Sarah Holt
Director
NOVA (1974)
Season 12
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: Amazon Prime Video, PBS, PBS, Hoopla, Spectrum On Demand + 4 more, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, PBS America Amazon Channel, PBS Documentaries Amazon Channel, YouTube TV
Production Companies: WGBH Boston
Network: PBS
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S12E1 - Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines
NOVA explores the fascinating world of Dr. Harold Edgerton, electronics wizard and inventor extraordinaire, whose invention of the electronic strobe, a "magic lamp," has enabled the human eye to see the unseen.
Jan. 15, 1985, midnight
S12E2 - Global Village
NOVA presents an in-depth look at India's attempt to use satellite technology to leapfrog into the era of space-age communication and whether it brings benefit or blight to India's villages and rural areas.
Jan. 22, 1985, midnight
S12E3 - Conquest of the Parasites
NOVA examines the complex world of parasites, parasitic diseases and the exciting work currently being done by a new breed of medical researchers as they meet the challenge of conquering the world's number one medical problem.
Jan. 29, 1985, midnight
S12E4 - In the Land of the Polar Bears
A rare look at the beautiful and desolate Wrangel Island-a Soviet possession 300 miles off the coast of Alaska-as seen through the eyes of Soviet Filmmaker and naturalist Yuri Ledin. Wrangel Island is not only the home to Siberian snow geese, polar foxes and Walruses, but serves as the world's largest denning area for Polar bears.
Feb. 5, 1985, midnight
S12E5 - AIDS: Chapter One
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, is a deadly disease that has struck down some 2,000 people in the four years since its discovery. NOVA examines how modern science has been unraveling the mystery of this baffling ailment.
Feb. 12, 1985, midnight
S12E6 - The Shape of Things
Sea shells, Crystals, Honeycombs, Eggs and seeds: They are shaped the way they are for a reason. NOVA takes viewers on a unique journey of discovery to find out why things are shaped the way they are and why they work so well.
Feb. 19, 1985, midnight
S12E7 - Baby Talk
It's a mystery just how children acquire language. Does the process begin in the womb? And which comes first, language or thought? NOVA explores the fascinating world of baby talk and reveals the latest theories on this remarkable achievement.
Feb. 26, 1985, midnight
S12E8 - The Mathematical Mystery Tour
Imagine a bottle with no inside or a number bigger than infinity or parallel lines that meet. Welcome to the world of pure mathematics. NOVA offers a look into a wholly abstract, quirky world of mathematics.
March 5, 1985, midnight
S12E9 - Child's Play: Prodigies and Possibilities
What do Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the painter Raphael and chess champion Bobby Fischer have in common? They were all child prodigies. NOVA explores the current efforts to learn more about the nature of giftedness.
March 12, 1985, midnight
S12E10 - Monarch of the Mountains
NOVA explores the breeding, migration and survival patterns of the Rocky Mountain elk in a unique film, made totally under natural conditions. Telephoto lenses were used so as not to disturb the animals; filmmakers spent 18 months tracking the elk through the breathtaking Wyoming Rockies.
March 19, 1985, midnight
S12E11 - The National Science Test II
In NOVA's special sequel to 1984's National Science Test, viewers can match wits with celebrity panelists David Attenborough, Michelle Johnson, Edwin Newman and Alvin Poussaint and a live studio audience. Art Fleming hosts.
Oct. 8, 1985, midnight
S12E12 - Seeds of Tomorrow
NOVA examines worldwide efforts of scientists who employ aggressive agricultural technologies to ensure food for the future.
Oct. 15, 1985, midnight
S12E13 - What Einstein Never Knew
Albert Einstein did not live to find the answer. NOVA follows a new generation of physicists in their search to explain the mystery of the universe.
Oct. 22, 1985, midnight
S12E14 - The Robot Revolution?
How are the computer and the robot affecting the way we work? NOVA chronicles the new industrial revolution reshaping the American workplace.
Oct. 29, 1985, midnight
S12E15 - The Magic of Special Effects
NOVA cameras go behind-the-scenes to reveal the new art of illusion, Hollywood-style, focusing on three blockbuster films—Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and 2010: The Year We Make Contact.
Nov. 5, 1985, midnight
S12E16 - Child Survival: The Silent Emergency
NOVA charts the progress of an ambitious worldwide health program established to save the lives of millions of children who continue to die from common but curable diseases.
Nov. 12, 1985, midnight
S12E17 - Tornado!
NOVA follows a chase team—a group of scientists who chart deadly Tornadoes—in an effort to learn more about predicting nature's most powerful and elusive weather phenomenon.
Nov. 19, 1985, midnight
S12E18 - The Genetic Gamble
NOVA examines current research and its ethical implications as modern medicine confronts the era of human gene therapy.
Nov. 26, 1985, midnight
S12E19 - Animal Architects
NOVA examines the intricate world of nature's construction industry and presents rare footage of unusual habits.
Dec. 3, 1985, midnight
S12E20 - The Plane that Changed the World
NOVA joins the 50th anniversary celebration of the DC-3—the plane that revolutionized commercial air travel, served gallantly in World War II and is called the most important plane ever built.
Dec. 17, 1985, 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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