There have been a lot of questions about the fate of Nickelodeon’s popular animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender since at least November, when the cable network abruptly stopped airing the third, and final, season.
Last week TVShowsOnDVD.com began sifting through the confusion, particularly as it relates to the show’s DVD releases, but didn’t get very far. (You see, Book 3, Vol. 3 is set for release on May 6, even though most of the episodes it contains haven’t aired in the United States. To further muddy matters, two of the episodes have aired in Canada … but not in the U.S.)
But now Toon Zone has posted its coverage (Warning: spoilers) of the Avatar panel from this weekend’s New York Comic Con, which clears up the schedule. Mostly.
The website reports that the trailer for the second half of Book 3 ends with the words, “The Journey Concludes July 2008,” “at which time all remaining new episodes of Avatar will air. Privately, a Nickelodeon PR representative confirmed that the release date for the third DVD of the season will not change from May 6, 2008, meaning that several episodes of the show will be available on DVD well before they air on television.”
A little strange, certainly. But at least there’s an answer.
Perhaps stranger still is that the series was always planned as a trilogy; there won’t be an “Air” book. (For those not in the know, the books, or seasons, of the Avatar are tied to the elements: Book 1 is “Water,” Book 2 is “Earth” and the current Book 3 is “Fire.”)
(Via TVShowsOnDVD)
April 21st, 2008 at 1:22 pm
It’s not strange at all to me that there won’t be an Air book. Aang already knows Airbending. Why would we need an Air book when he knew all about it in Season One? As for the DVD releasing early, I guarantee it is because Nickelodeon dropped the ball on not airing episodes before they aired in Canada and Britain. They’re giving a big “screw you” to the fans who went and downloaded the episodes in order to keep up, while in turn doing the same to foreign markets. Unless the foreign markets air these new episodes before they air here, which would be even more complicated.
And if Nick thinks that the fans will stop downloading the shows if they release them first on DVD, they are kidding themselves. if it is readily available online, no matter when they release the shows legally.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Ian, I always assumed there would be a fourth and final season/book titled “Air” as that would bring the show full circle, to its conclusion.
Sure, Aang knows airbending already. We know that. But I thought, perhaps, that a final “Air” season would reveal the existence of other Air Nation residents that had been held prisoner, or were perhaps in hiding, their entire lives. Maybe even more airbenders? Or, a 4th season might not have had anything to do with airbending at all. It could just be the culmination of all things, with Aang finding the perfect balance in himself to master all four elements. It’s like Uncle Iroh tried explaining to Zuko once. None of the four nations can live without the other. It throws everything out of balance.
So it seems odd to me, at least, to not have a fourth season titled “Air.” Perhaps, if there had been a 4th season, the sensible thing would’ve been calling the FIRST season “Air” and then have Aang master each of the other elements in subsequent seasons, ending with “Fire.”
Presumably, Aang will master fire bending and defeat the Fire Lord (voiced by Mark Hammill!)in the series finale. But he’ll have to do it quick. He certainly seemed unsure of himself and his abilities when we last saw him. He and his friends failed (Disappointing, given all the build-up to the solar eclipse their plans hinged on) and are once again on the run.
I just hope that little baldy survives! I think he will, but I could imagine it ending with his sacrifice, and a new Avatar is born at the very end. I’m just sorry to see it all end so soon. I’d take a 4th season over a Shyamalan movie ANY DAY.
April 21st, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Oh, and thanks, Kevin, for posting this info! I’ll stop bugging you about it now.
Very strange, the way Nick is doing this, but oh well. Since I’ve been buying the DVDs only when the complete seasons are released, I’ll just wait it out and watch the shows on Nick in July, or whenever it starts up again. .
But wait… How many episodes are left? Eh, I’ll go look at the Toon Zone site and see what they say. Hopefully the spoilers aren’t too bad (i.e. - AANG DIES!).
April 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Looks like it’s eight more episodes, including the four-part finale. That’s according to someone commenting on the story, who got the info from IMDB.
No word on whether Aang dies.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
In response to Shaun, Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko made clear at the panel that even after the trilogy ends, they will not be done with this universe. Whether it be side or sequel comic books, or perhaps a “next generation” cartoon, I would be completely shocked if things do not continue on in one form or another. Michael and Bryan know what they are doing, and I trust them completely on this. From the beginning, they mentioned the show would be a trilogy. Now, as you mentioned with the Airbenders, let’s wait and see what happens in the final episodes, shall we? You never know what revelations might occur pertaining to whether or not Aang is indeed the last of his kind.
