3-2-1 Contact - Season 5
Season 5
Network
Episodes20
DatesSep 22, 1986 - Oct 17, 1986
Episodes
Season 5Episode 130 min
Signals: Lingo
This week sees the new hosts of 3-2-1 Contact gather at the Blue Sky Café in Montclair, New Jersey. David Quinn and his French friend, David (stress the last syllable), wonder why Maxine the waitress uses that cryptic luncheonette lingo.
In France, Mary and Chantal discover sheepherders relaying messages to each other–by whistling.
Mary and Frenchman David go to Wyoming, where they see several native tribes share common hand signals.
FILM INSERTS: Signs are an international language; ways to say hello; common body-language signals.
Sep 22, 1986
Season 5Episode 230 min
Signals: Talking Birds, Talking Rooms
Debra sees an anthropologist understanding a parrot's simple form of English. Chantal enters a hospital room that responds to a person's voice to open doors, etc.
FILM INSERTS: Bird words, ways to say hello, animal sounds, uses of the X symbol.
THE BLOODHOUND GANG: ""The Case of the Human Whale, Part One."" An apparent hit-and-run victim employs the gang to find the guy who ruined his tennis career.
Sep 23, 1986
Season 5Episode 330 min
Signals: Looking for Visual Clues
French-born David says his dog obeys human speech, but it's clear he is signaling the commands to the dog.
Mary goes to Sea World in San Diego, where Chuck Thompkins shows the hand signals he uses in his show with Shamu. In France, Mary gains insight on visual telephones.
FILM INSERTS: Ways to say hello; animal sounds; uses of the X symbol.
THE BLOODHOUND GANG: ""The Case of the Human Whale, Part Two."" The gang uncovers the identities of both their client and the man he seeks.
Sep 24, 1986
Season 5Episode 430 min
Signals: Getting Them Around
Debra sees how quickly USA Today uses satellites to send information for printing in the next day's paper. David does a two-minute lecture on television signals. The Bloodhound Gang traces the Human Whale.
Sep 25, 1986
Season 5Episode 530 min
Signals: Cracking Codes
The final visit to the Blue Sky Café finds the hosts mystified. How does Maxine the waitress know what everyone wants if no one says anything?
In Eastern France, Todd and Chantal discover towers relaying coded messages.
Debra goes to Boston to observe reading machines and a voice-pattern recognition apparatus. She then goes to Berkeley to see a composer put together synthesized music.
FILM INSERTS: Ways to say hello; signs are an international language.
Sep 26, 1986
Season 5Episode 630 min
Oceans: On the Sea
Todd gets to see, on the shore and in a lab, the motion of waves in the ocean. There are no still waters out there. The runner for this week is ""The Wreck,"" an underwater search taking place in the Caribbean.
Sep 29, 1986
Season 5Episode 730 min
Oceans: In the Sea
Adventures include: placing artificial reefs off the coast of Florida; moving two whales from one pool to another.
Sep 30, 1986
Season 5Episode 830 min
Oceans: From the Sea
There are a lot of things in the seas, such as salt and kelp. This program talks of humans surviving on sea voyages, discusses kelp in depth, and continues that probe into ""The Wreck.""
Oct 1, 1986
Season 5Episode 930 min
Oceans: By the Sea
Oceanographer Jill Yager takes up much of this program with her studies around an island, followed by another installment of ""The Wreck.""
Oct 2, 1986
Season 5Episode 1030 min
Oceans: Of the Sea
Along with some previously-broadcast bits from earlier in the week, this program includes a visit to Penguin Encounter at Sea World in San Diego. ""The Wreck"" investigation concludes with nothing settled.
Oct 3, 1986
Season 5Episode 1130 min
Motion: What's Up?
The show begins at ""Maggie's Machine Shop,"" where Maggie discusses pulleys. In Barre, Vermont, we see how granite is removed from a quarry and polished. In Paris, Todd and Monique examine the elevators at the Eiffel Tower. David and Chantal get a tip on riding bicycles.Film insert: a canal lock system.
Oct 6, 1986
Season 5Episode 1230 min
Motion: Bones
David rides a bicycle with a skeleton at a Paris science museum. Robin visits veterinary radiologists in action. At Cal State Long Beach, Diego witnesses track students' video analyses.
Oct 7, 1986
Season 5Episode 1330 min
Motion: Smashing
Robin, Paco, and Mary learn about the illusion of impact in stunts. In Vitry sur Seine (near Paris), Chantal visits a collision research area to observe the buffers on high-speed trains. David explains how to measure the coefficient of restitution of several balls. Maggie explains the forces at work in bouncing on a trampoline. RECYCLED FROM EARLIER IN SEASON 5: Linus Pauling remembers his first science lesson: how to sharpen a pencil.FILM INSERTS: The principle of seat belts; how a kangaroo is like a rubber ball.
Oct 8, 1986
Season 5Episode 1430 min
Motion: Getting a Grip
Friction is emphasized in demonstrations with snakes, TGV trains, and ice-gliding boats.
Oct 9, 1986
Season 5Episode 1530 min
Motion: Heave Ho!
Leverage is discussed at sea, in a French village, and at Maggie's Mechanical Shop.
Oct 10, 1986
Season 5Episode 1630 min
Eating: Tooth Detectives
David's dental visit anchors a discussion on teethkinds of teeth and their uses.
Oct 13, 1986
Season 5Episode 1730 min
Eating: Picky Eaters
The natural world is full of fussy eaters. In this program, the flea, koala bear and panda bear are singled out for their specialized dietary habits.
Oct 14, 1986
Season 5Episode 1830 min
Eating: Zoo Food
The bulk of this show is set in the San Diego Wild Animal Park, where certain meals are arranged for the animals. The Bloodhound Gang begins ""The Case of the Haunted House.""
Oct 15, 1986
Season 5Episode 1930 min
Eating: Down the Hatch
David polls people about digestion, without success. Todd discovers what digestion means to the body. The Bloodhound Gang questions several men in continues ""The Case of the Haunted House."" (Concludes in next episode.)
Oct 16, 1986
Season 5Episode 2030 min
Eating: Leftovers
An online stat page says this episode ""explores the ways in which food is processed by the body for energy and building material."" Actually, this show has remains to be seen. An archaeologist studies what ancestral humans ate by digging up those unmentionable remnants. The Bloodhound Gang cracks ""The Case of the Haunted House.""
Oct 17, 1986
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