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Nova Season 10 Episodes
Season 10 Episode Guide
21 Episodes 1983 - 1984
Episode 1
Hawaii: Crucible of Life
Tue, Jan 18, 1983
This land of fire and beauty is the most isolated island chain in the world. NOVA cameras uncover an extraordinary world far from the teeming tourist hotels, one filled with unique life forms, but also scarred by tragic extinction.
Episode 2
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
Tue, Jan 25, 1983
NOVA captivates a candid portrait of Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman, a man of few pretensions and tremendous personal charm, who speaks with the same passion about a child's toy wagon and the frontiers of subatomic physics.
Episode 3
Lassa Fever
Tue, Feb 8, 1983
Docudrama about a mysterious, lethal disease which struck a village in Nigeria in 1969, and the frustrating, battle against it. NOVA recounts how public health workers came close to accidentally releasing a deadly virus in the US.
Episode 4
The Miracle of Life
Tue, Feb 15, 1983
NOVA presents the first film ever made of the incredible chain of events which turns a sperm and an egg into a newborn baby. Amazing photographic techniques give the viewers the feeling of being reduced to the size of cells.
Episode 5
Asbestos: A Lethal Legacy
Tue, Mar 1, 1983
Every 58 minutes between now and the end of the century, one American will die from asbestos exposure. NOVA turns its spotlight on the tragic consequences of asbestos use and on the current controversy over who is responsible.
Episode 6
City of Coral
Tue, Mar 8, 1983
NOVA takes a spellbinding voyage through one of the world's most fascinating and colorful ecosystems: a coral reef, where the line between plants and animals is blurred.
Episode 7
Fat Chance in a Thin World
Tue, Mar 22, 1983
"Why can't I lose weight?" It's a question many Americans ask themselves everyday. NOVA comes up with some surprising answers about weight and dieting that could have significant impact on our daily lives.
Episode 8
Sixty Minutes to Meltdown
Tue, Mar 29, 1983
The accident at Three Mile Island made front page news all over the world and rocked the entire nuclear power industry. NOVA presents a docudrama chronicling the minute-by-minute events leading up to the accident.
Episode 9
Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales
Tue, Oct 11, 1983
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.
Episode 10
The Artificial Heart
Tue, Oct 18, 1983
Seattle dentist Barney Clark received the first complete artificial heart implant in 1982 and lived for three post-operative months. NOVA investigates the risk, costs and controversies surrounding the development of the artificial heart.
Episode 11
Talking Turtle
Tue, Oct 25, 1983
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.
Episode 12
Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial
Tue, Nov 1, 1983
Remote tribes and exotic islanders have been exposed to the world through the lens of anthropology. But recently, some of these people have begun to object. NOVA travels to Papua New Guinea and looks at anthropology from the other side.
Episode 13
To Live Until You Die: The Work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross
Tue, Nov 8, 1983
Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross has become a legend in her lifetime for her work with the dying. For the first time on American television, NOVA presents an intimate portrait of the Swiss-born psychiatrist at work.
Episode 14
A Magic Way of Going: The Story of Thoroughbreds
Tue, Nov 15, 1983
Nova takes a look at the science of thoroughbred horses, including breeding, genetics, and the evolution of the modern horse. The great Secretariat is highlighted here.
Episode 15
A Normal Face: The Wonders of Plastic Surgery
Tue, Nov 22, 1983
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.
Episode 16
Captives of Care
Tue, Nov 29, 1983
Patients at an Australian institution for the severely handicapped rebel against a pair of over-zealous custodians. This astonishing story was filmed as a docudrama, written and performed by the patients themselves.
Episode 17
Twenty-Five Years in Space
Tue, Dec 6, 1983
This retrospective starts with the space program just prior to Sputnik, mainly the X-15 space plane, and then follows the pop culture view of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, using a combination of news footage, archives from NASA and the BBC, and other related film archives. Contemporary pop music, including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, David Bowie, and others are highlights on the soundtrack. Contemporary commentary from the likes of Walter Cronkite and James Burke.
Episode 18
Nuclear Strategy for Beginners
Tue, Dec 13, 198358 mins
Will nuclear weapons deter World War III or only make it more likely? NOVA explores the military strategies of the nuclear age, now that the challenge may no longer be to win global war but to prevent it.
Episode 19
The Climate Crisis
Tue, Dec 20, 1983
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 warnings for the next century, based on the effects of our soaring consumption of fossil fuels.
Episode 20
Eyes Over China
Tue, Dec 27, 1983
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.
Episode 21
Alcoholism: Life Under the Influence
Tue, Jan 10, 1984
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.