The Big Sleep

1Living Machines

60 minJan 6, 1978

Horizon investigates how biologists and engineers are pooling their ideas to understand how nature's machines work.

2A Land for All Reasons

60 minJan 20, 1978

In this episode, Horizon examines the need for an objective approach to land management in Britain.

3I Don't Want to Be a Burden

60 minJan 27, 1978

Horizon explores community and residential services available to the elderly in South Hampton, England.

4Zero G

60 minFeb 3, 1978

Horizon presents a report on zero gravity and the effects of weightlessness in spacecraft on humans.

5The Message in the Rocks

60 minFeb 17, 1978

Develops the theory that four and a half thousand million years ago the earth was formed thanks to the explosion of a huge star which provided the rocks, the minerals and the radioactivity from which life developed. These theories are based partly on analysis of a meteorite which dropped near a village in Mexico at the beginning of the seventies.

6The Eddystone Lights

60 minFeb 24, 1978

Horizon reports on last three attempts to build a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks, near Plymouth.

7Light of the 21st Century

60 minMar 10, 1978

Horizon presents a documentary on the development of the Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation device, or more commonly know as the Laser.

8The New Breadline

60 minMar 24, 1978

Horizon investigates the reasons for poverty in Britain today, now with seven million on at the poverty line.

9Now the Chips Are Down

60 minMar 31, 1978

About the applications and implications for the future, particularly the effects on the labour market, of microprocessors.

10Explosions in the Mind

60 minJul 14, 1978

In this episode, Horizon explores the after effects of a stroke when there is a sudden stoppage of blood to the human brain.

11One Small Step

60 minJul 21, 1978

Horizon investigates the race to the moon between the USA and Russia and questions the motives behind the space race.

12The Tsetse Trap

60 minJul 28, 1978

This episode of Horizon is about the tsetse fly which rules most of Africa and why much of the fertile land can't in Africa can't be used because of the dangerous insect.

13A Whisper From Space

60 minAug 4, 1978

Horizon explores the history of evidence used to support the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe.

14Prisoners of Hope

60 minAug 11, 1978

In this episode, Horizon explains some of the research in multiple sclerosis and how the lives of MS sufferers are affected.

15On a Different Track

60 minAug 18, 1978

Horizon presents a brief history of the French railways and the policy behind their future direction.

16Careering into Science

60 minAug 25, 1978

This documentary by Horizon is about six school children taking 'O' levels exams and inter science in Britain.

17Cashing in on the Ocean

60 minSep 1, 1978

Horizon looks at the implications of exploiting Manganese nodules which are scattered over the seabed.

18Bags of Life

60 minSep 8, 1978

Horizon investigates the composition and structure of the membrane that surround individual cells.

19Innocent Slaughter?

60 minSep 15, 1978

In this documentary, Horizon examines all sides of the Canadian Harpseal hunt issue and asks if it is really necessary.

20The Beersheva Experiment

60 minNov 3, 1978

Horizon explores an experimental medical school in Israel where students are trained primarily to care for people.

21Divers Do It Deeper

60 minNov 10, 1978

Horizon explores the years of research that have enabled divers to go to greater and greater ocean depth.

22The Big Sleep

60 minNov 17, 1978Now viewing

In this story, Horizon takes a look at the world's leading hibernation research projects.

23The Vital Spark

60 minNov 24, 1978

In this episode, Horizon examines the current developments in electrotherapy.

24The Red Deer of Rhum

60 minDec 29, 1978

Horizon takes a look at the changing behaviour of individual animals in a herd of red deer on the Isle of Rhum.