The BEST episodes of NOVA season 11

Every episode of NOVA season 11, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of NOVA season 11!

Helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines.

Last Updated: 11/23/2024Network: PBSStatus: Continuing
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8.67
3 votes

#1 - The Case of ESP

Season 11 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/17/1984

In the past decade, a number of researchers have begun systematic laboratory research into extrasensory perception—ESP. NOVA considers the claims for—and against—paranormal phenomena and looks at some startling applications in the field of archaeology, criminology and warfare.

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8.50
2 votes

#2 - China's Only Child

Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/14/1984

Efforts to control the population explosion are among the burning controversies of our time. NOVA looks at the one-child policy of the People's Republic of China, a revolutionary decree with profound implications for a people accustomed to traditionally large families.

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8.50
2 votes

#3 - Visions of the Deep: The Underwater World of Al Giddings

Season 11 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/6/1984

Al Giddings is one of the greatest underwater photographers in the world. In a riveting look at the unearthly beauties and terrors of the seas, NOVA presents a portrait of Giddings at work.

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8.50
2 votes

#4 - Jaws: The True Story

Season 11 - Episode 18 - Aired 12/4/1984

Acclaimed underwater cameraman Al Giddings takes NOVA viewers beneath the waves to explore the fact and fiction surrounding the Great White Shark.

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8.00
2 votes

#5 - Acid Rain: New Bad News

Season 11 - Episode 19 - Aired 12/11/1984

The debate over acid rain continues to grow. NOVA travels to West Germany, the mid-Atlantic states and New England to examine the controversy surrounding this phenomenon.

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8.00
2 votes

#6 - Stephen Jay Gould: This View of Life

Season 11 - Episode 20 - Aired 12/18/1984

What do dinosaurs, a panda's thumb and a peacock's tail have in common? Dr. Stephen Jay Gould, the internationally renowned palentologist and evolutionary theorist, provides some surprising answers in this NOVA profile.

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7.67
3 votes

#7 - The World According to Weisskopf

Season 11 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/30/1984

Victor Weisskopf: physicist, lover of music and citizen of the world. NOVA profiles the international statesman of science and learns that one of the giants of 20th century physics is also one of the country's greatest humanists.

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7.50
2 votes

#8 - Space Bridge to Moscow

Season 11 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/2/1984

At a time when scientific exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union is at its lowest since the 1950s, a special hookup will allow eight leading Soviet and American scientists to share ideas face-to-face before millions of television viewers in each country on this NOVA special.

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7.50
2 votes

#9 - The Mystery of Yellow Rain

Season 11 - Episode 13 - Aired 10/30/1984

NOVA explores whether "yellow rain," described by members of the Hmong tribe of Laos, is a form of chemical warfare—or a naturally occurring phenomenon.

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7.00
1 votes

#10 - Alcoholism: Life Under the Influence

Season 11 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/10/1984

Alcoholism is a sad reality for many people. NOVA tries to uncover why this disease is so prevalent by exploring the physical, mental and genetic reasons why people become and stay addicted to alcohol. The social, historical and medical aspects of the disease are all explored and explained in layman's terms.

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7.00
1 votes

#11 - Space Women

Season 11 - Episode 17 - Aired 11/27/1984

They have been part of the United States' space program for more than 20 years. Who are these talented, courageous women? NOVA looks at astronaut Sally Ride and her colleagues, how they are trained and their role in NASA's future.

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7.00
1 votes

#12 - Frontiers of Plastic Surgery

Season 11 - Episode 16 - Aired 11/20/1984

NOVA's sequel to "A Normal Face" examines the merging of technology and art in modern reconstruction and cosmetic surgical techniques.

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7.00
1 votes

#13 - Farmers of the Sea

Season 11 - Episode 15 - Aired 11/13/1984

NOVA looks at the "blue revolution"—modern advances in the ancient art of raising aquatic animals and plants—in the United States, Japan, Scotland and other countries.

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7.00
1 votes

#14 - The Nomads of the Rain Forest

Season 11 - Episode 14 - Aired 11/6/1984

NOVA visits a tribe of Ecuadoran Indians who still maintain traditions that date back to the Stone Age—thirty years after their first contact with Western Civilization.

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7.00
1 votes

#15 - Fountains of Paradise

Season 11 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/20/1984

NOVA explores the billion-dollar-plus Mahaweli Irrigation Project in Sri Lanka. Will this high-risk project prove to be a great leap forward or an industrial and sociological disaster?

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7.00
1 votes

#16 - The National Science Test I

Season 11 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/16/1984

NOVA departs from tradition with the first National Science Test. Viewers can match wits with celebrity panelists Jane Alexander, Jules Bergman, Marva Collins and Edwin Newman. Art Fleming hosts.

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7.00
1 votes

#17 - Make My People Live: The Crisis in Indian Health Care

Season 11 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/27/1984

What are America's obligations to its native population? As an important Indian health act comes up for renewal in Congress this Spring (1984), NOVA explores the state of medical care for a proud but vulnerable minority.

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7.00
1 votes

#18 - Down on the Farm

Season 11 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/20/1984

Agriculture is America's biggest industry. This productivity, envied around the world, is also depleting the most essential ingredients in farming: water and soil. NOVA looks at the agricultural dilemma, the short term need for profit and long term needs of the land.

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7.00
1 votes

#19 - Will I Walk Again?

Season 11 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/28/1984

Is there a cure for paralyzing spinal injuries? Most neurosurgeons are doubtful, pointing to the central nervous system's most apparent inability to heal itself. But others dispute the point. NOVA explores the debate, the hopes for a cure and recent breakthroughs to help paralyzed patients.

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7.00
2 votes

#20 - Antarctica: Earth's Last Frontier

Season 11 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/31/1984

An astronaut once observed a great white light shining out from the bottom of our world: Antarctica, the ice-covered continent we are only just beginning to understand. NOVA visits this wilderness of ice, larger than the United States and Mexico combined, whose only warm-blooded residents are seals, skuas, penguins and scientists.