NOVA

s27e01 Fall of the Leaning Tower 1999-10-06 01:00 ⌄

Fall of the Leaning Tower

s27e01 · 1999-10-06 · 01:00

The film explores why the famous tower of Pisa hasn't fallen over yet and investigates the many efforts taken to preserve this medieval treasure.

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s27e02 Time Travel 1999-10-13 01:00 ⌄

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Time Travel

s27e02 · 1999-10-13 · 01:00

Is time travel anything more than sci-fi fantasy? Many leading physicists now believe that time travel is not only possible in theory but are discussing how to build a time machine. Physicist Kip Thorne tells NOVA how humankind's infinitely advanced descendants might go about achieving it with "quantum wormholes" and some "exotic matter." Demonstrating that faster-than-light travel may be possible, German physicist Guenter Nimtz claims to have transmitted Mozart's 40th Symphony across his lab at 4.7 times the speed of light. Impossible, yes, but recorded by NOVA's cameras and perhaps another step on the road to reaching the future or the past. The truth about time travel is wrapped up in the detail of how our universe works and how it all began. Mind-boggling as these perspectives are, NOVA dramatizes them in a playful and visually dazzling style that will captivate viewers and sweep them along on the ultimate thrill ride.

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s27e03 The Killer's Trail 1999-10-20 01:00 ⌄

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The Killer's Trail

s27e03 · 1999-10-20 · 01:00

The death of Marilyn Sheppard in 1954 is one of the most famous unsolved murders in America. The indictment of her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, quickly became the "Trial of the Century," then the "Re-Trial of the Century," making a celebrity out of lawyer F. Lee Bailey. Although most of the forensic evidence gathered in 1954 was ignored during Sheppard's trial, it is being re-examined with today's advanced technology. Like an intricate puzzle, the clues come together to overturn previous assumptions about the killer and point to an entirely new suspect. NOVA assembles a notable team of experts—including Barry Scheck, a well-known lawyer from the O.J. Simpson trial—and builds a precise replica of the Sheppard house, complete with the original furniture. With this unique revisiting of a vanished crime scene, NOVA investigates a horrifying and sensational milestone in forensic science.

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s27e04 Island of the Spirits 1999-11-03 02:00 ⌄

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Island of the Spirits

s27e04 · 1999-11-03 · 02:00

In the far north of Japan, thrust out into the north Pacific, is the remote island of Hokkaido. It's a land of towering volcanoes and steaming lakes, marshy valleys and fairy tale forests. Among this magical scenery, where summers are brief and winters are fierce, lives an extraordinary spectrum of life, found nowhere else in Japan. Here among the coastal lowlands, grizzly bears plunge into icy streams for salmon, Japanese cranes perform balletic courtship dances to one another, the rare and enormous Blakistons fish owl swoops on flying squirrels, and white-tailed eagles scan the rugged ocean cliffs for unsuspecting seabirds. HIgh on the mountains Asiatic pikas, arctic hares and Siberian chipmunks gather food, ever-watchful for the predatory sable. We think of Japan as a highly-populated, ultra modern society, and yet it remains a highly spiritual place where wildlife is treasured and carefully protected. Weaving Ainu legend with fascinating natural behavior, this film will follow the lives of Hokkaido's special creatures through the seasons, to capture the true essence and beauty of this other-worldly place.

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s27e05 Decoding Nazi Secrets 1999-11-10 02:00 ⌄

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Decoding Nazi Secrets

s27e05 · 1999-11-10 · 02:00

Most historians agree that by enabling Allied commanders to eavesdrop on German plans, Station X shortened the war by 2 or 3 years. Its decoded messages played a vital role in defeating the U-boat menace, cutting off Rommel's supplies in North Africa, and launching the D-Day landings. Now, for the first time on television, a 2-hour NOVA Special tells the full story of Station X, drawing on vivid interviews with many of the colorful geniuses and eccentrics who attacked the Enigma. Wartime survivors recall such vivid episodes as the British capture of the German submarine U-110; one of its officers describes how he saved a book of love poems inscribed to his sweetheart but failed to destroy vital Enigma documents on board. "Decoding Nazi Secrets" also features meticulous period reenactments shot inside the original buildings at Station X, including recreations of the world's first computing devices that aided codebreakers with their breakthroughs. Station X not only helped reverse the onslaught of the Third Reich, but also laid the groundwork for the invention of the digital computer that continues to transform all our lives.

