The setup for "Intervention," the invariably disturbing and sometimes moving reality series from A & E, sounds cheesy and exploitive: A drug addict or alcoholic agrees to participate in a documentary on addiction but does not know that an intervention is in the cards.

The show spends most of its hour following the addict, as they score, shoot up, rage, rationalize, and regret, all the while filling in the background of how they came to their dire straits. It certainly doesn't glamorize addiction -- far from it. Instead, it tries to give some dimension to the addict's life beyond their addiction. Many have suffered childhoods that were toxic combinations of addiction, abuse, and death. Learning these details is heartrending.

This kind of exploration puts the viewer in a distinctly uncomfortable position. At no time do you feel you ought be watching this; it is, after all, intensely private pain and chaos packaged for entertainment. Each of the interventions consists of family members confronting their brother or sister, father or mother, daughter or son. The exchanges are tightly-wound emotional pleas that spasm out into the open. Sometimes the interventions work (in the sense that the addict agrees to treatment), often they do not. And the relapse rate for those in recovery is sadly high.

Whether it's an extreme reality show, or cautionary tale, or family saga, you may wonder about the motives behind "Intervention." But the results are clearer: it's ghastly, engrossing television.