List of Avatar: The Last Airbender episodes facts for kids

Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. It premiered on February 21, 2005, with two episodes, and ended its three-season run on July 19, 2008, with the finale that also serves as a two-hour television film. The Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise refers to each season as a "Book", in which each episode is referred to as a "chapter". Each "Book" takes its name from one of the elements that Aang, the protagonist, must master: Water, Earth, and Fire. In addition to the three seasons, there were two recap episodes and three "shorts". The first recap summarized the first seventeen episodes while the second summarized season two. The first self-parody was released via an online flash game. The second and third were released with the Complete Second Season Box Set DVD. The entire series has been released on DVD in Region One, Region Two, and Region Four.

In the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe there are people who are able to manipulate or "bend" the four elements: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. There are also sub-elements, such as metal, ice, and lightning. Along with the four elements, there are four nations that correspond with each element. Not everyone can bend an element, and those that can can only bend one. However, the Avatar is a being able to manipulate all four elements, as well as communicate with the spirits. The Avatar is also born into one nation, and, after dying, is reincarnated into another nation following the pattern of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. The series takes place 100 years after the Fire Nation declared war against all other nations and has killed off all airbenders in search of the Avatar, who has been reincarnated as an airbender named Aang. The Avatar, trapped in ice for 100 years, knows nothing of the war. The series starts with Aang being accidentally freed by Katara, a waterbender. The series then primarily follows the adventures of Aang and his companions, Katara, Sokka, and later Toph, as he tries to master all four elements and defeat the Fire Nation. There is also a strong secondary focus on Zuko, the banished and disinherited crown prince of the Fire Nation. Zuko was scarred in a duel with his own father, the current Fire Lord, and is obsessed with trying to capture Aang to regain his father's favor and, in doing so, restoring his honor.

Series overview

Episodes

Book One: Water (2005)

Season One (Book 1: Water) of Avatar: The Last Airbender had 20 episodes and they were shown from 21 February 2005 until 2 December 2005. The series was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Mako, Dante Basco, and Jason Isaacs as the main character voices.

The season goes around the protagonist, Aang, and his friends Katara and Sokka and their journey to the North Pole (to North Water Tribe) to find a Waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara how to control water. Fire Lord Ozai, the current Fire Lord of the Fire Nation, is waging a seemingly endless war against the Earth Kingdom, the Water Tribes, and the already destroyed Air Nomads. Aang, the current Avatar, must master the four elements—Air, Water, Earth, and Fire—before win the Fire Lord and ending the war. Along the way, Aang and his friends are chased by various pursuers, including Prince Zuko, a banished Fire Nation prince, and Admiral Zhao, a key member of the Fire Navy.

Each episode of Season One attracted more than a million viewers on its first airing. Season One won "Best TV Series" and "Best Animated Television Series" in the boys 9–14-year old demographic at the 2005 Pulcinella Awards, which gives awards for excellence in animation.

Between 4 January 2006 and 19 September 2006, five DVD sets were released in the USA, each had four episodes from the season. On 12 September 2006, Nickelodeon also released the "Complete Book One Collection Box Set", which had all of the episodes in the season as well as a special features disc. The original releases were encoded in Region 1 (USA), a DVD type that plays only in American DVD players. From 2007 to 2009, Nickelodeon released Region 2 DVDs (Europe), which can play in Europe.

The first has been adapted into a live-action movie The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and was released in July 2010.

Production

The show was produced by and shown on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom. The show's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, worked with Aaron Ehasz. Eight episodes were directed by Dave Filoni. Animation directors Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe directed five episodes each, and Anthony Lioi directed two. Episodes were written or co-written by a team of writers, which included Nick Malis, John O'Bryan, Matt Hubbard, James Eagan, Ian Wilcox, Tim Hedrick and Elizabeth Welch Ehasz. All of the show's music was written by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to Dante and Konietzko because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.

Cast

Episodes

DVD releases

Region 1

Nickelodeon began releasing the Season One DVDs on 31 January 2006. Each DVD, with one exception, had four episodes on one disc. The exception was The Complete Book One Collection Box Set, which had all of the 20 episodes in the season on six discs.

In the USA, all Season One DVDs were encoded using NTSC. Since this is not compatible in most countries outside North America, Nickelodeon released separate DVDs in regions where the video would be encoded using PAL instead. These releases began on 19 February 2007; each DVD was released months after the original release. As with the original DVDs, each set contained four episodes on one disc, with the exception would be The Complete Book One Collection Box Set, which contained all of the twenty episodes in the season on five discs.

