Nova (TV series)

From Freepedia

NOVA redirects here, for alternate uses, see Nova (disambiguation).

Nova is a popular science television series from the USA produced by WGBH and seen on Public Broadcasting Service and in more than 100 countries. Nova is the most-watched science television series in the world since it made its debut on PBS on March 3, 1974 and was originally shown for 7 seasons and 112 episodes until the series came to an end on February 5, 1980, according to [1]. When NOVA returned for an eighth season in January, 1981, it became a kindly new-formatted series and is one the longest running science series on network television, and it still airs today. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won every major television award, most of them many times over. In 1998, the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation awarded Nova its first-ever Public Service Award.

Whenever possible, Nova includes interviews with scientists directly involved in the subject, and occasionally footage from the actual moment of a particular discovery. Some episodes have focused on historical aspects of science. Examples of topics include Colditz Castle, Drake equation, elementary particles, Fermat's last theorem, global warming, moissanite, Project Jennifer, storm chasing, Unterseeboot 869, and Vinland.

The Nova programs are praised for their good pacing, clear writing, and crisp editing, with a website accompanying each segment. Even Nova's websites win awards.

The executive producer of Nova since 1975 has been Paula S. Apsell. Other executive producers included Michael Ambrosino and John Mansfield.

Awards

Nova has been recognized with multiple Peabody Awards and Emmy Awards. The series won a Peabody in 1974, citing it as "an imaginative series of science adventures", with a "versatility rarely found in television". Subsequent Peabodys went to specific episodes:

• "The Miracle of Life" (1983) was cited as a "fascinating and informative documentary of the human reproductive process" which used "revolutionary microphotographic techniques". The episode also won an Emmy.
• "Spy Machines" (1987) was cited for "neatly recount[ing] the key events of the Cold War and look[ing] into the future of American/Soviet SDI competition."
• "The Elegant Universe" (2003)was cited for exploring "science’s most elaborate and ambitious theory, the string theory" while making "the abstract concrete, the complicated clear, and the improbable understandable" by "blending factual story telling with animation, special effects, and trick photography." The episode also won an Emmy.

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (responsible for documentary Emmys) recognized the series with awards in 1978, 1981, 1983, and 1989. Julia Cort won an Emmy in 2001 for writing "Life's Greatest Miracle". Emmys were also awarded for the following episodes:

• 1982 "Here's Looking at You, Kid"
• 1983 "The Miracle of Life" (also won a Peabody)
• 1985 "AIDS: Chapter One", "Acid Rain: New Bad News"
• 1992 "Suicide Mission to Chernobyl", "The Russian Right Stuff"
• 1994 "Secret of the Wild Child"
• 1995 "Siamese Twins", "Secret of the Wild Child"
• 1999 "Decoding Nazi Secrets"
• 2001 "Bioterror"
• 2002 "Galileo's Battle for the Heavens", "Mountain of Ice", "Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance", "Why the Towers Fell"
• 2003 "Battle of the X-Planes", "The Elegant Universe" (also won a Peabody)

Three episodes were nominated for 2004 Emmys:

"Mars Dead or Alive"

"The Crash of Flight 111"

"The Most Dangerous Woman in America"

Underwriters

Nova has had many underwriters over its 30+ year history, starting with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the viewers/stations of PBS. Other underwriters included The National Science Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Exxon (prior to its merger with Mobil), TRW, Johnson & Johnson, AlliedSignal (with Allied Corporation as its precursor; it was bought out by Honeywell in 1999), Prime Computer (before being renamed Computervision in 1999), Lockheed Corporation (before merging with Martin Marietta to become Lockheed Martin in 1995), Merck & Co., Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, CNET, Sprint Corporation, Microsoft, and Google.

External link

• Official website