On Fri, May 27, 2011 at 11:50 PM, Kevin M. <[email protected]> wrote: >> Jeff Conaway, an actor who came to fame in the late 1970s as a high school >> greaser in the hit movie musical "Grease" and as a regular on the TV series >> "Taxi" but more recently was known for his appearances on "Celebrity Rehab >> With Dr. Drew," died today in Encino. He was 60. > > And I'm sure Drew Pinsky will point to the stats that state many > people simply do not take to rehab, but I cannot help but place some > of the blame on him, his show, and the people who watch it. Maybe I'm > wrong, but I can't think of another reason to watch that series other > than schadenfreude. And the only way to convince people to appear on > it is to con them into believing a public spilling of innermost demons > is a healthy part of the recovery process. Yes, Mr. Conaway did this > to himself, but instead of getting private counseling or treatment by > experts who are not interested in ratings or fame of their own, he got > -- well -- screwed by another snake-oil salesman who happens to have a > D and R in front of his name. > > It is to the point now that whenever a doctor appears on television, I > just assume everything he/she declares as true is a lie and > vice-versa. I've stated before that I think guys like Drew, Sanjay, > and Phil do a disservice to their respective fields, ultimately > pushing viewers away from therapy that might otherwise benefit them, > or pushing them towards some sort of quackery that will cause them > harm.
I could not take any confidence in your argument. Specifically I don't know if a private therapist would have made a positive difference. >From what I know of rehab, which comes from a distance of never going through it myself or helping someone close through the process, there are just too many ways for it to fail. You can't say that Conaway harmed himself by doing the TV show and would have been fixed up if he'd done it another way. And since you can't say that you can't blame Pinsky. I think people watch these shows for two reasons: first they, or someone close to them, has gone through rehab, is going through rehab, or needs to go to rehab. They know and feel the problems intimately and feel good when they see the process succeed. Second, people are tired of the air-brushed images publicists and celebrity media put out of the lives of the stars. It's meaningful to them to see people who are said to have perfect lives struggle. -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en
