2012-11-25

Sunday Night poster
Sunday Night
25th November 2012 1 hour Season 2012 Episode 33

Bath Salt Tragedy One dose of this legal powder is turning ordinary people into zombies with possessed minds and bodies. It’s an intense synthetic drug that’s marketed as a safe alternative to illegal substances – but it’s sending users into states of psychotic delirium, consumed with rage and superhuman strength. One man ate the family dog while under the influence of the substance that goes by the misleading name ‘bath salts’. In this special Sunday Night investigation, Ross Coulthart reports on the heartbreaking story of an Australian mum of two who lost her partner just weeks ago when the pair took the drug, believing it was safe. Rachael tells of the horrifying ordeal the pair suffered before her partner Glenn died when doctors had to switch off his life support. Easily purchased over the counter at stores across Australia, how is this legal and how do police counter the threat? Willesee & Quentin – 30 Years On It won him his first logie and is the story Mike Willesee is always asked about by members of the public. He first interviewed Quentin Kenihan 30 years ago when Australia fell in love with the cheeky seven-year-old who was confined to a wheelchair, suffering from a rare genetic bone condition. The boy who became a household name is now a 37-year-old man, and his reunion with the veteran journo will warm your heart. While he still battles health problems, having suffered pneumonia for the past 12 months, Quentin’s thirst for life is intact. Back then, Mike Willesee openly bribed him with toys to get the answers he was after, but now Quentin turns the tables and gives the interviewing legend a run for his money. See what happens when he returns a gift Mike gave him when they first. Proof Of Heaven? It’s the age-old question – is there an afterlife, and what is it like? Sunday Night meets a world-renowned and Harvard-trained neurosurgeon – for years a non-believer in the afterlife, but now a convert. When Dr Eben Alexander collapsed with meningitis four years ago, he spent seven days in a coma. When he finally awoke he told an extraordinary tale of what he’d experienced while he was sleeping. Dr Alexander distinctly remembers butterflies and beautiful women. Thousands of people – among them Melbourne woman Carmel Bell – have reported similar near-death experiences: travelling towards a light, encounters with heavenly beings, a sense of being outside their bodies. But none have had the scientific credibility of Dr Alexander. Sunday Night’s Pete-Jane Madam takes you on a journey into the afterlife and examines the scientific basis of his claims. We meet the scientists studying whether consciousness can live on despite the apparent death of the brain. Those who have ‘been there’ swear it’s real, while those who haven’t are sceptical. You be the judge.

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Summer Edition - 2012-12-02 still
Season 2012 · Episode 34

Summer Edition - 2012-12-02

In the Line of Fire When Sunday Night first introduced Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith to audiences earlier this year, he became the subject of a media storm. Now, we take you back to where it all began, with Ben opening up to Mike Willesee about the guilt he feels at being singled out for his courage with a Victoria Cross, the best mate he lost in war, and the pain of being separated from his wife and twin daughters. Outback Miracle In a new story by Dr John D’Arcy, Sunday Night ventures into the Australian outback. Julie Young was a Royal Flying Doctor Service nurse, teaching first aid in remote communities, until a horrific desert car crash. Having been trapped in her car for seven hours, her chances of survival were fading with the light – until an unlikely miracle. One by one, her former students found her, and remembered all the life-saving techniques she’d taught them. Michael J Fox Viewers were moved when Hollywood’s most inspirational star opened his heart to Sunday Night’s Rahni Sadler about his battle with Parkinson’s disease. Michael J Fox no longer wants to hide his plight, but instead wants to talk about his “charmed life” and his mission to find a cure. Today, signs of Fox’s Parkinson’s symptoms are very noticeable – he even struggles to sip a glass of water – but he is empowered to find a cure and has been inspired by a fellow Aussie sufferer. The Last Bee Gee This is the interview in which Barry Gibb broke down and cried for the first time since the tragic loss of his brother Robin. From growing up in Australia, to the magic that saw the Bee Gees sell more than 220 million records around the world, Barry talked to Rahni Sadler about his success, the love of his life and how it feels to be the “last man standing” amongst his brothers – the last Bee Gee.

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