TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are home-viewing tips:

* Today-- “Fat Man and Little Boy” (Bravo 5-7:30 p.m.) Based on the experiences of scientists, soldiers and laborers who worked in strict secrecy under bleachers at a university football field in Chicago and in remote corners of New Mexico to build the first atom bomb. Paul Newman and John Cusack star. Also, “The Great Gatsby” (ODSY 8-11 p.m.) Movie version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, starring Robert Redford. Another version premiering Sunday on A&E; from 8 to 10 p.m. emphasizes the woman Gatsby loves, starring Mira Sorvino.

* Friday--”Freedom Never Dies: The Legacy of Harry T. Moore” (KCET 9-10:30 p.m.) Documents events in Florida during the 1930s, focusing on the life of slain NAACP pioneer Moore, one of America’s earliest and most fearless civil rights leaders.

* Saturday--”Biography on BookTV” (C-SPAN2 4-5 p.m.) Colin Powell discusses his autobiography, “My American Journey.” Also, “History in Book TV” (C-SPAN2 8-9 p.m.) Taped at the National Archives in Washington. Historian Roger Brown discusses “Almost History: Close Calls, Plan Bs and Twists of Fate in America’s Past.” Also, “Street Gangs: A Secret History” (HIST 9-11 p.m.) Traces the evolution of American gangs through 400 years, describing recruits from the earliest wave of settlers to the present.

* Sunday--”Triumph of Life: The Four-Billion Year War” (KCET 8-9 p.m.) First episode in a six-part “Nature” series about the process of evolution. Also, “The Man Who Saw the Future: Arthur C. Clarke” (OVTN 8-8:30 p.m.) About the science-fiction author who fashioned his novel “The Sentinel” into a screenplay for the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

* Monday--”The Vernon Johns Story” (ODSY, noon - 2 p.m. repeating 9-11 p.m.) Biographical movie about the inspirational pastor who preceded the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as leader of the civil rights struggle in the South. James Earl Jones stars.

* Tuesday--”The Clinton Years” (KCET 9-11 p.m.) This “Frontline” documentary surveys the strengths and weaknesses of the outgoing presidential administration from the viewpoint of people close to Clinton. Produced in collaboration with ABC News’ “Nightline.”

* Wednesday--”Great Blunders in History: The Treaty of Versailles” (HIST 4-4:30 p.m.) Explains how the vengeful conditions imposed by the victors of World War I on the losers led to the rise of fascism in Germany and another world war. Also “Deep Sea Dive” (TLC 10-11 p.m.) Shows how mechanical principles, including bellows and pistons, applied to making underwater breathing devices from everyday materials, such as inner tubes.

* Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, dean of the School of Education, College of St. Rose, Albany, N.Y. Columns available at https://www.calendarlive.com/go/tvsmarts.