Summer's almost over, and school has started. The oppressive heat turns into nice warmth, and it signals that it's that time of year: the new TV season. Before the season premieres get into full swing, I thought it would be good to take a look back at last season and share my opinions.

Best New Show: "The Nine"
I'm really picky about new shows, and when I first saw it, I had my doubts. Then around episode 3, I realized that this show was freaking amazing. Of course, I was the only one who thought that, since I was the only one who watched it. The show about how 9 people--some hostages, some robbers--deal with the effects of being involved in a bank robbery went by pretty slowly, which turned people off, but I think that was part of the show's beauty. You noticed more how being held hostage for 52 hours affected them. I thought the show's premise seemed limited, but then I learned the robbery wasn't as simple as I thought. The security guard who was killed, and the bank manager, who was one of the hostages, were in on the robbery. With the show's intriguing plot and amazing acting, I knew it wasn't going to last long.

I'll Be Late For That: "Heroes"
When I first heard about "Heroes", I thought "It looks interesting, but I'm not sure it's my thing". As the season went on, the buzz around "Heroes" grew more than I thought it would. One day in late May, I was bored and decided to watch the first episode online. Three days later, I was caught up in time for the season finale. It took a while for me to finally find a new show that has a chance of having a 2nd season, and I'm glad it was this awesome show.

Most Improved Show: "Lost"
The first six episodes in the fall honestly weren't the best. Too much Jack-Kate-Sawyer love triangle, Nikki and Paolo were useless, and Eko died. After the show resumed in February, all the episodes (excluding the one where Bai Ling guest starred) were 50 different kinds of awesome. They answered so many questions, brought up new questions, and even made Nikki and Paolo's flashback interesting in time for their super freaky deaths.

Show That Got Worse: "Grey's Anatomy"
I heart Shonda Rhimes like ice cream and free cable. With that said, I still wonder how she went from a pretty good start to the 3rd season to the season finale, which I liked but was still not that entertained. In between gave viewers much to be angry at like Meredith brushing off her suicidal episode, Derek's assy treatment of Meredith due to his vying for Chief of Surgery, the character assassination of Addison, and the dreaded George and Izzie sex. It's sad that the most enjoyable part of the season was hearing Bailey sing "God Bless the Child" to her son over the phone.

Most Complicated Mythology: "The Black Donnellys"
Irish mob versus Italian mob versus 4 Irish brothers. Killings, corruption, embezzlement, fights, theft, gambling, drugs, throwing people out windows, and unrequited love. Add the possibility that none of this actually happened in the mix, and you too can go "Huh?".

Best Actor: David Tennant in "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood"-"Doctor Who"
He usually plays The Doctor with such exuberance, but in this two-parter, he gives a more subdued performance as a human.

Best Actress: Judy Reyes in "My Long Goodbye"-"Scrubs"
Carla's goodbye to Laverne broke my heart. She needs more recognition than an NAACP Image Award nomination

Best New (to me) Actor: Zachary Quinto in "The Hard Part"-"Heroes"
Sylar was just plain twisted, but in this episode, he shows a more vulnerable side. He makes you sympathize with him, even though he's still twisted.

Best New (to me) Actress: Freema Agyeman in "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood"-"Doctor Who"
Martha Jones has to hold it down for The Doctor while he's a human boys' boarding school teacher in 1913 England. With The Doctor falling in love with a nurse, racist treatment from school employees, and not to mention aliens and walking scarecrows hunting them down, she does the darn thing.

Best Season Finale: "Through the Looking Glass"-"Lost"
This episode rocked my world. We got a lot of answers, and new questions. We saw Charlie die. We saw Sayid snap a man's neck with his ankles. We saw flashbacks that were really flash-forwards. What more could you want? I do have to give an honorable mention to "Doctor Who"'s finale: "The Sound of Drums"/"The Last of the Time Lords".

Most Anticipated Second Season: "Heroes" and "Torchwood"
"Heroes" already has a large, diverse cast, which I love. Over the summer, they've added even more actors; some are cast members, others are recurring characters. I can't wait to see David Anders, Dana Davis, Jessica Collins, and Dania Ramirez. Plus, I enjoy how the show explores these characters and their powers in a way that shows how we, as humans, are capable of a lot of good and evil. Also, I love how the show isn't too US-centric and has stories taking place in Japan, and India. Word is this season will have stories set in Honduras, Ireland, Lithuania, and Canada.

"Torchwood" is the mature spin-off of family-friendly "Doctor Who". What made the show interesting was the show's exploration of what it means to be human: our emotions, our thoughts, our life, our death, and I guess our sexuality since everyone is varying degrees of bisexual. I can't wait to see how the show continues its dark, nihilistic themes compared. Okay, and I also want to see how Jack and Ianto's relationsihp evolves.

Alright, that was my review of last season. Most shows are premiering within the next few weeks (*sniff* last season of "Scrubs), but I'll have to wait til early next year for "Lost", "Doctor Who", and "Torchwood". This season, I'm trying out "Chuck" (love), "Reaper" (really like), and "Pushing Daisies" (not premiered, but looks really beautiful).

So what are you looking forward to this new TV season?

I originally planned on writing this Thursday after Bush made his speech disguising the end of the troop surge as a withdrawal. I thought that I should let it marinate for a few days. It's been a few days, and these are my thoughts.

-I like how he said the sheiks in Anbar asked American troops for help in getting rid of Al-Qaeda's presence in the province. It makes it sound like when the US turned down the sheiks' offer of their services 4 years ago never happened.

-Apparently, Al-Qaeda is the main problem in Iraq. I thought it was the civil war going on. Oh, wait! They're not calling it a civil war; it's "sectarian violence".

-I bet you my cassette tape of "CrazySexyCool" that the White House wrote "General Petraeus's Report"

-It is neither Gen. Petraeus's nor Amb. Ryan Crocker's job to sell this war to Congress. The White House should not have put them in this position.

-I don't know if Bush and his ilk got the memo, but Iraq already is a safe haven for Al-Qaeda

-I bet you all the Vokal jeans I haven't gotten rid of that one of the 36 nations is Afrika Bambaataa and The Zulu Nation. Seriously, 36 nations? Can these people count?

Allow me to state the obvious: this war needs to end. The US government authorized an illlegal invasion of a sovereign country against the wishes of the international community. The minds behind the quick invasion failed to plan for what happens next. American troops are policing an all-out civil war, and they and many Iraqis are getting killed. What we need to do is leave. Withdraw our troops and let the Iraqi government know it's time to step their game up. The civil war will get much worse, but we can pray to God that other nations are willing to forgive and help us clean up the mess we made. This war has caused so much damage that won't be fixed for years, if that soon. 30,000 troops may go home, but the longer the other 100,000 or so are there, the more damage will be done.

Oh, I forgot; focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan: where the real "War On Terror" is.