NOVA: Season 4
NOVA is an American popular science television program produced by WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in production since 1974. As the premier science series for PBS, the program is designed to help viewers of all ages explore the science behind current headlines while working to demystify technology and science. The series is recognized as the most-watched primetime science series on television, reaching an
Season 4 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- NOVA is a PBS science series produced by WGBH in Boston.
- The program has been airing since 1974.
- The series focuses on demystifying science and technology for viewers of all ages.
- The show explores the science behind various headlines.
Season overview
NOVA is an American popular science television program produced by WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been in production since 1974. As the premier science series for PBS, the program is designed to help viewers of all ages explore the science behind current headlines while working to demystify technology and science. The series is recognized as the most-watched primetime science series on television, reaching an average of five million viewers. Season 4 of the program consists of 19 episodes and continues the overarching saga of the series. The program is stylized as NOVΛ and focuses on delivering educational content regarding scientific discoveries and technological advancements to a broad audience.
Episode Guide
Season 4 Progress Shield
Hitler's Secret Weapon
Jan 5, 1977
NOVA traces the development of Hitler's V-2 rocket through rare footage obtained from the National Archives—some never broadcast before on television.
The Hot Blooded Dinosaurs
Jan 12, 1977
If you were a dinosaur scientist, what would you do with a pile of fossil bones? How would you even start to put the giant jigsaw puzzle together, never mind discover anything abou
What Price Coal?
Jan 19, 1977
What is the price we are prepared to pay for coal? NOVA looks at the environmental and health safety issues raised by the government, industry, and the victims.
The Sunspot Mystery
Feb 2, 1977
NOVA explores the research on the 1976 drought in the western United States which led some solar scientists to discover the link between weather patterns and the 11 year sunspot my
The Plastic Prison
Feb 9, 1977
NOVA follows the lives of three boys who have combined immuned deficiency—a disease that leaves its victims with no immune system.
Incident at Brown's Ferry
Feb 23, 1977
NOVA recreates March 1975 at Brown's Ferry, an Alabama nuclear power plant—the largest in the world—that suffered a seven-hour fire which came very close to developing into a major
Bye Bye Blackbird
Mar 2, 1977
NOVA looks at blackbirds, their winter habit of nesting in the millions, and the destruction they do to crops.
The Pill for the People
Mar 9, 1977
NOVA profiles chemist Russell Marker who made the birth control pill possible by discovering a synthetic substitute for the hormone progesterone.
The Gene Engineers
Mar 16, 1977
NOVA explores the history of genetic engineering and the possible risks and benefits of this area of research
The Human Animal
Mar 23, 1977
NOVA investigates the controversial theory of Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson, that many aspects of human behavior are genetically determined.
The Wolf Equation
Mar 30, 1977
In the winter of 1976-77, 80 percent of the wolf population in Northwest Alaska was the target of aerial hunts. Although the area is roamed by the Western Arctic caribou herds—a na
The Dawn of the Solar Age
Apr 20, 1977
Solar energy is increasingly popular as a home heating source. But only recently has it been seriously considered as a source of industrial power. NOVA looks at this new industrial
The Business of Extinction
Apr 20, 1977
NOVA explores the huge international illegal trade in animals, penetrates the thriving underworld of smugglers and assesses the effects on vanishing wildlife.
The Red Planet
Apr 27, 1977
NOVA traces 300 years of speculation, investigation and discovery that have centered on Mars—particularly the theory that the planet could support life. Questions raised by NASA's
Tongues of Men (1)
May 11, 1977
In part one of this two-part exploration of the diversity of world languages, NOVA examines how and why the bewildering confusion of languages came about.
Tongues of Men (2)
May 18, 1977
In part two of this two-part series on the diversity of language, NOVA explores how man has coped with the confusion of language and asks if the growing acceptance of English is th
Linus Pauling: Crusading Scientist
Jun 1, 1977
NOVA profiles Linus Pauling—the only person to have received two unshared Nobel Prizes for his work in nuclear weapons.
Across the Silent Barrier
Jun 22, 1977
NOVA explores the different means by which hearing-impaired people have learned to penetrate the world of the hearing by visiting with Kitty O'Neil—a woman record-holding speed car
The New Healers
Jun 29, 1977
NOVA explores the delibitating diseases that are often caused by poverty and follows two paths to health care in Tanzania and the United States.