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NOVA· Season 15

NOVA — Season 15

All 11 episodes in airing order, with first-run dates and viewer ratings.

  1. 01

    January 19, 1988 · 1h

    Top Gun and Beyond

    Today's sophisticated fighter jets can almost fly themselves, but well-trained pilots are still needed to win air battles. NOVA looks at how planes and pilots are adapting to high technology.

  2. 12

    January 26, 1988 · 1h

    How to Create a Junk Food

    Julia Child introduces NOVA's behind-the-scenes look at how science aids in the creation of snack foods.

  3. 13

    February 2, 1988 · 1h

    Buried in Ice

    Scientists investigate the frozen remains of members of the 19th century Franklin Expedition to the Canadian Arctic and ask why all perished.

  4. 14

    February 9, 1988 · 1h

    Why Planes Burn

    Airplane fires are often deadly. NOVA looks at efforts to make fires aboard planes less likely and more survivable.

  5. 15

    February 23, 1988 · 1h

    Battles in the War on Cancer: A Wonder Drug on Trial

    In part one of a two-part special presentation, NOVA reports on the trials to determine whether the new drug Interleukin-2—the first to make use of the body's own disease-fighting strategy—will live up to its promise as a pivotal cancer breakthrough. Jane Pauley of NBC News hosts and narrates.

  6. 16

    March 1, 1988 · 1h

    Battles in the War on Cancer: Breast Cancer - Turning the Tide

    In part two of a two-part special presentation, NOVA reports on the trials to determine whether the new drug Interleukin-2—the first to make use of the body's own disease-fighting strategy—will live up to its promise as a pivotal cancer breakthrough. Breast cancer claims the lives of four American women every hour. Jane Pauley of NBC News hosts and narrates this NOVA report on stepped-up efforts to reduce the death rate from this all-too-common killer.

  7. 17

    March 8, 1988 · 1h

    Mystery of the Master Builders

    Princeton professor and author Robert Mark tracks down the engineering secrets of some of the beautiful buildings in the world including Notre Dame in Paris, St. Paul in London and the Roman Pantheon.

  8. 18

    March 15, 1988 · 1h

    Whale Rescue

    It was a blustery day in December 1986, and the New England Coast was in the midst of a winter storm, accompanied by strong on-shore gales and an unusually high tide—conditions perfect for stranding whales in the confined shallows of Cape Cod. NOVA recounts this tragic episode and the happy surprise ending for the young whales who survived after being nursed back to health by the New England Aquarium in Boston.

  9. 19

    March 22, 1988 · 1h

    The Man Who Loved Numbers

    Tells the story of the brilliant Indian mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan and of his brief association at Trinity College in England with the English mathematicians G.H. Hardy and J.E. Littlewood. His full potential was never realized because of his tragic death from illness in India at age 32.

  10. 20

    March 29, 1988 · 1h

    Race for the Superconductor

    OVA charts an electronics revolution in the making as Japan and the United States race to develop a material that will conduct electricity at room temperature with zero resistance.

  11. 21

    April 5, 1988 · 1h

    Can You Still Get Polio?

    Most cases of polio in the United States are caused by the vaccine designed to prevent it. NOVA examines the controversy surrounding the nation's vaccine policy.

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