newsmakers

newsmakers

Marvel makes Thor a thunder goddessk

NEW YORK

Thor is now a Goddess of Thunder.

Marvel Comics announced Tuesday that the hammer-wielding Norse superhero will be a woman in upcoming comic-book issues. Marvel was thin on details explaining the switch but said in a press release that “no longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer.”

The new Thor was debuted on “The View” where artwork was revealed showcasing a buxom blonde clad in a caped costume and brandishing the trademark hammer.

Series writer Jason Aaron said in a statement that “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. ... This is THE Thor.”

The Marvel universe has historically been male-dominated, but that may be changing. Marvel Studios is developing a stand-alone film for Black Widow, the character played by Scarlett Johansson.

Halle Berry’s ‘Extant’ leads in TV ratings

NEW YORK

Halle Berry made her small-screen debut at a spot befitting an Academy Award winner — first place in the television ratings — but it’s too early to call her summer drama “Extant” a hit.

The limited-run series, in which Berry plays an astronaut who mysteriously returns from a solo space mission pregnant, had 9.6 million viewers for its first episode on CBS last week, the Nielsen Co. said.

That was enough to make it the most-watched prime-time show during the week. By comparison, the second-season debut of “Under the Dome” a week earlier had 9.4 million viewers, a number considered disappointing given its hit status a year earlier.

With time-shifted viewing within three days of the premiere added in — people who watched a recording afterward — “Under the Dome” had 13.2 million viewers. The extra days boosted the total viewership for “Extant” to 11.9 million.

For the week of July 7-13, the top-10 shows, their networks and viewerships: “Extant,” CBS, 9.58 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 8.19 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 8.03 million; “America’s Got Talent” (Tuesday), NBC, 7.95 million; “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 7.81 million; “Under the Dome,” CBS, 7.7 million; “The Bachelorette,” ABC, 6.99 million; “Big Brother” (Sunday), CBS, 6.63 million; “NCIS: Los Angeles,” CBS, 6.61 million; “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 6.53 million.

Associated Press