After four decades of fly-by probes, orbiters, landers, and rovers, the quest for life on Mars is as tantalizing as ever. NOVA goes behind the scenes of the latest NASA missions to the Red Planet to reveal new clues about Mars. Watch now. (Originally aired: 12/30/2008)

They’re everywhere around you—the jagged repeating forms called fractals. If you know what to look for, you can find them in the clouds, in mountains, even inside the human body. A group of maverick mathematicians are determined to decipher the rules that govern fractal geometry. Watch now.

NOVA takes viewers on a fascinating scientific journey that began 3,000 years ago. The 2-hour film presents the latest archeological scholarship from the Holy Land to explore the beginnings of modern religion and the origins of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Old Testament. Watch now.

This documentary follows Mark Everett, better known as E, the lead singer of the rock band EELS, as he attempts to understand the fantastic possibility of parallel universes and unravel the story of the father he never really knew—iconoclastic quantum physicist Hugh Everett III. Watch now. Also read an interview with Everett from fellow musician Alina Simone.

The 2008 News and Documentary Emmys took place last night, Sept. 22. (Whole list of winners here). But more than half of the winners are watchable online, anytime. See full list …