Maybe it’s a guy thing, but I just can’t resist movies with the word “Atomic” in the title. They’re guaranteed to have huge explosions, mutant creatures or both. “Atomic Twister,” (7 p.m., Sunday, TBS) ups the radioactive ante by throwing a tornado into the mix. The cable network is selling the thriller as “Twister” meets “The China Syndrome.” Unfortunately, as B-movies go, this ‘Twister” is closer to a letdown than a meltdown.

“Twister” begins with a harrowing scene of a tornado hitting a farm and a little boy watching his mother helplessly get sucked into the dark, menacing funnel. We soon learn that it’s a flashback. It will take us a little longer to discover that it’s also one of the movie’s few exciting moments. The little boy grows up to become Jake Hannah (Mark-Paul Gosselaar, “NYPD Blue”), the deputy sheriff of a small West Tennessee town. His next-door neighbor, Corrine Maguire (Sharon Lawrence, who also appeared on “NYPD Blue”), is a single mom who happens to be the supervisor at the local nuclear reactor. “Atomic Twister” sets up a number of needless sub-plots about Corrine’s divorce, Jake’s broken engagement and subsequent romances before settling down to a nitty-gritty plot about a twister knocking out the power plant and plunging the rural burg into a nuclear nightmare.

Like most B-movies, “Atomic Twister” manages to mix nail-biting action with silly and preposterous moments. While there are some genuine thrills here, too many of these scenes involve furiously clicking keyboards and blinking computer screens. But at least they distract us from lame dialogue, like “This is going to make Chernobyl look like a firecracker!” For all of its sparks and sputtering, this “Atomic Twister” is a dud.

Amanda Burton (“Silent Witness”) stars in the title role in “Helen West: Deep Sleep,” (8 p.m., Saturday, A&E). She’s a 40-ish British prosecutor who defies her boss to track down a local pharmacist with a prescription for murder. While slow to build, “West” is engrossing, smart and satisfying. A&E will broadcast two more “Helen West” dramas this fall.

Gentleman, start your spatulas! The Food Network is firing up a Grand Prix of grilling three consecutive barbecue shows. Former NBC sitcom star Emeril Lagasse travels to America’s 50th state in search of exotic ingredients on “Emeril’s Hawaiian Barbecue,” (7 p.m., Sunday). “Al Roker’s Big Bad Barbecue,” (8 p.m.) features the “Today Show” weatherman promoting his new cookbook, and the “U.S. Barbecue Championship,” (9 p.m.) covers 75 of the best grilling teams in America as they descend upon Shreveport, La., to prepare four different meals for a panel of well-fed judges over the course of a 30-hour challenge.

Today’s other highlights

Carolina meets Detroit in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals (7 p.m., ABC).

Four pals go through one fad after another during the three-hour drama whittled down from the four-hour 2000 miniseries called “The ’70s,” (7 p.m., NBC).

Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor and Annabeth Gish star in the 1988 coming-of-age drama “Mystic Pizza,” (8 p.m., Family).

Sunday’s other highlights

Leelee Sobieski (“Joyride”) does an admirable job as the mystical teen who rallied medieval France in the 1999 historical miniseries “Joan of Arc,” (8 p.m., CBS) which concludes Wednesday.

The New Jersey Nets meet the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals (8 p.m., NBC).

Steven Spielberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and others discuss the behind-the-scenes dramas that almost scuttled the biggest fish story of them all in the very entertaining “Jaws: The True Hollywood Story,” (7 p.m., E).

Ice cold antics on “Looking for Love: Bachelorettes In Alaska,” (8 p.m., Fox)