I must begin with a review. Bionic Women, the original 1970s series was before my time, but I remember watching one of the movies (Bionic Showdown) from the late 1980s staring a fresh faced Sandra Bullock. Well NBC have reworked, rather than remade the series with Michelle Ryan, giving a master class performance as Jaime Sommers. Most striking of all his her American accent. The audience Stateside would be shocked to see her coarse London accent from her 200 odd episode of Eastenders. The show was well directed, with several twists and turns. It was also very dark, a departure from the movie and from what I can tell the original television show. Refreshing to watch a more mature adult sci-fi drama. I will definitely be catching the next episode, think it will be come important weekend viewing. If you were to compare Torchwood with Bionic Woman, the American show would win hands down. There is just something about US production values that always wins over. Cardiff, Wales can never compete with San Francisco, California, no matter what any say. Plus you can clearly see the money spent on screen, where as the British sci-fi series relies on clever writing.

The return of Heroes was fantastic. I am looking forward to watching every Tuesday evening, while the rest of the UK, still lap up the first series on BBC2. I was glad to see most of the cast return, continuity is very important. You want to see the same group of characters develop. There already appears to be an air of mystery, plus some of the characters now, know each other. However, the villains are yet to surface although there has been a glimpse of new heroes whom we will get to know over the course of the next few episodes.

Once again, a quiet weekend. Did not really do much. Watched the Woman’s World Cup Final this afternoon on BBC2. Germany beat Brazil 2-0 in Shanghai. Some great football, the game has improved a great deal since Euro 2005. The women’s game is still some years behind the men’s game but the technical skill has improved a great deal. I was very impressed with Marta, the Brazilian forward and Golden Boot winner. I think it will take some time for the game to reach the mass appeal of the men’s game but in flashes, you can see moments of sheer brilliance. That move was worthy of Pele and very reminiscent of Dennis Bergkamp at his prime.

Had my twelfth piano lesson this evening at 5pm. Really glad I got a chance to truly appreciate the progress I have made and refocus on what I need to learn. On the drive home, I was stuck in traffic on the M40. It brought back memories of many trips back home on a Sunday afternoon with the rest of my family. We would be listening to the Chart Show on Radio One. (Although there was a time in the mid 1990s when we tuned into Doctor Fox over on Capital). I cannot believe the station is 40 today! Diamond Geezer does a fantastic entry on his blog with his personal memories and had done a nice spread over the past few days. He is, as always on the pulse of the online community. It was just a shame I could not pick up the station in my car on the drive home. Listening to the same mp3 CD for the past three weeks has got rather tedious. For more nostalgia head over to Radio Rewind.