List of Nova episodes
Nova is an American science documentary television series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS. Many of the programs in this list were not originally produced for PBS, but were acquired from other sources such as the BBC.[1] All acquired programs are edited for Nova, if only to provide American English narration and additional voice of interpreters (translating from another language).[1] In 2005, Nova began airing some episodes titled NOVA scienceNOW, which followed a newsmagazine style format. For two seasons, NOVA scienceNOW episodes aired in the same time slot as Nova. In 2008, NOVA scienceNOW was officially declared its own series and given its own time slot.[2] None of the NOVA scienceNOW episodes are included in this list.
| Contents:
Season 1 •
Season 2 •
Season 3 •
Season 4 •
Season 5 •
Season 6 •
Season 7 •
Season 8 •
Season 9 • • References • |
Season 1: 1974
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Making of a Natural History Film" | March 3, 1974 | 0101 | |
|
Re-narrated Horizon episode, first aired in the UK in 1972.[3] NOVA premieres on public television with a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a nature film. Oxford Scientific Films Unit shows how it tackles such problems as filming a wood-wasp laying its eggs inside trees, the hatching of a chick and the courtship rituals of the stickleback. | |||
| "Where Did the Colorado Go?" | March 10, 1974 | 0102 | |
| NOVA explores the mighty Colorado River which today has become the life-blood of the Southwest, providing water and electricity to the farms and cities of California, Nevada, and Arizona. The program examines the political expediency and technological over-optimism that has led to some major miscalculations of the river's capacity. Narrated by Robert J. Lurtsema ("Lurtz"). | |||
| "Whales, Dolphins, and Men" | March 17, 1974 | 0103 | |
| NOVA explores the impact of whaling and the goods it produces for the industry, versus the grace and beauty of this intelligent mammal of the sea. | |||
| "The Search for Life" | March 24, 1974 | 0104 | |
| Does life exist outside this planet? The Viking lander will set down on Mars in July 1976 to try to find out just that. NOVA explores how life started on Earth and examines the Viking Lander being built in its germ-free room before starting its long journey. | |||
| "Last of the Cuiva" | March 31, 1974 | 0105 | |
| How does a primitive nomadic tribe of the Amazon basin cope with the encroachment of Western settlers? NOVA looks at both sides of the story, revealing the misunderstandings between the two cultures. | |||
| "Strange Sleep" | April 7, 1974 | 0106 | |
| Medicine was transformed in the 19th century by the discovery of anesthesia; surgery, until then hasty, bloody and completely unable to deal with internal disorders, subsequently took its place in the front rank of medical practice. This NOVA docudrama depicts the pioneers of medicine. | |||
| "The Crab Nebula" | April 14, 1974 | 0107 | |
| In 1054 AD, the Chinese recorded the explosion of a star so bright that it lit the sky for three weeks, even during the day. It was the explosion of a dying star that was bigger than our sun. NOVA explores this mysterious explosion that led to the discovery of the Crab Nebula. | |||
| "Bird Brain: The Mystery of Bird Navigation" | April 21, 1974 | 0108 | |
| Birds migrate in search of perpetual summer, sometimes traveling as many as 20,000 miles every year. NOVA uses radar to track and identify migrating birds that travel at night, focusing on how they choose routes that avoid bad weather and make the best of prevailing winds — information that can aid meteorologists. | |||
| "Are You Doing This for Me, Doctor?" | April 28, 1974 | 0109 | |
| The advance of medicine depends inevitably on the testing of experimental procedures on human volunteers from either the healthy or the sick. Yet such procedures are often dangerous, and may not be of direct benefit to the subject. NOVA examines how individuals' interests are safeguarded, and asks under what circumstances should experiments be conducted on children. | |||
| "The First Signs of Washoe" | May 5, 1974 | 0110 | |
| Washoe is a chimp more like a person; she talks with her hands. NOVA visits with Washoe and her teachers, Professor Allen Gardner and Dr. Trixie Gardner, to learn more about this unusual animal. | |||
| "The Case of the Midwife Toad" | May 12, 1974 | 0111 | |
| When Paul Kammerer committed suicide in 1926, it was taken by most of his fellow biologists as a tacit admission of guilt that he had faked his experiments purporting to show the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Arthur Koestler joins NOVA in an in-depth examination of Kammerer's infamous experiment. | |||
| "Fusion: The Energy of Promise" | May 19, 1974 | 0112 | |
| Controlled nuclear fusion means taming the hydrogen bomb. It could solve the world's energy shortage but it's an enormous engineering challenge. NOVA looks at the latest fusion machines in the UK and USA. | |||
| "The Mystery of the Anasazi" | May 26, 1974 | 0113 | |
| Who were the people that built the first cities — complete with apartment blocks — in North America? They were the Anasazi Indians, who lived in the Southwest for some eight or nine thousand years, and who then, in about 1300 AD, abruptly abandoned their cities and apparently disappeared. NOVA traces the steps of this ancient sophisticated culture. | |||
Season 2: 1974–1975
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Why Do Birds Sing?" | November 3, 1974 | 0201 | |
| NOVA travels to forests and marshes to discover why birds sing and finds surprising parallels with the acquisition of speech in humans. | |||
| "How Much Do You Smell?" | November 10, 1974 | 0202 | |
| "The Hunting of the Quark" | November 17, 1974 | 0203 | |
| "The Secrets of Sleep" | November 24, 1974 | 0204 | |
| "Inside the Golden Gate" | December 1, 1974 | 0205 | |
| "The Men Who Painted Caves" | December 8, 1974 | 0206 | |
| "Red Sea Coral" | December 15, 1974 | 0207 | |
| "War From the Air" | January 5, 1975 | 0208 | |
| "What Time is Your Body?" | January 12, 1975 | 0209 | |
| "The Rise and Fall of DDT" | January 19, 1975 | 0210 | |
| "Take the World From Another Point of View" | February 2, 1975 | 0211 | |
| "The Lysenko Affair" | February 9, 1975 | 0212 | |
| "The Tuaregs" | February 16, 1975 | 0213 | |
| "The Plutonium Connection" | March 9, 1975 | 0214 | |
| "The Other Way" | March 16, 1975 | 0215 | |
| "The Lost World of the Maya" | March 30, 1975 | 0216 | |
| "Will The Fishing Have to Stop?" | April 6, 1975 | 0217 | |
| Fish is an excellent source of protein; it could help ease the growing international food shortage. But in 1972 the total world fish catch dropped. NOVA explores the possible reasons for this decline. | |||
Season 3: 1976
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Predictable Disaster" | January 4, 1976 | 0301 |
| "Joey" | January 11, 1976 | 0302 |
| "Meditation and the Mind" | January 18, 1976 | 0303 |
| "The Planets" | January 25, 1976 | 0304 |
| "A Desert Place" | February 1, 1976 | 0305 |
| "A Small Imperfection" | February 8, 1976 | 0306 |
| "Ninety Degrees Below" | February 15, 1976 | 0307 |
| "The Race for the Double Helix" | March 7, 1976 | 0308 |
| "The Renewable Tree" | March 7, 1976 | 0309 |
| "The Williamsburgh File" | March 14, 1976 | 0310 |
| "The Overworked Miracle" | March 21, 1976 | 0311 |
| "The Transplant Experiment" | April 11, 1976 | 0312 |
| "The Underground Movement" | April 18, 1976 | 0313 |
| "Hunters of the Seal" | May 2, 1976 | 0314 |
| "Benjamin" | May 9, 1976 | 0315 |
| "The Women Rebel" | May 23, 1976 | 0316 |
| "Death of a Disease" | June 6, 1976 | 0317 |
| "Inside the Shark" | June 13, 1976 | 0318 |
| "The Genetic Chance" | June 20, 1976 | 0319 |
| "The Case of the Bermuda Triangle" | June 27, 1976 | 0320 |
Season 4: 1977
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Hitler’s Secret Weapon" | January 5, 1977 | 0401 |
| "The Hot Blooded Dinosaurs" | January 12, 1977 | 0402 |
| "What Price Coal?" | January 19, 1977 | 0403 |
| "The Sunspot Mystery" | February 2, 1977 | 0404 |
| "The Plastic Prison" | February 9, 1977 | 0405 |
| "Incident at Brown’s Ferry" | February 23, 1977 | 0406 |
| "Bye Bye Blackbird" | March 2, 1977 | 0407 |
| "The Pill for the People" | March 9, 1977 | 0408 |
| "The Gene Engineers" | March 16, 1977 | 0409 |
| "The Human Animal" | March 23, 1977 | 0410 |
| "The Wolf Equation" | March 30, 1977 | 0411 |
| "The Dawn of the Solar Age" | April 20, 1977 | 0412 |
| "The Business of Extinction" | April 20, 1977 | 0413 |
| "The Red Planet" | April 27, 1977 | 0414 |
| "Tongues of Men, Part 1" | May 11, 1977 | 0415 |
| "Tongues of Man, Part 2" | May 18, 1977 | 0416 |
| "Linus Pauling: Crusading Scientist" | June 1, 1977 | 0417 |
| "Across the Silent Barrier" | June 22, 1977 | 0418 |
| "The New Healers" | June 29, 1977 | 0419 |
Season 5: 1978
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "In The Event of Catastrophe" | January 4, 1978 | 0501 | |
| "The Green Machine" | January 11, 1978 | 0420 | |
| "Blueprints in the Bloodstream" | January 18, 1978 | 0502 | |
| "One Small Step" | January 25, 1978 | 0503 | |
| "The Final Frontier" | February 1, 1978 | 0504 | |
| "BaMiki BaNdula: Children of the Forest" | February 15, 1978 | 0505 | |
| "Trial of Denton Cooley" | February 22, 1978 | 0506 | |
| "The Great Wine Revolution" | March 1, 1978 | 0507 | |
| "The Case of the Ancient Astronauts" | March 8, 1978 | 0508 | |
| Originally aired as a BBC Horizon episode in 1977. | |||
| "The Mind Machines" | March 22, 1978 | 0509 | |
| "Icarus' Children" | March 29, 1978 | 0510 | |
| "Still Waters" | April 12, 1978 | 0511 | |
| "Battle for the Acropolis" | April 19, 1978 | 0512 | |
| "Road to Happiness" | May 3, 1978 | 0513 | |
| "Light of the 21st Century" | May 10, 1978 | 0514 | |
| "The Insect Alternative" | May 24, 1978 | 0515 | |
| "The Desert’s Edge" | May 31, 1978 | 0516 | |
| "The Tse Tse Trap" | June 7, 1978 | 0517 | |
| "Memories From Eden" | June 14, 1978 | 0518 | |
| "A Whisper From Space" | June 21, 1978 | 0519 | |
| "Alaska: The Closing Frontier" | June 28, 1978 | 0520 | |
Season 6: 1979
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Black Tide" | January 4, 1979 | 0601 | |
| "Long Walk of Fred Young" | January 11, 1979 | 0602 | |
| "A World of Difference" | January 18, 1979 | 0603 | |
| "Cashing In On The Ocean" | February 1, 1979 | 0604 | |
| Manganese nodules carpet parts of the deep ocean floor. They're potentially a highly valuable source of minerals. NOVA looks at the engineering challenge of harvesting them, and the knotty problems such a venture would pose for international law. | |||
| "Patterns From The Past" | February 8, 1979 | 0605 | |
| "The Invisible Flame" | February 22, 1979 | 0606 | |
| "The End of the Rainbow" | March 1, 1979 | 0607 | |
| "The Beersheva Experiment" | March 8, 1979 | 0608 | |
| "Einstein" | March 15, 1979 | 0609 | |
| "The Keys of Paradise" | March 29, 1979 | 0610 | |
Season 7: 1979–1980
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "A Plague on our Children" | October 2, 1979 | 0611 |
| "Life on a Silken Thread" | October 9, 1979 | 0612 |
| "Sweet Solutions" | October 16, 1979 | 0613 |
| "Race For The Gold" | October 30, 1979 | 0614 |
| "All Part of The Game" | November 6, 1979 | 0615 |
| "India: Machinery of Hope" | November 20, 1979 | 0616 |
| "The Bridge That Spanned The World" | December 4, 1979 | 0617 |
| "Termites to Telescopes" | December 11, 1979 | 0618 |
| "Blindness: Five Points of Views" | December 18, 1979 | 0619 |
| "The Elusive Illness" | January 15, 1980 | 0701 |
| "A is for Atom, B is for Bomb" | January 22, 1980 | 0702 |
| "Living Machines" | February 5, 1980 | 0703 |
| "Portrait of a Killer" | February 19, 1980 | 0704 |
| "Umealit: The Whale Hunters" | March 4, 1980 | 0705 |
| "The Safety Factor" | March 11, 1980 | 0706 |
| "A Mediterranean Prospect" | March 18, 1980 | 0707 |
| "Mr. Ludwig’s Tropical Dreamland" | March 25, 1980 | 0708 |
Season 8: 1980–1981
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Pinks and the Blues" | September 30, 1980 | 0709 | |
| Known as "The Secret Of The Sexes" as the Vestron Video release of 1988 says. | |||
| "The Cancer Detectives of Lin Xian" | October 7, 1980 | 0710 | |
| "The Sea Behind the Dunes" | October 14, 1980 | 0711 | |
| "Do We Really Need The Rockies?" | October 28, 1980 | 0712 | |
| "The Big IF" | November 4, 1980 | 0713 | |
| "Voyager: Jupiter & Beyond" | November 11, 1980 | 0714 | |
| "The Wizard Who Spat On The Floor" | November 18, 1980 | 0715 | |
| "The Water Crisis" | November 25, 1980 | 0716 | |
| "Moving Still" | December 2, 1980 | 0717 | |
| "A Touch of Sensitivity" | December 9, 1980 | 0718 | |
| "Red Deer of Rhum" | December 23, 1980 | 0719 | |
| "It’s About Time" | December 30, 1980 | 0720 | |
| "The Doctors of Nigeria" | January 6, 1981 | 0801 | |
| "Message In The Rocks" | |||
| "The Dead Sea Lives" | January 27, 1981 | 0803 | |
| "Anatomy of a Volcano" | February 10, 1981 | 0804 | |
| When Mount St. Helens erupted, it did much more damage than geologists had expected. NOVA looks at the aftermath of the devastating explosion, and at the beginnings of environmental recovery. | |||
