INDEPENDENT LENS: "RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE"
PBS, 10:00 p.m. ET
In the movie The Princess Bride (one of my favorites, by the way), traversing a particularly ominous swamp meant risking contact with the R.O.U.S. – a calm acronym for the very frightening idea of giant rats, otherwise known as Rodents of Unusual Size. Well, now a species of R.O.U.S. has made its way from the jungles and rivers of South America to the backwaters and bayous of Louisiana. They’re giant rats, not beavers, and they’re 20 pounds each, multiplying like crazy, gobbling up the local vegetation – and, worst of all, finding its way north, into the city of New Orleans. Apparently, one way to attain a fortune now involves not just building a better rat trap, but building a bigger one. And the hardy, resilient Louisiana residents are rising to the challenge. (One improbable but familiar-sounding solution: Drain the swamp!) Check local listings.