Celebrity Life Helps

Does showing a celebrity struggle to handle and addiction make it more apt to inspire viewers? Comparing "Celebrity Fit Club" to "The Biggest Loser", probably not. A lot of us may feel more like we identify with a normal person trying to lose wait. To me, food is as addictive as alcohol or drugs. How often do I get stressed and feel like I have to have chocolate? Since I'm not a celebrity, no one cares. But it probably shows why I identify with the struggles of anyone trying to break bad habits.

"Celebrity Rehab" is another show that has a non-celeb counterpart in "Intervention". I haven't watched the latter, probably because my brother was an addict and I am not at all comfortable with some of it. However, I did tune in Dr. Drew's show, mainly to see what would possess a well-known personality to publicly go through detox and all the rest. I didn't expect to get hooked on the show, but I found harder to miss than it was to watch. Perhaps, again, because of my brother. It helped me understand why his stint in rehab didn't help him.

Oddly enough, two actors appeared on both celebrity shows. Daniel Baldwin appeared on "Celebrity Fit Club" in 2005 and Jeff Conaway did so in 2006. If memory serves, neither of them made it through the entire show. Baldwin didn't show up for the final weigh-in and Conaway had to enter rehab after a few weeks. I suppose they both were obvious candidates for Celebrity Rehab. And both left rehab early. Conaway is supposed to appear again on the second season of Dr. Drew's rehab show, scheduled for October.

Also in rehab were other reality tv personalities. Brigitte Nielsen had appeared on "The Surreal Life" and "Strange Love" with Flavor Flav. That relationship didn't work out as well as the one between Christopher Knight and Adrianne Curry, who in their season on "The Surreal Life" shared the house with Joanie Laurer. Joanie, aka Chyna Doll, was also in "Celebrity Rehab", bonding to some extent with other Amazon woman, Brigitte. Finally, also in rehab was Jessica Sierra, first put into the spotlight on "American Idol".

There are victories and disappointments on both shows. Maureen McCormick lost a lot of weight on Fit Club, but looked like she'd gained some of it back when she appeared on "Gone Country". Toccara Jones, former "America's Next Top Model", appeared on both the club and camp versions of the show. In the latter, she rose to the occasion, not only deciding she could lose weight and be a plus-size model, but leading the team with both compassion and determination. I never saw anyone work so hard for others as she did. Toccara is now a
host on a BET show and still models.

On "Celebrity Rehab", Mary Carey and Ricco Rodriguez appear to have turned their lives around. Jessica Sierra has had her problems, but she is still working on getting better. One of the things I've discovered about both shows is that when you see people at their worst moments, you start feeling for them. I was blown away by Tina Yother's determination to lose weight. Mary Carey's story touched my heart. I'm hooked on both shows and look forward to new seasons. Hopefully, there will be more Fit Club.