| "The Science of Murder" | February 17, 1981 | 0805 | |
| "The Malady of Health Care" | February 24, 1981 | 0806 | |
| "Beyond the Milky Way" | March 3, 1981 | 0807 | |
| "The Asteroid and the Dinosaur" | March 10, 1981 | 0808 | |
| "Animal Olympians" | March 17, 1981 | 0809 | |
| "Resolution on Saturn" | August 25, 1981 | 0810 | |
| First aired on Horizon as a two-part episode. First: The Rings; two days later, The Moon. | |||
Season 9: 1981–1982
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Computers, Spies, & Private Lives" | September 27, 1981 | 0811 | |
| "Why America Burns" | October 4, 1981 | 0812 | |
| "The Great Violin Mystery" | October 11, 1981 | 0813 | |
| "Cosmic Fire" | October 18, 1981 | 0814 | |
| "Locusts: War Without End" | October 25, 1981 | 0815 | |
| "Did Darwin Get It Wrong?" | November 1, 1981 | 0816 | |
| "Artists in the Lab" | November 15, 1981 | 0817 | |
| "Notes of a Biology Watcher: A Film with Lewis Thomas" | November 22, 1981 | 0818 | |
| "City Spaces, Human Places" | November 29, 1981 | 0819 | |
| "Twins" | December 6, 1981 | 0820 | |
| "Salmon on the Run" | January 10, 1982 | 0901 | |
| "Test-Tube Babies: A Daughter For Judy" | January 17, 1982 | 0902 | |
| "A Field Guide to Roger Tory Peterson" | January 24, 1982 | 0903 | |
| "The Hunt for the Legion Killer" | January 31, 1982 | 0904 | |
| "Finding a Voice" | February 7, 1982 | 0905 | |
| A BBC production for WGBH Boston, first aired in Horizon in late 1981. | |||
| "The Television Explosion" | February 14, 1982 | 0906 | |
| "Life: Patent Pending" | February 28, 1982 | 0907 | |
| "Palace of Delights" | March 7, 1982 | 0908 | |
| "Animal Impostors" | March 14, 1982 | 0909 | |
| "Aging: The Methuselah Syndrome" | March 28, 1982 | 0910 | |
Season 10: 1982–1983
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Case of the UFOs" | October 12, 1982 | 0911 | |
| "The Fragile Mountain" | October 19, 1982 | 0912 | |
| "Here’s Looking At You Kid" | November 9, 1982 | 0913 | |
| "Adventures of Teenage Scientists" | November 16, 1982 | 0914 | |
| "The Cobalt Blues" | November 23, 1982 | 0915 | |
| "Goodbye Louisiana" | November 30, 1982 | 0916 | |
| "Whale Watch" | December 7, 1982 | 0917 | |
| "Tracking The Supertrains" | December 14, 1982 | 0918 | |
| "Hawaii: Crucible of Life" | January 18, 1983 | 1001 | |
| "The Pleasure of Finding Things Out" | January 25, 1983 | 1002 | |
| Re-narrated Horizon episode.[4] | |||
| "Lassa Fever" | February 8, 1983 | 1003 | |
| "The Miracle of Life" | February 15, 1983 | 1004 | |
| Re-aired on December 15, 1983 as a special presentation out of NOVA’s original timeslot. | |||
| "Asbestos: A Lethal Legacy" | March 1, 1983 | 1005 | |
| "City of Coral" | March 8, 1983 | 1006 | |
| "Fat Chance in a Thin World" | March 22, 1983 | 1007 | |
| "Sixty Minutes to Meltdown" | March 29, 1983 | 1008 | |
Season 11: 1983–1984
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales" | October 11, 1983 | 1009 | |
|
The dream of talking with animals has been with us for centuries. NOVA explores the latest research, from language experiments with dolphins and apes to studies of animal calls in the wild. | |||
| "The Artificial Heart" | October 18, 1983 | 1010 | |
| Seattle dentist Barney Clark received the first artificial heart implant in 1982 and lived on for three post-operative months. He died in March 1983, having survived 112 days with the world's first permanent, pneumatic, totally artificial heart. NOVA follows the case with the surgeon, William DeVries, and looks at the prospects for this technology to save lives. It also explored the work of Dr. William F. Bernhard on the Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) ongoing at the Cardiovascular Surgical Research Laboratories, Boston Children's Hospital Medical Center. This program investigates the risk, costs and controversies surrounding the development of the artificial heart. | |||
| "Talking Turtle" | October 25, 1983 | 1011 | |
| NOVA looks at computers in the classroom through the eyes of MIT's Seymour Papert, father of the Turtle - a computerized robot that crawls on the floor and talks in versatile language even five-year-olds can learn. First aired on Horizon on the BBC on February 14th, 1983. William Jarvis was the narrator for the British Language version. | |||
| "Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial" | November 1, 1983 | 1012 | |
| Remote tribes and exotic islanders have been made known to the world through the lens of anthropology. But in recent years, some of these people have begun to object. NOVA travels to Margaret Mead's Papua New Guinea and looks at anthropology from the other side. | |||
| "To Live Until You Die: The Work of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross" | November 8, 1983 | 1013 | |
|
Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross has become a legend in her lifetime for her work with the dying. For the first time on American (public) television, her explorations with patients are captured in film, as NOVA presents an intimate portrait of the Swiss-born psychiatrist at work. | |||
| "A Magic Way of Going: The Story of Thoroughbreds" | November 15, 1983 | 1014 | |
| Can the thoroughbred horse run any faster? NOVA examines the billion-dollar horse raci g industry in its search for the magic combination of speed, stamina and the will to win. | |||
| "A Normal Face: The Wonders of Plastic Surgery" | November 22, 1983 | 1015 | |
| When plastic surgeons repair the shattered face of a soldier or rescue a child from a disfiguring disease, the victory is more than skin-deep. NOVA looks at the history, heroes and miracles of plastic surgery in mending the accidents of war and birth. | |||
| "Captives of Care" | November 29, 1983 | 1016 | |
|
Patients of an Australian institution for the severely handicapped rebel against a pair of over-zealous custodians. This astonishing true story was filmed as a docudrama, written and performed by the patients themselves. | |||
| "Twenty-Five Years in Space" | December 6, 1983 | 1017 | |
| As the American space programme celebrates (celebrated) its 25th anniversary this (that) year, NOVA chronicles the effects of the space age on earth, drawing on popular music, film and television archives from the last (first) quarter of a century. | |||
| "Nuclear Strategy for Beginners" | December 13, 1983 | 1018 | |
|
Will nuclear weapons deter World War III or only make it more likely? NOVA explores th military strategies of the nuclear age, now that the challenge may no longer be to win global war but to prevent it. | |||
| "The Climate Crisis" | December 20, 1983 | 1019 | |
|
This summer's record temperatures may be one of the signs that the earth's atmosphere is warming up. NOVA looks at the climate predictions and hazard warnings for the next (this) century, based on the effects of our soaring consumption of fossil fuels. | |||
| "Eyes Over China" | December 27, 1983 | 1020 | |
|
NOVA documents a dramatic encounter in international medicine when an American plane lands in China - equipped with a state-of-the-art eye-operating theater - and two very different medical systems meet eyeball to eyeball. | |||
| "Alcoholism: Life Under The Influence" | January 10, 1984 | 1021 | |
|
In a culture laced with alcohol, the search for a scientific understanding of alcoholism is as complex as the disease. In an interdisciplinary report, NOVA looks at the many faces of alcoholism - medical, historical and social. | |||
| "The Case of ESP" | January 17, 1984 | 1101 | |
|
First aired on the BBC programme Horizon as a full 90 minute episode which was aired September 26th, 1983. NOVA edited 60 minute version. In the past decade, a number of researchers have begun systematic laboratory research into extrasensory perception - ESP. NOVA considers the claims for - and against - paranormal phenomena and looks at some startling applications in the field of archaeology, criminology and warfare. | |||
| "Antarctica: Earth’s Last Frontier" | January 31, 1984 | 1102 | |
|
An astronaut once observed a great white light shining out from the bottom of our world: Antarctica, the ice-covered continent we are only just beginning to understand. NOVA visits the wilderness of ice, larger than the United States and Mexico combined, whose only warm-blooded residents are seals, skuas, penguins and scientists. | |||
| "China’s Only Child" | February 14, 1984 | 1103 | |
|
Efforts to control the population explosion are among the burning controversies of our time. NOVA looks at the one-child policy of the People's Republic of China, a revolutionary decree with profound implications for a people accustomed to traditionally large families. | |||
| "Will I Walk Again?" | February 28, 1984 | 1104 | |
|
Is there a cure for paralyzing spinal injuries? Most neurosurgeons are doubtful, pointing to the central nervous system's most apparent inability to heal itself. But others dispute the point. NOVA explores the debate, the hopes for a cure and recent breakthroughs to help paralyzed patients. | |||
| "Visions of the Deep: The Underwater World of Al Giddings" | March 6, 1984 | 1105 | |
|
Al Giddings is one of the greatest underwater photographers in the world. In a riveting look at the unearthly beauties and terrors of the seas, NOVA presents a portrait of Giddings at work. | |||
| "Down on the Farm" | March 20, 1984 | 1106 | |
|
Agriculture is America's biggest industry. This productivity, envied around the world, is also depleting the most essential ingredients in farming: water and soil. NOVA looks at the agricultural dilemma, the short term need for profit and long term needs of the land. | |||
| "Make My People Live: The Crisis in Indian Health Care" | March 27, 1984 | 1107 | |
|
What are America's obligations to its native population? As an important Indian health act comes up for renewal in Congress this Spring (1984), NOVA explores the state of medical care for a proud but vulnerable minority. | |||
| "The World According to Weisskopf" | April 3, 1984 | 1108 | |
|
Victor Weisskopf: physicist, lover of music and citizen of the world. NOVA profiles the international statesman of science and learns that one of the giants of 20th century physics is also one of the country's greatest humanists. | |||
Season 12: 1984–1985
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Space Bridge to Moscow" | October 2, 1984 | 1120 | |
| "The National Science Test I" | October 16, 1984 | 1109 | |
| NOVA departs from tradition with the first National Science Test. Viewers can match wits with celebrity panelists Jane Alexander, Jules Bergman, Marva Collins and Edwin Newman. Art Fleming hosts. | |||
| "Fountains of Paradise" | October 23, 1984 | 1110 | |
| "The Mystery of Yellow Rain" | October 30, 1984 | 1111 | |
| "The Nomads of the Rain Forest" | November 6, 1984 | 1112 | |
| "Farmers of the Sea" | November 13, 1984 | 1113 | |
| "Frontiers of Plastic Surgery" | November 20, 1984 | 1114 | |
| "Space Women" | November 27, 1984 | 1115 | |
| "Jaws: The True Story" | December 4, 1984 | 1116 | |
| "Acid Rain: New Bad News" | December 11, 1984 | 1117 | |
| "Stephen Jay Gould: This View of Life" | December 18, 1984 | 1118 | |
| "The Garden of Inheritance" | January 8, 1985 | 1119 | |
| "Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines" | January 15, 1985 | 1201 | |
| "Global Village" | January 22, 1985 | 1202 | |
| "Conquest of the Parasites" | January 29, 1985 | 1203 | |
| "In the Land of the Polar Bears" | February 5, 1985 | 1204 | |
| "AIDS: Chapter One" | February 12, 1985 | 1205 | |
| "The Shape of Things" | February 19, 1985 | 1206 | |
| "Baby Talk" | February 26, 1985 | 1207 | |
| "The Mathematical Mystery Tour" | March 5, 1985 | 1208 | |
| "Child’s Play: Prodigies and Possibilities" | March 12, 1985 | 1209 | |
| "Monarch of the Mountains" | March 19, 1985 | 1210 | |
Season 13: 1985–1986
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The National Science Test II" | October 8, 1985 | 1211 | |
| "Seeds of Tomorrow" | October 15, 1985 | 1212 | |
| "What Einstein Never Knew" | October 22, 1985 | 1213 | |
| "The Robot Revolution?" | October 29, 1985 | 1214 | |
| "The Magic of Special Effects" | November 5, 1985 | 1215 | |
| "Child Survival: The Silent Emergency" | November 12, 1985 | 1216 | |
| "Tornado!" | November 19, 1985 | 1217 | |
| "The Genetic Gamble" | November 26, 1985 | 1218 | |
| Can gene therapy correct genetic defects in humans? NOVA travels to the shore of Lake Maracaibo with Nancy Wexler, looking for the exact genetic basis of Huntington's disease. | |||
| "Animal Architects" | December 3, 1985 | 1219 | |
| "The Plane that Changed the World" | December 17, 1985 | 1220 | |
| "Halley’s Comet: Once in a Lifetime" | January 21, 1986 | 1301 | |
| "Goddess of the Earth" | January 28, 1986 | 1302 | |
| "Horsemen of China" | February 4, 1986 | 1303 | |
| "Life’s First Feelings" | February 11, 1986 | 1304 | |
| "The Case of the Frozen Addict" | February 18, 1986 | 1305 | |
| "Toxic Trials" | February 25, 1986 | 1306 | |
| "Skydive to the Rain Forest" | March 4, 1986 | 1307 | |
| "Return of the Osprey" | March 11, 1986 | 1308 | |
| "The Rise of a Wonder Drug" | March 18, 1986 | 1309 | |
| "When Wonder Drugs Don't Work" | March 25, 1986 | 1310 | |
| "Visions of 'Star Wars'" | April 22, 1986 | TBA | |
