TV ratings 14-07-2019

Despite the mass advance publicity Channel 4's coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand was only watched by half of the 8 million watching the epic Wimbledon Men's Singles final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Feder. Elsewhere ITV's Beecham House recorded another low figure of above 1 million viewers against the 4 million watching Poldark on BBC1 at the same times.

You are no King

The reviews have come in for the remake of The Lion King and they are very lukewarm. Called by some as live action because of the use of photo realistic digital effects the new film has been blasted as having to add to the original. The new The Lion King is still expected to be a box office hit as Disney rework their classics with the only misstep being Tim Burton's take on Dumbo. There is no stopping Disney with new versions of Mulan and The Little Mermaid on the way.

Awkward clash

Sky have allowed a Free to Air broadcaster to share their coverage of the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand. However the choice of broadcaster has left many unhappy. Channel 4 are the ones sharing however (and the reason for the unhappiness) the cricket will be moved from the main channel to the digital E4 channel in order that the Formula 1 British Grand Prix can be covered. It will be a busy afternoon for sports fans as the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final will be on at the same time

What is next for flag waving?

England have beaten Australia in the semi finals of the Cricket World Cup. They will face New Zealand in Sunday's final. This will of course be the spark to all out fevered anticipation. of Sporing glory. One person not happy with this is Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton who will competing in the British Grand Prix at the same time.

John is back

John Consatine the supernatural mage from Liverpool is returning to comic books in the current Sandman universe. For the last few years the character has been in the main stream DC Comics universe which saw him interacting with the likes of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. This should be a return to the horror more tinged roots of the character as the title of the comic he will is Hellblazer as in the one John appeared in between 1988-2013. There will be an one off followed by the series later in the year.

Off the menu

A restaurant in Leicester called The Fish and The Chip.has closed. The reason given is that the owners became concerned with the impact on the environment the was having after a field trip. The owners are looking into other fields.

Comics review - Lois Lane #1

Written by Greg Rucka. Art by Mike Perkins

Greg Rucka is a writer who is comfortable with writing what many would consider standard Superhero material such as a run on the now defunct Adventures of Superman in the mid 2000s to more down to earth material such as Stumptown which is soon to be a TV series. Another feature of Rucka's is his strong female characters in such titles as Wonder Woman, Elektra and (again) Stumptown. And now Rucka starts an new series starring Superman's other half. There many plot threads in this debut issue, Lois probes a Russian journalist death, Lois asking probing questions at a White House press briefing and her home life with Clark Kent. It is to Rucka's credit that he keeps these story lines clean and simple for the reader. And a shout out for artist Mike Perkins for his art work in particular an atmospheric sequence where Lois recruits the vigilante The Question in her Russia investigation. All in all an unique spin on a familiar character.