NOVA
Season 37
TV-PG
A weekly documentary series, each episode providing an in-depth look at a different subject of scientific research. Subjects examined by this show have included the cutting edge of theoretical physics, a return to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the long-term effects of Amazon deforestation, and the development of life-saving medical techniques.
Where to Watch Season 37
18 Episodes
- Darwin's Darkest Hour
E1Darwin's Darkest HourThis two-hour scripted drama tells the remarkable story behind the unveiling of the most influential scientific theory of all time, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The program is a special presentation from NOVA and National Geographic Television, written by acclaimed British screenwriter John Goldsmith and directed by John Bradshaw. - Hubble's Amazing Rescue
E2Hubble's Amazing RescueThe best-known scientific instrument in history was dying. After nearly 20 years in space and hundreds of thousands of spectacular images, the Hubble Space Telescope's gyroscopes and sensors were failing, its batteries running down, and some of its instruments were already dead. The only hope to save Hubble was a mission so dangerous that in 2004 NASA cancelled it because it was considered too risky. - Lizard Kings
E3Lizard KingsThis program reviews the monitor lizard genus which, dispute the incredible diversity between species, share common traits such as the ability to count, that lead biologists to peg them as the most evolutionarily advanced of the lizards. Dr. Eric Pianka, who studied lizards for forty years in Australia, serves as guide. Program concludes with the customary, trite comment on human impact on climate change and the environment. - Becoming Human: First Steps
E4Becoming Human: First StepsThe first hour examines the factors that caused the split from the apes. The film explores the fossil of “Selam,” also known as “Lucy’s Child” — an amazing, nearly complete child fossil that helps shed light on our ancestors’ early development and how we began to depart from that of chimps. - Becoming Human: Birth of Humanity
E5Becoming Human: Birth of HumanityIn gripping forensic detail, the second program in “Becoming Human” investigates the first skeleton that really looks like us — “Turkana Boy” — an astonishingly complete specimen of Homo erectus found by the famous Leakey team in Kenya. - Becoming Human: Last Human Standing
E6Becoming Human: Last Human StandingThe final program examines the roots of our own species, Homo sapiens, which new evidence pinpoints to southern Africa some 200,000 years ago. New discoveries are upending old ideas and suggesting that our exodus from Africa was far earlier than previously thought. - What Are Dreams?
E7What Are Dreams?To sleep researchers the various aspects of sleep and dreams make no sense unless they have a purpose. What that purpose is is fertile ground for research, speculation and disagreement. This program presents the ideas and research methods of several active sleep researchers. - What Darwin Never Knew
E8What Darwin Never KnewNOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the Cambrian explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today. Here scientists are finally beginning to crack nature’s biggest secrets at the genetic level. And, as NOVA shows in this absorbing detective story, the results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin’s insights while exposing clues to life’s breathtaking diversity in ways the great naturalist could scarcely have imagined. - Killer Subs in Pearl Harbor
E9Killer Subs in Pearl HarborThe Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor included five midget submarines. Four of the submarines failed in their mission being destroyed or captured. Nova follows the investigation of a mysterious ship wreck to determine if it is the fifth submarine, if it successfully launched its torpedoes and if so did it succeed in in attacking any ships. - Building Pharaoh's Ship
E10Building Pharaoh's ShipA magnificent trading vessel embarks on a royal expedition to a mysterious, treasure-laden land called Punt. Is this journey, intricately depicted on the wall of one of Egypt's most impressive temples, mere myth--or was it a reality? NOVA follows a team of archeologists and boat builders as they reconstruct the mighty vessel shown in the mysterious carving, and then finally launch it in to the Red Sea on a unique voyage of discovery. - Riddles of the Sphinx
E11Riddles of the SphinxA team of archeologists carries out experiments that reveal the techniques and labor invested in the carving of the Sphinx. The team also unearths new discoveries about the people who built the gigantic sculpture and why they created such a haunting and stupendous image. - The Pluto Files
E14The Pluto FilesWhen the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium stopped calling Pluto a planet, director Neil deGrasse Tyson found himself at the center of a firestorm led by angry Pluto-loving elementary school students. What is it about Pluto—a cold, distant, icy rock—that captures so many hearts? Four years after the IAU (International Astronomical Union) officially reclassified the ninth planet as a plutoid, NOVA travels cross-country with Tyson to find out. - Hunting the Edge of Space: The Mystery of the Milky Way
E15Hunting the Edge of Space: The Mystery of the Milky WayNova examines the physics of telescope design. Following the development of the telescope over several centuries the program explains the challenges that the major design innovations solved and the inevitable major discoveries they produced. - Hunting the Edge of Space: The Ever Expanding Universe
E16Hunting the Edge of Space: The Ever Expanding UniverseThis program describes the most remarkable, perspective changing discoveries in the field of cosmology in the last 100 years. Each discovery was made by scientists working with a radically new telescope. - Mind Over Money
E17Mind Over MoneyExposes the mysterious and surprising nature of the two most powerful forces on the planet: the human mind and money. Using analysis and experiment, this film explores why economists failed to predict the 2008 crash and why we so often make irrational financial decisions. - Mt. St. Helens Back From the Dead
E18Mt. St. Helens Back From the DeadFor 27 years, biologist Charlie Crisafulli has been documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to Mt. St. Helens after the 1980 eruption. / When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, every living thing in the blast zone was buried beneath 300 feet of avalanche debris, covered with steaming mud and, finally, topped with a superheated layer of frothy rock from deep within the earth. Biologist Charlie Crisafulli has remained at the site for 27 years, documenting the dramatic return of plant and animal life to the barren landscape and pioneering a new understanding of the interaction between geologic forces and the life surrounding the mountain.