| Two-hour special. | |||
Season 14: 1986–1987
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Search for the Disappeared" | October 14, 1986 | 1311 | |
| "The Planet that Got Knocked on its Side" | October 21, 1986 | 1312 | |
| "High-Tech Babies" | November 4, 1986 | 1313 | |
| "Can AIDS Be Stopped?" | November 11, 1986 | 1314 | |
| "Is Anybody Out There?" | November 18, 1986 | 1315 | |
| "The Mystery of the Animal Pathfinders" | November 25, 1986 | 1316 | |
| "Are You Swimming in a Sewer?" | December 2, 1986 | 1317 | |
| "Sail Wars!" | December 9, 1986 | 1318 | |
| "Leprosy Can Be Cured!" | December 16, 1986 | 1319 | |
| "How Babies Get Made" | January 13, 1987 | 1320 | |
| "Countdown to the Invisible Universe" | January 20, 1987 | 1401 | |
| "Children of Eve" | January 27, 1987 | 1402 | |
| "Why Planes Crash" | February 3, 1987 | 1403 | |
| "Orangutans of the Rainforest" | February 10, 1987 | 1404 | |
| "Freud Under Analysis" | February 17, 1987 | 1405 | |
| "The Hole in the Sky" | February 24, 1987 | 1406 | |
| "Confessions of a Weaponeer" | March 3, 1987 | 1407 | |
| "Great Moments from NOVA" | March 10, 1987 | Special | |
| NOVA presents two hours of the best from its 14 seasons of exciting science coverage. A "talking" chimp, an exploding volcano and a sight-and-sound space video are but a few of the memorable segments. Richard Kiley hosts. | |||
| "Will the World Starve?" | March 24, 1987 | 1408 | |
| "The Desert Doesn't Bloom Here Anymore" | March 31, 1987 | 1409 | |
| "Rocky Road to Jupiter" | April 7, 1987 | 1410 | |
Season 15: 1987–1988
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Death of a Star" | October 6, 1987 | 1411 | |
| A star blows itself apart in a nearby galaxy, and astronomers scramble to study the rare appearance of a supernova. NOVA covers a fast-breaking science story as it is happening. Including scenes taken from Las Campanas Observatory in Chile and many others in the U.S., Australia and South Africa. Narrated by Bill Mason. Later, it was broadcast as a Horizon episode on the BBC, the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) in Germany and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). | |||
| "Spy Machines" | October 13, 1987 | 1412 | |
| "The Hidden Power of Plants" | October 20, 1987 | 1413 | |
| "Japan’s American Genius" | October 27, 1987 | 1414 | |
| "A Man, A Plan, A Canal, Panama" | November 3, 1987 | 1415 | |
| "Volcano!" | November 10, 1987 | 1416 | |
| "How Good is Soviet Science?" | November 17, 1987 | 1417 | |
| "Ancient Treasures from the Deep" | December 1, 1987 | 1418 | |
| "Riddle of the Joints" | December 8, 1987 | 1419 | |
| "Secrets of the Lost Red Paint People" | December 15, 1987 | 1420 | |
| "Top Gun and Beyond" | January 19, 1988 | 1501 | |
| "How to Create a Junk Food" | January 26, 1988 | 1502 | |
| "Buried in Ice" | February 2, 1988 | 1503 | |
| "Why Planes Burn" | February 9, 1988 | 1504 | |
| "Battles in the War on Cancer: A Wonder Drug on Trial" | February 23, 1988 | 1505 | |
| "Battles in the War on Cancer: Breast Cancer - Turning the Tide" | March 1, 1988 | 1506 | |
| "The Mystery of the Master Builders" | March 8, 1988 | 1507 | |
| "Whale Rescue" | March 15, 1988 | TBA | |
| "The Man Who Loved Numbers (Re-edit of episode aired during 8th season titled "Ramanujan - The Man Who Loved Numbers".)" | March 22, 1988 | 1508 | |
| "Race for the Superconductor" | March 29, 1988 | 1509 | |
| "Can You Still Get Polio?" | April 5, 1988 | 1510 | |
Season 16: 1988–1989
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Pioneers of Surgery: The Brutal Craft" | September 6, 1988 | 1511 | |
| "Pioneers of Surgery: Into the Heart" | September 13, 1988 | 1512 | |
| "Pioneers of Surgery: New Organs for Old" | September 20, 1988 | 1513 | |
| "Pioneers of Surgery: Beyond the Knife" | September 27, 1988 | 1514 | |
| "Can the Vatican Save the Sistine Chapel?" | October 4, 1988 | 1515 | |
| "Can the Next President Win the Space Race?" | October 11, 1988 | 1516 | |
| "Do Scientists Cheat?" | October 25, 1988 | 1517 | |
| "Who Shot President Kennedy?" | November 15, 1988 | 1518 | |
| "The Light Stuff" | November 22, 1988 | 1519 | |
| "The All-American Bear" | December 6, 1988 | 1520 | |
| "Can We Make a Better Doctor?" | December 13, 1988 | 1521 | |
| Part one of a ten-year study. See also "So You Want to Be a Doctor?", "Making of a Doctor", and "Doctors' Diaries". | |||
| "Hot Enough for You?" | January 17, 1989 | 1601 | |
| "The Last Journey of a Genius" | January 24, 1989 | 1602 | |
| Re-narrated Horizon episode, "The Quest for Tannu Tuva".[4] | |||
| "The Strange New Science of Chaos" | January 31, 1989 | 1603 | |
| "Back to Chernobyl" | February 14, 1989 | 1604 | |
| NOVA goes to the Soviet Union for an inside investigation of the world's most catastrophic nuclear power accident with correspondent Bill Kurtis. | |||
| "God, Darwin and Dinosaurs" | February 21, 1989 | 1605 | |
| "Adrift on the Gulf Stream" | February 28, 1989 | 1606 | |
| "Secrets of Easter Island" | March 7, 1989 | 1607 | |
| "Legends of Easter Island" | March 14, 1989 | 1608 | |
| "The World Is Full of Oil!" | March 21, 1989 | 1609 | |
| "Confronting the Killer Gene" | March 28, 1989 | 1610 | |
Season 17: 1989–1990
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "The Hidden City" | October 3, 1989 | 1611 |
| "The Controversial Dr. Koop" | October 10, 1989 | 1612 |
| "Design Wars!" | October 17, 1989 | 1613 |
| "Echoes of War" | October 24, 1989 | 1614 |
| "Decoding the Book of Life" | October 31, 1989 | 1615 |
| "Hurricane!" | November 7, 1989 | 1616 |
| "Will Venice Survive Its Rescue?" | November 14, 1989 | 1617 |
| "What Is Music?" | November 21, 1989 | 1618 |
| "Yellowstone’s Burning Question" | December 5, 1989 | 1619 |
| "The Schoolboys Who Cracked the Soviet Secret" | December 12, 1989 | 1620 |
| "Poison in the Rockies" | January 9, 1990 | 1701 |
| "Race for the Top" | January 23, 1990 | 1702 |
| "Disguises of War" | February 6, 1990 | 1703 |
| "The Bomb’s Lethal Legacy" | February 13, 1990 | 1704 |
| "The Big Spill" | February 27, 1990 | 1705 |
| "The Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon" | March 20, 1990[5] | 1706 |
| "The Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision" | March 27, 1990[5] | 1707 |
| "The Genius That Was China: The Threat from Japan" | April 3, 1990[5] | 1708 |
| "The Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?" | April 10, 1990[5] | 1709 |
Season 18: 1990–1991
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "The KGB, The Computer and Me" | October 2, 1990 | 1710 |
| "Neptune’s Cold Fury" | October 9, 1990 | 1711 |
| "To Boldly Go..." | October 16, 1990 | 1712 |
| "Poisoned Winds of War" | October 23, 1990 | 1713 |
| "The Blimp is Back!" | October 30, 1990 | 1714 |
| "Earthquake!" | November 6, 1990 | 1715 |
| "Killing Machines" | November 13, 1990 | 1716 |
| "Can the Elephant Be Saved?" | November 20, 1990 | 1717 |
| "We Know Where You Live" | November 27, 1990 | 1718 |
| "In the Land of the Llamas" | December 4, 1990 | 1719 |
| "What’s Killing the Children?" | December 18, 1990 | 1720 |
| "Return to Mt. St. Helens" | January 8, 1991 | 1801 |
| "ConFusion in a Jar" | January 15, 1991 | 1802 |
| "The Hunt for China’s Dinosaurs" | February 5, 1991 | 1804 |
| "Case of the Flying Dinosaur" | February 12, 1991 | 1805 |
| "T. rex Exposed" | February 19, 1991 | 1806 |
| "Russian Right Stuff: The Invisible Spaceman" | February 26, 1991 | 1807 |
| "Russian Right Stuff: The Dark Side of the Moon" | February 27, 1991 | 1808 |
| "Russian Right Stuff: The Mission" | February 28, 1991 | 1809 |
| "Swimming With Whales" | March 5, 1991 | 1810 |
| "The Chip vs. the Chessmaster" | March 26, 1991 | 1803 |
Season 19: 1991–1992
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Sex, Lies and Toupee Tape" | October 1, 1991 | 1811 | |
| "So You Want to Be a Doctor?" | October 9, 1991 | 1812 | |
| Two-hour part two of a ten year study. | |||
| "Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls" | October 15, 1991 | 1814 | |
| "Suicide Mission to Chernobyl" | October 22, 1991 | 1815 | |
| "Taller Than Everest?" | November 5, 1991 | 1816 | |
| "Fastest Planes in the Sky" | November 12, 1991 | 1817 | |
| "Avoiding the Surgeon’s Knife" | December 3, 1991 | 1818 | |
| "Skyscraper! A Nova Special" | December 10, 1991 | 1819 | |
| "The Fine Art of Faking It" | December 17, 1991 | 1820 | |
| "Hell Fighters of Kuwait" | January 14, 1992 | 1901 | |
| "Submarine!" | January 21, 1992 | 1902 | |
| "Saddam’s War on Wildlife" | January 28, 1992 | 1903 | |
| "What Smells?" | February 11, 1992 | 1904 | |
| "Can You Believe TV Ratings?" | February 18, 1992 | 1905 | |
| "Making a Dishonest Buck" | March 3, 1992 | 1906 | |
| "Rescuing Baby Whales" | March 10, 1992 | 1907 | |
| "An Astronaut’s View of the Earth" | March 17, 1992 | 1908 | |
| "Eclipse of the Century" | March 24, 1992 | 1909 | |
Season 20: 1992–1993
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Animal Olympians II" | August 25, 1992 | 1910 |
| "The Genius Behind the Bomb" | September 29, 1992 | 1911 |
| "Mind of a Serial Killer" | October 13, 1992 | 1912 |
| "Search for the First Americans" | October 20, 1992 | 1913 |
| "Rafting Through the Grand Canyon" | October 27, 1992 | 1914 |
| "This Old Pyramid" | November 4, 1992 | 1915 |
| "Iceman" | November 10, 1992 | 1916 |
| "The Private Lives of Dolphins" | November 17, 1992 | 1917 |
| "Brain Transplant" | December 1, 1992 | 1918 |
| "Can You Stop People From Drinking?" | December 22, 1992 | 1919 |
| "Sex and the Single Rhino" | December 29, 1992 | 1920 |
| "The Hunt for Saddam’s Secret Weapons" | January 12, 1993[6] | 2001 |
| "Can Bombing Win a War?" | January 19, 1993 | 2002 |
| "The Deadly Deception" | January 26, 1993 | 2003 |
| "Nazis and the Russian Bomb" | February 2, 1993 | 2004 |
| "In the Path of a Killer Volcano" | February 9, 1993 | 2005 |
| "Can Science Build a Champion Athlete?" | February 16, 1993 | 2006 |
| "Diving for Pirate Gold" | February 23, 1993 | 2007 |
| "Murder, Rape and DNA" | March 2, 1993 | 2008 |
| "The Lost Tribe" | March 30, 1993 | 2009 |
Season 21: 1993–1994
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The NOVA Quiz" | October 5, 1993 | 2010 | |
| NOVA fans from around the country match wits in a fast-paced contest of general science knowledge celebrating NOVA's 20th anniversary. Famous guests pose questions for the viewers at home. Marc Summers hosts. | |||
| "Wanted: Butch and Sundance" | October 12, 1993 | 2011 | |
| Forensic sleuth Clyde Snow and a posse of experts travel to Bolivia in search of the remains of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They find Hollywood and legend got a few things wrong. | |||
| "Secrets of the Psychics" | October 19, 1993 | 2012 | |
| Magician James "The Amazing" Randi tests the claims of mind readers, fortune tellers, faith healers and others with purported paranormal powers. As a magician, "I know how people are deceived," Randi says. | |||
| "Dying to Breathe" | October 26, 1993 | 2013 | |
| NOVA covers the tense vigil of three people with terminal lung disease as they await the most complex of all organ transplants — a new lung. Months of waiting end in a few frenzied hours of intricate surgery. | |||
| "Shadow of the Condor" | November 2, 1993 | 2014 | |
| NOVA soars with the condor, an extraordinary bird that lives a tenuous existence in the California mountains and the Andes of South America. Footage includes never-before-photographed nesting sites in the cliffs of the Patagonia. | |||
| "The Real Jurassic Park" | November 9, 1993 | 2015 | |
| With help from director Steven Spielberg, author Michael Crichton and a host of scientific experts, NOVA investigates what it would take to recreate the dinosaur theme park in Jurassic Park. It won't be as easy as it was for Hollywood. | |||
| "Roller Coaster!" | November 16, 1993 | 2016 | |
| NOVA takes viewers on the ride of their lives as it explores the science of roller coasters, where physics and psychology meet. New rides of the future may take place entirely in the mind—with virtual reality. First aired on Channel Four in 1992. | |||
| "Mysterious Crash of Flight 201" | November 30, 1993 | 2017 | |
| US federal investigators are called in to determine the cause of a mysterious jetliner crash in Panama. Nothing about the accident makes sense, until a key clue emerges. | |||
| "Great Moments from NOVA" | December 7, 1993 | 2018 | |
| Bill Cosby guides viewers through the most exciting footage from two decades of NOVA in a 20th anniversary salute. Real-life action, adventure, mystery, drama and non-stop discovery fill this 90-minute special. | |||
| "The Best Mind Since Einstein" | December 21, 1993 | 2019 | |
| A profile of the late Richard Feynman — an atomic bomb pioneer, Nobel prize-winning physicist, acclaimed teacher and all-around eccentric, who helped solve the mystery of the space shuttle Challenger explosion. Edited and re-narrated from the two-part Horizon episode, "No Ordinary Genius".[4] | |||
| "Stranger in the Mirror" | December 28, 1993 | 2020 | |
| NOVA explores the nature of human perception through the puzzling condition called visual agnosia, the inability to recognize faces and familiar objects, made famous in Oliver Sacks' book, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat". | |||
