“Fat March” (8 p.m., ABC) invites us to watch a dozen overweight adults try to lose weight and gain control of their lives on a 570-mile hike through nine states, beginning in Boston and concluding in Washington, D.C.

The producers cast a cross-section of obese Americans, from a youth minister to a former rap diva to a young man who describes himself only as a “26-year-old virgin.” A military wife admits that she let herself go after her husband was sent overseas. She says, “All my friends are fat,” lending some credence to the recently publicized theory that obesity is a social contagion passed from friend to friend.

“March” is rather long on hugs and reaction shots of marchers complaining and then exulting in triumph when they complete their daily walk. Hosted by two well-coiffed trainers, “March” is skimpy when it comes to root causes. Just how do you let your weight climb to 520 pounds? The answers to that question may remain more than a workout away.

And the first marcher to drop out exhibits behavior one is expected to outgrow between kindergarten and first grade. Is her weight merely a symptom of other issues?

Apparently, the producers of “Fat March” prove gluttonous when it comes to devouring pieces of other shows. You can taste the combination of leftover bits of “The Biggest Loser” and the undercurrent of sympathetic exploitation of “Extreme Makeover.”

Unfortunately, they add one reality ingredient too many and mess up the one-step-at-a-time uplift with contrived stunts that pit marchers against one another. Believe me, these people have enough problems without “Survivor” shenanigans.

¢ It’s been almost a decade since the annoying boy-band phenomenon came and went. Now, “Mission Man Band” (9 p.m., VH1) reunites four former members of boy bands (NSYNC, LFO, 98 Degrees and Color Me Badd), makes them share a semiposh pad and returns them to the recording studio under the tutelage of a stern female producer too young to have remembered or liked their music.

Stars before they could shave and has-beens by their early 20s, these guys are facing their fourth decade in a funk. Have any of them grown from Boyz II Men?

Just when you think this could not get any more formulaic or ridiculous, their producer takes them to an American Indian purification ceremony. There, the great spirit of the has-been will be washed away.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Michelle Pfeiffer appears on “Inside the Actors Studio” (6 p.m., Bravo).

¢ Survivors speak on “White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” (6:30 p.m., HBO).

¢ On two episodes of “Hell’s Kitchen” (Fox), the top three (7 p.m.), the top two (8 p.m.) compete.

¢ Lori’s actions prove troubling on “Kyle XY” (7 p.m., Family).

¢ Nobody acts her age on “Age of Love” (8 p.m., NBC).

¢ A serial killer hits close to home on “The Closer” (8 p.m., TNT).

¢ Nikki proves less than convincing on “Big Love” (8 p.m., HBO).

¢ Anthony Bourdain returns to the kitchens of New York on “No Reservations” (9 p.m., Travel).

¢ P.J. worries that a new relationship may cross a line on “My Boys” (9 p.m., TBS).

Cult choice

Robert Mitchum plays a moonshining hot-rodder in the 1958 drive-in favorite “Thunder Road” (7 p.m., Eastern).