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NOVA

Season 17 1990
TV-PG

  • 1990-01-10T02:00:00Z on PBS
  • 55m
  • 19h 15m (21 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
  • Documentary
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.

20 episodes

Season Premiere

1990-01-10T02:00:00Z

17x01 Poison in the Rockies

Season Premiere

17x01 Poison in the Rockies

  • 1990-01-10T02:00:00Z55m

NOVA reports on the 100-year-old legacy of pollution from mining that poisons the once-pristine waters of the Rocky Mountain states. Acid Rain and economic development also contribute to stress on the West's scarce water supply.

1990-01-24T02:00:00Z

17x02 Race for the Top

17x02 Race for the Top

  • 1990-01-24T02:00:00Z55m

Using some of the largest machines ever built on earth, American and European physicists race to discover one of the most fundamental and most elusive objects in nature—the top quark.

1990-02-07T02:00:00Z

17x03 Disguises of War

17x03 Disguises of War

  • 1990-02-07T02:00:00Z55m

Sixty-five years after attempts to ban them, chemical weapons pose more of a threat than ever. NOVA looks at the problem of controlling substances that are easily produced and cruelly effective.

1990-02-14T02:00:00Z

17x04 The Bomb's Lethal Legacy

NOVA examines an alarming nuclear waste problem at the Hanfrod Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington state, where 45 years of mismanagement in the nuclear weapons industry will cost billions to correct.

1990-02-28T02:00:00Z

17x05 The Big Spill

17x05 The Big Spill

  • 1990-02-28T02:00:00Z55m

Covering last year's Exxon Valdez oil spill from an unexplored angle, NOVA focuses on how technology failed in preventing, containing and cleaning up the Alaskan disaster.

China in the 13th century was the richest, most powerful, most technologically advanced civilization on earth. NOVA looks at how China achieved what it did, and what in Chinese politics, culture and economy kept it from doing more. Part one of a four part series.

NOVA examines the extraordinary transformation that propelled Europe outward into the world from the 15th to 18th centuries, while China remained the insular middle kingdom. Part two of a four part series.

Ever wonder how junk mail finds you? NOVA investigates the hidden world of direct marketing, pointing out how advertisers know a lot more about us than we think.

NOVA covers China's long road to economic and technological equality with the West, punctuated by frequent setbacks such as the 1989 massacre of pro-democractic demonstrations in Beijing. Part four of a four part series.

This documentary covers the surprising tale of an average systems administrator who stumbled upon a KGB spy operation. Clifford Stoll carried out one of the first successful digital forensics investigations by tracking down Markus Hess, a KGB hacker, after noticing a discrepancy in the logs of a University of California computer.

1990-10-10T01:00:00Z

17x11 Neptune's Cold Fury

17x11 Neptune's Cold Fury

  • 1990-10-10T01:00:00Z55m

NOVA visits Neptune, the planet that took Voyager 12 years to reach. Mysteries abound in and around this big, blue world at the outer limits of the solar system. Actor Patrick Stewart hosts.

1990-10-17T01:00:00Z

17x12 To Boldly Go...

17x12 To Boldly Go...

  • 1990-10-17T01:00:00Z55m

NOVA chronicles the Voyager space mission—from Earth to the ends of the solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and dozens of moons star in this epic voyage of exploration. Actor Patrick Stewart hosts.

1990-10-24T01:00:00Z

17x13 Poisoned Winds of War

17x13 Poisoned Winds of War

  • 1990-10-24T01:00:00Z55m

Sixty-five years after attempts to ban them, chemical weapons pose more of a threat than ever. NOVA looks at the problem of controlling substances that are easily produced and cruelly effective.

1990-10-31T02:00:00Z

17x14 The Blimp is Back!

17x14 The Blimp is Back!

  • 1990-10-31T02:00:00Z55m

NOVA examines the troubled past and promising future of blimps, zeppelins, cyclocranes and other species of airships. There's life in the old gasbags yet.

1990-11-07T02:00:00Z

17x15 Earthquake!

17x15 Earthquake!

  • 1990-11-07T02:00:00Z55m

NOVA looks at the high-stakes quest to predict earthquakes. Despite past disappointments, geologists still hope to divine the clues that precede nature's ultimate upheavals.

1990-11-14T02:00:00Z

17x16 Killing Machines

17x16 Killing Machines

  • 1990-11-14T02:00:00Z55m

Robotic weapons that seek out and destroy ships, planes, and other targets are the wave of the future. NOVA questions whether their proliferation may spell an end to superpower invincibility.

Is the ivory ban in the elephant's best interest? NOVA looks at the controversial strategies to save the world's largest land animal from extinction.

1990-11-28T02:00:00Z

17x18 We Know Where You Live

Ever wonder how junk mail finds you? NOVA investigates the hidden world of direct marketing, pointing out how advertisers know a lot more about us than we think.

NOVA profiles the llama, alpaca, vicuna and guanaco of South America. At one time nearly extinct, these four members of the camel family are exceptionally well adapted to life in the beautiful high Andes.

Season Finale

1990-12-19T02:00:00Z

17x20 What's Killing the Children?

Season Finale

17x20 What's Killing the Children?

  • 1990-12-19T02:00:00Z55m

NOVA tracks a mysterious disease that suddenly and fatally attacks the children of a small Brazilian town. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta are called in to crack the case.

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