Intervention (TV series)

Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.

Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom suffers from an addiction and believes he is being filmed for a documentary on addictions. Their situations are actually being documented in anticipation of an intervention by family and/or friends. Each participant has a choice: go into rehabilitation immediately, or risk losing contact, income, or other privileges from the loved ones who instigated the intervention. Often, other tactics are used to persuade the addicted person into treatment, which vary depending on the situation. The producers usually follow up months later to monitor the addicted person's progress and film it for "follow up" episodes.

Although many programs of this type preach certain moral or lifestyle views, Intervention tends to refrain from editorializing. The show relies on its raw, intimate footage to tell its story, and it leaves ultimate interpretation to the viewer.

Each intervention is conducted by one of four Intervention specialists: Jeff Van Vonderen, Candy Finnigan, Ken Seeley or Tara Fields.

In the past, addictions covered by the show have included:

• sexual addiction
• alcoholism
• anorexia
• bulimia
• drug addiction
• gambling addiction
• compulsive shopping
• plastic surgery addiction
• self-injury
• video game addiction
• rage addiction
• food addiction

In one particular episode of the show, the documentary followed the son of Three Dog Night vocalist Chuck Negron as he battled heroin addiction. Another episode featured Vanessa Marquez, who played a supporting role on the first three seasons of ER, who suffers from a compulsive-shopping disorder. Another follows Travis Meeks, lead singer of the popular Alternative Rock band Days of the New and focuses on his methamphetamine addiction, and another tells the story of basketball player Antwahn Nance, a 6'10" former NBA power forward for the LA Clippers, who ended up homeless on skid row due to his crack cocaine drug addiction. In addition to musicians, athletes and TV stars, the series features ordinary, every-day people with extraordinary addictions.

Episode Guide

Season One

• 00 - Follow-Up Special
• 01 - Alyson and Tommy: Alyson was a White House intern and an award-winning student. She met a boy in college who showed her the world of drugs and she became an addict. Alyson now lives at home with her parents and is a heavy user of morphine and crack. She also works hard to alienate herself from the people who love her. Alyson also takes painkillers from her dying father. Tommy, a 38-year-old ex-stockbroker, is addicted to cocaine. He has lost everything to drugs including his job, retirement plan, and his luxury condominium. Now Tommy lives on the streets and tries to keep up his drug habit.
• 02 - Gabe and Vanessa: Gabe is addicted to gambling and has lost over $200,000 in the casino. He has even withdrawn money from his parent's accounts without their knowledge. Vanessa, who was a recurring guest star on the hit show ER, is addicted to shopping. She is heading towards bankruptcy.
• 03 - Tamela and Jerrie: Jerrie's family calls interventionist Jeff VanVonderen to help their 29-year-old daughter, who is addicted to Vicodin. Jerrie is so addicted that she has been forging physician signatures to get the prescriptions that she thinks she needs. She also walks around the waterfront to find drug dealers so she can get high. Tamela, a 24-year-old artist, cuts herself with razorblades. As a child, she was molested and has a hard time getting over what happened. Her family hopes she will go into treatment.
• 04 - Alissa and Brian: Alissa's parents and friends try to save her from her gambling addiction. She has lost over $30,000 on 25-cent slots. Her boyfriend has three jobs and makes all of the money, while Alissa gambles it away. Brian has a bad crystal meth habit. He is also a sex addict. Brian roams around the streets to find new partners every night.
• 05 - Sara: She had everything she ever wanted out of life, including a wonderful husband and family. In fact, she almost had a perfect life until it all ended in divorce. Not knowing how to handle the divorce, she turned to crystal meth. Sara is now a junkie and has lost everything in her life, including her daughter. She now lives at home with her parents and continues using drugs all of the time. Her family hopes she will get the help that she needs to get her life back.
• 06 - Travis and Matt: Travis Meeks is addicted to crystal meth and is a former rock and roll star. Matt is addicted to crack-cocaine. He steals from his family and friends so he can buy drugs for himself.
• 07 - Peter and Renee: Peter is addicted to video games. It has gotten so bad that he refers to himself as characters that are in the games he plays. Renee has an eating disorder and is dependent on water pills to keep her thin. Her health and her family are all feeling the effects of Renee's eating disorder.
• 08 - Tina: Tina is a mother of three and a true desperate housewife. She spends all of her time gambling with her car and house payments whilst high on prescription pills. Tina is at a crisis stage with almost all of her jewelery pawned and getting paycheck advances at any chance. Now she is forced to write insurance policies and spends all of her days at race tracks and bingo halls. Her husband Harley has contacted Intervention as a last resort.
• 09 - Cristine and Kelly: Cristine, a wife and mother with many problems, is an alcoholic who drinks about 18 beers a day. Kelly is an anorexic who weighs only 93 pounds. She has a 6-year-old daughter who is sadly following in her mother’s footsteps. Everyone who loves Kelly is not only trying to save her, but also her daughter, who is beginning to refuse food.
• 10 - Kelly F. and Mark: Kelly is living on the streets and is an alcoholic. Even though she has a genius-level IQ, she cannot seem to stop herself from living off others. Mark has been addicted to painkillers ever since he had a morphine pump surgically implanted because of illness.
• 11 - Rachel and Tommy Update: Rachel, who was once a gorgeous child, now spends all of her time getting high on heroin and engaging in prostitution. Tommy is a cocaine abuser who has lost everything, including his job, to support his habit.
• 12 - Michael and Randi: Michael has a serious anger problem. He has a history of violent behavior and has been known to punch holes into the walls of his father's house. Randi is a bulimic and a crystal meth addict. She is in denial of her condition and cannot deal with her childhood sexual abuse.
• 13 - Michael and Brooks: A school athlete is addicted to pills and alcohol after emotional pain. A former wrestling star has turned into a drug addict after a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Season Two

