, otherwise we would have ot watch a bunch of stuff that is not as interesting as yelling and indecent behavior. Getting into re-hab is only just a start, it’s true.
It is interesting that shows like 'vention thrive on the concept of schadenfreude. Where would reality tv be without it?
I don’t think they’re actors, but are very camera-aware and many of them seem to both relish the attention and engage in a kind of self-parody because of it. The line that divides Actors from Normal People has become irreparably blurred, though—an entire generation has never known a time when “reality” shows didn’t comprise the majority of television “entertainment.” (And even more dismally, the next generation will never know a time before YouTube…)
I still want to know how they get the interventionees to agree to participate in a documentary about addiction. Why would you *want *to be filmed on the worst days of your life, when supposedly you’ve hit bottom and your addiction is at a peak and you look like hell? Why aren’t the participants suspicious of that?
Also, I love Hubert! I was so excited to see his follow up episode that showed him doing well, I might have cried a little.
Hard to say. 
Every person I know that has seen this honestly feels bad for her, but she’s just so whacked out it’s absurd. I know that when I first watched the episode I had my mouth agape and could only think “…Wow. Remind me never to come within a mile of computer duster.” Apparently she’s one of the internets’ favorites.
That said, this is one of the few shows I watch. I really like it and hope that everyone recovers and I’m sad when I see the little blurb at the end about the person getting kicked out or replapsing.
Ha! I was just coming in here to say: you know what’s fun? Watching this when you are drunk.
That episode was epic.
[huufffffffff] :eek: I can take on the world!
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!