Friday’s TV highlights

SERIES

Medium: Desperate to find his missing wife, a man turns to Allison (Patricia Arquette) for help in figuring out how and why she disappeared. Miguel Sandoval, who plays District Attorney Manuel Devalos, directed this new episode (8 p.m. CBS).

Flying Wild Alaska: A family battles the arctic weather and terrain to transport supplies to some of the most inaccessible areas of Alaska in this new series (9 p.m. Discovery).

The Ricky Gervais Show: The quirky animated adaptation of the podcasts by “The Office” creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, along with their off-the-wall tech guy Karl Pilkington, returns for a new season (9 p.m. HBO).

Merlin: In the conclusion of the two-part season premiere the Great Dragon returns Merlin (Colin Morgan) to Camelot, where he and Gaius (Richard Wilson) — now convinced of Morgana’s (Katie McGrath) treachery — break the curse on Uther (Anthony Head) in this new episode (10 p.m. Syfy).

Funny or Die Presents: The comedy series returns for a new season (Midnight HBO).

SPECIALS

16th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: This new special recognizes cinematic achievements among 2010 film releases (9 p.m. VH1).

SPORTS

Bowling: World Championship (2 p.m. ESPN2).

Boxing: Daniel Edouard (23-3-2, 14 KOs) vs. Peter Manfredo (36-6, 20 KOs), middleweights (6 p.m. ESPN2).

Basketball: The New Jersey Nets visit the Lakers (7:30 p.m. FSN); the Clippers visit the Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. FS Prime).