Movie adaptation

The Last Airbender is a live action movie based on the first season of the animated television series and had a theatrical release on 1 July 2010. The movie is directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

General

Specific

Book Two: Earth (2006)

Season Two (Book 2: Earth) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first showed its 20 episodes from 17 March 2006 to 1 December 2006. The season was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Mako, Grey DeLisle, and Dante Basco as the main character voices.

In the season's beginning, the protagonist Aang and his friends Katara and Sokka started a search to find an Earthbending teacher, which finishes when they recruit Toph. Sokka finds important information concerning the war with the Fire Nation. Aang quickly becomes single-minded in looking for his kidnapped flying bison Appa. His search leads him to Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, where he uncovers the great internal government corruption of Ba Sing Se. At the season's end, Ba Sing Se falls to the Fire Nation and Aang escapes with his friends on a recovered Appa.

During the season's airing, the show received much critical acclaim, with praises such as, "As a flat concept, Avatar the Last Airbender is nothing special, but in execution, it is head and shoulders above other children's entertainment", and that "as a whole, the look of Avatar is consistently excellent." Season 2 has won multiple awards, including the "Best Character Animation in a Television Production" award from the 34th Annie Awards and the "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" award from the 2007 Emmy Awards.

Between 23 January 2007 and 11 September 2007, Nickelodeon released five DVD sets for the season: four sets had five episodes each, and a fifth DVD collection of all twenty episodes. All DVDs were encoded in Region 1. In the UK, only the season boxset was released without being released in four volumes first. The boxset was released on July 20, 2009.

Production

The season was produced by and shown on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom. The season's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, worked with Aaron Ehasz. Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe. Episodes were written by a team of writers, in which worked Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan; with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.

The season's music was written by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to the show's creators because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.

Cast

From the first season

New characters

Mako's death

Mako Iwamatsu, the actor who voiced Iroh at first season, died during the production and was replaced by Greg Baldwin.

Episodes

Critic

In a review of the Volume 2 DVD Release for Book 2, Gabriel Powers from DVDActive.com described the series as one of the best children's series in recent times, making comparisons with Samurai Jack and Justice League, and complimented it for its depth and humour. Powers also comments:

Without dumbing down its characters, plots, or humour, and without overtly taming-up the action or peril, Avatar manages to enthral children and adults, ages 4 to 56...There is a genuine classic feel to the series, which uses actual Asian culture and lore as its base. Like Star Wars, the creative forces behind the show have tapped into that basic, generation spanning storytelling that will live long after the series' youngest fans are old and bitter.

For the video and audio quality, Powers says "Season two generally looks better than the bulk of season one, but still has some issues" concerning image sharpness. Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk says that "As a flat concept, Avatar the Last Airbender is nothing special, but in execution, it is head and shoulders above other children's entertainment", and that "as a whole, the look of Avatar is consistently excellent".

The show also received acclaim for its visual appeal. In the 34th Annie Awards, the show was nominated for and won the "Best Character Animation in a Television Production" award, for Jae-Myung Yu's animation in "The Blind Bandit", and the "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production" award, for the episode "The Drill". In 2007, the show was nominated for "Outstanding Animated Program" in the 2007 Emmy Awards for the "City of Walls and Secrets" episode, though it did not win. However, the show did win the "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" award for Sang-Jin Kim's animation in the "Lake Laogai" episode.

DVD releases

Between 23 January 2007 and 11 September 2007, Nickelodeon released five DVD sets for the season: four sets had five episodes each, and a fifth DVD collection of all 20 episodes. All DVDs were encoded in Region 1 (USA). In the UK, only the season box set was released without being released in four volumes first. The box set was released on 20 July 2009.

Film adaptation

A sequel to The Last Airbender, a film adaptation of Book One, is expected to be based on Book Two with all the main cast and M. Night Shyamalan to return as director, writer and producer. Production will possibly start in 2011 and the film will be released in 2012 at the earliest. It will be the second part of a planned trilogy.

General

Specific

Book Three: Fire (2007–08)

Season Three (Book 3: Fire) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first showed its 21 episodes on television from 21 September, 2007 to 19 July, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and it starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, and Grey DeLisle as character voices.

