TV REVIEW : ‘Lifestories’: Gritty Survival Tips for Families

It may be difficult to tune into “Lifestories: Families in Crisis,” HBO’s grim, “fact-based” drama series about such issues as abortion, eating disorders and teen suicide. Once you do, the riveting performances and frank, unsensationalized scripts will make it difficult to tune out.

So will the moving, post-script appearances by real people involved in each story. One warning: The shows are too disturbing for pre-adolescents.

The series opens tonight at 9:30 with “Public Law 106: The Becky Bell Story,” about a 17-year-old girl in Indiana who died as the result of an illegal abortion. Under Indiana law, she would have had to obtain either her parents’ consent or a judge’s ruling in order to have a legal abortion. She was unable to do either.

Dina Spybey brings remarkable emotional depth and subtlety to the lead role. In a memorable scene the morning after the abortion, Becky is looking at her face in the mirror as she attempts to apply makeup. Wordlessly, and without histrionics, Spybey conveys Becky’s grief and isolation, her emotional exhaustion and sense of irrevocable change.

Juan Jose Campanella directed with care; Bruce Harmon wrote the sensitive, abortion-rights script, which includes a visit to a family planning clinic where Becky is given straightforward information about abortion and other options, until the counselor learns that she is still a minor.

When the show ends, Becky Bell’s real parents make an appearance to ask parents to be understanding if a daughter is in trouble and to tell young women to “know the laws in your state, know your options, know that illegal abortions kill.”

On Nov. 7, “Lifestories” will present “The Secret Life of Mary-Margaret: Portrait of a Bulimic,” a terrifying look at one teen-ager’s battle with an obsessive eating disorder. Calista Flockhart gives a stunning performance as the lovely young woman whose self-hatred locks her into an endless cycle of binge eating and purging.

“A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story,” airing in January, chronicles the spiraling despair of a high school senior (Curnal Aulisio) who eventually commits suicide. It is told by his best friend (Wil Wheaton).

HBO deserves high praise for a series that not only makes compelling watching, but also offers families some valuable survival tips.