Rating `Celebrity Rehab`

For many people, TV shows—especially those they have enjoyed over the course of years—are a huge part of their lives. “Taxi” was “real” to those who enjoyed it. Therefore, actor Jeff Conaway is not just a celebrity in “Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew” (March/April 2008 issue)—he is a friend whom people care about. He and “Taxi” brought them pleasure and “friendship.”

You can't take an elitist attitude toward a project such as this. “Celebrity Rehab,” I am confident, drew in many, many people who were positively affected. If it had been primarily “educational” or “clinical” in approach, they would not have watched, nor would they have watched if they did not “know” and sympathize with the subjects.

Yes, people can “cull the important information,” as you state in your Letter From the Editor. Not all of their information comes from one show or one series! Remember that they're watching a series such as this, with all of its alleged imperfections, in a cable environment that offers them a limitless and scary world of food, drink, and sexual programming guaranteed to reinforce addictions.