Tomorrow night CBS News debuts “Live to Tell,” a first-hand account from individuals who cheated death and lived to tell their stories…to CBS.
The show, which will continue for three consecutive Saturdays, comes from the 48 Hours production team headed by EP Susan Zirinsky. “Told in their own words, the series is different from what ’48 Hours’ viewers may be used to, but remains loyal to the style of experiential journalism that our broadcast has become known for,” says Zirinsky.
After the jump, details of each broadcast…
In the series’ first broadcast, “The Year We Disappeared,” Cylin Busby recalls the dreadful night in 1979 when her father, a police officer, was ambushed and shot point blank in his car. Immediately the children went and hid in the attic, convinced that they were next, until a team of police officers stormed the house and kept guard.
John Busby was convinced that a local thug, Melvin Reine, was behind the attempt on his life and that the would-be killer would not stop until Busby and his family were all dead. Determined to exact his revenge and protect his wife and children, Busby overcame harrowing odds and survived the shooting.
Reine struck fear in the residents and police of Cape Cod long before the shooting. A convicted arsonist, Reine was suspected of murdering three people, but continued to walk free. As time went on, the Busbys realized that Reine’s power over the town would never cease and that he would never be brought to justice.
Practically forced to leave the town, the Busbys went on the run, living in fear, changing their appearance and never divulging their past. Over the years, the family moved six times until, in 2003, the unexpected happened. It is a story of a horrific crime and the long-awaited justice that no one could predict.
The following week, LIVE TO TELL features the story of two college students who were on a peaceful date when they were stalked, kidnapped, brutalized, pushed to the edge of a river and shot in the face. But these teens outsmarted their would-be killer, playing dead to stay alive and tell their story.
The final story in the series will focus on a family whose decision to sail the world takes a life threatening turn when they hit a reef. With her husband pinned under a fallen mast, a mother must choose between saving her husband or four children. It is an unbelievable yet true tale of physical and emotional rescue.