phil has elevated the game like Mile High Stadium with 12 comments.
beth has 11 comments and is bad to the bone like osteoporosis.
Joe is in your face like your own skull with 8.
Tiffany! is right up in there like ill-fitting swimwear with 8.
prof. fancy pants has 5 and is intense like the circus.
DirtyDanSin has 4 and is on fire like a pile of tires.
jon has 3 comments and needs to raise the stakes like when the camping trip is over.
Stace has 2 & needs work like me before I got hired.
This is a 3 season long show that was on Nickelodeon. It’s tough to describe cause there is very little out there that’s anything like it. It’s a US-written, Korean produced, animated fantasy-comedy-kid’s cartoon-martial-arts-action-teen-drama epic that can’t really be compared to anything else out there. I can’t even begin to explain to you what it’s about without confusing you or making it sound dumb.
It’s about duty, loss and making peace with your past. It takes place in some kind of steampunk fantasy version of Asia full of hybrid animals like turtleducks and turtleseals. The premise, which they tell you at the beginning of every episode so I can say it from memory, is that Aang, the kid who was being groomed to save the world from war and is essentially a secular Dalai Lama, disappeared 100 years ago and was frozen in ice. His people were killed and everything fell apart. Because it’s a kids cartoon they can’t say the word “kill” though, but it’s pretty clear what happened.
So now, 100 years too late, he and his magic flying bison are found and thawed out by two Inuit kids and they all go on a massive adventure across the world. They’re chasedby an exiled prince and his uncle (who’s voiced by the guy who narrated Conan the Barbarian).
I’m so jealous of kids who get something like this whereas at their age I had joyless, mercenary toy ads like GI Joe. There is some real emotional depth to the show. I laughed and cried, sometimes one right after the other. My girlfriend and I became obsessed, to the point that every single conversation we had for two weeks was about the show.
It owes a big debt to Miyazaki and a lot of the design seems like one giant homage to him, for example Appa looks a lot like Catbus. I couldn’t even watch more than 30 minutes of Princess Mononoke without snoring. Avatar: The Last Airbender has a similar style but is paced more to my liking.
Greatest cartoon of all time, for real. They should get a medal for taking this shit to the other level. It’s available on itunes, netflix and amazon. There’s a movie of the first season being made now by M. Night Shyamalan with no Asians in the cast, which is pretty controversial.
There is a real ceiling to how good the movie can be because (1) Shyamalan movies are never good and (2) it’ll be condensed into a couple hours long so it can’t include the sexy bounty hunter, the pirates, the blue spirit, Jet & his crew, the Kyoshi, the fire sages, the great divide & the fortune teller.
→ 28 comments so far ↓
1
phil
// Feb 8, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I’m trying to get this out of my system by writing this. Hopefully it works.
2
Stace
// Feb 8, 2010 at 7:47 pm
My coworker was all about the trailer for this over the weekend. I never watched more than a couple of episodes but maybe I will have to.
Also, I love Catbus! The pic before Catbus doesn’t seem to be working, fyi.
3
MissBella
// Feb 8, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Phil you watch Nickelodeon??? That’s so…2001
4
phil
// Feb 8, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I don’t have cable, I watched it on netflix. It’s the greatest. After not watching ads for so long I can never go back.
5
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 4:25 am
Nobody asked you if you had cable or were you just volunteering that?
You forgot to mention that you have ridden your bike part-way across the US.
6
jake
// Feb 9, 2010 at 9:12 am
@Joe: Miss Bella’s question was about watching cable TV.
@Phil: The ad that ran during the Super Bowl gave me the impression that the upcoming movie was the first in a series, so it may not be as condensed as you’re fearing.
7
MissBella
// Feb 9, 2010 at 9:28 am
@Joe: My question was NOT about watching cable T.V, sorry Jake! Was just shocked at what Phil does in his free time.
I really want to comment about the topic, but even if I was 12 I don’t think I’d be watching it. Looks like it’s made to appeal to boys.
8
jake
// Feb 9, 2010 at 9:35 am
How does “You watch Nickelodeon” not imply cable?
9
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 9:37 am
Jake, when you imply you make an imp out of Ly.
10
jake
// Feb 9, 2010 at 9:45 am
I mean, I can understand how it might mean “You watch Nickelodeon-branded shows through non-cable distribution methods such as the internet or on DVD?”
But seriously, when someone refers to “watching NBC” they’re not talking about Hulu-ing an episode of 30 Rock, they’re talking about turning on the TV and switching it to NBC. I listen to a lot of podcasts from NPR, but if someone says to me “Do you listen to NPR?” I feel obliged to specify that I listen to the shows on podcast, and don’t really “listen to the radio” per se.
To call Phil out for making an ass out of U and me by thinking Bella was asking if he tuned into Nickelodeon on his TV via cable is ridiculous.
11
Stephanie
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:01 am
They are doing the live action movies in 3 parts to go along with the show. I cannot wait! I love the show!
12
phil
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:01 am
@Jake, the movie is based on the first season. I think there will be one movie for each of the 3 seasons. 90 minute movies just don’t have the time to do much.
@Bella, I thought along those same lines too. I’m snobby when it comes to entertainment, but luckily for me I was open-minded for once and let my guard slip.
@Joe & Jake, when you Argue you make me say “ARRRGHH!” at “U”. I don’t think I could have watched the show on TV because at the first of 100 ad breaks I would have turned the channel and then forgotten to change it back.
