If you went to school in the 80s or 90s, you probably watched this in a classroom. Teacher rolled in the TV cart and things got awkward.
About This Tape
The Miracle of Life is a NOVA documentary that originally aired on PBS in 1983. Lennart Nilsson was a Swedish photographer who had already spent years developing endoscopic camera techniques to photograph the inside of the human body. This film used that work to capture fertilization and fetal development on camera for the first time.
It was a genuine scientific and cinematic breakthrough. The original broadcast drew about 15 million viewers, which was massive for PBS. It won an Emmy. They sold it as a commercial VHS release through WGBH Boston as part of their \Best of Public Television\ series, alongside Frontline titles.
The tape is in good condition. Full color, 60 minutes, ISBN 0-937-73588-7 on the back sleeve. Standard clamshell.
No lost media here. This is widely available — on DVD, probably streaming somewhere. But finding the physical tape is a different thing. Sixty minutes of landmark science television on a format that was designed to be thrown out.
