Avatar: The Last Airbender season 3
Book 3: Fire | |
---|---|
Season 3 | |
![]() The cover for "The Complete Book 3 Collection" DVD | |
No. of episodes | 21 |
Release | |
Original network | Nickelodeon |
Original release | September 21, 2007 – July 19, 2008 |
Season chronology | |
Season Three (Book 3: Fire) of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series on Nickelodeon, first aired its 21 episodes from September 21, 2007 to July 19, 2008. The season was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Jessie Flower, Dante Basco, and Grey DeLisle as character voices.[1]
This third and final season focuses on Aang's quest to defeat the tyrannical Fire Lord. 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 twenty-one episodes, one more than the previous two seasons. The season finale consisted of the four episodes airing together as a two-hour television movie. Season Three received a similar positive critical reception to that of the previous seasons. The season, and especially the finale, received much critical acclaim, with praises from sources such as DVD Talk[2] and IGN.[3]
Between October 30, 2007 and September 16, 2008, Nickelodeon released four DVD volumes and a "Complete Box Set".[4] Each of the four volume DVDs consisted of one disc and five episodes,with the exception of volume four, which had six episodes, and the boxed set contained all twenty-one episodes on five discs.[4] The DVDs were encoded solely for Region 1.
Production
The season was produced by and aired on Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom.[5] The season's executive producers and co-creators were Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside episode director and co-producer Aaron Ehasz.[6] Most of the individual episodes were directed by Ethan Spaulding, Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe.[7] 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.[7]
The season's music was composed 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.[8]
Cast
All of the protagonists from season 2 remained the same, with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph voiced by Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, and Jessie Flower, respectively.[9] After the voice actor Mako died during the production of season two, Iroh was voiced by Greg Baldwin. Zuko, who is voiced by Dante Basco, joins the Avatar during the episode "The Western Air Temple." This leaves Azula, who is voiced by Grey DeLisle, as the primary antagonist.[1] Mark Hamill joins the cast to voice Fire Lord Ozai, who had previously only been shown playing minor roles in the series.[9]
Reception
As with previous seasons, the critical reception was generally positive. Jamie S. Rich from DVD Talk says "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".[2] Jamie S. Rich says in another review:[10]
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".[11]
The season also received praise for its video and sound quality. Nick Lyons from DVD Talk remarks 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."[12] The 2008 Annie Awards nominated the season for "Best Animated Television Production" and Joaquim dos Santos was nominated for "Directing in an Animated Television Production" for his work in "Into the Inferno".[13]
Episodes
DVD Releases
The first four DVD volumes contain five episodes each. A later boxed set contained all four volumes. The first DVD was released on October 30, 2007, and the complete boxed set was released on September 16, 2008.[14] They are released by Paramount Home Entertainment. Each of the individual Season Three DVDs also comes complete with an exclusive comic book.[15] The Complete Book 3 Collection DVD includes the following DVD extras: Inside Sozin's Comet: Exclusive Four-Part Commentary by Creators, The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation and Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic-Con.[16]
Volume | |||
---|---|---|---|
Released | Discs | Episodes | |
1 | October 30, 2007 | 1 | 5 |
2 | January 22, 2008 | 1 | 5 |
3 | May 6, 2008 | 1 | 5 |
4 | July 29, 2008 | 1 | 6 |
Box Set | September 16, 2008 | 5 | 21 |
Footnotes
- 1.^ Production code format taken from the commentary for "Sozin's Comet: The Phoenix King"
References
- General
- "Season 3". Avatar: The Last Airbender. IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- "Season Three DVD Information". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2008-10-28.
{{cite web}}
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- Specific
- ^ a b "Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast Photos — Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast and Crew — TV.com". Tv.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ a b Rich, Jamie S. (2008-01-22). "Avatar The Last Airbender — Book 3: Fire, Vol. 2". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ Mell, Tory Ireland (2008-07-22). "Sozin's Comet Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
- ^ a b "The Avatar: The Last Airbender Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ Luening, Erich (September 7, 1999). "CBS, Viacom in blockbuster merger — CNET News". CNET. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (2005-08-29). "Interview with "Avatar" Program Creators — Page 3" (Transcript) (Interview). Interviewed by Aaron H. Bynum. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
{{cite interview}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Avatar: The Last Airbender Cast and Details". Tvguide.com. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- ^ DiMartino, Michael Dante; Konietzko, Bryan (2005-08-29). "Interview with "Avatar" Program Creators — Page 4" (Transcript) (Interview). Interviewed by Aaron H. Bynum. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
{{cite interview}}
: Unknown parameter|program=
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3 Collection (US — DVD R1) in Reviews > Video Discs at DVDActive". Dvdactive.com. Retrieved 2008-11-29.
- ^ Rich, Jamie S. (2008-05-06). "Avatar the Last Airbender — Book 3: Fire, Vol. 3". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ "'Avatar' Officially Over, but Perhaps Not Quite So". BuddyTV. July 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ "Avatar The Last Airbender Book 3 Fire, Vol. 1 : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "2008 Annie Awards: For Your Consideration". Annie Awards. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Avatar: The Last Airbender Search". Amazon.com, Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ Harris, Jeff (May 27, 2008). "IGN: Avatar: The Last Airbender — Book 3: Fire / Volume 3 Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ "DVD Empire — Item — Avatar: The Last Airbender — The Complete Book 3 DVD Box Set / DVD-Video". DvdEmpire. Retrieved 2008-12-27.