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s27e06 Voyage of Doom 1999-11-24 02:00 ⌄

Voyage of Doom

s27e06 · 1999-11-24 · 02:00

Buried in mud beneath the shallow waters of Matagorda Bay in Texas, lay a glorious remnant of one of the most ill-fated voyages of the Age of Discovery. After years of searching the area, nautical archaeologists doing a magnetometer survey honed in on a promising site. And on the first day of diving, they were astounded to feel the distinctive outlines of a cannon, and sense the massive size of the wreck. When the cannon was hauled from the water, their hunch was confirmed: This ship, called La Belle, belonged to the 17th Century French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. NOVA follows the building of a coffer dam and subsequent complete excavation of this remarkable site. Preserved were not only armaments and trade beads, but also a wealth of organic material—the wooden hull, leather shoes, and even a skeleton—that brings the voyage to life.

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s27e07 Electric Heart 1999-12-22 02:00 ⌄

Electric Heart

s27e07 · 1999-12-22 · 02:00

The program tells the story of a handful of brilliant, obsessed surgeons and researchers who have pursued the target of a practical artificial heart for decades.

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s27e08 Tales from the Hive 2000-01-05 02:00 ⌄

Tales from the Hive

s27e08 · 2000-01-05 · 02:00

Our cinematographer films inside a hive and follows bees in flight to capture honeybee behavior.

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s27e09 Lost on Everest 2000-01-19 02:00 ⌄

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Lost on Everest

s27e09 · 2000-01-19 · 02:00

The program chronicles a successful 1999 NOVA expedition to investigate the mysterious disappearance of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine high on Everest in 1924. During this expedition, which included a NOVA/PBS Online Adventure, Mallory's body was found, though the mystery only deepened.

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s27e10 Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege 2000-02-02 02:00 ⌄

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Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege

s27e10 · 2000-02-02 · 02:00

Two teams set out to build precise replicas of a fearsome medieval weapon—the trebuchet.

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s27e11 Diamond Deception 2000-02-02 02:00 ⌄

Diamond Deception

s27e11 · 2000-02-02 · 02:00

Makeshift labs in China and Russia are turning out synthetic gemstones that rival natural diamonds.

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s27e12 Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk 2000-02-09 02:00 ⌄

Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk

s27e12 · 2000-02-09 · 02:00

Experts take on the challenge of raising a 40-ton obelisk without using modern technology.

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s27e13 Trillion Dollar Bet 2000-02-09 02:00 ⌄

Trillion Dollar Bet

s27e13 · 2000-02-09 · 02:00

An elegant mathematical formula attracts Wall Street's attention and spawns a multi-trillion-dollar industry.

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s27e14 Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island 2000-02-16 02:00 ⌄

Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island

s27e14 · 2000-02-16 · 02:00

How did the ancient Easter Islanders move and erect giant stone statues? Our team tests one theory.

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s27e15 Mystery of the First Americans 2000-02-16 02:00 ⌄

Mystery of the First Americans

s27e15 · 2000-02-16 · 02:00

The discovery of a 9,000-year-old skeleton embroils scientists in a debate over North America's first inhabitants.

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s27e16 Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath 2000-02-23 02:00 ⌄

Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath

s27e16 · 2000-02-23 · 02:00

NOVA sets out to create a working Roman bath, complete with hot tubs and underfloor heating.

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s27e17 Lost Tribes of Israel 2000-02-23 02:00 ⌄

Lost Tribes of Israel

s27e17 · 2000-02-23 · 02:00

An anthropologist looks for the lost city of Africa's Lemba tribe, and investigates their claim to an ancient Jewish heritage.

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s27e18 Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge 2000-03-01 02:00 ⌄

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Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge

s27e18 · 2000-03-01 · 02:00

Two teams working from opposite sides of a turbulent river attempt to build a 12th-century Chinese bridge.

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s27e19 What's Up with the Weather? 2000-04-19 01:00 ⌄

What's Up with the Weather?

s27e19 · 2000-04-19 · 01:00

FRONTLINE and NOVA take on a complex and critical phenomenon—global warming.

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s27e20 Stationed in the Stars 2000-04-26 01:00 ⌄

Stationed in the Stars

s27e20 · 2000-04-26 · 01:00

NOVA examines the International Space Station, the largest construction project ever undertaken in orbit.

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s27e21 The Vikings 2000-05-10 01:00 ⌄

The Vikings

s27e21 · 2000-05-10 · 01:00

Recent discoveries paint a complex portrait of the Vikings and their boat journeys to places as far-flung as Istanbul.

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