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Sunday Night: Nov 4

This weekend: Kerri-Anne's "most emotional interview", questions on Australia's low adoption rate, and Susan Boyle dealing with fame.

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This weekend Sunday Night features Night Kerri-Anne’s “most emotional interview” with her brother, questions on Australia’s low adoption rate, and Susan Boyle dealing with fame.

Kerri-Anne’s Most Emotional Interview
Just when Kerri-Anne Kennerley had battled through the toughest year of her life, things got a whole lot worse. Already in the midst of her own battle with cancer, her world was turned upside down again; with the news her brother was to undergo radical brain surgery. Kerri-Anne’s brother Malcolm is a gentle giant, a tradie struck down with the incurable disease Essential Tremor. He struggles to hold a glass or use a knife and fork, trapped in a body he can’t control. Kerri-Anne is with her big brother every step of the way as he undergoes Deep Brain Stimulation therapy. It’s an emotional rollercoaster for the normally smiling TV queen. This week the pacemaker device connected to Malcolm’s brain was switched on. Sunday Night is there for the results in the most emotional interview that Kerri-Anne has ever done.

Australia’s Adoption Shame
18-year-old George Dennehy was abandoned at birth. Born without arms, he was dumped at an orphanage in Romania. He was starving to death and not expected to live. That is until his name was added to a long list of children available for adoption. His desperate picture was on the very last page, but that didn’t stop an American couple with three children of their own from taking him home. Today, George is an all-American teenager who plays the guitar and can even drive a car – amazingly with his toes. His mum and dad have now adopted nine children from around the world. Their home is full of love, joy and laughter. However, this is where the story takes a dark turn. Here in Australia, though there are 32,000 children in state care, and tens of thousands of childless couples desperate for a family, less than 400 children from here and overseas were adopted last year. Alex Cullen meets one of a growing number of Australian couples forced to move overseas to achieve their dream of starting a family. Deborah Lee-Furness, who with husband Hugh Jackman was forced to adopt in America, tells how laws must be changed to give more disadvantaged kids a loving home. Sunday Night then travels to Canberra to ask Federal Minister Nicola Roxon why Australia, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, has such a poor rate of adoption.

Susan Boyle Goes Gangnam
She lives alone with her cat in a small council house in Scotland, but this middle-aged spinster in sensible shoes is credited with saving the world’s music industry. Susan Boyle may not look like your usual pop star, but since being discovered on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, SuBo has sold over 18 million albums and stormed to the top of the charts in over 30 countries. In this remarkable interview we discover the dark side to Susan Boyle and how she has fought to live with her sudden stardom. Ahead of the release of her fourth album, Standing Ovation, Rahni Sadler joins Susan as she hits the bright lights of Las Vegas. Growing up, the songstress never believed she’d meet her teenage idol Donny Osmond, let alone sing alongside him. And don’t miss Susan letting loose and getting down – Gangnam Style.

6:30pm Sunday on Seven.

5 Responses

  1. 60 Minutes has always been personality driven. When he created the show, Gerald Stone was fond of saying nobody wants to watch a story on flood mitigation, but everyone’s interested in an interview with Noah. This was always abbreviated to: “Don’t give me the flood, get me Noah.” So it’s only been happening since 1978.

  2. It is indicative of the difference between a current affairs show, and a magazine show.

    As for the rubbish which is screened by these two networks at 6.30pm on weeknights, I have no idea what that is.

    And the programs on immediately prior aren’t News either.

  3. I agree David that there has always been stories about people and “Hollywood” type stories and I don’t have a problem with them as such, I’m mainly concerned with the lack of balance between “people” stories and “event” stories for want of a better word. You’re right though, the viewers will vote and are voting in favour of “people” stories, so i’m in the minority. I used to really enjoy sitting down on a sunday night and watching 60 Minutes and I miss doing that.

  4. I’ve been reading the topics each week for both Sunday night and 60 Minutes for some time now and i’ve noticed that nearly every story is about a person or persons. Gone are the days of quality journalism hunting down the big stories around the world, it’s now all about creating emotion, with sad tales etc. What really scares me is how well these programs rate, are so many of us that simple minded???

    At least Dateline and 4 Corners still provide us with broad ranging quality stories.

    1. Whilst I agree that there have been shifts in current affairs stories, I can comfortably say the genre has always had stories about “a person or persons.” I think what you’re referring to is the profile piece, but go back 20 years ago to 60 Minutes and there were always Hollywood stars in profiles. Without wanting to take anything away from KAK’s report, yes we have seen the rise of the disease-of-the-week story on many shows in recent years, as well as the way they are promoted. Sometimes they are compelling stuff and sometimes there to tug at heart-strings. Viewers will no doubt make up their own mind on each.

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