Seasons & episodes

Frontline and Nova combine resources for the first time to explore the Strategic Defense Initiative. The program contains the most comprehensive information on Star Wars ever produced. Correspondent Bill Kurtis interviews Russian and American scientists, arms-control experts, and politicians to reveal the scientific and political implications of what could become the world's most sophisticated military technology.

Hollywood is called an industry, a place, a state of mind. But making it in Hollywood, and making movies, persists as part of the American dream. In the real world of agents, casting directors, aspiring actors, and studio executives, how are movies made? Frontline examines the fantasy and reality of Hollywood's five billion dollar a year industry.

A high percentage of men on the frontlines in Vietnam were young, poor, undereducated, and black. By most accounts, they had the highest casualties. But these young men say they were fighting two wars-against the enemy and against discrimination. Correspondent Wallace Terry, the author of 'Bloods,' the national bestseller on which this film is based, talks with black veterans who fought discrimination in Vietnam and who later confronted disillusionment when they came home.

Millions of Americans are mentally ill. They live in a world that is fragile and often frightening. Inside a halfway house in St. Paul, Minnesota, Frontline examines mental illness from the point of view of those who struggle with it as they fight their psychological demons and confront the social stigma of their disease.

Frontline correspondent John Laurence examines the background of the Islamic Revolution, the roots of radical Shiism and reveals why Iran's war with Iraq is an important step in spreading their brand of Islam throughout the world.

England is a country divided. One in five workers in northern England is unemployed, while in the south of the country, power, privilege prevail. Ofra Bikel explores Britain's social structure, cultural values, and attitudes toward enterprise and work.

The Supreme Court ruled against a Memphis firefighter who successfully fought for an affirmative action plan for the hiring of fellow firefighters in 1984. As a result, the Justice Department asked 50 cities to tighten their affirmative action policies. Correspondent George Curry examines the 20 year conflict over these policies and reveals the point of view of those whom it affects.

Rita Tikhonova, 21, is a model Russian citizen. The lifestyle and ambitions of an outstanding Young Communist League member in Moscow are depicted as she completes her education at a prestigious school and begins her first teaching job.

For four months every year, Mikhail Kuzakov and his son, Yuri, leave the comforts of home for the Siberian wilderness, where they hunt on horseback for sable and other valuable fur animals. Frontline examines life in the taiga and follows the hunt of father and son.

Sergei Kuryokhin is a popular Russian jazz and rock musician who is disapproved of by the state because his music is difficult to control. Made without the permission of Soviet authorities on a home video camera, Frontline takes a look at the Soviet music subculture and this one talented musician.

Frontline examines the differences in Soviet and Western justice systems as it contrasts the lives of Tamara Russo, a 50-year-old hospital orderly on trial for theft in Soviet Moldavia, and Lyubov Bubulic, the female judge presiding over Russo's case.

Abdugaffar Khakkulov is a master craftsman of Uzbek heritage who for 35 years has been restoring the great Islamic mosques in Samarkand. Frontline examines daily life in a Muslim community and explores the uneasy relationship between Islamic faith and Soviet power.

Frontline gained unique access in filming the inner workings of the local government system in Nakhodka, a town six thousand miles and seven time zones from Moscow. Here, Frontline profiles the workaholic lifestyle of Tatyana Naumova, a communist zealot and town official in Nakhodka, and the tensions it creates with her husband, who cares for their two daughters.

Frontline profiles the lives of players on a factory soccer team in the southern Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan as they fight for the town championship.

Svyatoslav Nilolaevich Fyodorov is an outspoken and provocative eye surgeon whose surgical technique for correcting nearsightedness has made him famous. He lives like a superstar with a chauffeur, a sumptuous apartment in Moscow, and a house in the country. Frontline follows Fyodorov through his day and reveals what life is really like for privileged Soviet Citizens.

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For the first time on Western television, Frontline details a recruit's life inside a Soviet Army barracks. Frontline cameras follow Valera Krylov, 18, through the exertion and boredom of basic training in the military and focuses on his parents, who worry that in the next two years he may be fighting in Afghanistan.

The Kulinich family lives and works on a collective farm in southern Russia. Frontline follows the Kulinichs through their daily lives during harvest time and takes a close look at the workings of the collective farm system to find that they, like many other Russian peasants, have discovered their own version of the Communist way of life-Leninism with loopholes.

Soviet film directors have one advantage over Westerners: the state takes care of the budget. But in return, the state expects firm control over all productions. Dinara Asanova, one of the few female directors of Soviet features, knows how to bend the rules-departing from approved scripts and changing characters and locations, with controversial results.

One year after the Challenger disaster, Frontline examined the all-too-human side of the space program as seen through the eyes of the astronauts and engineers responsible for making it work. Correspondent James Reston tells the inside story of a program plagued by problems and politics.

Frontline examines the startling implications of what will happen when the big earthquake hits California, detailing the awesome effects as systems rupture and the entire nation's economy, industries, and national security are jeopardized.

A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 1 examines the personal struggles of addicts trying to kick the habit and the effectiveness of drug treatment programs. Part 2 journeys into America’s schools to find out if drugs are really a major problem and if anti-drug efforts are working.

A two-part special examining efforts to stamp out drugs. Part 1 examines the personal struggles of addicts trying to kick the habit and the effectiveness of drug treatment programs. Part 2 journeys into America’s schools to find out if drugs are really a major problem and if anti-drug efforts are working.

German scientists were responsible for putting the first American on the moon. Now, 15 years later, government investigators are asking whether some of them were also responsible for Nazi war crimes. Frontline examines their war records and the role of American officials who decided to bring them to the United States.