Not So Divine "Intervention"

I have an ongoing argument with a friend who's in recovery. He believes that A&E'S "Intervention," which returns for its third season tonight, is an admirable show. It's good publicity for interventions, he says, for America to watch addicts hit their bottoms and then undergo the saving efforts of friends and family.

But I think it’s a horrible piece of reality exploitation. Getting an addict’s permission to film when he or she is at or nearing the bottom is not fair. And persuading that addict to give permission to be filmed by claiming that the show is about addiction, and not mentioning the coming intervention, is a deception that’s particularly ugly when directed toward a person in despair. I just don't think these means justify the end, which is to make a powerful reality series. There has to be another way to promote the undeniable value of interventions.

I wrote a screed against "Intervention" when it premiered in 2005, and in it I described the premiere's profile of a shopping addict with OCD. Not long after the review ran in the Globe, that shop-a-holic called and left me three very long voice mails about how much she regretted her decision to appear on the show. Maybe she just wanted more attention, and wanted me to write about her; but maybe she really just needed more attention from someone other than the media.