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21 Episodes 1986 - 1987
Episode 1
Tue, Jan 21, 1986
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 Halley's Comet, expected to arrive in 1986.
Episode 2
Tue, Jan 28, 1986
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.
Episode 3
Tue, Feb 4, 1986
For centuries, the Chinese Kazakh horseman preserved their ancient traditions. NOVA traces the ancient Kazakh lifestyle and looks at how the Chinese cultural Revolution has modernized Kazakh customs.
Episode 4
Tue, Feb 11, 1986
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.
Episode 5
Tue, Feb 18, 1986
In 1982, a 42-year-old addict in a California jail became paralyzed; unable to move or talk. His symptoms, caused by a bad batch of synthetic heroin. NOVA traces the story of a designer drug which could lead to a major medical breakthrough
Episode 6
Tue, Feb 25, 1986
When a high number of cancer cases struck Woburn, Massachusetts, the town mobilized to investigate. The result was a landmark study of the effects of hazardous wastes. NOVA explores the link between environmental pollution and illness.
Episode 7
Tue, Mar 4, 1986
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.
Episode 8
Tue, Mar 11, 1986
NOVA follows a conservation success story as environmentalists, scientists and bird-lovers fight to save the majestic Osprey from extinction.
Episode 9
Tue, Mar 18, 1986
When Alexander Fleming discovered the penicillin mold in 1928, he never considered its possible therapeutic value. NOVA reveals the story of the scientists who worked behind the scenes to develop the wonder drug of the century.
Episode 10
Tue, Mar 25, 1986
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.
Episode 11
Tue, Apr 22, 1986
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.
Episode 12
Tue, Oct 14, 1986
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.
Episode 13
Tue, Oct 21, 1986
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.
Episode 14
Tue, Nov 4, 1986
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.
Episode 15
Tue, Nov 11, 198653 mins
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.
Episode 16
Tue, Nov 18, 1986
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.
Episode 17
Tue, Nov 25, 1986
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.
Episode 18
Tue, Dec 2, 1986
NOVA dips into the sad plight of our coastal waters, where toxic chemicals, raw sewage and disease-carrying microbes are routinely dumped.
Episode 19
Tue, Dec 9, 1986
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.
Episode 20
Tue, Dec 16, 1986
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.
Episode 21
Tue, Jan 13, 1987
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.