Avatar: The Last Airbender (the show, not the movie) according to someone who's not watching Avatar: The Last Airbender (the show or the movie)

So Classic and roommate Jon have been binging on this Avatar shit for the past couple weeks.

I started out dreading the experience; that this show I already turned down when I was a kid and don't like now would be dominating my tv against my will. But I knew I had no right to intervene. I allowed it.

I actually kind of like it. Not that I'm watching the show anyway.

These two little kids find this arrow-headed dude in a berg of ice, and apparently that's a big deal. He can manipulate air, which frankly sounds like the worst of the four available elements (the other three: fire, water and earth).

So this Uub wannabe wakes up from his eternal slumber and starts "flying around" (he manipulates air currents, guys) on his stick that turns into a giant fan. The flying nimbus was cooler. And it turns out he owns a giant six-legged dog (they call it a bison, but, bullshit) that can also fly. This is cooler than the flying nimbus. So he flies around on it for a while to show off and then he lets them in on the shit in the world.

The four element-wielding peoples live in different parts of the world, all staying inconspicuously away from modern civilization I guess. Also, the firebenders are apparently assholes. They go to war with the other three tribes, which is understandable, because fire is bitchin.

So he gets his gang together, a dude (from the beginning), a chick who claims she's blind, this girl from the beginning (the two at the beginning waterbend) and this little pet named Momo who looks like a "monkey" from the world of Final Fantasy X and they fly around on this dog named Oppa, trying to teach the Avatar, with the arrow on his head, I think his name's Edd, like from Ed, Edd and Eddy, how to use all the different elements. Apparently once he learns everything he can stop the war or something.

Meanwhile, they take a page from The Wire's book, dropping in on the enemy, a kid with a rock for half his face and his zen, tea-loving uncle, who seem like somewhat reasonable guys. The kid has a deeper voice than all the other kid characters, showing that he could beat them all up. But these two are members of the fire tribe, so think them like D'Angelo and Avon Barksdale.

Now D'Angelo is trying to turn cheek but he sucks at it. Uh, I'm sure there's much more to this story. But this shit is kinda cool, some witty dialogue and cool fighting. Except they never kill anybody, which is totally lame.

In conclusion, Avatar: The Last Airbender (the show, not the movie) is a pretty decent show, but another in a long list of shows not as good as The Wire.

--Eliot Sill