TV tonight: 'The Bomb' on PBS
Les Blank Marathon
TCM, 8 ET/5 PT
TCM honors the work of the late Les Blank, who was given the AFI's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 for his work as an independent documentary filmmaker. You get 11 films tonight, which range in subject from Creole life (Dry Wood, 10:15 ET/7:15 PT) and New Orleans (Always for Pleasure, 8 ET/5 PT) to cooking (Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers, 11:45 ET/8:45 PT) and the polka (In Heaven There Is No Beer?, 4:15 am ET/1:15 PT). The marathon stretches through God Respects Us When We Work But Loves Us When We Dance (5:15 am ET/2:15 PT), so have a DVR handy.
The Bomb/Uranium: Twisting the Dragon's Tail
PBS, 8 ET/PT (times may vary)
PBS marks the looming anniversary of the first use of the atomic bomb with two films. The first traces the history of the nuclear bomb; the second focuses on uranium, which powered the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Zoo
CBS, 9 ET/PT
This well-cast and yet ludicrously awful sci-fi adventure splits its time tonight between Alabama and Rio — where efforts to fight off a bat infestation clash with the desires of a local drug lord. Say this for the bats: Even if they look fake, they'll still be more frightening than the show's lions and wolves, who mainly just look disinterested. Everyone's a critic.