JamesG
08-24-2010, 07:44 PM
10 Saddest Reality Shows, From "True Life" to "Animal Hoarders"
by Elena Cox
posted Aug 24th 2010
10. "Tough Love"
VH1
2009 - present
Premise: A mother and son matchmaker team tries to help lovelorn contestants find love after a series of troubled relationships.
Saddest moment: In season 2, the already insecure Angel's family doesn't come to see her on visiting day. And then again a couple of episodes later, Taylor tells Angel her family doesn't care about her.
9. "16 & Pregnant" / "Teen Mom"
MTV
2009 - present
Premise: Documentation of teenage girls who become pregnant in high school.
Saddest Moment: Maci's baby daddy chastises her for wanting to put her son in daycare so that she can go to college, but offers her no help in raising their son.
8. "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew"
VH1
2008 - present
Premise: C-list celebrities go to rehab and let VH1 document their progress (or lack thereof)
Saddest moment: Watching Grease star Jeff Conaway talk about the debilitation he suffered from as a result of his addictions and his enabling girlfriend.
7. "True Life"
MTV
1998 - present
Premise: An award-winning MTV documentary series which centers on a different topic each episode -- some controversial, some not.
Saddest moment: "True Life: I Stutter" documented teenagers whose lives were affected by their speech impediment.
When Tim's stutter prevented him from getting a decent job, he faced eviction from his apartment.
6. "Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew"
VH1
2009
Premise: A spin-off of "Celebrity Rehab", "Sex Rehab" specifically focuses on sex addiction and trying to find the root of the patient's compulsive behaviors.
Saddest moment: The girls are taken to a special art therapy program in which they open up about sexual abuse they may have suffered, and Kari-Ann, the most volatile patient, admits to having suffered from serious sexual trauma in her past.
5. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
ABC
2003 - present
Premise: Families who face hardships or who practice acts of kindness are rewarded with a makeover of their homes.
Saddest moment: The Kadzis family, who had adopted five special-needs children from China, discovered that father George had terminal brain cancer.
George, a prison dentist, passed away a week after the episode aired.
4. "Obsessed"
A&E
2009 - present
Premise: Individuals who struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder are shown attempting to treat their disease.
Saddest moment: AJ, a woman who suffers from OCD, needs the help of a service dog to cope with her extreme anxiety.
However, she is triggered by thoughts of animal abuse because her father had routinely abused her dog as a child.
3. "Hoarding: Buried Alive"
TLC
2010 - present
Premise: Compulsive hoarders cause strain in their personal relationships and every day lives due to their habits.
Therapists and organizers attempt to help these hoarders reassess their lives and get them on the path to recovery.
Saddest moment: Benny's hoarding has caused his children to stop visiting him and prevent his grandchildren from entering his home.
2. "Confessions: Animal Hoarding"
Animal Planet
2010 - present
Premise: People who keep an excessive number of pets despite being unable to care for them.
Saddest moment: Janice, a cancer survivor, lives in a trailer and owns 97 dogs and 20 cats.
When her estranged husband moves out threatens to cut her off financially, her daughter offers to support her mother if she gets rid of the majority of her pets.
1. "Intervention"
A&E
2005 - present
Premise: Friends and family of addicts decide to perform an intervention after their addictions have gotten too out of control.
Saddest moment: Lawrence was featured during season 4 of "Intervention". Despite excelling in school and owning a successful tanning salon business in Las Vegas, the abuse he suffered as a child led him to alcoholism.
Throughout the episode, he is seen drinking 32 oz. mugs of vodka and empty bottles are seen littered throughout his home. After his body was weakened by cancer, his drinking became worse, causing cirrosis of the liver, for which he did not seek treatment.
After 30 days of rehabilitation, Lawrence was asked to leave due to his lack of focus. After three weeks of sobriety, he relapsed and died as a result of his liver damage.
http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/08/24/10-saddest-reality-shows-from-true-life-to-animal-hoarders/
by Elena Cox
posted Aug 24th 2010
10. "Tough Love"
VH1
2009 - present
Premise: A mother and son matchmaker team tries to help lovelorn contestants find love after a series of troubled relationships.
Saddest moment: In season 2, the already insecure Angel's family doesn't come to see her on visiting day. And then again a couple of episodes later, Taylor tells Angel her family doesn't care about her.
9. "16 & Pregnant" / "Teen Mom"
MTV
2009 - present
Premise: Documentation of teenage girls who become pregnant in high school.
Saddest Moment: Maci's baby daddy chastises her for wanting to put her son in daycare so that she can go to college, but offers her no help in raising their son.
8. "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew"
VH1
2008 - present
Premise: C-list celebrities go to rehab and let VH1 document their progress (or lack thereof)
Saddest moment: Watching Grease star Jeff Conaway talk about the debilitation he suffered from as a result of his addictions and his enabling girlfriend.
7. "True Life"
MTV
1998 - present
Premise: An award-winning MTV documentary series which centers on a different topic each episode -- some controversial, some not.
Saddest moment: "True Life: I Stutter" documented teenagers whose lives were affected by their speech impediment.
When Tim's stutter prevented him from getting a decent job, he faced eviction from his apartment.
6. "Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew"
VH1
2009
Premise: A spin-off of "Celebrity Rehab", "Sex Rehab" specifically focuses on sex addiction and trying to find the root of the patient's compulsive behaviors.
Saddest moment: The girls are taken to a special art therapy program in which they open up about sexual abuse they may have suffered, and Kari-Ann, the most volatile patient, admits to having suffered from serious sexual trauma in her past.
5. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
ABC
2003 - present
Premise: Families who face hardships or who practice acts of kindness are rewarded with a makeover of their homes.
Saddest moment: The Kadzis family, who had adopted five special-needs children from China, discovered that father George had terminal brain cancer.
George, a prison dentist, passed away a week after the episode aired.
4. "Obsessed"
A&E
2009 - present
Premise: Individuals who struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder are shown attempting to treat their disease.
Saddest moment: AJ, a woman who suffers from OCD, needs the help of a service dog to cope with her extreme anxiety.
However, she is triggered by thoughts of animal abuse because her father had routinely abused her dog as a child.
3. "Hoarding: Buried Alive"
TLC
2010 - present
Premise: Compulsive hoarders cause strain in their personal relationships and every day lives due to their habits.
Therapists and organizers attempt to help these hoarders reassess their lives and get them on the path to recovery.
Saddest moment: Benny's hoarding has caused his children to stop visiting him and prevent his grandchildren from entering his home.
2. "Confessions: Animal Hoarding"
Animal Planet
2010 - present
Premise: People who keep an excessive number of pets despite being unable to care for them.
Saddest moment: Janice, a cancer survivor, lives in a trailer and owns 97 dogs and 20 cats.
When her estranged husband moves out threatens to cut her off financially, her daughter offers to support her mother if she gets rid of the majority of her pets.
1. "Intervention"
A&E
2005 - present
Premise: Friends and family of addicts decide to perform an intervention after their addictions have gotten too out of control.
Saddest moment: Lawrence was featured during season 4 of "Intervention". Despite excelling in school and owning a successful tanning salon business in Las Vegas, the abuse he suffered as a child led him to alcoholism.
Throughout the episode, he is seen drinking 32 oz. mugs of vodka and empty bottles are seen littered throughout his home. After his body was weakened by cancer, his drinking became worse, causing cirrosis of the liver, for which he did not seek treatment.
After 30 days of rehabilitation, Lawrence was asked to leave due to his lack of focus. After three weeks of sobriety, he relapsed and died as a result of his liver damage.
http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/08/24/10-saddest-reality-shows-from-true-life-to-animal-hoarders/