Television Thursday

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Nickelodeon 2005-2008(Wikipedia)

Well, I am finally down to the last episode of this series. I have thoroughly enjoyed the entire series, and I am looking forward to see how it all ends up. (All three seasons are currently streaming via Netflix.) The story revolves around the titular "Avatar" who must master the use of all four elements in order to rise up and defeat the baddies. The world in which this story takes place is highly influenced by our own Asian cultures. There are four lands and their respective peoples. Each land is based on one of the four elements and certain individuals are able to "bend" (manipulate) their peoples' element. It is essentially like using magic. Each culture also focuses on a specific style of martial arts. The creators of this show were fans and practitioners of martial arts, so that helped influence the direction of the show.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the show when I first discovered it. There is a very good balance of comedy, action, and to some extent, drama. It never feels too heavy-handed in its approach. The characters are all well developed and not annoying. I would have to say that it is one of the few cartoons in recent years that actually succeeds in being fun for both kids and adults. I also really appreciated the art design. They spent some time and effort in designing each culture and it shows. The voicework is also impressive. The main antagonist is named Zuko and he is voiced by the actor who played Rufio in the classic film "Hook." Even more exciting for me was when I discovered that one of the recurring characters (Iroh) was voiced by Mako (who also voiced Aku in "Samurai Jack.") Sadly, Mako passed away between seasons two and three, and was therefore not featured very prominently in the last season. It has won several awards including a Peabody in 2008.

There will be a live-action feature film based on this franchise. It is directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is scheduled to be released on July 2, 2010. I imagine I will see it, but I just hope that it holds up as well as the cartoon has.