| "Codebreakers" | January 18, 1994 | 2101 | |
| NOVA delves into the history of secret communications and the people who wrack their brains to decipher them. The program probes the most celebrated of all cryptographic coups: the breaking of the World War II codes used by Japan and Germany and how codebreaking helped shorten the war. | |||
| "Dinosaurs of the Gobi" | January 25, 1994 | 2102 | |
| Velociraptors and primitive birds are among the fabulous fossil finds as NOVA accompanies an American Museum of Natural History expedition to the Gobi Desert. The trip relives the exploits of the Museum's dashing explorer of the 1920s, Roy Chapman Andrews -said to be the real-life model for Indiana Jones. | |||
| "Daredevils of the Sky" | February 1, 1994 | 2103 | |
| NOVA follows members of the US Aerobatic Team as they prepare for and compete in the 1992 World Aerobatic Championship. The sport, as precisely choreographed as gymnastics-except that it takes place in airplanes at 200 miles per hour-has always been on the leading edge of developments in aviation. | |||
| "Journey to Kilimanjaro" | February 8, 1994 | 2104 | |
| NOVA explores ice-capped mountains-on the equator. These African giants are magical islands of life towering above the scorched plains. Giant forest hogs, bearded vultures, the elusive bongo and other exotic creatures live in this harsh and isolated high country. | |||
| "Can Chimps Talk?" | February 15, 1994 | 2105 | |
| NOVA covers exciting and controversial research with chimpanzees who have been trained to express themselves with human symbols. Are they speaking their minds? Or are they just aping their trainers? | |||
| "In Search of Human Origins, Part One" | February 28, 1994 | 2106 | |
| In the first of a three-part series, noted anthropologist Donald Johanson probes the earliest ancestors of the human species - reaching back more than three million years to a strange ape who walked upright. Johanson takes viewers to the site in Ethiopia where he discovered the fossil remains of this missing link nicknamed "Lucy." | |||
| "In Search of Human Origins, Part Two" | March 1, 1994 | 2107 | |
| Anthropologist Donald Johanson looks at how our human ancestors of two million years ago made their living. Contrary to popular myth, scavenging was a more lucrative living than hunting-and may have contributed to the development of human intelligence. | |||
| "In Search of Human Origins, Part Three" | March 2, 1994 | 2108 | |
| At what point did our distant ancestors become anatomically like us? And, more importantly, when did they begin to act like us? Anthropologist Donald Johanson looks at what it is that makes us human. | |||
| "Can China Kick the Habit?" | April 12, 1994 | 2109 | |
| NOVA visits the most cigarette-addicted nation in the world-China. Western advertising and trading practices have exacerbated the fatal romance with smoking in the world's most populous country, where lung cancer cases are beginning to strain the nation's health care system. | |||
| "Aircraft Carrier!" | April 19, 1994 | 2110 | |
| NOVA experiences the relentless, round-the-clock life aboard the US Navy aircraft carrier, Independence-where every day is a constant drill of launching and landing aircraft atop a floating city of 5,000 people. The action includes Top Gun mock combat exercises and live-ammunition patrols over Iraq. | |||
Season 22: 1994–1995
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Great Wildlife Heist" | October 11, 1994 | 2111 | |
| "The Secret of the Wild Child" | October 18, 1994 | 2112 | |
| "Haunted Cry of a Long Gone Bird" | October 25, 1994 | 2113 | |
| "What’s New About Menopause" | November 1, 1994 | 2114 | |
| "The Tribe that Time Forgot" | November 8, 1994 | 2115 | |
| "Killer Quake!" | November 15, 1994 | 2116 | |
| "Buried in Ash" | November 29, 1994 | 2117 | |
| "Rescue Mission in Space" | December 6, 1994 | 2118 | |
| "Journey to the Sacred Sea" | December 20, 1994 | 2119 | |
| "In Search of the First Language" | December 27, 1994 | 2120 | |
| "Mammoths of the Ice Age" | January 10, 1995 | 2201 | |
| "Vikings in America" | January 24, 1995 | 2202 | |
| "Little Creatures Who Run the World" | January 31, 1995 | 2203 | |
| "Nazi Designers of Death" | February 7, 1995 | 2204 | |
| "Siamese Twins" | February 14, 1995 | 2205 | |
| "Mystery of the Senses: Hearing" | February 19, 1995 [7] | TBA | |
| "Mystery of the Senses: Smell" | February 20, 1995 [7] | TBA | |
| "Mystery of the Senses: Taste" | February 21, 1995 [7] | TBA | |
| "Mystery of the Senses: Touch" | February 22, 1995 [7] | TBA | |
| "Mystery of the Senses: Vision" | February 22, 1995 [7] | TBA | |
| "The Universe Within" | March 7, 1995 | 2206 | |
| "Making of a Doctor" | May 3, 1995 | 2207 | |
| Two-hour part three of a ten-year study | |||
| "Fast Cars" | May 23, 1995 | 2208 | |
Season 23: 1995–1996
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Anastasia Dead or Alive?" | October 10, 1995 | 2209 |
| "Venus Unveiled" | October 17, 1995 | 2210 |
| "Hawaii Born of Fire" | October 24, 1995 | 2211 |
| "The Doomsday Asteroid" | October 31, 1995 | 2212 |
| "Lightning!" | November 7, 1995 | 2213 |
| "Hunt for the Serial Arsonist" | November 14, 1995 | 2214 |
| "Treasures of the Great Barrier Reef" | November 28, 1995 | 2215 |
| "Race to Catch a Buckyball" | December 19, 1995 | 2216 |
| "Can Buildings Make You Sick?" | December 26, 1995 | 2217 |
| "Terror in the Mine Fields" | January 9, 1996 | 2301 |
| "The Day the Earth Shook" | January 16, 1996 | 2302 |
| "B-29 Frozen in Time" | January 30, 1996 | 2303 |
| "Plague Fighters" "Ebola: The Plague Fighters[8]" | February 6, 1996 | 2304 |
| "War Machines of Tomorrow" | February 20, 1996 | 2305 |
| "Kidnapped by U.F.O.'s?" | February 27, 1996 | 2306 |
| "Flood!" | March 26, 1996 | 2307 |
| "Dr. Spock the Baby Doc" | April 2, 1996 | 2308 |
| "Warriors of the Amazon" | April 9, 1996 | 2309 |
| "Bombing of America" | April 16, 1996 | 2310 |
Season 24: 1996–1997
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Einstein Revealed" | October 1, 1996 | 2311 |
| "Lost City of Arabia" | October 8, 1996 | 2312 |
| "Three Men and a Balloon" | October 15, 1996 | 2313 |
| "Secrets of Making Money" | October 22, 1996 | 2314 |
| "Top Gun Over Moscow" | November 12, 1996 | 2315 |
| "Shark Attack" | November 19, 1996 | 2316 |
| "Odyssey of Life: The Ultimate Journey" | November 24, 1996 | 2317 |
| "Odyssey of Life: The Unknown World" | November 25, 1996 | 2318 |
| "Odyssey of Life: The Photographer’s Secrets" | November 26, 1996 | 2319 |
| "Cracking the Ice Age" | December 31, 1996 | 2320 |
| "Kaboom!" | January 14, 1997 | 2401 |
| "Titanic’s Lost Sister" | January 28, 1997 | 2402 |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Stonehenge" | February 11, 1997 | 2403 |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Inca" | February 11, 1997 | 2404 |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Obelisk" | February 12, 1997 | 2405 |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Colosseum" | February 12, 1997 | 2406 |
| "Hunt for Alien Worlds" | February 18, 1997 | 2407 |
| "Curse of T. rex" | February 25, 1997 | 2408 |
| "Cut to the Heart" | April 8, 1997 | 2409 |
| "Kingdom of the Seahorse" | April 15, 1997 | 2410 |
Season 25: 1997–1998
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Coma" | October 7, 1997 | 2411 | |
| "Faster Than Sound" | October 14, 1997 | 2412 | |
| "Bomb Squad" | October 21, 1997 | 2413 | |
| A Windfall Films production for WGBH in association with Channel 4 (UK).[9] Original Channel 4 Equinox episode, "The Men with Nine Lives".[10] | |||
| "The Proof" | October 28, 1997 | 2414 | |
| Re-narrated Horizon episode, "Fermat’s Last Theorem".[11][12] | |||
| "Wild Wolves" with David Attenborough | November 11, 1997 | 2415 | |
| Original BBC Wildlife Specials program, "Wolf: The Legendary Outlaw".[13] | |||
| "Super Bridge" | November 12, 1997 | 2416 | |
| "Treasures of the Sunken City" | November 18, 1997 | 2417 | |
| "Avalanche!" | November 25, 1997 | 2418 | |
| "Danger in the Jet Stream" | December 2, 1997 | 2419 | |
| "Night Creatures of the Kalahari" | January 6, 1998 | 2501 | |
| "Mysterious Mummies of China" | January 20, 1998 | 2502 | |
| "Supersonic Spies" | January 27, 1998 | 2503 | |
| "Animal Hospital" | February 3, 1998 | 2504 | |
| "The Brain Eater" | February 10, 1998 | 2505 | |
| "Everest - The Death Zone" | February 24, 1998 | 2506 | |
| "Search for the Lost Cave People" | March 31, 1998 | 2507 | |
| "Warnings from the Ice" | April 21, 1998 | 2508 | |
| "Crocodiles!" with David Attenborough | April 28, 1998 | 2509 | |
| BBC production in association with WGBH.[14] Original BBC Wildlife Specials episode "Crocodile: The Smiling Predator". | |||
| "The Truth About Impotence" | May 12, 1998 | 2510 | |
Season 26: 1998-1999
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude" | October 6, 1998 | 2511 | |
| "Chasing El Niño" | October 13, 1998 | 2512 | |
| "Terror In Space" | October 27, 1998 | 2513 | |
| "Special Effects: Titanic and Beyond" | November 3, 1998 | 2514 | |
| "Deadly Shadow of Vesuvius" | November 10, 1998 | 2515 | |
| "Ice Mummies: Frozen in Heaven" | November 24, 1998 | 2516 | |
| "Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden" | November 24, 1998 | 2517 | |
| "Ice Mummies: Return of the Iceman" | November 24, 1998 | 2518 | |
| "Leopards of the Night" with David Attenborough | December 1, 1998 | 2519 | |
| "The Perfect Pearl" | December 29, 1998 | 2520 | |
| "The Beast of Loch Ness" | January 12, 1999 | 2601 | |
| "Submarines, Secrets, and Spies" | January 19, 1999 | 2602 | |
| "Surviving AIDS" | February 2, 1999 | 2603 | |
| "Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Fire" | February 16, 1999 | 2604 | |
| "Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Car Crash" | February 16, 1999 | 2605 | |
| "Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Plane Crash" | February 17, 1999 | 2606 | |
| "Escape! Because Accidents Happen: Abandon Ship" | February 17, 1999 | 2607 | |
| "Battle Alert in the Gulf" | February 23, 1999 | 2608 | |
| "Volcanoes of the Deep" | March 30, 1999 | 2609 | |
| "To the Moon" | July 13, 1999 | 2610 | |
| A two-hour special marking the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. | |||
Season 27: 1999–2000
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Fall of the Leaning Tower" | October 5, 1999 | 2611 | |
| "Everest: Mystery of Mallory and Irvine" | October 6, 1999 | 2612 | |
| "Time Travel" | October 12, 1999 | 2613 | |
| "The Killer’s Trail" | October 19, 1999 | 2614 | |
| "Island of the Spirits" | November 2, 1999 | 2615 | |
| "Decoding Nazi Secrets" | November 9, 1999 | 2616 | |
| "Voyage of Doom" | November 23, 1999 | 2617 | |
| "Electric Heart" | December 21, 1999 | 2618 | |
| "Tales from the Hive[note 1]" | January 4, 2000 | 2701 | |
| "Lost on Everest" | January 18, 2000 | 2702 | |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege" | February 1, 2000 | TBA | |
| Five-part series produced by WGBH in association with Channel 4 and France 5.[15] | |||
| "Diamond Deception" | February 1, 2000 | 2703 | |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh’s Obelisk" | February 8, 2000 | TBA | |
| "Trillion Dollar Bet" | February 8, 2000 | 2704 | |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island" | February 15, 2000 | TBA | |
| "Mystery of the First Americans" | February 15, 2000 | 2705 | |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath" | February 22, 2000 | TBA | |
| "Lost Tribes of Israel" | February 22, 2000 | 2706 | |
| "Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge" | February 29, 2000 | TBA | |
| "What’s Up with the Weather?" | April 18, 2000 | TBA | |
| A coproduction with FRONTLINE. | |||
| "Stationed in the Stars" | April 25, 2000 | 2707 | |
| "The Vikings" | May 9, 2000 | 2708 | |
Season 28: 2000–2001
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Lincoln’s Secret Weapon" | October 24, 2000 | 2710 | |
| "Holocaust on Trial" | October 31, 2000 | 2711 | |
| "Hitler's Lost Sub" | November 14, 2000 | 2712 | |
| "Runaway Universe" | November 21, 2000 | 2713 | |
| "Garden of Eden" | November 28, 2000 | 2714 | |
| "Dying to Be Thin" | December 12, 2000 | 2715 | |
| "Japan’s Secret Garden" | December 18, 2000 | 2716 | |
| "Sultan’s Lost Treasure" | January 16, 2001 | 2801 | |
| "Vanished!" | January 30, 2001 | 2802 | |
| Tells the story of the search for the Avro Lancaster bomber, Star Dust, that crashed in the Andes on its way to Santiago, Chile. BBC / WGBH co-production.[16] Broadcast in 2000 as BBC Horizon episode, "Vanished: The Plane That Disappeared".[17] | |||
| "Nazi Prison Escape" | February 6, 2001 | 2803 | |
| Edited from Windfall Films series for Channel 4 (UK) - Escape From Colditz.[18] | |||
| "Lost King of the Maya" | February 13, 2001 | 2804 | |
| This episode focuses on the search for the tomb of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', one of the first Ajaws of the Mayan city of Copán. | |||
| "Cancer Warrior" | February 27, 2001 | 2805 | |
| Focuses on the cancer treatments developed by surgeon Judah Folkman. | |||
| "Survivor M.D.: Tattooed Doctor" | March 27, 2001 | 2806 | |
| "Survivor M.D.: Second Opinions" | April 3, 2001 | 2807 | |