Towards your comments on the movies, I think Night can do it right, if you pardon the rhyme there. He seems devoted to the project, and the creators are working close with him to ensure it does not suck. It will take a lot to condense the story into three movies, but I am keeping my hopes up for now. And we have two more years of production until the jury is out officially on the live-action effort.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
True on both counts, Ian… I can’t stand the Shyam (Sham?) Man, and I think trying to condense the story will be a real trick (as you said), so I’m skeptical. But there’s no way to really know until it’s finished. Maybe he’ll show restraint when playing with someone else’s toys? I just think retelling a story we’ve already seen on the show seems a bit… Superfluous?
And yes, the creators did say they had more stories they wanted to tell. Potential good news, depending on what comes of it.
I never saw the original claims that this was always supposed to be a trilogy, but I’ll take their word for it. Still seems odd though. Four elements, four “books.” Oh well… If it all ends well and these last eight shows don’t seem rushed, I guess that’ll be fine. Hopefully, they’ll really up the action for this final run and it’ll be worth the (long) wait.
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Just wanted to leap in briefly to clarify a few things.
There are actually 10 episodes left to air. Book 3 has an extra episode in it, since the midpoint “Day of Black Sun” had 2 parts. Four unaired episodes will be on the next DVD on May 6 (the first ep is part 2 of “Day of Black Sun”), and the last 6 will be on the last DVD. All 10 episodes will begin airing on Nick on July 14, 2008.
I also did an interview with Mike & Bryan right after the panel, which is up at http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=23222. At the very end, they talk about the live-action movie and working with Shyamalan (which is making a lot of fans a lot happier), but also have some news about what’s next. They go a bit further than saying they have more Avatar stories to tell. It’s not 100% confirmed, but the gears are moving.
Super-nice guys, too. I wish I had more than 10 minutes to talk with them. Also, the book 3 conclusion trailer is now being hosted on AvatarSpirit.net.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Hi Edward! Not sure if you’ll ever see this or not, but THANK YOU for posting here! As a big Avatar fan (you may have noticed… My wife and daughter are big fans too), your info is greatly appreciated.
10 episodes? Sweet. That makes sense, since (I believe) Books 1 & 2 were also 20 episodes long? At the very least, I remember Nick heavily promoting “10 weeks of new episodes” when season/Book 3 began, so it stands to reason we’d have 10 more. What I don’t understand is why Nick is choosing to hold off until mid-July to show those last 10 episodes? Very odd.
I’ll have to read the interview and see what they say about the movie. If it’s a rehash of the show, it could prove disappointing. Fans will inevitably compare all of the characters to what they’ve seen/heard on the show. Can anyone pull off the part of Aang, or Uncle Iroh, in live action? We’ll see. I just hope Appa’s believable!
April 24th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Hmm… Not a whole lot on the movie there, but knowing the creators are heavily involved with it is a definite plus. Thanks again, Edward!
April 24th, 2008 at 10:42 am
You’re welcome. I’m as much of a fan of the show as anybody, so maintaining some level of journalistic neutrality when I report on it is a real challenge.
Books 1 and 2 were indeed 20 eps each. Nick will say that Book 3 is 20 eps also, but that’s because they’re counting the 2-part “Day of Black Sun” as 1 “episode” that’s 2 half-hours. It’s semantic silliness, though — from the perspective of prior seasons, it’s a 21-episode season.
Nobody — from Mike & Bryan to the Nick PR folks — knows why Nick programming is waiting until July.
As for the live-action movie, I’m mostly hoping that it’s not all cast with a bunch of white kids by the time it gets to the screen. I think Night and M&B know what the challenges are in bringing something like Avatar to live-action.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Hi again, Edward… I hope you’re right about the movie. I’d love to be proven wrong about Shyamalan(-a-ding-dong).
I agree that I hope the movie isn’t all white. Not that it couldn’t be done that way, but I see no reason why all of the different nations should be represented by the same kinds of faces. As it is, it’s the one aspect of anime (or faux-anime, in Avatar’s case) that’s always bothered me. Why are all the faces in this Asian art form caucasian-looking?
Anyhow, it’ll be an interesting challenge… Taking a show with a pretty large and devoted following, and turning into a live-action spectacle that doesn’t cause viewers to want to constantly compare it to that beloved show.
Meanwhile, it’s the DVDs of Books 1 & 2 — or the reruns of the same six times a day over on Nicktoons — until July. SIGH…