Part one of a four-part series on the pioneers of modern surgery relives the early days, when surgery was practiced without the benefit of anaesthesia or antisceptics and patients usually died.

NOVA Season 16 Episodes...

• s16e01 - Pioneers of Surgery: The Brutal Craft (1)
• s16e02 - Pioneers of Surgery: Into the Heart (2)
• s16e03 - Pioneers of Surgery: New Organs for Old (3)
• s16e04 - Pioneers of Surgery: Beyond the Knife (4)
• s16e05 - Can the Vatican Save the Sistine Chapel?
• s16e06 - Can the Next President Win the Space Race?
• s16e07 - Do Scientists Cheat?
• s16e08 - Who Shot President Kennedy?
• s16e09 - The Light Stuff
• s16e10 - The All-American Bear
• s16e11 - Can We Make a Better Doctor?
• s16e12 - Hot Enough for You?
• s16e13 - The Last Journey of a Genius
• s16e14 - The Strange New Science of Chaos
• s16e15 - Back to Chernobyl
• s16e16 - God, Darwin and the Dinosaurs
• s16e17 - Adrift on the Gulf Stream
• s16e18 - Secrets of Easter Island (1)
• s16e19 - Legends of Easter Island (2)
• s16e20 - The World Is Full of Oil!
• s16e21 - Confronting the Killer Gene

NOVA Show Summary

Seen in more than 100 countries, NOVA is the most watched science based television series in the world and the most watched documentary series on PBS. It is also one of television's most acclaimed series, having won many major television awards, most of them many times over.