Here are a few of my summer time viewing guilty pleasures.

ACE OF CAKES (Food Network)

A crew of pastry chefs in Baltimore make amazing looking cakes for all sorts of occasions. Chef Duff, leads a very entertaining and personable crew. Fun and entertaining. The cakes look great…but I wonder what they taste like? Rarely ever see anyone eat one of these pieces of art!

HOW IT’S MADE - (Science Channel)

Just like the title says, its all about how things are made. In 30 minutes, this series from Canada showcases three or four products and shows how they are made. From fireworks to flashlights to asphalt and buses, this program is particularly good to watch in HD. (And offers a real variety!) Who doesn’t love to see the mechanical devices and assembly line techniques that put everyday items together. My favorite…seeing how marshmellow cookies are made! Yum!

MYTHBUSTERS - (Discovery Channel)

Silly but entertaining and a great how’d they do that that shows you everything on how they did that. Adam, Jamie and their team go to extraordinary engineering to prove whether something you’ve heard is possible…or not. I was particularly entertained by their special “Shark Week” edition where they de-bunked some of the liberties taken by director Steven Spielberg in the classic “Jaws.” Could a Great White ram a hole into a wooden boat? Yep. Could an oxygen tank blow a shark up when a rifle shoots it? Nope. But it sure would’ve given a real shark a headache!

ALMOST LIVE FROM STUDIO DC (Disney Channel) 

The Muppets are back with a new variety show, this time on their new home, The Disney Channel. My kids and I caught some of the premiere on Sunday night with Disney bringing all their stars out for the occasion - Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus jamming with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem; the Jonas Brothers singing with Miss Piggy; and Ashley Tisdale singing a duet with Kermit the Frog (and Piggy, of course.) Very much like their old variety show from 25 years ago. Nice to see the Muppets are aging well (and still very entertaining.) 

MAD MEN (AMC)

I did not see the first season (but I will.) This show is Emmy nominated and one to pay attention to. It captures the tone and feel of the sixties. I’m gonna keep watching to see how it evolves. So far, I’m impressed.

WIPEOUT (ABC)

My kids love this show. My wife and I enjoy it. How can you not be entertained by a show with big red balls?

This weekend, the BATMAN BEGINS sequel “The Dark Knight” is opening. (You probably already knew that…it would be hard to not have seen or heard something about it.)

In fact, it premieres with sold-out midnight showings on Thursday night/Friday morning. Locally, some of those midnight showings sold out early and theatres ADDED 3AM screenings!

Wow!

Batman is gonna be big. A co-worker, special IndyChannel.com Entertainment Blog coorespondent Seth Keever hit the midnight show. Here is his review:

We just returned from the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. While we didn’t see it in its IMAX glory, we definitely got to the heart of the film, if only in a “regular” theater.

Not that much time has passed in Gotham City when we meet the Caped Crusader again (yes, all of the nicknames are in play this time). Look for some cameos from the past and a few nods towards the future. Batman is with it, right off the top.

The favorites are all there (Alfred and Lucius), but look for bigger parts from Commissioner Loeb and key scenes with the Mayor of Gotham.

But the part you really care about is the Joker. Heath Ledger is downright frightening. As Alfred says, “some men just want to watch the world burn.” There is no logic behind the Joker’s actions, he thrives for chaos. Complete and total anarchy. Ledger’s performance is chilling; I’m sure it’s Oscar-worthy, but I don’t know if it’s worthy of snubbing all other films. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be thinking about the Joker all night, and it was a stellar job. There are moments where you’ll laugh out loud at him, but this is a very dark character. And you should expect the movie to take you to some very dark places. There is a big philosophical discussion happening throughout the movie about the essence of justice (read “balance” and “fair”) and Batman’s never-ending battle against evildoers.

Aaron Eckhart definitely makes a name for Harvey Dent in this movie. You really get behind Gotham’s new D.A. and his war on crime. We all know the inevitable ending for Harvey Dent, though. And you’ll get a lot more than you bargained for in this film.

If you appreciated the humor of Batman Begins, then this will be right up your alley. A few little asides, some puns here and there, but nothing like the over-the-top junk we saw in those Schumacher-travesties. Some of the gadgets are a little out there, but we don’t get anywhere near the Adam West days.

Fans of Chicago will love the locations used in the movie. That semi you see in the trailer flipping end-over-end? They really did that. Right in the middle of LaSalle Street. Breathtaking scene. Also, the building they level? They really leveled it. There’s a nice little slideshow on Fandango.com (of all places), that shows where they shot the key scenes.

