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The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 18

Every episode of NOVA Season 18 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of NOVA Season 18!

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 the people involved in scientific pursuits.

Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Season 18 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "NOVA" season 18 is "Return to Mt. St. Helens", rated 8.3/10 from 13 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "Return to Mt. St. Helens" aired on 1/8/1991 and is rated 0.6 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "ConFusion in a Jar".

  • Return to Mt. St. Helens
    8.3/10 13 votes

    #1 - Return to Mt. St. Helens

    Season 18 Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/1991

    NOVA returns to Mount St. Helens a decade after its cataclysmic eruption to learn how nature is recovering from the disaster.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • ConFusion in a Jar
    7.7/10 9 votes

    #2 - ConFusion in a Jar

    Season 18 Episode 2 - Aired 4/30/1991

    An experiment that could mean limitless supplies of energy sets the scientific world on its head. NOVA covers the cold fusion controversy.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs (1)
    8.3/10 11 votes

    #3 - The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs (1)

    Season 18 Episode 3 - Aired 2/5/1991

    NOVA covers the most elaborate expedition ever undertaken in the search for dinosaurs—to China's Gobi desert. Paleontologists brave sandstorms, heat and worse to find their fossils.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Case of the Flying Dinosaur
    8.0/10 7 votes

    #4 - Case of the Flying Dinosaur

    Season 18 Episode 4 - Aired 2/12/1991

    Are dinosaurs still among us? NOVA looks at the contentious question of whether present-day birds are dinosaurs. Over the years, new fossil discoveries keep amending the answer.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • T. rex Exposed
    7.8/10 10 votes

    #5 - T. rex Exposed

    Season 18 Episode 5 - Aired 2/19/1991

    Tyrannosaurus rex, the terrifying kind of the dinos, recently turned up in a nearly complete skeleton in Montana. NOVA follows the dig to extract the bones and looks at the science and lore of dinosaurs in general.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Russian Right Stuff: The Invisible Spaceman
    8.0/10 9 votes

    #6 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Invisible Spaceman

    Season 18 Episode 6 - Aired 2/26/1991

    In the first program of a three-part miniseries on the Soviet space program, NOVA profiles the mysterious genius behind the world's first satellite, the first man to orbit the earth and other early Russian triumphs in space.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Russian Right Stuff: The Dark Side of the Moon
    8.2/10 7 votes

    #7 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Dark Side of the Moon

    Season 18 Episode 7 - Aired 2/27/1991

    NOVA reveals the details of Moscow's secret plan to reach the moon ahead of the Americans. Was Neil Armstrong's "giant leap for mankind" almost upstaged?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Russian Right Stuff: The Mission
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #8 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Mission

    Season 18 Episode 8 - Aired 2/28/1991

    In an unprecedented insider's look, NOVA covers the training, flight and recovery of a cosmonaut crew that visits the Soviet space station Mir. Unexpected emergencies show that space travel is still far from routine.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Swimming With Whales
    8.0/10 1 votes

    #9 - Swimming With Whales

    Season 18 Episode 9 - Aired 3/5/1991

    Gregory Peck narrates a scientific voyage around Vancouver Island in search of whales. Humpbacks, Killers, Grays and other whale species make their appearance in spectacular, never-before-seen footage both above and below the waves.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Chip vs. the Chess Master
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #10 - The Chip vs. the Chess Master

    Season 18 Episode 10 - Aired 3/26/1991

    Will machines be able to beat us at our own game? The computer chess champ matches wits with the human world titleholder.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Sex, Lies and Toupee Tape
    8.8/10 9 votes

    #11 - Sex, Lies and Toupee Tape

    Season 18 Episode 11 - Aired 10/1/1991

    NOVA covers the causes and attempted cures of baldness. Some men take pride in their bald heads; others will go to great lengths to cover up. Alan "Douglas Brackman" Rachins of NBC's LA Law hosts.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • So You Want to Be a Doctor?
    8.4/10 13 votes

    #12 - So You Want to Be a Doctor?

    Season 18 Episode 12 - Aired 10/9/1991

    In a two-hour special, NOVA follows seven aspiring doctors through four years of medical school. The first examination, the anatomy lab, the first death, the first baby-it's all part of becoming a doctor. Neil Patrick Harris, star of ABC's Doogie Howser, MD hosts. (Follow-up to the program 1521 "Can We Make a Better Doctor?")

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls
    8.0/10 11 votes

    #13 - Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls

    Season 18 Episode 13 - Aired 10/15/1991

    Forty years after they were discovered, the Dead Sea Scrolls have yet to be published in their entirety. NOVA looks at the laborious-some say scandalous-process of compiling and releasing this religious treasure.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Suicide Mission to Chernobyl
    7.5/10 8 votes

    #14 - Suicide Mission to Chernobyl

    Season 18 Episode 14 - Aired 10/22/1991

    NOVA accompanies Soviet scientists on a deadly mission inside the sarcophagus-the massive structure that entombs the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. Will there be another deadly explosion?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Taller Than Everest?
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #15 - Taller Than Everest?

    Season 18 Episode 15 - Aired 11/5/1991

    The tallest mountain in the world? Think again—cartographers had to when satellite date revealed a peak called "K2" might be the real champ. Which is the world's tallest mountain?

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Fastest Planes in the Sky
    7.8/10 8 votes

    #16 - Fastest Planes in the Sky

    Season 18 Episode 16 - Aired 11/12/1991

    The fastest machines in the sky are going to be slow stuff when the latest speed demons on the drawing board take to the air. NOVA looks at the intoxicating lure to fly even faster.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Avoiding the Surgeon's Knife
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #17 - Avoiding the Surgeon's Knife

    Season 18 Episode 17 - Aired 12/3/1991

    NOVA follows the efforts of four participants in a celebrated California study to unblock arteries without using drugs or surgery before their heart disease becomes fatal. A studio segment featuring experts with varying medical views will air as part of the 60-minute program. ABC News Medical Correspondent George Strait moderates.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Skyscraper! A NOVA Special
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #18 - Skyscraper! A NOVA Special

    Season 18 Episode 18 - Aired 12/10/1991

    This 80-minute NOVA pledge special chronicles the building of the Worldwide Plaza, 47-story office tower in midtown Manhattan, from a hole in the ground to a 770-foot skyscraper.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Fine Art of Faking It
    NaN/10 0 votes

    #19 - The Fine Art of Faking It

    Season 18 Episode 19 - Aired 12/17/1991

    The spectacular eclipse of 1991 passed over major observatories on the island of Hawaii. NOVA was there for 6 1/2 minutes of frenetic research that revealed new secrets about our sun.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A