| "Survivor M.D.: Hearts & Minds" | April 10, 2001 | 2808 | |
| "Cracking the Code of Life" | April 17, 2001 | 2809 | |
| "Harvest of Fear" | April 24, 2001 | TBA | |
| A coproduction with FRONTLINE. | |||
Season 29: 2001–2002
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Search for a Safe Cigarette" | October 2, 2001 | 2810 | |
| "18 Ways to Make a Baby" | October 9, 2001 | 2811 | |
| "Secrets of the Mind" | October 23, 2001 | 2812 | |
| "Sex: Unknown" | October 30, 2001 | 2813 | |
| "Russia’s Nuclear Warriors" | November 6, 2001 | 2814 | |
| "Bioterror" | November 13, 2001 | 2815 | |
| Two versions, 90 minutes 2/12/2002 and 60 minutes 11/13/2001 | |||
| "Life’s Greatest Miracle" | November 20, 2001 | 2816 | |
| "Methuselah Tree" | December 11, 2001 | 2817 | |
| "Flying Casanovas" | December 25, 2001 | 2818 | |
| "Death Star" | January 8, 2002 | 2901 | |
| "Neanderthals on Trial" | January 22, 2002 | 2902 | |
| "Fireworks!" | January 29, 2002 | 2903 | |
| "Secrets, Lies, and Atomic Spies" | February 5, 2002 | 2904 | |
| "The Missing Link" | February 26, 2002 | 2905 | |
| "Shackleton’s Voyage of Endurance" | March 26, 2002 | 2906 | |
| "Why the Towers Fell" | April 30, 2002 | 2907 | |
| BBC / WGBH co-production.[19] Broadcast as Horizon episode, "The Fall of the World Trade Center". | |||
| "Fire Wars" | May 7, 2002 | 2908 | |
Season 30: 2002–2003
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Killer Disease on Campus" | September 3, 2002 | 2909 |
| "Mysterious Life of Caves" | October 1, 2002 | 2910 |
| "Lost Roman Treasure" | October 8, 2002 | 2911 |
| "Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens" | October 29, 2002 | 2912 |
| "Volcano’s Deadly Warning" | November 12, 2002 | 2913 |
| "Sinking City of Venice" | November 19, 2002 | 2914 |
| "The Orchid Hunter" | November 26, 2002 | 2915 |
| "Spies That Fly" | January 7, 2003 | 3001 |
| "Last Flight of Bomber 31" | January 14, 2003 | 3002 |
| "Ancient Creature of the Deep" | January 21, 2003 | 3003 |
| "Battle of the X-Planes" | February 4, 2003 | 3004 |
| "Mountain of Ice" | February 11, 2003 | 3005 |
| "Lost Treasures of Tibet" | February 18, 2003 | 3006 |
| "Dirty Bomb" | February 25, 2003 [20] | 3007 |
| "Deep Sea Invasion" | April 1, 2003 | 3008 |
| "Secret of Photo 51" | April 15, 2003 | 3009 |
Season 31: 2003–2004
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Infinite Secrets" | September 30, 2003 | 3010 | |
| "Who Killed the Red Baron?" | October 7, 2003 | 3011 | |
| Edited from Channel 4 (UK) series Secret History December 22, 2002 episode "Dogfight - The Mystery of the Red Baron." | |||
| "The Elegant Universe: Einstein’s Dream" | October 28, 2003 | 3012 | |
| "The Elegant Universe: String’s the Thing" | October 28, 2003 | 3013 | |
| "The Elegant Universe: Welcome to the 11th Dimension" | November 4, 2003 | 3014 | |
| "Wright Brothers' Flying Machine" | November 11, 2003 | 3015 | |
| "Magnetic Storm" | November 18, 2003 | 3016 | |
| "Volcano Above the Clouds" | November 25, 2003 | 3017 | |
| "Mars Dead or Alive" | January 4, 2004 | 3101 | |
| "Secrets of the Crocodile Caves" | January 20, 2004 | 3102 | |
| "Dogs and More Dogs" | February 3, 2004 | 3103 | |
| "Descent into the Ice" | February 10, 2004 | 3104 | |
| "Crash of Flight 111" | February 17, 2004 | 3105 | |
| "Life and Death in the War Zone" | March 4, 2004 | 3106 | |
| "Hunt for the Supertwister" | March 30, 2004 | 3107 | |
| "World in the Balance" | April 20, 2004 | 3108 | |
| "Battle Plan Under Fire" | May 4, 2004 | 3110 | |
Season 32: 2004–2005
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Origins: Earth is Born" | September 28, 2004 | 3111 | |
| Edited from Channel 4 (UK) series The Day the Earth was Born episode "Creation". | |||
| "Origins: How Life Began" | September 28, 2004 | 3112 | |
| Edited from Channel 4 (UK) series The Day the Earth was Born episode "Life". | |||
| "Origins: Where Are the Aliens?" | September 29, 2004 | 3113 | |
| "Origins: Back to the Beginning" | September 29, 2004 | 3114 | |
| "The Most Dangerous Woman in America" | October 12, 2004 | 3115 | |
| "America’s Stone Age Explorers" | November 9, 2004 | 3116 | |
| Original BBC Horizon episode, "Stone Age Columbus", first broadcast in 2002.[21][22] | |||
| "Great Escape" | November 16, 2004 | 3117 | |
| Windfall Films production for Five (UK) / WGBH / The History Channel (UK) originally broadcast on Five in March 2004 as The Great Escape: Revealed.[23] | |||
| "Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land" | November 23, 2004 | 3118 | |
| "Welcome to Mars" | January 4, 2005 | 3201 | |
| Spirit and Opportunity Mars rovers. | |||
| "The Boldest Hoax" | January 11, 2005 | 3202 | |
| One of the most famous hoaxes in archaeological history, the Piltdown Man. Original BBC Timewatch episode "Britain’s Greatest Hoax".[24] | |||
| "Supersonic Dream" | January 18, 2005 | 3203 | |
| Original BBC Timewatch episode "Concorde: A Love Story".[25] | |||
| "The Viking Deception" | February 8, 2005 | 3205 | |
| Original Channel 4 (UK) documentary Vinland: Viking Map or Million-Dollar Hoax?.[26] | |||
| "Saving the National Treasures" | February 15, 2005 | 3206 | |
| "A Daring Flight" | February 22, 2005 | 3207 | |
| "Wave That Shook the World" | March 29, 2005 | 3208 | |
| Original Channel 4 (UK) Equinox episode, "The Wave That Shook The World".[27][28] | |||
Season 33: 2005–2006
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Mystery of the Megaflood" | September 20, 2005 | 3211 | |
| "Sinking the Supership" | October 4, 2005 | 3212 | |
| "Einstein’s Big Idea (E=mc²: Einstein's Big Idea)" | October 11, 2005 | 3213 | |
| "Volcano Under the City" | November 1, 2005 | 3215 | |
| "Hitler’s Sunken Secret" | November 8, 2005 | 3216 | |
| "Newton’s Dark Secrets" | November 15, 2005 | 3217 | |
| Original BBC documentary, Newton: The Dark Heretic, first broadcast in 2003.[29][30] | |||
| "Storm That Drowned A City" | November 22, 2005 | 3218 | |
| "The Mummy Who Would Be King" | January 3, 2006 | 3301 | |
| "Deadly Ascent" | January 17, 2006 | 3303 | |
| "The Perfect Corpse" | February 7, 2006 | 3304 | |
| "Jewel of the Earth" | February 14, 2006 | 3305 | |
| Re-edited from the BBC Natural World program, "The Amber Time Machine".[31] | |||
| "The Ghost Particle" | February 21, 2006 | 3306 | |
| Original BBC Horizon episode, "Project Poltergeist".[32] | |||
| "Arctic Passage" | February 28, 2006 | 3307 | |
| Re-narrated Channel 4 (UK) documentary, The Search for the Northwest Passage [33][34] | |||
| "The Great Robot Race" | March 28, 2006 | 3308 | |
| "Voyage to the Mystery Moon" | April 4, 2006 | 3309 | |
| Edited from BBC Horizon episodes, "Saturn: Lord of the Rings" and "Titan: A Place Like Home".[35] | |||
| "Dimming the Sun" | April 18, 2006 | 3310 | |
| Re-edited Horizon episode, "Global Dimming".[36][37] | |||
Season 34: 2006–2007
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Building on Ground Zero" | September 5, 2006 | 3311 | |
| BBC / WGBH co-production. | |||
| "Mystery of the Megavolcano" | September 26, 2006 | 3312 | |
| "The Deadliest Plane Crash" | October 17, 2006 | 3314 | |
| An investigation into the Tenerife airport disaster. | |||
| "Monster of the Milky Way" | October 31, 2006 | 3315 | |
| "Wings of Madness" | November 7, 2006 | 3316 | |
| "The Family That Walks On All Fours" | November 14, 2006 | 3317 | |
| "Underwater Dream Machine" | December 26, 2006 | 3319 | |
| "Forgotten Genius" | February 6, 2007 | 3402 | |
| "The Last Great Ape" | February 13, 2007 | 3403 | |
| Re-edited from BBC Natural World program "Bonobo: Missing in Action".[38] | |||
| "Kings of Camouflage" | April 3, 2007 | 3404 | |
| "First Flower" | April 17, 2007 | 3405 | |
| "Saved by the Sun" | April 24, 2007 | 3406 | |
| "Pocahontas Revealed" | May 8, 2007 | 3407 | |
| "Bone Diggers" | June 19, 2007 | 3408 | |
| "The Great Inca Rebellion" | June 26, 2007 | 3409 | |
Season 35: 2007–2008
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Secrets of the Samurai Sword" | October 9, 2007 | 3412 | |
| "Ghost in Your Genes" | October 16, 2007 | 3413 | |
| Original BBC Horizon episode broadcast in 2005.[39] | |||
| "Marathon Challenge" | October 30, 2007 | 3414 | |
| "Sputnik Declassified" | November 6, 2007 | 3415 | |
| "Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" | November 13, 2007 | 3416 | |
| "Master of the Killer Ants" | November 20, 2007 | 3417 | |
| This re-narrated version of the French documentary Jaglavak, Prince of Insects looks at the relationship the Mofu people of northern Cameroon have with insects, such as using red driver ants to combat termites.[40] | |||
| "Missing in MiG Alley" | December 18, 2007 | 3418 | |
| "Absolute Zero: The Conquest of Cold" | January 8, 2008 | 3504 | |
| A Windfall Films production for BBC Four broadcast in December 2007.[41][42] | |||
| "Absolute Zero: The Race for Absolute Zero" | January 15, 2008 | 3505 | |
| A Windfall Films production for BBC Four broadcast in December 2007.[41][42] | |||
| "Secrets of the Parthenon" | January 29, 2008 | 3503 | |
| "Astrospies" | February 12, 2008 | 3501 | |
| "Ape Genius" | February 19, 2008 | 3507 | |
| "The Four-Winged Dinosaur" | February 26, 2008 | 3502 | |
| "Cracking the Maya Code" | April 8, 2008 | 3508 | |
| "Car of the Future" | April 22, 2008 | 3509 | |
| "A Walk to Beautiful" | May 13, 2008 | 3506 | |
| "Lord of the Ants" | May 20, 2008 | 3510 | |
Season 36: 2008–2009
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Arctic Dinosaurs" | October 7, 2008 | 3511 | |
| Trek through Alaska to explore how dinosaurs once thrived in polar regions. | |||
| "Space Shuttle Disaster" | October 14, 2008 | 3512 | |
| "Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives" | October 21, 2008 | 3513 | |
| "Hunting the Hidden Dimension" | October 28, 2008 | 3514 | |
| You may not know it, but fractals, like the air you breathe, are all around you. Their irregular, repeating shapes are found in cloud formations and tree limbs, in stalks of broccoli and craggy mountain ranges, even in the rhythm of the human heart. In this film, NOVA takes viewers on a fascinating quest with a group of maverick mathematicians determined to decipher the rules that govern fractal geometry. For centuries, fractal-like irregular shapes were considered beyond the boundaries of mathematical understanding. Now, mathematicians have finally begun mapping this uncharted territory. Their remarkable findings are deepening our understanding of nature and stimulating a new wave of scientific, medical, and artistic innovation stretching from the ecology of the rain forest to fashion design. The documentary highlights a host of filmmakers, fashion designers, physicians, and researchers who are using fractal geometry to innovate and inspire. | |||
| "Alien from Earth" | November 11, 2008 | 3515 | |
| "The Bible's Buried Secrets" | November 18, 2008 | 3516 | |
| "Ocean Animal Emergency" | November 25, 2008 | 3517 | |
| "Is There Life on Mars?" | December 30, 2008 | 3518 | |
| "The Big Energy Gamble" | January 20, 2009 | 3519 | |
| "The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies" | January 27, 2009 | 3601 | |
| "The Spy Factory" | February 3, 2009 | 3602 | |
| "Rat Attack" | February 24, 2009 | 3603 | |
| "Extreme Ice" | March 24, 2009 | 3604 | |
| "Last Extinction" | March 31, 2009 | 3607 | |
| Also titled in re-broadcasts as "Megabeasts' Sudden Death". | |||
| "Doctors' Diaries, Part One" | April 7, 2009 | 3608 | |
| "Doctors' Diaries, Part Two" | April 14, 2009 | 3609 | |
| "Musical Minds" | June 30, 2009 | 3610 | |
Season 37: 2009–2010
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Darwin’s Darkest Hour" | October 6, 2009 | 3605-3606 |
| "Hubble’s Amazing Rescue" | October 13, 2009 | 3611 |
| "Lizard Kings" | October 20, 2009 | 3616 |
| "Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors: First Steps" | November 3, 2009 | 3613 |
| "Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors: Birth of Humanity" | November 10, 2009 | 3614 |
| "Becoming Human: Unearthing Our Earliest Ancestors: Last Human Standing" | November 17, 2009 | 3615 |
| "What Are Dreams? (Co-produced by the BBC)" | November 24, 2009 | 3612 |
| "What Darwin Never Knew" | December 29, 2009 | 3617 |
| "Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor" | January 5, 2010 | 3701 |
| "Building Pharaoh’s Ship" | January 12, 2010 | 3702 |
| "Riddles of the Sphinx" | January 19, 2010 | 3703 |
| "Ghosts of Machu Picchu" | February 2, 2010 | 3704 |
| "Extreme Cave Diving" | February 9, 2010 | 3705 |
| "The Pluto Files" | March 2, 2010 | 3706 |
| "Hunting the Edge of Space (part 1): The Mystery of the Milky Way" | April 6, 2010 | 3708 |
| "Hunting the Edge of Space (part 2): The Ever Expanding Universe" | April 13, 2010 | 3709 |
| "Mind Over Money: How Human Psychology and Finance Interact" | April 27, 2010 | 3707 |
| "Mt. St. Helens: Back From The Dead" | May 4, 2010 | 3710 |
Season 38: 2010–2011
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Building the Great Cathedrals" | October 19, 2010 | 3711 | |
| "Emergency Mine Rescue" | October 26, 2010 | 3712 | |