But, be prepared. At nearly two and half hours, make sure you take a bathroom break ahead of time.

Oh, and there’s nothing after the credits, so don’t sit around for the extra 7 minutes.

On the Sandwich Scale, I’m personally giving this movie a 10 (I plan on seeing it for a second time in IMAX). There are those I know who won’t like this one, or expect it to be just like the first. So for everyone else, I’m giving it a 9.

Thanks for the overnight reporting Seth!

This one is gonna be special. Many sequences were shot in IMAX format (the BIG SCREEN) so I’m gonna hit a Saturday showing at the new Hamilton County IMAX…if I can still get a seat!  

The Batman series was relaunched a couple a years ago when writer/director Christopher Nolan re-booted the movie with a new lead (Christian Bale) and a new serious attitude. I just re-watched “Batman Begins” to get myself in the spirit of the sequel. It was even better than I remember. Boy, I can’t wait!

*****

I love the folks at Jib Jab. Remember the 2004 Election cartoon they did called “This Land is Your Land” featuring George Bush and John Kerry?

It’s a new election year and they’ve got John McCain, Barack Obama, the White House and lots of familiar political faces in this new version called “It’s Time for Campaigning!”

Hilarious.

Cool part? You can put yourself into the video and easily send it to friends!

Click here to see it.

*****

Earlier this week I did a post about “Wipeout.” ABC announced they will be ordering more episodes of the  summer game show hit.

“I think there’s no question it’s going to go forward,” ABC Entertainment President Steve McPherson said Wednesday at the network’s TCA press tour presentation. He’s also going to try to resist burning it out. (Remember, ABC and many night’s of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”)

McPherson cited NBC’s “American Gladiators” as a way of what NOT to do with a hit show.

“I’d love to have a summer asset … a show that comes back in the summer the way CBS has ‘Big Brother,’” he said. “We’ll have to see how the schedule lays out this year and where it goes. But I think we all have to try to resist the temptation to just burn things out.”

How can anyone get tired of watching people trying to leap across giant inflatable balls?

*****

 I’ll post my “Dark Knight” thoughts over the weekend. See you back here same Bat-time, same Bat-channel. Have a great weekend!   

Many of you have according to the ratings. If you haven’t actually seen the show yet, you’ve probably seen some of the hilarious promos for the show, many that feature various folks literally falling all over themselves on Giant Inflatable Red Balls over a body of water.

The producing team that created the show also produced “Fear Factor.” I wasn’t a fan of that show, but have to admit they know how to engage the audience. Well, they’ve done it again with “Wipeout.” And the good news…No bugs or creepy gross-outs this time!

24 contestants start the show, fighting gravity and wacky contraptions to race against their opponents. It’s a silly process of elimination that is fun for the whole family. It also features snarky hosts John Henson and John Anderson (I love that word “snarky”) along with Lincoln-Mercury spokemodel Jill Wagner as a “field reporter.” Funny thing is it is competitive silliness that hooks you.

It’s companion show on the other hand, doesn’t.  ”I Survived a Japanese Game Show,” may have a funnier title…but its boring compared to “Wipeout.”

“I Survived…” strives to be funny showing the antics of the show…but concentrates too much on the contestants. Slow. Boring…not engaging. Not fun summer viewing either. 

*****

Speaking of fun summer viewing, HR Pufnstuf is back! On-line of course. And he has his own MYSPACE page! Honest!

If you’re a boomer, you probably remember this goofy show, one of many produced by Sid and Marty Krofft Studios.

The Hollywood Reporter had a recent article about the team saying - “All of their boob-tube classics, including “H.R. Pufnstuf,” “Land of the Lost” and “The Bugaloos,” will make their exclusive global home on the social networking platform. The license extends to condensed versions of Krofft-produced TV episodes as well as taped messages from the Kroffts themselves.

Josh Brooks, vp of marketing at MySpace, sees the collaboration as an example of how the site will mine pop-culture nostalgia to build audiences.

“It’s another example of how household names are making MySpace their home on the web and taking control and using the community on MySpace for new content options,” he said.

In addition to the condensed “Kwikies,” which run 3-5 minutes, the Kroffts are also making available highlight clips. MySpace subscribers will also make theme music from the shows available.

The Krofft branded channel can be found here.  

Another bit of Krofft news…their “Land of the Lost,” another of their Saturday morning staples is getting made into a big Hollywood movie…starring Will Ferrell?

Who says Hollywood is running out of ideas.