All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– David Letterman … sex with his employees … extortion … ‘fessing up during his Late Show monologue … wow. Meanwhile, TMZ already has scoop on Letterman’s blackmailer and one of the employees he had a relationship with.

– Freaks and Geeks, Pineapple Express and Spider-Man star James Franco, who’s currently a student at Columbia University and New York University, has made another surprising move: He’s joining the cast of General Hospital, because he wants the experience of working on a soap.

– TV’s highest-paid star (among scripted series stars): Charlie Sheen, who makes $875,000 per episode of Two and a Half Men.

– I think Chris Rock‘s spin on Hollywood’s reaction to the Roman Polasnki scandal, which he shared on The Jay Leno Show on Thursday, says it all.

– NBC is cutting its midseason drama Day One – about a group of neighbors who stick together after a worldwide disaster – down to a miniseries before ordering more episodes.

– Jon Gosselin told Larry King that he “had an epiphany”: It’s not healthy for his brood to be on TV. And the world lets out a collective “Duh.”

– Among the new shows coming to Comedy Central: A sketch/variety show starring Andy Dick.

– Fox has released a “virtual Echo” from its drama Dollhouse. The application lets the Eliza Dushku character live on your computer screen and allows the network to send you updates on the show. Great idea … here’s hoping Fox uses the cool technology on its better series, like 24.

– Carol Leifer, Marlee Matlin and Mario Cantone are developing a new sitcom – Mouthpiece – for Showtime, about a high-powered law firm.

– And this weekend in primetime:

FRIDAY
– A chain mail wreaks havoc on Ghost Whisperer (8PM ET, CBS)
– It’s the second season premiere of Star Wars: Clone Wars on Cartoon Network (8PM)
– A crime scene investigator is the murder victim on Law & Order (8PM, NBC)
– New Brothers episode on Fox at 8PM
– Believe it or not, the Brad Garrett, ahem, comedy, ‘Til Death, opens its fourth season on Fox (8:30PM)
– The third entry in the Stargate TV franchise, Stargate Universe, premieres on SyFy (9PM)
– Allison thinks Ariel is possessed on Medium (9PM, CBS)
– DietTribe kicks off season two on Lifetime (9PM)
– Senator Perrin goes deeper with his investigation on Dollhouse (9PM, Fox)
– Cesar works with a timid dog in an animal shelter on Dog Whisperer (9PM, NGC)
– Jockeys wraps its second season on Animal Planet (9PM)
– Graham Norton and Shakira are the guests on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (9PM, BBCA)
– A New York City couple who run a wedding planning business are the focus of the new reality series Wedded to Perfection (10PM, TLC)
– The guys rescue a boxer puppy, a rottweiler and piranhas on Rescue Ink Unleashed (10PM, NGC)
– Son investigates the murder of two FBI agents on Numb3rs (10PM, CBS)
– Jenna Fisher discusses next week’s Jim and Pam Office wedding on The Jay Leno Show (10PM, NBC)
– BET premieres its new game show, Pay It Off (10PM), giving contestants the chance to win cash to pay off their debts
– Janeane Garofalo is among the guests on Real Time with Bill Maher (10PM, HBO)

SATURDAY
– SuperFetch (8PM, Animal Planet) is a new series about dog trainer Zak George
– Animal Planet also premieres Dogs 101 at 9PM
– A plotting tax collector steals from the treasury on Robin Hood (9PM, BBCA)
– Celebs share their ghost stories on Celebrity Ghost Stories, a new Biography Channel series (10PM)
– Ryan Reynolds hosts Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Lady Gaga (11:30PM, NBC)

SUNDAY
– The contestants hit Vietnam on The Amazing Race (8PM, CBS)
– Ashley Tisdale lends a hand on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (8PM, ABC)
– On The Simpsons (8PM, Fox), Mrs. Krabappel is fired after her students pull a prank on her
– New ep of The Cleveland Show at 8:30PM (Fox)
– The Seinfeld reunion begins on Curb Your Enthusiasm (9PM, HBO)
– Lois finds out she’s Jewish on Family Guy (9PM, Fox)
– Bree frets Susan will find out about her affair with Karl on Desperate Housewives (9PM, ABC)
– My Monkey Baby (9PM, TLC) follows a human couple who raise a monkey as if it’s their child. Really
– The Next Iron Chef, season two, premieres on Food Network (9PM)
– More bridesmaid dramas on a new ep of Bridezillas (9PM, WE)
– Jane represents a model Deb admires on Drop Dead Diva (9PM, Lifetime)
– New Bored to Death on HBO (9:30PM)
– Tonight’s Cold Case (10PM, CBS): The 1995 murder of a runaway skateboarding teen
– Kitty worries about her secret affecting her fam and Robert on Brothers & Sisters (10PM, ABC)
– Viola sings at the Hump Bar on Army Wives (10PM, Lifetime)
– Don invites Betty on a business trip on Mad Men (10PM, AMC)
– Matt Damon and LeBron James guest star on the sixth season finale of Entourage (10:30PM, HBO)

NEW SERIES PREMIERE ALERTS:
THREE RIVERS (SUNDAY, 9PM, CBS) Moonlight star Alex O’Loughlin makes a bid to be the new McDreamy as the star of this medical drama about the organ transplant team at a Pittsburgh hospital.
VERDICT: Heartbreaking stories, hunky star, good supporting cast … of the three new medical dramas on the fall 2009 schedule, this one has the best leading man in O’Loughlin and the best chance of surviving to a second season.