Episode 1
The Butchers of Boxgrove
January 8, 1996
Investigates the case of the "Boxgrove Man". Follows archaeologist Mark Roberts who tries to piece together the history of the first Englishman, from a shin bone nearly 500,000 years old, discovered in Boxgrove in Sussex.
Episode 2
Fermat's Last Theorem
January 15, 1996
Tells the story of mathematician Andrew Wiles who has made it his life's work to solve the puzzle of Fermat's last theorem that has baffled minds for three centuries.
Episode 3
A Miracle for Cancer ?
January 22, 1996
Examines the latest research aimed at conquering cancer. Includes research into vaccines for prostate cancer and skin cancer.
Episode 4
Nature's Numbers
January 29, 1996
Follows a group of biologists Conservation International who take a pragmatic approach to what species can be saved.They travel to the Bolivian rainforest to assess missing species.
Episode 5
The Gene Race
February 5, 1996
Follows two teams of researchers, in Britain and USA as they use radically different genetic techniques in the race to find an effective treatment against cystic fibrosis.
Episode 6
Masters of the Ionosphere
February 12, 1996
Recounts the history of scientific attempts from Marconi onwards to understand the atmospheric layer, known as the ionosphere. Discusses interest shown by the US Military in the region which has led to the establishment of HAARP (High Altitude Auroral Research Project) which will beam energy directly into the ionosphere.
Episode 7
Assault on the Male (revisited)
February 26, 1996
Are changes in modern living increasing levels of oestrogen and threatening males of different species, from alligators to humans?
Episode 8
Death by Design
March 4, 1996
In this Horizon documentary, we look at the notion that each cell in our body is programmed to die. Understanding this concept has major implications for research into disease.
Episode 9
The Planet Hunters
March 11, 1996
Follows astronomers from Manchester, Switzerland and California as they search for planets with liquid water on them, the prerequisite for life
Episode 10
Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus (Update)
March 25, 1996
In this episode of Horizon, which is a follow-up to the 1991 documentary, we follow a group of soviet scientists on a suicide mission as they search for the missing nuclear fuel inside the remains of the nuclear reactor 4.
Episode 11
Fallout from Chernobyl
April 1, 1996
Reports on the work by scientists Dr Keith Baverstock and Sir Dillwyn Williams to confirm that the outbreak of thyroid cancer in children in Belarus and the Ukraine was due to the Chernobyl disaster.
Episode 12
TV is Dead, Long Live TV
November 4, 1996
In this documentary, Horizon compares the future of television with the years of experimentation before the first BBC broadcasts in 1936.
Episode 13
Aliens from Mars
November 11, 1996
An investigation into claims that life once existed on Mars. NASA scientists and their critics discuss the fossils discovered in a small meteoric rock in Antarctica earlier in 1996.
Episode 14
Living Death
November 25, 1996
Looks at new treatments for patients in a persistent vegetative state. Focuses on the case of Geoffrey Wildsmith who was misdiagnosed as being PVS. He had awoken from his coma but was totally paralysed and unable to communicate. After two years he was transferred and it was found he could communicate by using a buzzer connected to a highly sensitive pressure-switch.
Episode 15
The Time Lords
December 2, 1996
An investigation into claims by researchers that time travel is not only theoretically possible but is already happening.
Episode 16
Noah's Flood
December 16, 1996
Follows the work of geologists Bill Ryan and Walter Pitman, who for twenty five years have been investigating evidence for the location of the biblical flood and Noah's Ark.