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The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 17

Every episode of NOVA Season 17 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of NOVA Season 17!

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...
Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Season 17 Ratings Summary

"Poison in the Rockies" is the best rated episode of "NOVA" season 17. It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Christopher 'Toby' McLeod and written by Christopher 'Toby' McLeod, it aired on 1/9/1990. This episode is rated NaN points higher than the second-best, "Race for the Top".

  • Poison in the Rockies
    NaN/100 votes

    #1 - Poison in the Rockies

    Season 17 Episode 1 - Aired 1/9/1990

    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.

    Director: Christopher 'Toby' McLeod

    Writer: Christopher 'Toby' McLeod

  • Race for the Top
    NaN/100 votes

    #2 - Race for the Top

    Season 17 Episode 2 - Aired 1/23/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Disguises of War
    NaN/100 votes

    #3 - Disguises of War

    Season 17 Episode 3 - Aired 2/6/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Bomb's Lethal Legacy
    NaN/100 votes

    #4 - The Bomb's Lethal Legacy

    Season 17 Episode 4 - Aired 2/13/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Big Spill
    NaN/100 votes

    #5 - The Big Spill

    Season 17 Episode 5 - Aired 2/27/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon
    NaN/100 votes

    #6 - The Genius That Was China: Rise of the Dragon

    Season 17 Episode 6 - Aired 3/20/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision
    7.8/107 votes

    #7 - The Genius That Was China: Empires in Collision

    Season 17 Episode 7 - Aired 3/27/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Genius that Was China: The Threat from Japan
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    #8 - The Genius that Was China: The Threat from Japan

    Season 17 Episode 8 - Aired 4/3/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?
    NaN/100 votes

    #9 - The Genius That Was China: Will the Dragon Rise Again?

    Season 17 Episode 9 - Aired 4/10/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The KGB, The Computer and Me
    7.9/10191 votes

    #10 - The KGB, The Computer and Me

    Season 17 Episode 10 - Aired 10/2/1990

    This 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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Neptune's Cold Fury
    7.8/107 votes

    #11 - Neptune's Cold Fury

    Season 17 Episode 11 - Aired 10/9/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • To Boldly Go...
    8.2/107 votes

    #12 - To Boldly Go...

    Season 17 Episode 12 - Aired 10/16/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Poisoned Winds of War
    NaN/100 votes

    #13 - Poisoned Winds of War

    Season 17 Episode 13 - Aired 10/23/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Blimp is Back!
    8.2/107 votes

    #14 - The Blimp is Back!

    Season 17 Episode 14 - Aired 10/30/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Earthquake!
    8.2/1021 votes

    #15 - Earthquake!

    Season 17 Episode 15 - Aired 11/6/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Killing Machines
    NaN/100 votes

    #16 - Killing Machines

    Season 17 Episode 16 - Aired 11/13/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Can the Elephant Be Saved?
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    #17 - Can the Elephant Be Saved?

    Season 17 Episode 17 - Aired 11/20/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • We Know Where You Live
    NaN/100 votes

    #18 - We Know Where You Live

    Season 17 Episode 18 - Aired 11/27/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • In the Land of the Llamas
    NaN/100 votes

    #19 - In the Land of the Llamas

    Season 17 Episode 19 - Aired 12/4/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • What's Killing the Children?
    NaN/100 votes

    #20 - What's Killing the Children?

    Season 17 Episode 20 - Aired 12/18/1990

    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.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A