| This one-hour film chronicles the fate of the 33 miners trapped in a collapsed Chilean gold and copper mine in August 2010 and investigates the many challenges faced by both the miners and those working around the clock to bring them safely to the surface. NOVA was on-site at the San José mine in Chile by early September. Conferred special access, NOVA's film crew interviewed engineers, NASA experts, medical personnel, and key figures from the companies that provided drills and crucial rescue equipment to give a more detailed scientific account of the unfolding events. The resulting film, using footage from the scene as well as advanced animation, showcases the extraordinary feats of engineering as well as the biological and geological factors inherent in the rescue. "Emergency Mine Rescue" also examines the psychological and physiological impact of this kind of prolonged ordeal on the miners and those involved in the rescue efforts. Co-produced with Channel Four UK. | |||
| "Trapped in an Elevator" | November 2, 2010 | 3713 | |
| "Dogs Decoded" | November 9, 2010 | 3714 | |
| "Secrets of Stonehenge" | November 16, 2010 | 3715 | |
| "Quest for Solomon’s Mines" | November 23, 2010 | 3716 | |
| "Secrets Beneath the Ice" | December 28, 2010 | 3717 | |
| "Deadliest Earthquakes (Haiti and Chile)" | January 11, 2011 | 3801 | |
| "Making Stuff (With David Pogue): Stronger" | January 19, 2011 | 3802 | |
| "Making Stuff: Smaller" | January 26, 2011 | 3803 | |
| "Making Stuff: Cleaner" | February 2, 2011 | 3804 | |
| "Making Stuff: Smarter" | February 9, 2011 | 3805 | |
| "Smartest Machine on Earth: Can a Computer Win on Jeopardy!?" | February 9, 2011 | 3806 | |
| "Crash of Flight 447" | February 16, 2011 | 3807 | |
| "Venom: Nature's Killer" | February 23, 2011 | 3808 | |
| "Japan's Killer Quake" | March 30, 2011[44] | 3810 | |
| "Power Surge" | April 20, 2011[45] | 3809 | |
Season 39: 2011–2012
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Engineering Ground Zero" | September 7, 2011 | 3811 | |
| "Surviving The Tsunami (Produced by NHK)" | September 28, 2011 | 3812 | |
| "Finding Life Beyond Earth" | October 19, 2011 | 3813/3814 | |
| "Iceman Murder Mystery" | October 26, 2011 | 3815 | |
| "The Fabric of the Cosmos: What is Space?" | November 2, 2011 | 3816 | |
| "The Fabric of the Cosmos: The Illusion of Time" | November 9, 2011 | 3817 | |
| "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Quantum Leap" | November 16, 2011 | 3818 | |
| "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Universe or Multiverse?" | November 23, 2011 | 3819 | |
| "Deadliest Volcanoes" | January 4, 2012 | 3901 | |
| "Bombing Hitler's Dams" | January 11, 2012 | 3902 | |
| A recreation of Operation Chastise and the bouncing bomb, using a Buffalo Airways DC-4 airplane (C-FIQM). Counterpart to the UK documentary Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb, Canadian documentary Dambusters Fly Again, Ice Pilots NWT season 3 episode 2 "Dambusters" show.[46][47][48][49][50][51] | |||
| "3D Spies of WWII" | January 18, 2012 | 3903 | |
| Discusses the Allied aerial reconnaissance program, and how the usage of 3D imagery revealed much more information than ordinary photographs would have, mostly in relation to the V-weapons. | |||
| "Mystery of a Masterpiece" | January 25, 2012 | 3904 | |
| "Ice Age Death Trap" | February 1, 2012 | 3905 | |
| "Separating Twins" | February 8, 2012 | 3908 | |
| This is the incredible story of Trishna and Krishna, twin girls born joined at the head. Abandoned shortly after birth at an orphanage in Bangladesh, they had little chance of survival, until they were saved and taken to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by an aid worker. After two years battling for life, the twins are ready for a series of delicate operations that will prepare them for the ultimate challenge: a marathon separation surgery that will allow them to live truly separate lives. Since the beginning, surgeons knew there was no guarantee of survival for either of the girls—but without surgery there was no hope at all. With exclusive access to this extraordinary human and medical drama, our cameras have been with Trishna and Krishna and their caregivers at each moment of their journey. | |||
| "Cracking Your Genetic Code" | March 28, 2012 | 3909 | |
| "Hunting the Elements" | April 4, 2012 | 3906 | |
| "Deadliest Tornadoes" | April 11, 2012 | 3910 | |
| "Why Ships Sink" | April 18, 2012 | 3911 | |
| Twenty million passengers embark on cruises each year, vacationing in deluxe "floating cities" that offer everything from swimming pools to shopping malls to ice rinks. And the ships just keep getting bigger: The average cruise ship has doubled in size in just the last ten years. Some engineers fear that these towering behemoths are dangerously unstable, and the recent tragedy of the Costa Concordia has raised new questions about their safety. Now, NOVA brings together marine engineering and safety experts to reconstruct the events that led up to famous cruise disasters, including the ill-fated Concordia, the Sea Diamond, and the Oceanos. | |||
| "Secrets of the Sun" | April 25, 2012 | 3907 | |
Season 40: 2012–2013
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Secrets of the Viking Sword" | October 10, 2012 | 3913 | |
| "Forensics on Trial" | October 17, 2012 | 3912 | |
| "Mystery of Easter Island" | November 7, 2012 | 3914 | |
| "Ultimate Mars Challenge" | November 14, 2012 | 3915 | |
| "Inside the Megastorm" | November 18, 2012 | 3916 | |
| A look at Hurricane Sandy and ways to prepare for future hurricane disasters | |||
| "Doomsday Volcanoes" | January 2, 2013 | 4001 | |
| "Decoding Neanderthals" | January 9, 2013 | 4002 | |
| "Rise of the Drones" | January 23, 2013 | 4003 | |
| "Who Killed Lindbergh's Baby" | January 30, 2013 | 4004 | |
| "Building Pharaoh's Chariot" | February 6, 2013 | 4005 | |
| "Earth from Space" | February 13, 2013 | 4006 | |
| "Mind of a Rampage Killer" | February 20, 2013 | 4008 | |
| "Meteor Strike" | March 27, 2013 | 4013 | |
| "Ancient Computer" | April 3, 2013 | 4007 | |
| "Australia's First 4 Billion Years[note 2]" | April 10, 2013 | 4009 | |
| "Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Life Explodes" | April 17, 2013 | 4010 | |
| "Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Monsters" | April 24, 2013 | 4011 | |
| "Australia's First 4 Billion Years: Strange Creatures" | May 1, 2013 | 4012 | |
| "Manhunt - Boston Bombers" | May 29, 2013 | 4014 | |
| "Oklahoma's Deadliest Tornadoes" | May 29, 2013 | 4015 | |
Season 41: 2013–2014
| Title | Original air date | Code |
|---|---|---|
| "Ground Zero Supertower" | September 11, 2013 | 4016 |
| "Megastorm Aftermath" | October 9, 2013 | 4017 |
| "Making Stuff Faster" | October 16, 2013 | 4018 |
| "Making Stuff Wilder" | October 23, 2013 | 4019 |
| "Making Stuff Colder" | October 30, 2013 | 4020 |
| "Making Stuff Safer" | November 6, 2013 | 4021 |
| "Cold Case JFK" | November 13, 2013 | 4022 |
| "At the Edge of Space" | November 20, 2013 | 4023 |
| "Asteroid: Doomsday or Payday?" | November 20, 2013 | 4024 |
| "Alien Planets Revealed" | January 8, 2014 | 4101 |
| "Zeppelin Terror Attack" | January 15, 2014 | 4102 |
| "Killer Typhoon" | January 22, 2014 | 4106 |
| "Ghosts Of Murdered Kings" | January 29, 2014 | 4103 |
| "Roman Catacomb Mystery" | February 5, 2014 | 4104 |
| "Great Cathedral Mystery" | February 12, 2014 | 4105 |
| "Wild Predator Invasion" | April 2, 2014 | 4107 |
| "Inside Animal Minds: Bird Genius" | April 9, 2014 | 4108 |
| "Inside Animal Minds: Dogs & Super Senses" | April 16, 2014 | 4109 |
| "Inside Animal Minds: Who's the Smartest?" | April 23, 2014 | 4110 |
| "Why Sharks Attack" | May 7, 2014 | 4111 |
| "Escape From Nazi Alcatraz" | May 14, 2014 | 4112 |
| "D-Day's Sunken Secrets" | May 28, 2014 | 4113 |
Season 42: 2014–2015
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Vaccines — Calling The Shots" | September 10, 2014 | 4114 | |
| Diseases that were largely eradicated in the United States a generation ago—whooping cough, measles, mumps—are returning, in part because nervous parents are skipping their children’s shots. NOVA’s "Vaccines—Calling the Shots" takes viewers around the world to track epidemics, explore the science behind vaccinations, hear from parents wrestling with vaccine-related questions, and shed light on the risks of opting out. | |||
| "Rise of the Hackers" | September 24, 2014 | 4115 | |
| Our lives are going digital. We shop, bank, and even date online. Computers hold our treasured photographs, private emails, and all of our personal information. This data is precious—and cybercriminals want it. Now, NOVA goes behind the scenes of the fast-paced world of cryptography to meet the scientists battling to keep our data safe. They are experts in extreme physics, math, and a new field called "ultra-paranoid computing," all working to forge unbreakable codes and build ultra-fast computers. From the sleuths who decoded the world's most advanced cyber weapon to scientists who believe they can store a password in your unconscious brain, NOVA investigates how a new global geek squad is harnessing cutting-edge science, all to stay one step ahead of the hackers. | |||
| "Why Planes Vanish" | October 8, 2014 | 4116 | |
|
Renarrated version of the BBC Horizon episode, Where's The Flight MH370? Narrated by the PBS NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien. This NOVA programme traces the timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a commercial flight which disappeared 8 March 2014 without any tangible evidence left behind. The episode explores the technologies behind the tracking of aircraft, possible causes for Flight 370's disappearance, and technologies that would prevent another aircraft from disappearing.[52][53] | |||
| "Surviving Ebola" | October 8, 2014 | 4123 | |
| Explores the spread of the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa which began in December 2013; the discovery and pathology of the Ebola virus; and the development and use of ZMapp, an experimental drug for the Ebola virus which was first administered to humans infected during the outbreak. A man infected with the virus and whose story featured during the last few minutes of the program died on the day it first aired.[54] | |||
| "Ben Franklin's Balloons" | October 22, 2014 | 4117 | |
| The first stage in human flight didn’t begin with the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk, but with daring inventors and aeronauts in 18th century Paris. In a period of just 19 months, humanity not only left the ground for the first time—a moment as significant as the Apollo moon landing—but thanks to a handful of brilliant and colorful pioneers, developed all the essential features of today's hot air and gas balloons. Their exploits fascinated Benjamin Franklin, who was serving in Paris as the American ambassador. He reported that these early flights brought tens of thousands of citizens into the streets to watch the spectacle. To explore this burst of innovation, NOVA recreates key flights, including the world’s first manned voyage that took place on November 21, 1783. Joining the team will be a descendant of the Montgolfier brothers, inventors of the hot-air balloon, who will build an accurate replica of the fragile paper and canvas craft using 18th century tools and materials. NOVA reveals the secrets of how the Montgolfiers invented flight and relives the experiences of the balloon pioneers who left Earth for the first time.[55] | |||
| "First Air War" | October 29, 2014 | 4118 | |
| When World War I began in 1914, the air forces of the opposing nations consisted of handfuls of rickety biplanes from which pilots occasionally took pot shots at one another with rifles. By the war’s end, the essential blueprint of the modern fighter had emerged: it was now an efficient killing machine that limited the average life expectancy of a front line pilot to just a few weeks. To trace the story of this astonishingly rapid technological revolution, NOVA takes viewers inside The Vintage Aviator, a New Zealand-based outfit of aviation buffs dedicated to bringing back classic World War I fighters such as the SE5A and Albatros DV. NOVA joins the team as they discover the secrets of some of aviation’s most colorful and deadly early flying machines and explores how their impact played a key role in the nightmare slaughter on the Western Front.[56] | |||
| "Bigger Than T. rex" | November 5, 2014 | 4119 | |
| Almost a century ago, paleontologists found the first tantalizing hints of a monster even bigger than Tyrannosaurus rex, perhaps the largest predator ever to roam the Earth: spectacular fossil bones from a dinosaur dubbed Spinosaurus. But the fossils were completely destroyed during a World War II Allied bombing raid, leaving only drawings, questions, and a mystery: What was Spinosaurus? Now, the discovery of new bones in a Moroccan cliff face is reopening the investigation into this epic beast. What did it feed on and how? Why did it grow so big? We follow the paleontologists who are reconstructing this terrifying carnivore, revealing a 53-foot-long behemoth with a huge dorsal sail, enormous, scimitar-like claws, and massive jaws tapered toward the front like a crocodile. Bringing together experts in paleontology, geology, climatology and paleobotany, this NOVA/National Geographic special brings to life the lost world over which Spinosaurus reigned more than 65 million years ago. | |||