13
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:11 am
Jake, I don’t even own a tv or a projector.
But, when Phil downloads iCarley from NetFlix he is still watching Nickolodeon.
And, especially since they own Hulu, for sure watching 30 rock on Hulu could be described as “watching NBC”, or “getting your Peacock on” or however you NBC fanboys say it.
Oh, and not to go double semantic on you, but there is a difference between “giving Phil shit” and “calling Phil out.”
I reserve “calling Phil out” for when he refuses to share the cd player of the car we had both rented to drive to Ukiah. I give him shit for shaving his chest and saying you-man.
14
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:19 am
@phil, i spit out my drink when you said “once.” Then I looked around to see if anybody else, who knew the type of stuff you watch, heard you say that.
In other, unrelated, news, I have the edwin valero (http://cultureboxe.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/valerovspitalua02031.jpg) fight, UFC 109, and the wrapup show of the Jersey Shore still on queue from a weekend of furious torrenting. Stoked!
15
phil
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:42 am
@Joe I don’t shave my chest, I trim it with the clippers. That’s like saying when I get a haircut I am having my head shaved. It’s pretty metro I admit but you know me well enough to know that it isn’t even in the top 5 of my deviant behaviors. I know you well enough that I know it wouldn’t crack your top 10.
Refusing to share the CD player (6 years ago) was wrong. You were probably going to play some shit I didn’t like though.
The way I pronounce the word “human” is part of the way I talk. Hearing me say the word that way is the price you pay for getting to listen to the other words that come out of my mouth.
I’m pretty anti-semantic & don’t think it matters one way or another but you guys started it:
Watching a channel to me means you watch the ads, the “what’s next” and maybe the thing that comes on before or after the thing you are watching. A channel is like a river whereas an individual show is like a bathtub.
If you watch Brian’s Song starring Billy Dee Williams & James Caan on DVD, you aren’t watching ABC and if you watch The Wire on BET you aren’t watching HBO. I don’t think it’s important one way or another so if you disagree with me I’m not going to try to convince you.
I don’t recommend watching the show on Nickelodeon because watching 50 episodes with 2 or 3 ad breaks per episode (and all the ads being for things aimed at kids) would be impossible.
16
jake
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:50 am
It’s funny* how quickly this thread degenerated into an argument over semantics.
*Yes, by “funny” I mean “a shame”.
17
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 10:58 am
triming it, watching it on netflix, giving phil shit, is all just as bad anyways.
As my main road dog @minkaluv said on twitter: “Keep badmind outta mi bloodcloth ♥! Neva c ating wah mi hate suh like bloodcloth badmind¡¡ Go get alife¡!”
Words to live by, my friends.
PS “And now you’re calling me anti-semantic? Said it? Yep. Regret it? Nope.”
18
beth
// Feb 9, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This back and forth arguing is nutz…I can’t read it all.
Anyway, I LOVE this show it is not just for boys. And I think watching Nickelodeon is so 1989…but that’s just me.
19
Joe
// Feb 9, 2010 at 4:32 pm
I think it is so 1905-1915 but then I am older than a lot of you “I was born too late to see Mary Lou retton” types.
20
MissBella
// Feb 9, 2010 at 5:08 pm
heh, all this over my silly comment about what Phil does when no one is watching?
Also, highly amused that Phil ““ARRRGHHs!” only at Joe and Jake.
But really though, I was simply surprised to see him talk about a show on Nick.
—- after some thought —-
I GET IT! My comment/question does kinda suck because Phil said he watches it on Netflix so I guess he didn’t necessarily have to know it came from Nicklodeon. Therefore I can’t really say anything anymore. Wow, that took me a while.
21
jake
// Feb 10, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I watched the first few episodes of this and like it so far. The Avatar character reminds me a lot of my nephew, but my nephew is 4 and the character is 12 so I think it’s just because they’re both Asian-y.
22
phil
// Feb 10, 2010 at 12:46 pm
It gets better and better man believe me. Aang and most of the other characters are going to be played by whites in the movie, it’s real controversial.
23
jake
// Feb 10, 2010 at 4:31 pm
I don’t notice those things…
24
greg
// Feb 11, 2010 at 7:56 pm
hey phil, i feel the same way whenever i try to explain to people why snow crash is awesome. I keep saying “i know it sound stupid, skateboarding pizza delivery hacker heros and all, but trust me, its awesome!”
25
Joe
// Feb 12, 2010 at 1:27 am
@greg, I think the main difference is that Snow Crash /is/ awesome.
26
phil
// Feb 12, 2010 at 9:22 am
A lot of the problem with snow crash is that it doesn’t seem like science fiction anymore. People should just trust their friends when they tell them something is good.
27
jake
// Feb 12, 2010 at 10:51 am
Yeah, I wonder if you Snow Crash would be crazy dated if you read it today.
28
phil
// Feb 13, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I think the “everything falling apart” angle is pretty 90′s but then again I think children of men was the best movie of the 2000′s and that’s even more apocalyptic and doesn’t seem as dated.
I wonder how influential Snow Crash was on the people who made Second Life or for that matter the Matrix, gmail, wordpress and everything else. For example, we call the little pictures next to our names Avatars which I think was a term coined in Snow Crash wasn’t it?
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