Scientific American Frontiers

Last updated
Scientific American Frontiers
Genre Documentary
Presented by Woodie Flowers (1990–1993)
Alan Alda (1993–2005)
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons15
No. of episodes96
Production
Production companyChedd-Angier Production Company
Release
Original network PBS
Original releaseOctober 1, 1990 (1990-10-01) 
April 13, 2005 (2005-04-13)

Scientific American Frontiers was an American science television program aired by PBS from 1990 to 2005. The show was a companion program to the Scientific American magazine, and primarily covered new technology and discoveries in science and medicine. The Chedd-Angier Production Company, which had recently produced Discover: The World of Science , [1] produced the show for PBS. Frontiers typically aired once every two to four weeks.

Contents

Hosts

The show first aired on October 1, 1990, with MIT professor Woodie Flowers hosting until the spring of 1993. [2] Actor Alan Alda became the permanent host from the fall season of 1993 and continued until the show ended in 2005. [3] The show was also billed as Alan Alda in Scientific American Frontiers. [4] In one segment, Alda became car sick while driving an experimental, virtual reality vehicle. In 2005, in his memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned, Alda recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while in the mountains of Chile for the show, an incident in which he nearly died due to the remote location.

Format

Most programs included three short documentaries, but some shows follow a different pattern. Some young viewers of the program later appeared as adult guests in later series, stating that the program inspired them to continue their scientific pursuits. The shows are now available online at the Chedd-Angier website. [5]

Episodes

Season 1 (1990-91)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Episode 1October 3, 1990
2Episode 2November 14, 1990
3Episode 3December 12, 1990
4Special from the Soviet UnionJanuary 9, 1991
5Episode 5February 27, 1991

Season 2 (1991-92)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Episode 1October 23, 1991
2Episode 2November 20, 1991
3Episode 3December 18, 1991
4Special from FranceJanuary 15, 1992
5Episode 5February 12, 1992

Season 3 (1992-93)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Episode 1October 21, 1992
2Episode 2November 11, 1992
3Episode 3December 2, 1992
4Special from Egypt and IsraelJanuary 13, 1993
5Episode 5February 10, 1993

Season 4 (1993-94)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1BionicsOctober 13, 1993
2ContestsNovember 3, 1993
3Science and SportsDecember 1, 1993
4Special from GermanyJanuary 19, 1994
5Science 911February 16, 1994

Season 5 (1994-95)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Life's Big QuestionsOctober 5, 1994
2About All You Can EatNovember 2, 1994
3Science Italian StyleJanuary 11, 1995
4Prime Time PrimatesFebruary 8, 1995
5It's A Kid WorldApril 5, 1995

Season 6 (1995-96)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Wild WestOctober 4, 1995
2Dragon ScienceNovember 8, 1995
3Flying HighJanuary 17, 1996
4Creatures of the DeepFebruary 7, 1996
521st Century MedicineApril 3, 1996

Season 7 (1996-97)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Inventing the FutureOctober 23, 1996
2Science SafariNovember 20, 1996
3Pieces of MindJanuary 22, 1997
4Going to ExtremesFebruary 12, 1997
5Robots Alive!April 9, 1997

Season 8 (1997-98)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Expedition PanamaOctober 8, 1997
2Beyond Science?November 19, 1997
3Nordic SagasJanuary 21, 1998
4The Art of ScienceFebruary 18, 1998
5The New ZoosApril 15, 1998

Season 9 (1998-99)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Science in ParadiseOctober 7, 1998
2Journey to MarsNovember 11, 1998
3Animal EinsteinsJanuary 20, 1999
4Life's Little QuestionsFebruary 24, 1999
5SpidersApril 21, 1999

Season 10 (1999-2000)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Voyage to the GalapagosOctober 5, 1999
2Natural Born RobotsNovember 2, 1999
3Never Say DieJanuary 25, 2000
4Mediterranean on the RocksMarch 28, 2000
5The Frontiers DecadeApril 25, 2000

Season 11 (2000-01)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Changing Your MindNovember 21, 2000
2SuperpeopleNovember 28, 2000
3Life's Really Big QuestionsDecember 19, 2000
4Affairs of the HeartJanuary 23, 2001
5Life's Little Questions IIJanuary 30, 2001
6Wild PlacesFebruary 6, 2001
7The Bionic BodyMarch 27, 2001
8Chimps R UsApril 3, 2001
9Flying FreeApril 10, 2001
10Fat and HappyMay 1, 2001

Season 12 (2001-02)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Pet TechOctober 16, 2001
2The Gene HuntersOctober 23, 2001
3Dead Men's TalesOctober 30, 2001
4Alien InvasionNovember 6, 2001
5Growing Up DifferentNovember 13, 2001
6On the BallMarch 19, 2002
7Beneath the SeaMay 14, 2002
8Games Machines PlayMay 21, 2002
9Body BuildingMay 28, 2002
10A Different Way to Heal?June 4, 2002

Season 13 (2002-03)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Unearthing Secret AmericaOctober 8, 2002
2Make Up Your MindOctober 15, 2002
3The Intimate MachineOctober 22, 2002
4Forever Wild?November 5, 2002
5Mysteries of the DeepNovember 26, 2002
6Deep CrisisJanuary 28, 2003
7The Wonder PillFebruary 18, 2003
8Calls of the WildApril 1, 2003
9You Can Make It On Your OwnApril 8, 2003
10Worried SickJune 3, 2003

Season 14 (2004)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Losing ItJanuary 20, 2004
2Don't ForgetMay 11, 2004
3Future CarMay 18, 2004
4Hot Times in AlaskaJune 15, 2004
5The Dark Side of the UniverseJune 22, 2004
6Coming To AmericaJuly 20, 2004

Season 15 (2005)

No.EpisodesRelease Date
1Surgical SlimmersJanuary 19, 2005
2Cars That ThinkJanuary 26, 2005
3Going DeepFebruary 2, 2005
4Chimp MindsFebruary 9, 2005
5Hot Planet-Cold ComfortFebruary 16, 2005
6Hydrogen HopesFebruary 23, 2005
7Hidden MotivesMarch 2, 2005
8The Secret CanyonMarch 30, 2005
9CybersensesApril 6, 2005
10Robot PalsApril 13, 2005

Sources

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References

  1. "About Us". Chedd-Angier. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  2. "Woodie Flowers, on season 1". Scientific American Frontiers . Chedd-Angier Production Company. 1990–1991. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006.
  3. "Alan Alda, on season 4". Scientific American Frontiers . Chedd-Angier Production Company. 1993–1994. PBS. Archived from the original on 2006.
  4. Scientific American Frontiers at IMDb
  5. "Scientific American Frontiers". Chedd-angier.com. Retrieved 2019-06-15.