| "Emperor's Ghost Army" | November 12, 2014 | 4120 | |
| In central China, a vast underground mausoleum conceals a life-size terracotta army of cavalry, infantry, horses, chariots, weapons, administrators, acrobats, and musicians, all built to serve China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, in the afterlife. Lost and forgotten for over 2,200 years, this clay army, 8,000-strong, stands poised to help the First Emperor rule again beyond the grave. Now, a new archaeological campaign is probing the thousands of figures entombed in the mausoleum. With exclusive access to pioneering research, this program reveals how the Emperor directed the manufacture of the tens of thousands of bronze weapons carried by the clay soldiers, as well as lethal crossbows engineered with astonishing precision. NOVA tests the power of these weapons with high-action experiments and reports on revolutionary 3D computer modeling techniques that are revealing new insights into how the clay figures were made. The program reveals the secrets of one of archaeology's greatest discoveries and brings to life the startlingly sophisticated world of Qin's legendary empire.[57] | |||
| "Killer Landslides" | November 19, 2014 | 4121 | |
| Just before 11 a.m. on March 22, 2014, an ominous rumble startled the residents of the community of Oso, Washington, about an hour's drive from Seattle. It was the terrifying sound of what would become the United States' deadliest landslide in decades. The equivalent of one million dump truck loads of earth came plummeting down the valley. In a little over two minutes, a pile of debris up to 75 feet deep slammed into the neighborhood of close to 50 homes. While a massive search and rescue effort continues at the site, geologists are tracing the geological history of Oso to explain why the site was so unstable. But all around the world, scientists have reason to fear that the worst is yet to come. Globally, landslides and other ground failures take a tremendous human and economic toll, and with climate change bringing a sharp rise in intense precipitation events in many countries, the threat of bigger, more frequent landslides, like one that buried at least 350 people in Afghanistan this spring, is growing. In the Himalayas, the threat of devastating landslides is always lurking. As NOVA surveys landslide danger zones, discover how and why landslides happen, and how radar monitoring technologies could help predict landslides and issue life-saving warnings.[58] | |||
| "First Man on the Moon" | December 3, 2014 | 4122 | |
| Everyone knows Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot on the moon. But this modest and unassuming man was determined to stay out of the spotlight. Now, for the first time, NOVA presents an intimate portrait of Armstrong through interviews with his family and friends, many of whom have never spoken publicly before. Discover and relive Armstrong's achievements before and after Apollo, from his time as a Navy combat veteran and later as a pioneer of high-speed flight to his leading role in the inquiry into the Challenger disaster and his efforts to encourage young people to take to the skies. Along the way, we learn how Armstrong's life became the inspiring story of heroic risk-taking and humble dedication that ultimately advanced humanity's adventure in space.[59] | |||
| "Big Bang Machine" | January 14, 2015 | 4201 | |
| On July 4, 2012, scientists at the giant atom smashing facility at CERN announced the discovery of a subatomic particle that seems like a tantalizingly close match to the elusive Higgs Boson, thought to be responsible for giving all the stuff in the universe its mass. Since it was first proposed nearly fifty years ago, the Higgs has been the holy grail of particle physicists: in finding it they validate the “standard model” that underlies all of modern physics and open the door to new discoveries when CERN’s giant collider switches on at higher power in 2015.[60] | |||
| "Sunken Ship Rescue" | January 21, 2015 | 4202 | |
| Follow the epic operation to secure, raise, and salvage the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground and tragically capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13, 2012, killing 32 people. The massive wreck—with a 160-foot-long hole in its hull—stretches the length of three football fields, weighs 45,000 tons, and was half submerged on the site of a protected reef. Moving it from its precarious perch on the edge of an underwater cliff turned into a technical and logistical challenge of staggering proportions. Join NOVA as we follow a team of more than 500 divers and engineers working around the clock as they attempt the biggest ship recovery project in history.[61] | |||
| "Sinkholes — Buried Alive" | January 28, 2015 | 4203 | |
| In a leafy suburb near Tampa, Florida, on February 28, 2013, a giant hole opened up under the bedroom floor of Jeffrey Bush, swallowing him as he slept. His body was never found. Bush was a victim of a sinkhole—a worldwide hazard that lurks wherever limestone and other water-soluble rocks underpin the soil. When carbon dioxide from the air dissolves in rainwater, it forms a weak acid that attacks soft rocks, riddling them with holes like Swiss cheese. Sinkholes can occur gradually when the surface subsides into bowl shaped depressions or suddenly when the ground gives way. These geological hazards have swallowed highways, apartment buildings, horses, camels, even golfers, with monster-size holes cracking the earth from Siberia to Louisiana. Filled with compelling eyewitness video of dramatic collapses, and following scientists as they explore the underlying forces behind these natural disasters, NOVA travels the globe to investigate what it's like to have your world vanish beneath your feet.[62] | |||
| "Colosseum: Roman Death Trap" | February 11, 2015 | 4206 | |
| One of the ancient world's most iconic buildings, the Colosseum is a monument to Roman imperial power and cruelty. Its graceful lines and harmonious proportions concealed a highly efficient design and advanced construction methods that made hundreds of arches out of 100,000 tons of stone. In its elliptical arena, tens of thousands of gladiators, slaves, prisoners, and wild animals met their deaths. Ancient texts report lions and elephants emerging from beneath the floor, as if by magic, to ravage gladiators and people condemned to death. Then, just as quickly, the Colosseum could be flooded with so much water that ships could engage in sea battles to the delight of the crowd. Now, archaeologists and engineers are teaming up to recreate a 25-foot lifting machine and trap door system capable of releasing a wolf into the Colosseum's arena for the first time in 1,500 years. Do they have what it takes to replicate the innovation and ingenuity of the Romans?[63] | |||
| "Petra: Lost City of Stone" | February 18, 2015 | 4205 | |
| More than 2,000 years ago, the thriving city of Petra rose up in the bone-dry desert of what is now Jordan. An oasis of culture and abundance, the city was built by wealthy merchants whose camel caravans transported incense and spices from the Persian Gulf. They carved spectacular temple-tombs into its soaring cliffs, raised a monumental Great Temple at its heart, and devised an ingenious system that channeled water to vineyards, bathhouses, fountains, and pools. But following a catastrophic earthquake and a slump in its desert trade routes, Petra's unique culture faded and was lost to most of the world for nearly a thousand years. Now, in a daring experiment, an archaeologist and sculptors team up to carve an iconic temple-tomb to find out how the ancient people of Petra built their city of stone. Meanwhile, scientists using remote sensors and hydraulic flumes uncover the vast city and its sophisticated water system. The race is on to discover how these nomads created this oasis of culture in one of the harshest climates on Earth.[64] | |||
| "Hagia Sophia: Istanbul’s Mystery" | February 25, 2015 | 4204 | |
| Whether serving as Christian church, Islamic mosque, or secular museum, Hagia Sophia and its soaring dome have inspired reverence and awe. For 800 years, it was the largest enclosed building in the world—the Statue of Liberty can fit beneath its dome with room to spare. How has it survived its location on one of the world's most active seismic faults, which has inflicted a dozen devastating earthquakes since it was built in 537? As Istanbul braces for the next big quake, a team of architects and engineers is urgently investigating Hagia Sophia's seismic secrets. Follow engineers as they build a massive 8-ton model of the building's core structure, place it on a motorized shake table, and hit it with a series of simulated quakes, pushing it to collapse—a fate that the team is determined to avoid with the real building.[65] | |||
| "The Great Math Mystery" | April 15, 2015 | 4207 | |
| Join NOVA on a mathematical mystery tour—a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a galaxy, and the spiral in the center of a sunflower. Math was essential to everything from the first wireless radio transmissions to the prediction and discovery of the Higgs boson and the successful landing of rovers on Mars. Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a colorful cast of mathematicians, physicists, and engineers, follow math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond. It all leads to the ultimate riddle: Is math a human invention or the discovery of the language of the universe?[66] | |||
| "Invisible Universe Revealed" | April 22, 2015 | 4208 | |
| Twenty-five years ago, NASA launched one of the most ambitious experiments in the history of astronomy: the Hubble Space Telescope. In honor of Hubble's landmark anniversary, NOVA tells the remarkable story of the telescope that forever changed our understanding of the cosmos. But Hubble's early days nearly doomed it to failure: a one-millimeter engineering blunder had turned the billion-dollar telescope into an object of ridicule. It fell to five heroic astronauts in a daring mission to return Hubble to the cutting edge of science. This single telescope has helped astronomers pinpoint the age of the universe, revealed the birthplace of stars and planets, advanced our understanding of dark energy and cosmic expansion, and uncovered black holes lurking at the heart of galaxies. Join NOVA for the story of this magnificent machine and its astonishing discoveries.[67] | |||
| "Nazi Attack on America" | May 6, 2015 | 4210 | |
| Long before 9/11, a far deadlier, little-known attack from the ocean depths struck our shores, lasting three-and-a-half years and claiming 5,000 lives. Now, famed undersea explorer Bob Ballard, discoverer of the Titanic, investigates the wreck of one of the attack craft, a German submarine that lies at the bottom of the gulf just a few miles off New Orleans. U-166 was part of Operation Drumbeat, a highly successful U-boat operation that caught East Coast cities and shipping almost completely unprepared. With state-of-the-art survey gear Ballard probes the wreck and explores a dramatic mystery in the official story of the sub’s sinking.[68] | |||
| "Lethal Seas" | May 13, 2015 | 4211 | |
| A deadly recipe is brewing that threatens the survival of countless creatures throughout Earth’s oceans. For years, we’ve known that the oceans absorb about a quarter of the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. But with high carbon emissions worldwide, this silent killer is entering our seas at a staggering rate, raising the ocean’s acidity. It’s eating away at the skeletons and shells of marine creatures that are the foundation of the web of life. NOVA follows the scientists making breakthrough discoveries and seeking solutions. Visit a unique coral garden in Papua New Guinea that offers a glimpse of what the seas could be like a half-century from now. Can our experts crack the code of a rapidly changing ocean before it’s too late?[69] | |||
| "Chasing Pluto" | July 15, 2015 | 4213 | |
| On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft, one of the most advanced ever built, is scheduled to fly by Pluto to take the very first detailed images of the dwarf planet. After nine years and 3 billion miles, we will finally get a close look at this strange, icy world, but only if the craft can survive the final, treacherous leg of its journey, which could take it through a dangerous field of debris. If it does, New Horizons is poised to make dramatic new discoveries, not just about Pluto, but about the vast realm of icy bodies lurking beyond Neptune, relics of the earliest days of the solar system’s formation. Back on Earth, the planetary scientists who have spent decades working on this mission anxiously await a signal from their spacecraft. Our cameras will be there to witness the moment. If all goes well, we’ll see Pluto’s mysterious surface in unprecedented detail and learn new secrets about other alien worlds at the far limits of our solar system.[70] | |||
| "Nuclear Meltdown Disaster" | July 29, 2015 | 4214 | |
