Do fans of Hoarders call themselves “Hoarders”? Or “Hoarderers”? In any case, the series is back for its second-season premiere tonight on A&E, and it’s an unsettling doozy, about a toothless, stubborn woman in Louisiana named Augustine. Her house is a hoarder-nightmare. The amount of filth, the layers of rotting food, mountains of dirty clothes and kitchen utensils, and the occasional dead animal found crushed in these rooms is truly amazing and appalling (I brought up her teeth because her lost, false set of choppers plays a part in tonight’s episode):
You can read my review of the Hoarders season premiere here. I worry about the emotional damage this angry, suffering woman has inflicted upon herself and her grown children, both of whom interviewed here seem to be intelligent, likable people.
As for Intervention, which begins its eighth season tonight: This has got to be one of the more dramatic entries in the series. It tells the story of Linda, who worked as an extra in Hollywood until her addiction to painkillers ruined her looks and overtook her day-to-day existence.
You can see a scary excerpt from Intervention, an intervention on Linda’s behalf, here.
So I ask you: Will you watch Intervention and/or Hoarders? Do you find these shows depressing, voyeuristic drags, or educational and sometimes even inspiring?
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Its like a trainwreck for me…I feel guilty watching it, and yet I can’t look away if its on the channel…thankfully I don’t go looking for the series, so I don’t see many episodes…I feel bad for these folks…I cannot imagine living like this…
it is consumerism at it’s best!
It’s all staged for you entertainment – stuff is moved into the house to make it really bad – Reality…NOT
I have a friend who’s mom lives like this. I don’t believe they are staged at all. And it has nothing to do with consumerism – her mom is mentally ill IMO.
I like “Intervention,” despite how depressing it can be, because of the compelling weekly redemption stories. Reality TV doesn’t get any realer than this. “Hoarders,” however, I can’t take. I find it too exploitative, and the hoarders in question rarely succeed in any satisfying way. I don’t think a two-day clean-up crew is enough therapy for these people. I liked “Obsessed,” though. What happened to it?
I agree with you about no satisfying results. Nothing seems to get resolved – the house gets cleaned up but you can tell it wont stay that way. It’s really just an excuse to go into a really dirty house.
Intervention and Hoarders – both staged and scripted to pull at the heart strings of people – stupid show showcasing people who should be left to their own devices – hey – they are responsible for the life that they created – why does a tv production crew and “interventionists” have to show up before they suddenly have the “ah-ha” moment to clean up their life – Staged people – just like the stupid ballon boy – and all of you are falling for the crap – TURN OFF THE TV and clean your own house
I like my organzation shows like Clean House or Clean Sweep but Hoarders is just too digusting for me. I could have not eaten for 24 hours and still want to throw up.
I agree with you. I like the hoarders on Clean House much better, because they are forced to change their ways, and get rewarded with a nice makeover. After 5 minutes of Hoarders, I was just depressed.
I come from a long line of packrats and have a friend who is a hoarder.This show keeps me from making that step toward the dark side of gathering stuff. Every time I watch it I`m thankful I`m not on it.
I’m just like Tex — I have serious packrat habits, and “Hoarders” has made me take control so that I never, ever get to this point. It can be disgusting, but I feel like the show makes it very clear that these people have a mental illness and deserve help rather than condemnation.
I watch both shows faithfully every Monday. I call Monday night, my cry night. If you have family members with “issues” like I do these shows show the human side when we don’t always remember to look for it.
I sometimes watch both shows if nothing else is on, but I usually feel sick by the end of either and cant finish. Intervention I feel sick when I keep watching peeps guzzling booze and mouthwash or doing crack and Horders is too much to watch, especially in HD where I can see the detail of each mold spore! Puke!
“Hoarders” can be a serious downer- I agree with Bondfool, that a 2-day clean-up (why are they always only allowed 2 days with a crew?) is often unlikely to produce any significant or permanent change in the physical living conditions or mental state of the sufferer, and you feel the majority profiled won’t be ’success stories’ once the cameras stop rolling. My mom has a lot of the characteristics of a hoarder, though, so I find the show compelling, regardless- can’t count the number of times I’ve heard her use the same reasoning and put up the same arguments (and anger) to me when I’m trying to help her clean up or get rid of excessive clutter and food (we just never allow things to get as bad as they get on the show). Having said that, I think the ‘therapists/specialists’ they bring in are occasionally useless and self-serving, and don’t seem to be helping the situations much. If the specialist actually seems to be genuinely trying to help and some headway is made, I find those shows inspiring, even if you’re uncertain of the success down the road- the one with the young guy and his alcoholic father comes to mind.
I looove these shows, but I enjoy Obsessed more than Hoarders. I hope they bring that back soon.
I feel so guilty for watching, and for getting a big judgey about it. I mean, to me, a true hoarder would have things stacked to the ceiling in neat piles. These folks have everything strewn all over the place! (wow i need to use ’strewn’ more often!) it’s a trainwreck i can’t turn away from!!! I LOVE MY NICE HOUSE lol
I’ve never watched either show. However, I have a family friend who is in her late-50s and would qualify for “Hoarders” easily. She recently told me that she watches the show and identifies with the people (and the emotions) in it. As a result, she is changing her lifestyle drastically. From that alone, I say that the show is educational.
I’m watch Hoarders on occasion and find this show more real than other ‘reality’ shows. These people are messed up in the head and it shows very easily. The last episode I remember is the one with the lady who took care of cats and the part that disgusted me the most are the dead carcasses of the newborns found in the garage. I was disgusted because I adore cats and this was just horrible. I have no idea how people can get into this state and not recognize that it’s a mess. Instant cure, send them gone for the 2 day and clear out the house. It’ll snap them out of their rut in two seconds lol.
No. It won’t.
Wow, I’ve never seen either of these shows, but by the looks of that clip I don’t think I could handle watching Hoarders. It looks far too depressing. It reminds me of that movie Grey Gardens and how filthy they let their house become.
so let me get this straight. you spend your time searching the web for news articles about shows you’ve never seen and post comments on them? sounds like fun.
I do not spend my time searching the web for news articles about shows I’ve never seen. I simply enjoy reading articles on this website, whether I’ve seen the show or not. I happened to read this one and decided to comment on what I thought about it.
all three!
I like watching Intervention. I work with kids who are influenced by parents or siblings with addictions, but I don’t have any real life experience. I actually find I reference my Intervention watching when I consider what their home lives are like.