Every year, thousands of men and women wage America’s war on fire in our majestic wildlands. Armed with special training and the best technology, and with their hearts full of determination, they battle the blazes. To find out what’s wrong with America’s war on wildfires, travel to the fire line with the Arrowhead Hotshots, a top firefighting team. Fire Wars offers an up-close look at the war on wildfire—a war so intense, you can feel the heat.
Languages: English
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The Viking Deception – DVD
There are few more tantalizing or notorious historical documents than the Vinland map. A faded, yellowing scrap of parchment bearing a faint tracery of lines, the map apparently shows the eastern seaboard of North America-yet it was drawn at least half a century before Columbus reached the New World. It seems to present unshakeable proof that the Vikings were the real discoverers of the Americas. But for 40 years, a bitter debate over its authenticity has raged among cartographers, historians, and scientists. Despite chemical analysis and radiocarbon tests, the case remained unresolved. Now, in an exclusive investigation, NOVA presents fresh evidence confirming that the map was probably one of the cleverest forgeries of all time, and probes who might have wanted to carry out the deception. In this enthralling cartographic detective story, NOVA pursues a trail from Scandinavia to Austria, Switzerland, London, and the U.S.
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The Killer’s Trail
This is fact: Marilyn Sheppard was murdered in 1954. The rest of the crime is a haunting question mark. The Sheppard case led to the infamous trial–and re-trial–of her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, and launched the legal career of lawyer F. Lee Bailey. But who was the killer? Dr. Sheppard’s insistence that a mysterious stranger was the real murderer led to his eventual acquittal xx years after the murder and inspired the plot of The Fugitive. Now, nearly 50 years later, NOVA reopens America’s most intriguing unsolved murder case.
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The Elegant Universe
It’s the holy grail of physics–the search for ultimate law and order in the universe. And in the last few years, excitement has grown among scientists as they’ve pursued a revolutionary new approach to unifying nature’s forces. It’s called string theory and, to the uninitiated, it’s totally mind-boggling. But physicist Brian Greene has a rare gift for conveying physics in vivid everyday images, a gift that has turned his recent book The Elegant Universe into a mighty bestseller, and now Greene brings his talent and vitality to this documentary. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to The Elegant Universe Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions. (3 hrs. on 2 discs)
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Everest: The Death Zone
Get ready for a (literally) breathtaking trek up Mt. Everest, from Base Camp at 17,600 feet; through the chilling, corpse-strewn Death Zone; to the very pinnacle of the the Earth, five and a half miles above sea level. For those brave souls who survive the harrowing climb to the top of the world, it is a transformative experience. But can the excruciating ascent–through frigid cold, blasting wind, blinding sun, and severe lack of oxygen–cause permanent, damaging changes to the human brain and body? Special DVD features include: Access to the Everest: The Death Zone Web site; chapter search; English audiotrack; subtitles.
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MARS Dead or Alive
Go inside NASA’s risky field trip to the red planet in this tense and dramatic behind-the-scenes chronicle of the $820 million Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project. Beginning a year before launch, NOVA’s cameras follow MER scientists and engineers through a gauntlet of potentially fatal problems. Then, seven months later, experience the final nail-biting minutes of the journey, as Spirit successfully lands on Mars and begins sending back its first spectacular images of the Martian landscape. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; closed captions; and video descriptions.
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The Miracle of Life
Each minute, all over the world, a baby is born. An everyday occurrence, yet each birth is the culmination of one of nature’s most complex, mysterious, and seemingly miraculous processes. A dramatic breakthrough in science and cinematography, The Miracle of Life takes you on an incredible voyage through the human body as a new life begins. World-renowned Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson presents a spectacular look at a microscopic world of beautiful colors and forms deep inside ourselves. Special DVD features include: Access to the award-winning NOVA Web site; chapter search; English audiotrack; subtitles.
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Odyssey of Life: The Photographer’s Secrets
The photographer who led us into the awe-inspiring world of the womb has agreed to take us behind the scenes of his own work. For the first time ever, Lennart Nilsson reveals the state-of-the-art techniques that gave us The Miracle of Life and so much more. For decades, this unparalleled photographer has astonished the world with images–from the creatures under the sea to the viruses inside our cells–that make visible the mysteries of life. Yet Lennart Nilsson has kept his own secrets to himself…until now. Special DVD features include: Access to the NOVA Web site featuring an interview with Lennart Nilsson, a time-lapse sequence of growing embryos, an online teacher’s guide, and more; chapter search; English audiotrack; and subtitles.
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Search for a Safe Cigarette
In Search for a Safe Cigarette, NOVA gains unprecedented access to tobacco research and manufacturing facilities and asks the question: Can science help create a safer cigarette? Journey inside a lit cigarette and see how superheated tobacco creates over 45 known carcinogens. Trace the little-known history of “reduced risk” cigarettes, and discover why safer cigarettes developed in the 1960s were discontinued. See how tobacco-specific nitrosomines damage human DNA. Explore America’s love affair with cigarettes, including tobacco’s role in US history, shrewd cigarette marketing, and the impact of the Surgeon General’s warning. Then look into the future of “safer” tobacco products, like Accord, a new smoking system that features an external battery-powered tobacco lighter. Special DVD features include: Access to the Search for a Safe Cigarette Web site which features the anatomy of a cigarette, a history of “safer” cigarettes, effects of nicotine, a virtual science lab, an online teacher’s guide, and more; chapter search; English audiotrack; and subtitles.
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To the Moon
NOVA presents the fascinating story behind the Apollo space program, including the most remarkable feat in human history–the historic walk on the moon in 1969. Meet the unsung heroes, experience the dangers and discover a broader range of Apollo perspectives than any space documentary ever produced. Special DVD features include: Access to the To The Moon Web site, featuring panorama views from six moon landings, interactive lunar puzzles, interviews with top Apollo astronauts, and more; access to the NASA and NOVA web sites; chapter search; English audiotrack; subtitles.