Season 17
20 episodes · Jan 9, 1990
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- S17E1
Poison in the Rockies
Jan 9, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E2
Race for the Top
Jan 23, 199055mUsing 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.
- S17E3
Disguises of War
Feb 6, 199055mSixty-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.
- S17E4
The Bomb's Lethal Legacy
Feb 13, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E5
The Big Spill
Feb 27, 199055mCovering 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.
- S17E6
The Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon
Mar 20, 199055mChina 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.
- S17E7
The Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision
Mar 27, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E8
The Genius that Was China: The Threat from Japan
Apr 3, 199055mEver 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.
- S17E9
The Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?
Apr 10, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E10
The KGB, The Computer and Me
Oct 2, 199055mThis 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.
- S17E11
Neptune's Cold Fury
Oct 9, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E12
To Boldly Go...
Oct 16, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E13
Poisoned Winds of War
Oct 23, 199055mSixty-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.
- S17E14
The Blimp is Back!
Oct 30, 199055mNOVA examines the troubled past and promising future of blimps, zeppelins, cyclocranes and other species of airships. There's life in the old gasbags yet.
- S17E15
Earthquake!
Nov 6, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E16
Killing Machines
Nov 13, 199055mRobotic 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.
- S17E17
Can the Elephant Be Saved?
Nov 20, 199055mIs 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.
- S17E18
We Know Where You Live
Nov 27, 199055mEver 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.
- S17E19
In the Land of the Llamas
Dec 4, 199055mNOVA 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.
- S17E20
What's Killing the Children?
Dec 18, 199055mNOVA 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.