Abbreviated SURF today as I missed last night’s PROJECT RUNWAY and opted for PSYCH and BURN NOTICE instead.  I’m also completely pre-occupied with tonight’s start of the Paley TV Festival tonight.

PALEY FESTIVAL: MODERN FAMILY opens the festival tonight and today’s news is that ACCESS HOLLYWOOD host Billy Bush is moderating the program which means there will either be unintentional comedy or produce will be thrown.  I’m hoping showrunners Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd will steer the program resulting in less running of Bush’s mouth.

The LOST PaleyFest program is tomorrow night (Saturday) and Paul Scheer is moderating the program which should be interesting because he’s a big fan of the show.

I’ll have lots more about the Paley Festival next week in THE SURF REPORT.

HBO COMEDY TONIGHT: HBO has a strong Friday night lineup of funny and they’re all great shows to come home to after a tough work week!  There are new episodes of THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM and REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER tonight.  On THE RICKY GERVAIS SHOW, Stephen tells a story about midget warriors. Other topics in tonight’s show include sex, butt plugs and Karl’s worries about being conned by charities.

On THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TIM, Tim crashes with the Priest, who is about to give his first sermon since being suspended for having a girlfriend.

Bill Maher welcomes Olivia Wilde (she plays 13 on HOUSE), Chrystia Freeland, Reihan Salam, Adam Carolla and Richard Haass.

EARLY HEADS UP FOR NEXT WEEK:

Monday March 1st: Jay Leno returns to THE TONIGHT SHOW.

Tuesday March 1st: PARENTHOOD premieres on NBC and new SOUTHLAND episodes start to air the same night on TNT.

NBC’s Thursday night comedies return with new episodes – finally!

Next Saturday March 6th: Zach Galifianakis hosts SNL.

Here are Leno and Letterman’s lineups for next week:

THE LATE SHOW lineup:

MONDAY – Bill Murray

TUESDAY – Mitt Romney

WEDNESDAY – Jerry Seinfeld and Tom Brokaw

THURSDAY – Tom Hanks

FRIDAY – Matt Damon

THE TONIGHT SHOW lineup Jay’s first week back:

MONDAY – Jamie Foxx, Olympic Gold Medal Skier Lindsey Vonn

TUESDAY – Sarah Palin, Olympic Gold Medal Snowboarder Shaun White

WEDNESDAY – “Jaywalk All-Stars” with the Cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore, Chelsea Handler, and the most decorated American Winter Olympian of all time Speed Skater Apolo Anton Ohno

THURSDAY – Matthew McConaughey and Jason Reitman;

FRIDAY – Morgan Freeman and Meredith Vieira.

TODAY’S SURF WRITTEN WHILE LISTENING TO: “Casanova 70″ by Air. It’s an ambient kind of day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUe5LI3HLpQ

Time for your weekend rundown:

Tonight – 2/26/10

ABC: 8:00pm. Movie: Blades of Glory 10:00pm. 20/20

CBS: 8:00pm. Ghost Whisperer (R) 9:00pm. Medium (R) 10:00pm. Numbers (R)

NBC: 8:00pm. 2010 Winter Olympics

FOX: 8:00pm. 41st Annual NAACP Image Awards

THE CW: 8:00pm. Smallville 9:30 p.m. Smallville (R)

HBO: 9pm: The Ricky Gervais Show, The Life and Times of Tim, 10pm: Real Time with Bill Maher

Starz: Spartacus: Blood and Sand

Syfy: 9pm: Caprica

Saturday 2/27/10

ABC: 8:00pm. Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (R)

CBS: 8:00pm. Numb3rs (R) 9:00pm. Cold Case (R) 10:00pm. 48 Hours Mystery

NBC: 8:00pm. 2010 Winter Olympics

FOX: 8:00pm. Cops (original and repeat) 9:00pm. America’s Most Wanted

Sunday 2/28/10

ABC: 7:00pm. America’s Funniest Home Videos 8:00pm. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (R) 9:00pm. Desperate Housewives 10:00pm. Brothers & Sisters

CBS: 7:00pm. 60 Minutes 8:00pm. The Amazing Race 16 9:00pm. Undercover Boss 10:00pm. Cold Case

The owner of White Castle gets the UNDERCOVER BOSS treatment this week.

NBC: 7:00pm. 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony, 10:30pm. The Marriage Ref (premiere / preview)

THE MARRIAGE REF: Jerry Seinfeld is the creator and producer of this non-scripted look at marriage.  Comedian Tom Papa is the marriage ref and additional celebrities, comedians and sports stars help to decide who is right and who is wrong in real-life disputes between real-life couples.

FOX: 7:00pm. ‘Til Death (2 episodes) 8:00pm. The Simpsons (R) 8:30pm. The Cleveland Show (R) 9:00pm. Family Guy (R)  9:30 pm American Dad (R)
PBS: Masterpiece Classic: The 39 Steps

HBO: 9PM: BIG LOVE

Sarah makes a big announcement.  Bill questions Margene about why she’s really marrying Anna’s fiance. Bill looks for clues about J.J. in Kansas.  Barb finds herself in the spotlight unexpectedly.

HGTV: House Hunters

Style: Ruby, Giuliana & Bill

TLC: 9pm: Your Kid Ate What? (great title!)

The show follows doctors as they operate on kids who have swallowed unusual items. Crack open a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and get comfortable!

That’s a wrap for this week.