| NOVA reveals the minute-by-minute story of the Fukushima nuclear crisis—the one you know about, and the one you likely don’t: the perilously close call at the other Fukushima nuclear power plant a few miles away from the meltdowns. With unprecedented access inside both Fukushima nuclear power plants, NOVA speaks with workers who were there during the harrowing days—a crisis that began as a natural a disaster but was made worse by human beings. But why did the worst happen at one plant while another that faced nearly identical challenges emerged unscathed? It may come down to the skill and knowledge of one man, who has worked there since they started construction. These are crucial questions as the company that runs both plants, TEPCO, tries to clean up an unprecedented radioactive mess and reintroduce nuclear power to Japan.[71] | |||
Season 43: 2015–2016
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Dawn of Humanity" | September 16, 2015 | 4209/4215 | |
| The astounding discovery of ancient fossil human ancestors in a South African cave is highlighted. | |||
| "Arctic Ghost Ship" | September 23, 2015 | 4216 | |
| The Franklin Expedition is explored 160 years after vanishing while charting the Northwest Passage. | |||
| "Secrets of Noah's Ark" | October 7, 2015 | 4212 | |
| A 3,700-year-old inscribed clay tablet reveals a surprising new version of the Biblical flood story. | |||
| "Cyberwar Threat" | October 14, 2015 | 4217 | |
| Thanks in part to the documents released by Edward Snowden, the true scale of the National Security Agency's scope and power is coming to light. Besides spending billions to ingest and analyze the world's electronic communications, the NSA has set out to dominate a new battlefield – cyberspace. NOVA examines the science and technology behind cyber warfare and asks if we are already in the midst of a deadly new arms race. | |||
| "Animal Mummies" | October 28, 2015 | 4219 | |
| Hi-tech images reveal the role of animal mummies in ancient Egyptian beliefs. | |||
| "Making North America: Origins" | November 4, 2015 | 4220 | |
| This unprecedented, 3-part series presents a bold and sweeping biography of our homeland. | |||
| "Making North America: Life" | November 11, 2015 | 4221 | |
| This unprecedented, 3-part series presents a bold and sweeping biography of our homeland. | |||
| "Making North America: Human" | November 18, 2015 | 4222 | |
| This unprecedented, 3-part series presents a bold and sweeping biography of our homeland. | |||
| "Inside Einstein's Mind" | November 25, 2015 | 4223 | |
| Einstein's simple but powerful ideas that reshaped our understanding of gravity are examined. | |||
| "Secret Tunnel Warfare" | January 6, 2016 | 4301 | |
| During WWI, the Allies devised a devastating plan, planting 600 tons of explosives in secret tunnels driven under German trenches. Uncover traces of the operation and learn why it failed to break the lethal deadlock of trench warfare. | |||
| "Life's Rocky Start" | January 13, 2016 | 4302 | |
| From the first sparks of life to the survival of the fittest, unearth the secret relationship between rocks and life. Investigate how minerals are vital to the origins and evolution of life. | |||
| "Mystery Beneath the Ice" | January 20, 2016 | 4303 | |
| Dive under the ice to explore Antarctica’s under-ice landscape with a team of scientists as they search for the mystery killer that’s decimating the population of delicate shrimp-like creatures at the foundation of the Antarctic food chain. | |||
| "Himalayan Megaquake" | January 27, 2016 | 4304 | |
| NOVA documents the April 25, 2015 7.8-magnitude earthquake that ripped through Nepal shaking Mount Everest and unwraps the science behind such deadly earthquakes. | |||
| "Creatures of Light" | February 3, 2016 | 4309 | |
| Take a dazzling dive with NOVA and National Geographic to explore how and why so many of the ocean's creatures light up-revealing a hidden undersea world where creatures flash, sparkle, shimmer or simply glow. | |||
| "Memory Hackers" | February 10, 2016 | 4307 | |
| Explore the secrets of the mind to discover how memories can be implanted, changed and even erased. | |||
| "Iceman Reborn" | February 17, 2016 | 4305 | |
| New revelations about the ancient ice mummy, Otzi, shed light on the dawn of civilization in Europe. | |||
| "Rise of the Robots" | February 24, 2016 | 4306 | |
| Join the race to build the most advanced humanoid robots as they battle real-world challenges. | |||
| "Vikings Unearthed" | April 6, 2016 | 4310 | |
| Search for the truth behind the legends of the Vikings and their epic journey to the Americas. Co-production with the BBC, first aired in the UK on April 4, 2016, as the title "Vikings Undiscovered". | |||
| "Can Alzheimer's Be Stopped?" | April 13, 2016 | 4308 | |
| Join investigators as they untangle the cause of Alzheimer’s and race to develop a cure. | |||
| "Wild Ways" | April 20, 2016 | 4311 | |
| Explore how newly established wildlife corridors offer hope to our planet’s endangered species. | |||
| "Operation Lighthouse Rescue" | May 4, 2016 | 4313 | |
| Join engineers as they race to rescue a historic Martha’s Vineyard lighthouse from certain doom. | |||
| "Bombing Hitler’s Supergun" | May 11, 2016 | 4314 | |
| Join NOVA as engineers, archaeologists and WWII historians investigate this fearsome weapon. And discover the two audacious missions designed to destroy the seemingly impregnable supergun complex. | |||
Season 44: 2016–present
| Title | Original air date | Code | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "15 Years of Terror" | September 7, 2016 | 4316 | |
| Discover what happens in the mind of a terrorist and how we may intercede to stop the next attack. | |||
| "School of the Future" | September 14, 2016 | 4315 | |
| Discover how the science of learning can help us reimagine the future of education for all children. | |||
| "Great Human Odyssey,[72] aka Humans: Miracle Species" | October 5, 2016 | 4312 | |
| Research sheds light on the ultimate story of humanity's origins and survival in the deep past. | |||
| "Super Tunnel" | October 12, 2016 | 4317 | |
| Follow an army of engineers and designers as they tackle the complex challenge of building Crossrail, a massive new subterranean railway deep beneath the streets of London. | |||
| "Treasures of the Earth: Gems" | November 2, 2016 | 4318 | |
| Explore the hidden secrets of gems, from their alluring beauty to their origins deep in the Earth. | |||
| "Treasures of the Earth: Metals" | November 9, 2016 | 4319 | |
| Metals are a pillar of our civilization, but what makes them so special? Discover their unique properties and explore how our mastery of metals has led us from the stone age to today's hi-tech world. | |||
| "Treasures of the Earth: Power" | November 16, 2016 | 4320 | |
| Drill down to discover how Earth's natural treasures provide bountiful energy to power our modern world yet are also driving us to seek new, cleaner alternatives that can help us keep the lights on. | |||
| "Vampire Sky Tombs" | January 4, 2017 | 4401 | |
| A team of scientists and explorers probe high altitude caves in the Tibetan Himalayas. | |||
| "The Nuclear Option" | January 11, 2017 | 4402 | |
| A renaissance in nuclear technology grows while a crisis continues at the Fukushima nuclear plant. | |||
| "Search for the Super Battery" | February 1, 2017 | 4403 | |
| "Ultimate Cruise Ship" | 2017 | 4404 | |
| "Secrets of Origami" | 2017 | 4405 | |
| "Killer Trains" | 2017 | 4406 | |
Notes
References
- General
- "Nova - Past Television Programs". PBS. Retrieved on December 20, 2009
- "PBS.ORG Press Room". Retrieved on February 22, 2013
- Specific
- 1 2 John Noble Wilford (April 6, 1997). "Illuminating the Many Worlds of Science". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "PBS Kicks Off Summer of Science with Season Launch of NOVA scienceNOW as Weekly Series Airing on Own Night and Time" (pdf) (Press release). Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ↑ David Stewart (May 4, 1998). "Ambrosino and Nova: making stories that go 'bang'". Current. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 3 "Christopher Sykes Productions". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 3 4 Walter Goodman (March 20, 1990). "Review/Television; A Technological Leader And Its Seeds of Decline". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Walter Goodman (January 12, 1993). "Review/Television; Nosing Around in Iraq's Vast Arsenal". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Walter Goodman (February 18, 1995). "Television Review; Learning About the Senses: Even a Roach Can Enjoy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Ebola—The Plague Fighters". NOVA Online. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Bomb Squad". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Windfall Films - 2000-1995". Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Simon Singh Named Honorary Fellow for 2007". November 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Fermat's Last Theorem - The TV Documentary". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "BBC Wildlife Special - Wolf: The Legendary Outlaw". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Walter Goodman (April 28, 1998). "Television Review; Ticktock, Ticktock, Habits of the Wily Croc". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Walter Goodman (February 1, 2000). "Television Review; Trying to Reproduce Engineering Feats of Long Ago". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Vanished!". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - Vanished: The Plane That Disappeared". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Windfall Films - Escape From Colditz". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Julie Salamon (April 30, 2002). "Television Review; A Detective-Story Approach To the Twin Towers' Collapse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ Ned Martel (February 25, 2003). "Television Review; Terror's Dual Threats Of Bombs and Biology". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova – Transcripts – America's Stone Age Explorers". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - Stone Age Columbus". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Windfall Films - The Great Escape: Revealed". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - The Boldest Hoax". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Supersonic Dream". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - The Viking Deception". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Wave That Shook the World". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Pioneer Productions - Recent and past productions". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova – Transcripts – Newton's Dark Secrets". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Newton set 2060 as the end of the world" (Press release). BBC. February 22, 2003. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Jewel of the Earth". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "DOX Productions - Project Poltergeist". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Arctic Passage". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "RIC professor's Arctic expedition subject of lecture, Nova documentary". Rhode Island College. February 8, 2006. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Voyage to the Mystery Moon". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Dimming the Sun". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - The Last Great Ape - Credits". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - Transcripts - Ghost in Your Genes". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Jaglavak, Prince of Insects". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 "Nova - Absolute Zero - Credits". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- 1 2 "BBC - BBC Four Documentaries - Absolute Zero". Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ↑ "Nova - 2010 Fall Schedule". Retrieved 2010-09-21.
- ↑ "Nova|Japan's Killer Quake". Alabama Public Television. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ↑ "Nova|Power Surge". Alabama Public Television. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ↑ History Television, Dambusters Fly Again (accessed 2011 August)
- ↑ The Telegraph (London), "The day the Dam Busters returned... in Canada", Tom Chivers, 2 May 2011 (accessed 2011 August)
- ↑ EAA, "'Ice Pilots' Help Re-Create 'Dambusters'", Hal Bryan, 5 May 2011 (accessed 2011 August)
- ↑ Channel 4, "Dambusters: Building the Bouncing Bomb" (accessed 2011 August)
- ↑ PBS, WGBH, Nova, "Bombing Hitler's Dams". Retrieved: 12 January 2012
- ↑ History Television, Ice Pilots NWT: Season 3, Episode 2: Dambusters (accessed 11-11-11)
- ↑ "Why Planes Vanish". NOVA. WGBH/PBS. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ↑ Goglia, John (8 October 2014). "Why Planes Vanish: NOVA Documentary Explores What Happened to Missing Malaysia Boeing-777". Forbes. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ↑ "Surviving Ebola". NOVA. WGBH/PBS. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". PBS. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". AZPM.org. PBS. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Episode of Nova". pbs.org. PBS. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- ↑ "Great Human Odyssey". pbs.org. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.