The WE network has dedicated half of its schedule to high-stress weddings. But they are a far cry from the celebration captured in “Arusi Persian Wedding” on “Independence Lens” (9 p.m. PBS, check local listings).

Like many first-generation immigrants and exiles, Iranian-American filmmaker Marjan Tehrani was curious about her father’s homeland. So when her brother Alex wanted to return to Iran with his American wife, Heather, to celebrate their marriage with a “big fat Persian wedding,” Marjan saw the perfect opportunity for a film.

Tehrani blends home movies, travelogue and historical newsreel and television footage to explore the complicated relationship between the United States and Iran. The film recalls the U.S.-backed 1953 coup that ousted Iran’s democratically elected leader, as well as the Islamic revolution of 1978 and the hostage crisis of 1979 to 1981.

We also meet with men and women on the street, and many (particularly young women) express affection for America and its freedoms. The same people also display pride in their native country, laced with skepticism about the harsh edicts of the Islamic Republic. One stranger volunteers that fewer “than 5 percent” of the people support the Iranian government. At the same time (2005), they resented President George W. Bush’s “axis of evil” rhetoric.

The film culminates in an intimate family celebration and Heather’s warm embrace by a group of very modern Iranian women, just one side of a complex Iran that emerges when the personal transcends politics.

• Turner Classic Movies celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with a mixed bag of Irish-themed movies that run the gamut from blarney to political violence, including “The Quiet Man” (7 p.m., TCM), starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, and “Shake Hands with the Devil” (11:15 p.m.), starring James Cagney as a rebel leader.

• DVDs available today include Season One of “Room 222,” an earnest comedy about an integrated high school from 1969, created by James L. Brooks (“Mary Tyler Moore,” “The Simpsons”). The late Lloyd Haynes played Pete Dixon, a handsome black teacher always ready to take the kids’ side. Michael Constantine played the weary principal who always turned out to be more permissive than he’d like to admit. The show also introduced Karen Valentine as the naive and dimpled student teacher, ever ready to say the wrong thing.

Nearly every episode features recognizable character actors from the period. In one installment about changing dress codes, Bud Cort (“Harold and Maude”) plays a hippie student frustrated with his wishy-washy father (Kenneth Mars, “The Producers”). You can watch it just for the outlandish outfits.

Tonight’s other highlights

• The remaining 11 sing to survive on “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox).

• After losing his sight in an explosion, Jane gets a feel for a case on “The Mentalist” (8 p.m., CBS).

• Carol Burnett guest stars on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (9 p.m., NBC).

l Scheduled on “Primetime” (9 p.m., ABC): What would you do?

l Antique snowmobiles roar on “Wreckreation Nation” (9 p.m., Discovery).