17x01 Poison in the Rockies
January 9, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x02 Race for the Top
January 23, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x03 Disguises of War
February 6, 1990 8:00 pm
NOVA takes the wraps off the art of deception in war—from simple camouflage to the expensive, radar-evading technology embodied in the Stealth bomber.
17x04 The Bomb's Lethal Legacy
February 13, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x05 The Big Spill
February 27, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x06 The Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon
March 15, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x07 The Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision
March 20, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x08 The Genius that Was China: The Threat from Japan
March 27, 1990 8:00 pm
East and West came into direct conflict over trade and power in the 19th century. The West won. NOVA explores how Japan was later able to master Western methods, while China was not. Part three of a four part series.
17x09 The Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?
April 3, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x10 The KGB, The Computer and Me
October 3, 1990 8:00 pm
What happens when a Berkeley hippie turns detective and gets mixed up with the CIA and the KGB? NOVA follows computer sleuth Cliff Stoll as he tracks a data thief through a maze of military and research computers.
17x11 Neptune's Cold Fury
October 9, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x12 To Boldly Go...
October 16, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x13 Poisoned Winds of War
October 23, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x14 The Blimp is Back!
October 30, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x15 Earthquake!
November 6, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x16 Killing Machines
November 13, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x17 Can the Elephant Be Saved?
November 20, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x18 We Know Where You Live
November 27, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x19 In the Land of the Llamas
December 4, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x20 What's Killing the Children?
December 18, 1990 8:00 pm
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.
17x21 Hurricane!
November 7, 1989 8:00 pm
The episode describes the fury of a hurricane and the history of hurricane forecasting. The episode features footage of Hurricane Camille of 1969 and Hurricane Gilbert of 1988 and behind the scenes footage at the National Hurricane Center as forecasters tracked Hurricane Gilbert from its formation to its landfall in northern Mexico. Notable meteorologists, Hugh Willoughby, Bob Sheets (then director of the National Hurricane Center) and Jeff Masters were shown in the episode.



