Season 12
All Episodes
Episode 1
Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines
January 15, 1985
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.
Episode 2
Global Village
January 22, 1985
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.
Episode 3
Conquest of the Parasites
January 29, 1985
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.
Episode 4
In the Land of the Polar Bears
February 5, 1985
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.
Episode 5
AIDS: Chapter One
February 12, 1985
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.
Episode 6
The Shape of Things
February 19, 1985
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.
Episode 7
Baby Talk
February 26, 1985
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.
Episode 8
The Mathematical Mystery Tour
March 5, 1985
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.
Episode 9
Child's Play: Prodigies and Possibilities
March 12, 1985
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.
Episode 10
Monarch of the Mountains
March 19, 1985
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.
Episode 11
The National Science Test II
October 8, 1985
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.
Episode 12
Seeds of Tomorrow
October 15, 1985
NOVA examines worldwide efforts of scientists who employ aggressive agricultural technologies to ensure food for the future.
Episode 13
What Einstein Never Knew
October 22, 1985
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.
Episode 14
The Robot Revolution?
October 29, 1985
How are the computer and the robot affecting the way we work? NOVA chronicles the new industrial revolution reshaping the American workplace.
Episode 15
The Magic of Special Effects
November 5, 1985
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.
Episode 16
Child Survival: The Silent Emergency
November 12, 1985
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.
Episode 17
Tornado!
November 19, 1985
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.
Episode 18
The Genetic Gamble
November 26, 1985
NOVA examines current research and its ethical implications as modern medicine confronts the era of human gene therapy.
Episode 19
Animal Architects
December 3, 1985
NOVA examines the intricate world of nature's construction industry and presents rare footage of unusual habits.
Episode 20
The Plane that Changed the World
December 17, 1985
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.