Horizon
1982
198222 episodes
Episode 1
The Secret of the Snake
Jan 11, 19821h
Profile of the snake, which presents a close-up look at how it kills and digests it's prey. Also shows how snake venom could be used in the treatment of many human ailments.
Episode 2
Finding a Voice
Jan 18, 19821h
An examination of computer-based communication aids for the severely speech impaired. Follows the trip to America of Dick Boydell, a cerebral palsy sufferer without the power of speech. At the Artificial Language Research Laboratory in Michigan, he tries out some of the machines developed the re to help him find his own voice.
Episode 3
The Sea Beyond the Dunes
Jan 25, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the wildlife of Pleasant Bay in New England marshland s of the Eastern USA, and their habitat.
Episode 4
Whatever Happened to the Energy Crisis?
Feb 1, 19821h
TMDB rating 6.0TMDB
Horizon explores what might happen when fossil fuel sources are depleted.
Episode 5
Notes of a Biology Watcher
Feb 8, 19821h
Horizon documents how every one of us is owned and operated by other individuals; by hordes of hidden organisms.
Episode 6
The Cline Affair
Feb 15, 19821h
Documentary on the first recorded instance of genetic engineering being carried out on a human, when in 1980, Dr. Martin Cline from Los Angeles operated on a 21 year old Israeli girl in Jerusalem to renew her defective blood system by implanting human genes. The programme examines the difficult ethical and moral questions surrounding the field of genetic manipulation and looks at the future of gene therapy.
Episode 7
The Million Murdering Death
Feb 22, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the way in which disease in the world fights back against modern scientific methods of controlling it, looking at the example of the eradication of Malaria from Sri Lanka, and recent measures to eradicate it again
Episode 8
Shots in the Dark
Mar 1, 19821h
An examination of the use of Depo-Provera in the Third World. The contraceptive is injected and prevents pregnancy for three months, but it is banned in the U.S. because of the risk of cancer. Looks at its use in Thailand.
Episode 9
The Victims
Mar 8, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the psychological effects of kidnapping and imprisonment on the victims,based on the psychological characteristics shown by former concentration camp victims 30 years after the end of their ordeal.
Episode 10
The Future - Made in Japan?
Mar 15, 19821h
Examines the prospects for Japanese economic supremacy in the 1990s and asks whether Japan will be able to compete in the development of new technologies or whether it will continue to look to the West for technological innovation. Also considers whether the Japanese education system stifles creativity.
Episode 11
The Private Face of Medicine
Mar 22, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the boom in private medicine in GB and at the effects of this on the National Health Service in the country.
Episode 12
The Fatal Bargain
Apr 5, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the outbreak of a new disease in Spain in 1981 which has affected 17,000 people, killing 300, and the confusion which remains as to its causes. Although adulterated olive oil sold by unscrupulous businessmen is thought to be partly to blame, no-one seems sure to what extent.
Episode 13
The Miracle of Life
Oct 11, 19821h
Documentary which shows the human reproductive cycle from conception to birth, through the use of microscopic cameras within the human body.
Episode 14
The Case of the UFOs
Oct 18, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the phenomenon of the Unidentified Flying Object and the possible explanations behind their sighting and observation by mankind.
Episode 15
A Killing Rain
Oct 25, 19821h
Documentary about acid rain. The effects of various forms of pollution caused by processes of everyday life, including the contamination of rain by the burning of coal and oil. Written by Jeremy Taylor.
Episode 16
Intimate Relations
Nov 1, 19821h
A look at current research into the causes and effects of divorce in the Western world.
Episode 17
The Scientist and the Baby
Nov 8, 19821h
Documentary which looks at the great advances in the performance of ante-natal operations on the human foetus and the implications of these technical facilities for patient and health services and allocation of resources to this sort of medicine.
Episode 18
Brave New Babies?
Nov 15, 19821h
Oxford moral philosopher Jonathan Glover introduces some of the new developments in genetic engineering, looks at the future possibilities of human genetic engineering and outlines the ethical questions raised by these new techniques.
Episode 19
The Professor of Surgery
Nov 29, 19821h
An informal portrait of Prof. Ian McColl at work in Guy's Hospital, London, and in Kent. He discusses what makes a good surgeon; how he teaches his students to talk to their future patients; and how much a patient should be told about what is going to happen in the operating theatre.
Episode 20
The Chopper
Dec 6, 19821h
Traces the evolution of the helicopter, using rare archive footage of early pioneering flights. Also examines the latest research within the industry, and, with the aid of graphics, produces a glimpse of the helicopter of the future
Episode 21
The State of the Planet
Dec 13, 19821h
Documentary on the discussions at the second UN Environment Conference,in London in 1982,illustrating the points made in the debates on the possible future of the planet.
Episode 22
The Mysterious Mr. Tesla
Dec 20, 19821h
TMDB rating 10.0TMDB
Documentary about the little known Yugoslav-American scientist Nikola Tesla, whose experiments with electricity and wireless foreshadowed the discoveries of Edison and Marconi. Some of his most spectacular experiments are recreated by the programme's presenter Robert Syme.