Sarah Holt
Director
NOVA (1974)
Season 13
PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.
Released March 3, 1974
Episode 55 min
10+
Genres: Documentary
Keywords: tmdb.nature, imdb.scene-during-end-credits, imdb.science-and-technology-documentary, imdb.science, imdb.scientist, awards.emmy-award-winner, awards.emmy-award-nominated + 7 more, tmdb.candid, tmdb.inspirational, tmdb.factual, tmdb.dramatic, tmdb.informative, tmdb.instructive, imdb.nature-documentary
Watch Providers: PBS, PBS, Hoopla, Spectrum On Demand, PBS America Amazon Channel + 2 more, PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel, YouTube TV
Production Companies: WGBH Boston
Network: PBS
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S13E1 - Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime
NOVA observes worldwide preparations as amateur comet hunters, astronomers and scientists armed with specialized cameras, high powered telescopes and spacecraft look to the heavens in search of the expected arrival in 1986 of Halley's Comet.
Jan. 21, 1986, midnight
S13E2 - Goddess of the Earth
Gaia, the Greek word for Earth goddess, also is the name of the controversial hypothesis that life on Earth controls the environment. NOVA explores this provocative theory that challenges conventional ways of thinking about the Earth.
Jan. 28, 1986, midnight
S13E3 - Horsemen of China
For centuries, the Chinese Kazakh horseman preserved their ancient traditions, refusing to be dominated by either the Chinese or nearby Russian cultures. Today, however, this nomadic tribe has integrated communism into its way of life. NOVA traces the ancient Kazahk lifestyle and looks at how the Chinese cultural Revolution has modernized Kazakh customs.
Feb. 4, 1986, midnight
S13E4 - Life's First Feelings
NOVA explores the incredibly complex emotional development of infants and examines the current theory that early childhood psychological intervention can head off emotional problems later in life.
Feb. 11, 1986, midnight
S13E5 - The Case of the Frozen Addict
In July 1982, a 42-year-old addict in a San Jose, California jail became paralyzed—unable to move or talk. His symptoms, caused by a bad batch of synthetic heroin, were indistinguishable from those associated with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nerve disorder that strikes the elderly. NOVA traces the story of a "designer" drug which could lead to a major medical breakthrough.
Feb. 18, 1986, midnight
S13E6 - Toxic Trials
When a high number of cancer cases struck the suburban community of Woburn, Massachusetts, the town mobilized to investigate why. The result was a landmark study of the effects of hazardous wastes. NOVA explores the legal and scientific implications of the link between environmental pollution and illness.
Feb. 25, 1986, midnight
S13E7 - Skydive to the Rain Forest
NOVA journeys to a remote region of southern Venezuela where the land is alive with spectacular waterfalls, colored by exotic flowers and inhabited by rare species of birds and animals.
March 4, 1986, midnight
S13E8 - Return of the Osprey
NOVA follows a conservation success story as environmentalists, scientists and bird-lovers fight to save the majestic Osprey from extinction.
March 11, 1986, midnight
S13E9 - The Rise of a Wonder Drug
When Alexander Fleming discovered the penicillin mold in 1928, he never considered its possible therapeutic value. NOVA explores the "Fleming myth" and reveals the true story of the scientists who worked behind the scenes to develop the wonder drug of the century.
March 18, 1986, midnight
S13E10 - When Wonder Drugs Don't Work
NOVA examines the medical community's alarm as the spread of antibiotic-resistant infection increases, and studies how one hospital fights its own dramatic epidemic.
March 25, 1986, midnight
S13E11 - Visions of Star Wars
NOVA and Frontline combine resources to explore the Strategic Defense Initiative. The two-hour documentary contains the most comprehensive information on "Star Wars" ever produced. Bill Kurtis of WBBM-TV/Chicago hosts.
April 22, 1986, midnight
S13E12 - The Search for the Disappeared
NOVA joins scientists in Argentina as they help locate kidnapped children and identify thousands of dead in the aftermath of a military reign of terror.
Oct. 14, 1986, midnight
S13E13 - The Planet that Got Knocked on its Side
The adventures of the Voyager 2 spacecraft continue as it passes the rings of Uranus. Scientists suspect that violent events in the early history of the planet may have shaped Uranus and its strange collection of moons.
Oct. 21, 1986, midnight
S13E14 - High-Tech Babies
Scientific breakthroughs now make it possible to reproduce ourselves in ways never before imagined. NOVA looks at the medical, legal and moral questions raised by this brave new technology.
Nov. 4, 1986, midnight
S13E15 - Can AIDS Be Stopped?
What are the prospects for halting or curing the deadliest epidemic ever to challenge modern medicine? NOVA finds cause for both hope and alarm in the battle against AIDS.
Nov. 11, 1986, midnight
S13E16 - Is Anybody Out There?
Could there be life beyond Earth? Only recently has it become possible to scan the skies in a systematic attempt to find out. NOVA joins the search with guest host Lily Tomlin.
Nov. 18, 1986, midnight
S13E17 - Mystery of the Animal Pathfinders
Birds do it; bees do it, butterflies, bats and eels do it—all leave one habitat to migrate to another, often thousands of miles away. NOVA penetrates the mystery of where animals migrate, why and how they get there.
Nov. 25, 1986, midnight
S13E18 - Are You Swimming in a Sewer?
NOVA dips into the sad plight of our coastal waters, where toxic chemicals, raw sewage and disease-carrying microbes are routinely dumped.
Dec. 2, 1986, midnight
S13E19 - Sail Wars!
Yankee ingenuity has designs on the America's Cup. NOVA goes behind-the-scenes to look at the engineering effort to design a technically advanced sailboat.
Dec. 9, 1986, midnight
S13E20 - Leprosy Can Be Cured!
Leprosy, a misunderstood disease that has been curable for 40 years, still afflicts some 12 million people. NOVA looks at the tragedy of the disease that need not be.
Dec. 16, 1986, midnight
S13E21 - How Babies Get Made
NOVA explores the ground-breaking experiments that led to the discovery of a tiny sequence of molecules—and more clues to the mystery of how a complete baby develops from a single cell.
Jan. 13, 1987, midnight
Network: PBS
Episode Runtime: 55 min.
Season Runtime: 55715 min.
Released: March 3, 1974
Last Air Date: Nov. 12, 2025, midnight
Next Air Date: Jan. 21, 2026, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: TV-PG
Common sense age: 10+
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