You can see how Vh1’s Celebrity Rehab sounded like a great idea. It’s simple: combine America’s celebrity obsession with the current trend of self-redemption-themed reality TV shows, get yourself some B-level stars with substance abuse problems (no shortage of those), and put them through the recovery ringer with Dr. Drew Pinsky. It practically produces itself.

Genius, right? Only not really.

There are a number of flaws in Celebrity Rehab’s design, not the least of which is the fact that Dr. Drew might be the biggest celeb on the show. The rest of the cast includes Brigitte Nielsen, pro wrestling’s Chyna, the singer from Crazy Town, Kenicke from Grease, a porn star, a girl who was briefly on Family Matters, and the least famous of the Baldwin brothers.

Oh, and MMA fighter Ricco Rodriguez is also coming to the party late, hopefully with an explanation of why he tried to auction off his UFC heavyweight championship belt on Ebay (my money’s on cocaine).

In other words, when talking about this show with your friends you would likely put air quotes around the word “celebrity” the same way you do when talking about your cousin who is working as a “dancer” to put herself through “college”.

It begs the question: where does entertainment end and exploitation begin? Watching Celebrity Rehab is strangely compelling – the way watching people struggle with addiction often is – but it has little to do with the fact that these people are (according to a very broad definition of the word) famous. It’s more like a watered-down version of A&E’s Intervention.

The fact that this show features celebrities really only encourages us to revel in their pain and feel better about seeing their broken lives on display. To a degree, that’s understandable. Celebrities in our society make a deal with the devil. They receive money, undue adulation, a false sense of accomplishment, but in exchange they give up certain things, like their privacy.

The drug and alcohol-addicted celebrities on this show, however, are really just messed up people who may or may not be using their “recovery” as a way of revitalizing their careers. It’s like everyone is using everyone else in this sordid game. Maybe that’s why I feel a little dirty after watching it

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly says that Mary-Kate Olsen won’t be interviewed in connection with the death of Heath Ledger

Internet and print reports have insisted that MK would be questioned by cops, insinuating that Ledger’s masseuse, Diana Wolozin, called her to hatch a plan to hide illegal drugs in Heath’s apartment. If that were true, we’re told, cops would have to interview Olsen, but as TMZ has reported, that simply isn’t the case.

Adnan Ghalib, the on and off boyfriend of troubled pop superstar Britney Spears, has compared their relationship to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, who died in a car crash Aug 31, 1997, in Paris.Ghalib had dared to speak of his relationship with Spears just after a month, though he’s not sure how long the relationship could last, thesun.co.uk reports.He said that there are similarities between Spears and the late Princess Diana. When the fact about media attention was mentioned as a similarity between Spears and Diana during the interview, Ghalib added, “Or dating an Arab”.

NEW YORK —  An autopsy on actor Heath Ledger was inconclusive, and more tests are needed, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office said.

A spokeswoman for the office, Ellen Borakove, said Wednesday that it will take about 10 days to complete the investigation.

There was no obvious indication of suicide or foul play, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, who added that cops are “investigating the possibility of an overdose.”

The 28-year-old Australia-born actor’s ex-fiancée, actress Michelle Williams, was flying to New York from Sweden with their 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, her father said.

“It has just broken everybody’s heart in my family,” Larry Williams, Michelle’s dad, told The Daily Telegraph in Australia. “My heart goes out to everyone, his family, my family, we are just very saddened. The saddest thing is his daughter, whom he just loved dearly.”

Oscar-nominee Ledger was found dead Tuesday at his downtown Manhattan residence, face-down and naked at the foot of his bed with prescription sleeping pills in the apartment, police said.

Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, released a statement on Australian television while surrounded by his family:

“We, Heath’s family, confirm the very tragic, untimely and accidental passing of our dearly loved son, brother and doting father of Matilda. He was found peacefully asleep in his New York apartment by his housekeeper at 3:30 p.m. U.S. time.

“We would like to thank our friends and everyone around the world for their well wishes and kind thoughts at this time. Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him.

“He was a down to earth, generous, kind-hearted, life-loving and selfless individual who was extremely inspirational to many. Please now respect our families need to grieve and come to terms with our loss privately.”

In a grainy video that circulated online Tuesday Amy Winehouse, 24, left, appears to smoke crack and claims to have taken “about six Valium.” It was posted on the Web site for The Sun, a British tabloid (thesun.co.uk), and an accompanying article, inset, said the video was taken early Friday morning at Ms. Winehouse’s London home, and that the two-minute clip follows “a 19-minute binge in which she snorted powdered ecstasy and cocaine.” Her record label, Universal, said in a statement: “We are deeply disappointed and upset by these latest revelations and are doing everything we can to offer Amy our full support in dealing with her problems.” Contradictory reports circulated online on Tuesday about whether Ms. Winehouse had been taken to a rehab clinic. (She had a hit with “Rehab,” in which she sings about refusing treatment.) A spokeswoman for her label declined to comment on that issue.