Avatar: The Last Airbender - and more
To soothe my Avatar-withdrawl, I'm going to post about how cool it is.
Anyone who knows my taste in, well, any kind of storytelling art... they know that the most important thing to me is great characterization. It's why I love Dean Koontz and Orson Scott Card as authors... they are absolute masters at the complex, realisic, evolving character that you grow to love. Their characters have flaws and neurosies and insecurities, and they have very realistic reasons behind everything that they do.
Joss Whedon is a master at this as well. Buffy and Firefly are full of wonderful characters that you can't help loving despite their faults... or perhaps because of them, because their flaws make them feel so human, so real. Both of those shows are, at the core, about self-made family, and as a result it is the interactions among them that keep us coming back for more. And then there's Veronica Mars, in which Rob Thomas created characters so layered that you can't help but be drawn in. You can't help but keep watching, because you care what happens to these people... even the ones that you didn't like at first, but grow to love.
There are other things I enjoy about stories, plot and continuity among them, and Avatar has both of those in spades... but it is the characters that make this show so addictive and enjoyable.
The main characters get plenty of characterization, of course. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and now Toph are all fantastic. But it is the characterization of two of the "villains", Zuko and his uncle Iroh, that truly impresses me. It's not hard to make your protagonists both interesting and likable, but when you find yourself partially rooting for the villains too, you know you've found something great. Not that you'd really want the villain to SUCCEED at their goals, but you root for them anyway on some level because they aren't just some evil dude with a mustache and black hat... they feel like real people. Zuko is this typical angsty teenager, except he's also a dangerous firebender determined to win back his honor, which he believes he can only do by finding the Avatar. So he's driven and a badass and intense, but he's also just a teenager and you get the feeling that in our world, he'd be brooding and writing angst-ridden poetry. Then there's Iroh, who I absolutely love. He's a former general for the Fire Nation, and he knows how to be ruthless, but he's friendly and jolly and absolutely loves his tea. Not only that, but he also seems to have some sense of neutrality to him... as if he has removed himself from all loyalties except his love for his nephew, and he acts as though he has a great understanding of balance in the world around him.
Even the flying bison Appa and the lemur Momo feel like real characters, and they can't even talk!
It doesn't hurt that the plot is tightly formed, that the show is well researched and diverse, and that the story is both compelling and fun. Plus, it's damn funny. Everything I love in a show! Whee!
So yeah, I sped through the last of the already-aired episodes last night (3 days, not too shabby!), and now I'm really looking forward to seeing more when they air. =D
In other news, I have the following self-imposed projects currently on my plate:
- Finishing my application to Loyola (I started it, but I still have to add a few things, write a personal statement, and get my boss to write a letter of recommendation)
- Prepping a few things for my Halloween party, which is just a week and a half away (yay!)
- Getting around to making a documentary of my road trip with Cody. The cheese video doesn't count, as that was maybe 5 minutes out of several hours worth of video footage.
- Figuring out what I want to do with my 9 day vacation from work in late November
I'm also considering the following things:
- Getting a membership to the Towson gym so I can go indoor rock climbing again
- A pet
- Driving to Rehoboth for a weekend (but, I think I'd need company to feel safe about it, so that complicates things)
- Dinner
Speaking of which... it's dinnertime, and then chill-with-Cody time!
Anyone who knows my taste in, well, any kind of storytelling art... they know that the most important thing to me is great characterization. It's why I love Dean Koontz and Orson Scott Card as authors... they are absolute masters at the complex, realisic, evolving character that you grow to love. Their characters have flaws and neurosies and insecurities, and they have very realistic reasons behind everything that they do.
Joss Whedon is a master at this as well. Buffy and Firefly are full of wonderful characters that you can't help loving despite their faults... or perhaps because of them, because their flaws make them feel so human, so real. Both of those shows are, at the core, about self-made family, and as a result it is the interactions among them that keep us coming back for more. And then there's Veronica Mars, in which Rob Thomas created characters so layered that you can't help but be drawn in. You can't help but keep watching, because you care what happens to these people... even the ones that you didn't like at first, but grow to love.
There are other things I enjoy about stories, plot and continuity among them, and Avatar has both of those in spades... but it is the characters that make this show so addictive and enjoyable.
The main characters get plenty of characterization, of course. Aang, Katara, Sokka, and now Toph are all fantastic. But it is the characterization of two of the "villains", Zuko and his uncle Iroh, that truly impresses me. It's not hard to make your protagonists both interesting and likable, but when you find yourself partially rooting for the villains too, you know you've found something great. Not that you'd really want the villain to SUCCEED at their goals, but you root for them anyway on some level because they aren't just some evil dude with a mustache and black hat... they feel like real people. Zuko is this typical angsty teenager, except he's also a dangerous firebender determined to win back his honor, which he believes he can only do by finding the Avatar. So he's driven and a badass and intense, but he's also just a teenager and you get the feeling that in our world, he'd be brooding and writing angst-ridden poetry. Then there's Iroh, who I absolutely love. He's a former general for the Fire Nation, and he knows how to be ruthless, but he's friendly and jolly and absolutely loves his tea. Not only that, but he also seems to have some sense of neutrality to him... as if he has removed himself from all loyalties except his love for his nephew, and he acts as though he has a great understanding of balance in the world around him.
Even the flying bison Appa and the lemur Momo feel like real characters, and they can't even talk!
It doesn't hurt that the plot is tightly formed, that the show is well researched and diverse, and that the story is both compelling and fun. Plus, it's damn funny. Everything I love in a show! Whee!
So yeah, I sped through the last of the already-aired episodes last night (3 days, not too shabby!), and now I'm really looking forward to seeing more when they air. =D
In other news, I have the following self-imposed projects currently on my plate:
- Finishing my application to Loyola (I started it, but I still have to add a few things, write a personal statement, and get my boss to write a letter of recommendation)
- Prepping a few things for my Halloween party, which is just a week and a half away (yay!)
- Getting around to making a documentary of my road trip with Cody. The cheese video doesn't count, as that was maybe 5 minutes out of several hours worth of video footage.
- Figuring out what I want to do with my 9 day vacation from work in late November
I'm also considering the following things:
- Getting a membership to the Towson gym so I can go indoor rock climbing again
- A pet
- Driving to Rehoboth for a weekend (but, I think I'd need company to feel safe about it, so that complicates things)
- Dinner
Speaking of which... it's dinnertime, and then chill-with-Cody time!