Sunday Night: June 17

On Sunday Night, reports on the world’s first full head transplant (yes really), a massacre in the west and the Beach Boys.

Head to Head
This Sunday Night, meet the modern-day Dr Frankenstein who is about to carry out the most radical surgery ever – transplanting a human head. Flamboyant Italian physician Professor Sergio Canavero says he has now perfected the techniques required to perform this previously impossible surgery. The doctor says it will allow the severely disabled to walk again by having their heads transplanted onto healthy bodies. Some say he’s a madman, others believe he’s a genius. And as Matt Doran reports, he now has a patient willing to put his life on the line in the name of science.

A Family Madness
Just what drove Peter Miles to commit the worst mass shooting since Port Arthur? It’s a question everyone has been asking since Miles murdered his family last month near the idyllic seaside town of Margaret River in Western Australia. He shot his four grandchildren, his daughter and his wife before turning the gun on himself. In this Sunday Night investigation, Aaron Cockman – the grieving father who lost his family in the massacre – finally answers that question. Denham Hitchcock has this report.

The Beach Boys
Their catchy melodies, feel-good lyrics and sunny harmonies made the Beach Boys one of the world’s biggest pop groups. But behind the carefully-crafted image of these clean-cut Californian kids, it was anything but good vibrations. A tyrannical manager, bitter in-fighting and drug abuse almost destroyed the group at its height. It’s only now the remaining band members can finally open up to Sunday Night’s Angela Cox about those tumultuous years.

Sunday at 8.30pm on Seven.