Discover: The World of Science explained

Presenter:Peter Graves
Narrated:Peter Graves
Country:United States
Language:English
Company:Chedd-Angier Productions
Network:PBS

Discover: The World of Science is an American television show that ran between 1983 and 1990.

Actor Peter Graves is the on-camera host and narrator of Discover: The World of Science,[1] a monthly, one-hour magazine-style television series which provides a human perspective on new developments in robots, science, technology, medicine, the environment, behavior and natural history. The series was typically broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 8 PM on PBS. The series, with early episodes being underwritten by Atari and later episodes being underwritten by GTE, was produced by Chedd-Angier Productions[2] in association with Discover Magazine.

Peter Graves hosted 24 episodes of the series.[3] Chedd-Angier succeeded this show with Scientific American Frontiers.[2]

The series was periodically spoofed on Saturday Night Live with comedian Phil Hartman portraying Peter Graves.[4] [5]

List of known episodes

Episode Description Aired Date Sponsor
101 Patricia Cowlings discusses her work on "space sickness" using biofeedback techniques. Other stories include Archie Carr's work with sea turtles, two youngster's fight against childhood leukemia, new advancements in police training, and competition among M.I.T. students with their homemade robots.
Mount St. Helens January 10, 1983, 8 PM Atari
104 The first segment shows how a cochlear implant affected Dennis Dale and other recipients. Other segments focus on adult-child communication, a totally computerized helicopter simulator, the eruption of Mount St. Helens, and Ditch Day at Caltech.
201 Wild Horses
202 Sue Ferguson travels to mountains in Utah talking about predicting avalanches. Follow an airline crew on a NASA flight simulator. Discover whether the test to determine if unborn babies have cystic fibrosis is foolproof. Archie Carr discusses sea turtles' homing ability.
301 Manatees, Bionics, Solar-powered Car Race and Meditation February 4, 1987, 8 PM GTE
503 Building a faster boat, Iguanas of Belize, Secrets of hibernating bears, Aliens of the deep, A Computerized interpreter for the deaf-blind GTE
505 Stuttering, Returning caribou to Maine, Herbert the robot, Dogs in forensic research, How kids think GTE
1 New species of life on the floor of the Pacific, High-tech crime-solving methods, The World's first human-powered helicopter, Returning the red wolf to the wild GTE
2 Understanding and preventing heart attacks, Racing iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, Determining how kids think, Annual MIT student engineering competition GTE
3 The Great Barrier Reef, unique animal inhabitants, robot sheep-shearers, boomerang aero-dynamics and more GTE
4 The Guam rail, Microwavable ice cream, Shyness, Balloon Valvuloplasty GTE
5 A Computerized interpreter for the blind, Discovering dinosaurs, Musical accompanist, Dolphin communication, The Nature of lightning GTE
New advances in the fascinating field of robotic hands, and travels to Nova Scotia to study fossils linked to The Great Extinction. January 7, 1987, 8 PM GTE
Development of a rabies vaccine for raccoons and other animals in the wild. February 4, 1987, 8 PM GTE
Caring For The Caribou March 21, 1989, 8 PM GTE
Hedgehog Haven January 3, 1990, 8 PM
Samuel Fletcher's visual speech technology GTE

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Peter Graves Obituary . Legacy.com . 20 September 2016.
  2. Web site: Chedd-Angier - About Us.
  3. Web site: Discover: The World of Science . TV Guide . 20 September 2016.
  4. Web site: DISCOVER WITH PETER GRAVES: SNAKES . NBC . 20 September 2016.
  5. Web site: DISCOVER WITH PETER GRAVES: BACTERIA . NBC . 20 September 2016.