1974

When retired dentist Barney Clark received a total artificial heart in December 1982, it made medical history because there was no realistic prospect that it would ever be replaced with a biological transplant. Clark would be connected to a dishwasher-sized power and control unit for life. He lived 112 days.

This film tells the story of artificial hearts and ventricular assists, featuring the Clark story and interviews with his surgeon, William DeVries and also heart surgery pioneers Adrian Kantrowitz and Denton Cooley.

0 /10

S10.E11 ∙ Talking Turtle

Mon, Oct 24, 1983

0 /10

S10.E12 ∙ Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial

Mon, Oct 31, 1983

8 /10

S10.E13 ∙ To Live Until You Die: The Work of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

Mon, Nov 07, 1983

0 /10

S10.E14 ∙ A Magic Way of Going: The Story of Thoroughbreds

Mon, Nov 14, 1983

Nova takes a look at the science of thoroughbred horses, including breeding, genetics, and the evolution of the modern horse. The great Secretariat is highlighted here.

7.8 /10

S10.E15 ∙ A Normal Face: The Wonders of Plastic Surgery

Mon, Nov 21, 1983

0 /10

S10.E16 ∙ Captives of Care

Mon, Nov 28, 1983

0 /10

S10.E17 ∙ Twenty-Five Years in Space

Mon, Dec 05, 1983

This retrospective starts with the space program just prior to Sputnik, mainly the X-15 space plane, and then follows the pop culture view of the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, using a combination of news footage, archives from NASA and the BBC, and other related film archives. Contemporary pop music, including Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, David Bowie, and others are highlights on the soundtrack. Contemporary commentary from the likes of Walter Cronkite and James Burke.

8.2 /10

S10.E18 ∙ Nuclear Strategy for Beginners

Mon, Dec 12, 1983

Will nuclear weapons deter World War III or only make it more likely? NOVA explores the military strategies of the nuclear age, now that the challenge may no longer be to win global war but to prevent it.

8 /10