It’s always fun to give A&E the business for having changed their format so dramatically that you often need to a microscope to find either art or entertainment in their programming, but it must be said that, of the countless reality shows that fill the network’s roster these days, “Intervention” is an enthralling series that provides a look at the depths of addiction and the torture that addicts put their friends and family through. Rather than focusing specifically on drug addiction, the show also delves into people with gambling issues and…shopping addiction? That one feels a bit sketchy, if only because it feels less like an addiction than an obsessive-compulsive situation, but, hey, I’m not doctor. Perhaps they’re one in the same. Though the majority of the people spotlighted are average folks, there are a couple of exceptions, including Travis Meeks, lead singer of Days of the New, and Vanessa Gomez, who played nurse Wendy Goldman during the first three seasons of “E.R..” (Gomez is the one with the shopping addiction, by the way.) Though “Intervention” feels decidedly voyeuristic, it can’t be said to sensationalize addiction. It’s sometimes excruciating to watch, and if you’re not an addictive personality, you’ll find yourself wanting to smack these people around for the way they’ve been doing drugs when they could’ve been living great lives and doing great things, but at least the bonus updates on four of the six spotlighted individuals show that the majority of them have been winning their battles. Still, you have to wonder about the other two whose fates aren’t updated…and, unfortunately, you really have to fear the worst.
