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The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 12

Every episode of NOVA Season 12 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of NOVA Season 12!

The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 12

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...
  1. Background image for Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #1 - Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines

    S12:E1

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Global Village
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #2 - Global Village

    S12:E2

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Conquest of the Parasites
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Conquest of the Parasites

    S12:E3

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for In the Land of the Polar Bears
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #4 - In the Land of the Polar Bears

    S12:E4

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for AIDS: Chapter One
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #5 - AIDS: Chapter One

    S12:E5

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for The Shape of Things
    7.7/10(14 votes)

    #6 - The Shape of Things

    S12:E6

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Baby Talk
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Baby Talk

    S12:E7

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for The Mathematical Mystery Tour
    8.4/10(12 votes)

    #8 - The Mathematical Mystery Tour

    S12:E8

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Child's Play: Prodigies and Possibilities
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Child's Play: Prodigies and Possibilities

    S12:E9

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Monarch of the Mountains
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Monarch of the Mountains

    S12:E10

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for The National Science Test II
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - The National Science Test II

    S12:E11

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Seeds of Tomorrow
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Seeds of Tomorrow

    S12:E12

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for What Einstein Never Knew
    7.7/10(10 votes)

    #13 - What Einstein Never Knew

    S12:E13

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for The Robot Revolution?
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - The Robot Revolution?

    S12:E14

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for The Magic of Special Effects
    7.4/10(12 votes)

    #15 - The Magic of Special Effects

    S12:E15

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Child Survival: The Silent Emergency
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Child Survival: The Silent Emergency

    S12:E16

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Tornado!
    7.7/10(13 votes)

    #17 - Tornado!

    S12:E17

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for The Genetic Gamble
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - The Genetic Gamble

    S12:E18

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Animal Architects
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Animal Architects

    S12:E19

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for The Plane that Changed the World
    8.6/10(20 votes)

    #20 - The Plane that Changed the World

    S12:E20

    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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Season 12 Ratings Summary

"Edgerton and His Incredible Seeing Machines" is the best rated episode of "NOVA" season 12. It scored 8/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/15/1985. This episode is rated 8.0 points higher than the second-best, "Global Village".