NOVA: Season 38 (2011)

PBS's premier science-documentary series, which has won six Peabody Awards and more than 20 Emmys (four in 2002 alone) since its 1974 debut. `Nova' clearly, and often engagingly, `demystifies' a vast range of science, technology and history topics---past and present---and doesn't neglect the human aspect of the story. Its many memorable shows include 1983's `The Miracle of Life,' about the conception and development of a fetus (which was remade in 2001); and 2002's `Why the Towers Fell.'