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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!

Binge this in 17h 25m•Peaking at 8.8/10

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.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    NOVA Season 18 Episode 12 - So You Want to Be a Doctor?
    8.8/10(10 votes)

    S18:E12

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. NOVA Season 18 Episode 1 - Return to Mt. St. Helens
    8.6/10(14 votes)

    S18:E1

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. NOVA Season 18 Episode 13 - Secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls
    8.6/10(15 votes)

    S18:E13

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. NOVA Season 18 Episode 3 - The Hunt for China's Dinosaurs (1)
    8.2/10(14 votes)

    S18:E3

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. NOVA Season 18 Episode 4 - Case of the Flying Dinosaur
    8.1/10(11 votes)

    S18:E4

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. NOVA Season 18 Episode 6 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Invisible Spaceman
    8.1/10(13 votes)

    S18:E6

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. NOVA Season 18 Episode 2 - ConFusion in a Jar
    8.0/10(10 votes)

    S18:E2

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. NOVA Season 18 Episode 9 - Swimming With Whales
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    S18:E9

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. NOVA Season 18 Episode 14 - Suicide Mission to Chernobyl
    7.9/10(13 votes)

    S18:E14

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. NOVA Season 18 Episode 5 - T. rex Exposed
    7.8/10(12 votes)

    S18:E5

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. NOVA Season 18 Episode 7 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Dark Side of the Moon
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    S18:E7

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. NOVA Season 18 Episode 17 - Avoiding the Surgeon's Knife
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    S18:E17

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. NOVA Season 18 Episode 15 - Taller Than Everest?
    7.5/10(9 votes)

    S18:E15

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. NOVA Season 18 Episode 8 - The Russian Right Stuff: The Mission
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E8

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. NOVA Season 18 Episode 10 - The Chip vs. the Chess Master
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E10

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. NOVA Season 18 Episode 11 - Sex, Lies and Toupee Tape
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E11

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. NOVA Season 18 Episode 16 - Fastest Planes in the Sky
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E16

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. NOVA Season 18 Episode 18 - Skyscraper! A NOVA Special
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E18

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. NOVA Season 18 Episode 19 - The Fine Art of Faking It
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S18:E19

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Season 18 Ratings Summary

"So You Want to Be a Doctor?" is the best rated episode of "NOVA" season 18. It scored 8.8/10 based on 10 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/9/1991. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Return to Mt. St. Helens".