• 14 - Corrine
• 15 - Howard and Audrey
• 16 - Adam & Michael
• 17 - Heidi and Michelle
• 18 - Salina and Troy
• 19 - Kristen
• 20 - Follow-Up 2
• 21 - Antwahn and Billy
• 22 - Annie and Amy
• 23 - Chuckie: Chuckie, the son of Three Dog Night rocker Chuck Negron, is addicted to heroin.
• 24 - Gina and Andrea
• 25 - John
• 26 - Antwahn and Rachel--Follow-Up
• 27 - Tammi and Daniel
• 28 - Mike and James
• 29 - Tim
• 30 - Betsy
• 31 - Cristy
• 32 - Sylvia: A 49-year-old former soap opera actress and highly successful interior designer from North Carolina, Sylvia has lost custody of her 4 children. Sylvia is addicted to alcohol, specifically the mini-bar sizes of vodka which she refers to as 'red tops'.
• 33 - Laurie and Jessie
• 34 - Lauren

Season Three

• 35 - Ryan
• 36 - Jacob
• 37 - Kim
• 38 - Anthony
• 39 - Trent
• 40 - Dillon
• 41 - Jessica and Hubert
• 42 - Laney
• 43 - Ashley
• 44 - Andrea and Ricky
• 45 - Leslie
• 46 - Coley
• 47 - Caylee: A 23-year-old bulimic and heroin addict. She has dropped down to 80 lbs. Caylee's mother, Christy, has been a major influence for her addictive behavior. Christy has had a terrible past and has hidden bulimia from her family since she was much younger. Christy taught Caylee how to watch her weight and together they now suffer from this very dangerous eating disorder. The family wants to help both of them, but they need to have Christy present at the intervention to first confront Caylee. Then, the family plans to confront Christy, with treatment options for both of them.
• 48 - Pam: An alcoholic with a terrible past full of failed marriages and abuse. She uses drinking to cope with her past and to try to move forward in her life. Cirrhosis, the degradation of the liver due specifically to alcohol, has already claimed one member of her family. Her family does not want Pam to be the second victim and urge her through an Intervention to agree to treatment.
• 49 - Jill: Jill was a successful beautiful person but was betrayed by a boyfriend who distributed copies of a tape that depicted them having sex. Now, Jill is depressed and hurt, using a substance to numb her pain. Jill is becoming addicted to alcohol and fast. Her family wants to have an intervention in the hopes of preventing any further damage.
• 50 - Dawn: A forty-nine year old who was once a model is now homeless and wanders around town using meth and suffering from the effects of Meth Psychosis. Her two sons ask for help.
• 51 - Emily: This twenty-six year old grew up struggling to meet her parents' high expectations. Despite winning many academic and athletic honors, Emily suffered from depression and low self-esteem. Her shameful feelings intensified when she became a date-rape victim in college. She dieted in hopes of regaining control of her life, but now she weighs less than 90 pounds. Her family hopes an intervention will save her before she starves to death.
• 52 - Follow Up: Ryan and Hubert: A look at how two people have fared since their interventions. Ryan, an OxyContin addict, was in and out of treatment for months before dropping out entirely and hitting bottom. Now he's back in rehab, but he's having trouble following the rules and he'll go to jail if he's kicked out. And Hubert, a former alcoholic, is nine months sober and has a new job. But he still struggles with the death of his father and avoiding an old friend.
• 53 - Brooke
• 54 - Jason: Jason is an alcoholic and cocaine abuser and makes all of his money selling drugs. His sister, Joy, is often his drinking partner and co-drug user. They come from a large religious family that was torn apart by a divorce and their mother's abandonment. It becomes increasingly apparent that both need professional help.
• 55 - Josh and Ben. Josh is a talented young singer with an uncontrollable desire to eat; he weighs over 550 pounds. Ben is a genius with an IQ of 170 and a debilitating addiction to DXM.
• 56 - Tressa. Tressa is 32 and was an outstanding female athlete from Nebraska who later appeared in the 2000 Olympics. Tressa is now using crystal meth daily as her life spirals out of control. Can her family save Tressa despite her fathers disapproval over her LGBT lifestyle?

Controversy

Critics of Intervention and shows with similar premises argue that the documentary may cross the line into exploitation, and that people who were perhaps not in the best frame of mind were persuaded to appear on the program, even if they later agreed that appearing on the show was good for them.

External links

• Official site
• Video 'The Time for Intervention' video on A&E TV's Website.
• Video 'Intervention: The Impact of Addiction' video on A&E TV's Website.
• Intervention