This third and final season focuses on Aang's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord Ozai. In the season's beginning, protagonist Aang and his friends Sokka, Katara, and Toph are traveling through the Fire Nation, conjuring a plan for invading the Fire Nation and looking for a teacher to teach Aang Firebending. Midway through the season, Aang gathers friends he met in previous episodes and leads a failed invasion into the Fire Nation. Former antagonist and anti-hero Zuko changes sides and joins Aang, serving as his Firebending teacher until the season finale, when Aang finally defeats the Fire Lord and ends the war.

The final season features 21 episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale consisted of the four episodes showed together as a two-hour television movie. Season Three received a similar positive critic to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the finale, received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk and IGN.

Production

The season was produced by and aired on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom. The show's creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, worked with Aaron Ehasz. Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe. Episodes were written by a team of writers, which consisted of Aaron Ehasz, Elizabeth Welch Ehasz, Tim Hedrick, John O'Bryan; along with creators DiMartino and Konietzko.

The season's music was written by "The Track Team", which consists of Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who were known to the show's creators because Zuckerman was Konietzko's roommate.

Cast

Mako's death

Mako Iwamatsu, the voice actor of Iroh at first season, died during the production and was replaced by Greg Baldwin.

Episodes

DVD releases

Between 30 October 2007 and 16 September 2008, Nickelodeon sold four DVD volumes and a complete box-set. Each of the four volume DVDs had one disc and five episodes, with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes, and the boxed set had all twenty-one episodes on five discs. The boxed set of DVDs was sold on 1 February 2010 in the UK.

Critic

Like the previous 2 seasons, the critic was positive overall. Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk said, "In addition to the solid writing, Avatar the Last Airbender also has amazing animation. The character designs, with its roots in classic Asian folklore, are colorful and inventive, and the overall animation is smooth and consistently executed". Jamie S. Rich wrote in another review:

This final season in the trilogy is turning out to be the best... At this point in the story, major things are happening, with the characters going through changes and the various plot elements coming together. Thankfully, the show creators never rest, and the quality control is top-notch. The writing is smart, and the animation always impressive.

Henrik Batallones, a BuddyTV Staff Columnist, also noted the wide variety of positive reviews from the press for the season finale, noting that sources such as the New York Times and Toon Zone gave Avatar "glowing reviews".

The season also received praise for its video and sound quality. Nick Lyons from DVD Talk felt that the video quality appeared better than previous seasons, which had also garnered additional awards. He also remarks that the sound is "spot on...as per usual." At the 2008 Annie Awards, the season won "Best Animated Television Production for Children". At the same Annie Awards, Joaquim Dos Santos won the "Best Directing in an Animated Television Production" caption for his directing in "Into the Inferno". Joaquim Dos Santos also gave Avatar a nomination at Annecy 2008 for his work with "The Day of Black Sun Part 2: The Eclipse". Additionally, music editor and composer Jeremy Zuckerman and the sound editing team were nominated a Golden Reel award for "Best Sound Editing in a Television Animation" for their work in "Avatar Aang".

Film adaptation

The final part of the planned The Last Airbender trilogy is expected to be based on Book Three with the main cast of the first and second films and M. Night Shyamalan to return as director, writer and producer.

General

Specific

Home media release

Region 1

The first Avatar: The Last Airbender DVD set became available on January 31, 2006. The first season had five DVD sets, each containing four episodes. For season two and three, four DVD sets were released, with five episodes on each. The only exception to the release pattern was the last DVD set of season three, which contained a sixth episode. At the end of each season, a box set was released, containing all of the episodes from the season. Each box set contains an additional disc of bonus features not available as an individual disc release like every episode of the series. Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Complete Series DVD box set featuring all three books was released in North America on October 6, 2015. A Blu-ray version of The Complete Series box set was released in North America on June 5, 2018 in honor of the tenth anniversary of the series finale.

Region 2

In the United States, all Season One DVDs were encoded using NTSC. Since this is not compatible in most countries outside North America, Nickelodeon released separate DVDs in regions where the video would be encoded using PAL instead. These releases began on February 19, 2007; each DVD was released months after the original release. As with the original DVDs, each set contained five episodes on one disc, with the exception of The Complete Book One Collection Box Set, which contained all of the twenty episodes in the season on five discs. In the Netherlands, all episodes came out in a box.

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Complete Series DVD box set featuring all three books was released in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2012. A Blu-ray version of The Complete Series box set was released in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2018.

Region 4

The following release dates are the Australian release dates, and may or may not represent the release dates for all of region 4.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Episodios de Avatar: la leyenda de Aang para niños

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