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.
NOVA (Season 6)
Black Tide (Episode 1)
Air date: 1979-01-04
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: On the morning of March 16, 1978, the US owned, Liberian registered supertanker, the Amoco Cadiz, went aground off the coast of Brittany. Over the following days and weeks its entire 68 million gallons of oil drained into the sea. A NOVA production team began filmming at the scene shortly after the disaster, the biggest oil spill in history, and recorded clean-up efforts, effects of the spill on the crucial tourism and fishing industries, and the attempts of US and French marine biologists to trace the passage of the oil through the environment.
Long Walk Of Fred Young (Episode 2)
Air date: 1979-01-11
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: As a child, Fred Young hunted birds and wild animals with primitive weapons, spoke only the Indian languages Ute and Navajo, went to a medicine man when he was sick, and slept under the stars. NOVA profiles Dr. Frederick Young, now a nuclear physicist working on the laser fusion project at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico.
A World Of Difference (Episode 3)
Air date: 1979-01-18
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: In 1945, B.F. Skinner shocked the world by putting his 13 month-old daughter, Deborah, into a "box." The box was actually a climate-controlled crib designed for comfort and protection, and the young psychologist was merely testing his theory that environment controls behavior. NOVA portrays the life of this famous behavioral psychologist now in his 70's and living quietly in Cambridge as Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Harvard University.
Cashing In On The Ocean (Episode 4)
Air date: 1979-02-01
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: The bed of the northeast Pacific Ocean is covered with a "carpet" estimated to be worth a staggering ten million dollars. These manganese nodules—the bumpy carpet—are rich not only in manganese but in the key strategic minerals: copper, nickel and cobalt. NOVA examines the debate about who owns them and who has the right to exploit their use.
Patterns From The Past (Episode 5)
Air date: 1979-02-08
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Below the snow-capped peaks of the Peruvian Andes, the Q'eros Indians live a life patterned on that of their ancestors thousands of years ago. NOVA takes a look at the unchanging world of these isolated mountain people.
The Invisible Flame (Episode 6)
Air date: 1979-02-22
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Some day hydrogen may replace the gasoline that we are now using up so rapidly. NOVA looks at the potential of hydrogen as a zero-pollution fuel.
The End Of The Rainbow (Episode 7)
Air date: 1979-03-01
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Is nuclear fusion the solution to the energy crisis? NOVA examines the promise—and problems—of fusion as a future energy source.
The Beersheva Experiment (Episode 8)
Air date: 1979-03-08
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Health care is the third largest industry in the US. As a result of billions of dollars spent for medical education in the 1960s, there are now too many specialists and too few primary care physicians, especially in underserved areas. NOVA tells the story of one medical school in Israel that is training a new kind of family doctor.
Einstein (Episode 9)
Air date: 1979-03-15
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: One hundred years after his birth, Albert Einstein remains an enigma to most Americans. NOVA presents an insightful portrait of the man and his mind through rarely viewed film footage.
The Keys Of Paradise (Episode 10)
Air date: 1979-03-29
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Some powerful and complex painkilling drugs have just been discovered—in a place where you would least expect to find them. Endorphins and their component enkephalins are manufactured in the brain, and perform the same painkilling function as analgesics like morphine. NOVA explores some physiological mysteries, such as why acupuncture works, and how placebos can relieve symptoms, and shows how endorphins could revolutionize the treatment of pain, depression, and even schizophrenia.
A Plague on our Children (Episode 11)
Air date: 1979-10-02
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Is the chemical industry a boom to modern civilization, or a major threat to our health and that of future generations? NOVA examines how toxic heribicides, Pesticides, and other chemicals may cause cancer, Miscarriages and Birth defects in humans.
Life on a Silken Thread (Episode 12)
Air date: 1979-10-09
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Sinister, sometimes even deadly, spiders have little popular appeal; yet their silken webs are among nature's loveliest creations. NOVA takes a close-look in slow motion, as spiders reveal a delicate grace and beauty, and an amazing array of lifestyles.
Sweet Solutions (Episode 13)
Air date: 1979-10-16
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: NOVA views the history of sugar—from its scientific, religious and political history to its medical controversy.
Race for the Gold (Episode 14)
Air date: 1979-10-30
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: At the 1976 Olympics, East German athletes walked off with 40 of the coveted gold medals, though their country is only the size of New Jersey. NOVA investigates whether a drug is responsible for their incredible success—or is American athletic training and commitment falling behind that of the Communist world?
All Part of the Game (Episode 15)
Air date: 1979-11-06
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Thousands of amateur athletes are hurt every year, and many professional athletes suffer injuries that may mean the end of a career. NOVA looks at a new medical specialty—sports medicine—that promises to prevent and cure many sports related problems.
India: Machinery of Hope (Episode 16)
Air date: 1979-11-20
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Most of India lives by the same rhythm, the same tools, as in centuries past. But there is another India—with thriving commercial centers, spotless research laboratories and large-scale industry. NOVA looks at how the gap between these two extremes is shrinking because of a policy of "appropriate" technology that uses the resources of both to meet the greatest needs of all.
The Bridge that Spanned the World (Episode 17)
Air date: 1979-12-04
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: The Iron Bridge across the River Severn in Telford, England is two centuries old this year. It remains a monument to the Shropshire iron masters who built it, and a symbol of the Industrial Revolution that was born in the area where the bridge stands. NOVA traces the development of ironmaking and its far-reaching effects on society and the world economy.
Termites to Telescopes (Episode 18)
Air date: 1979-12-11
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: Dr. Philip Morrison, Institute Professor and professor of Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presents this thoughtful and provocative commentary on the nature of civilization.
Blindness: Five Points of Views (Episode 19)
Air date: 1979-12-18
Runtime: 55 min
Overview: For many people the idea of life without vision is as fearful as death. NOVA looks at five people struggling to save their threatened vision using drugs, surgery, counseling and determination.
