Season 12

1. Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines

January 15, 1985 · 55m

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.

2. Global Village

January 22, 1985 · 55m

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.

3. Conquest of the Parasites

January 29, 1985 · 55m

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.

4. In the Land of the Polar Bears

February 5, 1985 · 55m

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.

5. AIDS: Chapter One

February 12, 1985 · 55m

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.

6. The Shape of Things

February 19, 1985 · 55m

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.

7. Baby Talk

February 26, 1985 · 55m

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.

8. The Mathematical Mystery Tour

March 5, 1985 · 55m

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.

9. Child's Play: Prodigies and Possibilities

March 12, 1985 · 55m

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.

10. Monarch of the Mountains

March 19, 1985 · 55m

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.

11. The National Science Test II

October 8, 1985 · 55m

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.

12. Seeds of Tomorrow

October 15, 1985 · 55m

NOVA examines worldwide efforts of scientists who employ aggressive agricultural technologies to ensure food for the future.

13. What Einstein Never Knew

October 22, 1985 · 55m

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.

14. The Robot Revolution?

October 29, 1985 · 55m

How are the computer and the robot affecting the way we work? NOVA chronicles the new industrial revolution reshaping the American workplace.

15. The Magic of Special Effects

November 5, 1985 · 55m

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.

16. Child Survival: The Silent Emergency

November 12, 1985 · 55m

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.

17. Tornado!

November 19, 1985 · 55m

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.

18. The Genetic Gamble

November 26, 1985 · 55m

NOVA examines current research and its ethical implications as modern medicine confronts the era of human gene therapy.

19. Animal Architects

December 3, 1985 · 55m

NOVA examines the intricate world of nature's construction industry and presents rare footage of unusual habits.

20. The Plane that Changed the World

December 17, 1985 · 55m

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.