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The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 13

Every episode of NOVA Season 13 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of NOVA Season 13!

The Best Episodes of NOVA Season 13

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...
  1. Background image for Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime
    7.9/10(8 votes)

    #1 - Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime

    S13:E1

    NOVA observes worldwide preparations as amateur comet hunters, astronomers and scientists armed with specialized cameras, high powered telescopes and spacecraft look to the heavens in search of the expected arrival in 1986 of Halley's Comet.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  2. Background image for Goddess of the Earth
    7.8/10(7 votes)

    #2 - Goddess of the Earth

    S13:E2

    Gaia, the Greek word for Earth goddess, also is the name of the controversial hypothesis that life on Earth controls the environment. NOVA explores this provocative theory that challenges conventional ways of thinking about the Earth.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  3. Background image for Horsemen of China
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Horsemen of China

    S13:E3

    For centuries, the Chinese Kazakh horseman preserved their ancient traditions, refusing to be dominated by either the Chinese or nearby Russian cultures. Today, however, this nomadic tribe has integrated communism into its way of life. NOVA traces the ancient Kazahk lifestyle and looks at how the Chinese cultural Revolution has modernized Kazakh customs.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  4. Background image for Life's First Feelings
    8.0/10(8 votes)

    #4 - Life's First Feelings

    S13:E4

    NOVA explores the incredibly complex emotional development of infants and examines the current theory that early childhood psychological intervention can head off emotional problems later in life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  5. Background image for The Case of the Frozen Addict
    7.7/10(13 votes)

    #5 - The Case of the Frozen Addict

    S13:E5

    In July 1982, a 42-year-old addict in a San Jose, California jail became paralyzed—unable to move or talk. His symptoms, caused by a bad batch of synthetic heroin, were indistinguishable from those associated with Parkinson's disease, a degenerative nerve disorder that strikes the elderly. NOVA traces the story of a "designer" drug which could lead to a major medical breakthrough.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  6. Background image for Toxic Trials
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Toxic Trials

    S13:E6

    When a high number of cancer cases struck the suburban community of Woburn, Massachusetts, the town mobilized to investigate why. The result was a landmark study of the effects of hazardous wastes. NOVA explores the legal and scientific implications of the link between environmental pollution and illness.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Skydive to the Rain Forest
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Skydive to the Rain Forest

    S13:E7

    NOVA journeys to a remote region of southern Venezuela where the land is alive with spectacular waterfalls, colored by exotic flowers and inhabited by rare species of birds and animals.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  9. Background image for Return of the Osprey
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Return of the Osprey

    S13:E8

    NOVA follows a conservation success story as environmentalists, scientists and bird-lovers fight to save the majestic Osprey from extinction.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  10. Background image for The Rise of a Wonder Drug
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - The Rise of a Wonder Drug

    S13:E9

    When Alexander Fleming discovered the penicillin mold in 1928, he never considered its possible therapeutic value. NOVA explores the "Fleming myth" and reveals the true story of the scientists who worked behind the scenes to develop the wonder drug of the century.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  11. Background image for When Wonder Drugs Don't Work
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - When Wonder Drugs Don't Work

    S13:E10

    NOVA examines the medical community's alarm as the spread of antibiotic-resistant infection increases, and studies how one hospital fights its own dramatic epidemic.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  12. Background image for Visions of Star Wars
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Visions of Star Wars

    S13:E11

    NOVA and Frontline combine resources to explore the Strategic Defense Initiative. The two-hour documentary contains the most comprehensive information on "Star Wars" ever produced. Bill Kurtis of WBBM-TV/Chicago hosts.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  13. Background image for The Search for the Disappeared
    7.6/10(16 votes)

    #12 - The Search for the Disappeared

    S13:E12

    NOVA joins scientists in Argentina as they help locate kidnapped children and identify thousands of dead in the aftermath of a military reign of terror.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  14. Background image for The Planet that Got Knocked on its Side
    7.6/10(11 votes)

    #13 - The Planet that Got Knocked on its Side

    S13:E13

    The adventures of the Voyager 2 spacecraft continue as it passes the rings of Uranus. Scientists suspect that violent events in the early history of the planet may have shaped Uranus and its strange collection of moons.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  15. Background image for High-Tech Babies
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - High-Tech Babies

    S13:E14

    Scientific breakthroughs now make it possible to reproduce ourselves in ways never before imagined. NOVA looks at the medical, legal and moral questions raised by this brave new technology.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  16. Background image for Can AIDS Be Stopped?
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Can AIDS Be Stopped?

    S13:E15

    What are the prospects for halting or curing the deadliest epidemic ever to challenge modern medicine? NOVA finds cause for both hope and alarm in the battle against AIDS.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  17. Background image for Is Anybody Out There?
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #16 - Is Anybody Out There?

    S13:E16

    Could there be life beyond Earth? Only recently has it become possible to scan the skies in a systematic attempt to find out. NOVA joins the search with guest host Lily Tomlin.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  18. Background image for Mystery of the Animal Pathfinders
    7.2/10(7 votes)

    #17 - Mystery of the Animal Pathfinders

    S13:E17

    Birds do it; bees do it, butterflies, bats and eels do it—all leave one habitat to migrate to another, often thousands of miles away. NOVA penetrates the mystery of where animals migrate, why and how they get there.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  19. Background image for Are You Swimming in a Sewer?
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Are You Swimming in a Sewer?

    S13:E18

    NOVA dips into the sad plight of our coastal waters, where toxic chemicals, raw sewage and disease-carrying microbes are routinely dumped.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  20. Background image for Sail Wars!
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Sail Wars!

    S13:E19

    Yankee ingenuity has designs on the America's Cup. NOVA goes behind-the-scenes to look at the engineering effort to design a technically advanced sailboat.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  21. Background image for Leprosy Can Be Cured!
    7.8/10(7 votes)

    #20 - Leprosy Can Be Cured!

    S13:E20

    Leprosy, a misunderstood disease that has been curable for 40 years, still afflicts some 12 million people. NOVA looks at the tragedy of the disease that need not be.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  22. Background image for How Babies Get Made
    7.6/10(7 votes)

    #21 - How Babies Get Made

    S13:E21

    NOVA explores the ground-breaking experiments that led to the discovery of a tiny sequence of molecules—and more clues to the mystery of how a complete baby develops from a single cell.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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Season 13 Ratings Summary

"Halley's Comet: Once in a Lifetime" is the best rated episode of "NOVA" season 13. It scored 7.9/10 based on 8 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/21/1986. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Goddess of the Earth".