Welcome to Avatar: The Last Airbender

0:00 Water.

0:00 Earth.

0:01 Fire.

0:02 Air. This is. What were we gonna say?

0:05 This is Yip Yip! Hooray!

0:07 An Avatar Podcast. Hey everybody. Welcome to our podcast. It's number one. Like our first one. But also number one in our hearts. And your heart? Maybe. I'm Jordan. I'm Katie. That is my best friend. And that is my think of a title. Anything.

0:34 Husband Lover. Husband uh Avatar Guru Man.

0:39 Oh, yeah, I definitely forced the show onto her as soon as I possibly could.

0:43 So that is how this got started. Is we've watched it a couple times, and now we've roped in some first timers. And that's the shenanigans we're getting in.

0:54 And the shenanigans began uh back when there was hope in the world, January 2020. It feels like we've been in encased in ice for a hundred years. But we started recording this in January, so the first few episodes are a little behind.

1:08 Anywho, so yeah, it was pre-pandemic. Uh now it's May.

1:12 We're it's just pandemic now.

1:14 This is what we're working with, people. It's gonna be great. Did we say it's on Netflix?

1:17 It's on Netflix now, which is a great time to start listening. Start the show over, start from the beginning, watch a few episodes, listen to us chat about it. If you don't have someone to chat actively with the show about, just listen, and then you could throw in some points and we'll just pretend like we heard you.

1:33 Yeah, let's do this. All right.

1:34 Yep, yep.

1:35 Hooray!

1:42 I'm Jordan Wolf, and I'm joined by the beautiful, extraordinary Oh, am I introducing myself?

1:48 I'm Katie Wolfe, and then I am joined by the extremely beautiful, wonderful Jessica McLean. So, do you have a name contribution that he just like, you know, spewed off a bunch of for the podcast name? Yes.

2:06 Based on my very small knowledge of Avatar The Last Airbender. All I know about Avatar The Last Bender Airbender is that there's a spin-off called Korra with Legend of Korra.

2:18 Legend of Korra, correct.

2:20 And um I actually know more about Korra, but I don't know that much about Korra.

2:27 Are you a big Janet Varney fan?

2:28 Yeah, I love Janet Varney. Alright.

2:31 I wish I knew who Janet was.

2:33 She voices Korra. Put all the L came together.

2:38 So we have a bit of a tier list in terms of the fandom for Avatar the Last Airbender. You have me. I'm at the top of the pyramid. I am the sugary sweet. You only want me in small doses. Too much of this and all of like my avatar knowledge will probably give you a cavity.

2:53 Are you identifying as like super nerd? Like I'm hyper nerd. You're like an expert.

3:00 I'm wearing an Avatar the Last Airbender t-shirt right now. The back says Air Nomad. I can't turn right now because definitely recording.

3:09 Does that mean anything to you?

3:10 Well, no, I'm just thinking that could be part of a cool name for the podcast. Oh, stay tuned, ladies and gentlemen.

3:16 Okay, next step on the pyramid.

3:18 It's like over the air, the podcast.

3:21 Over the air, okay. I mean, like radio over the air. Okay, okay. We'll watch some pilot and then we'll get back to you. Alright, here we go. Alright, next on this pyramid, we have our fruits and veggies. We have Katie Wolf.

3:33 Fruits and veggies? Yeah, it's the next one. Okay. Oh. Hmm. Really thinking about that food pyramid.

3:41 So Katie has one. I was like, is this an accurate metaphor?

3:45 It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter.

3:47 You are our base, Jessica.

3:49 Like, shouldn't you be the base?

3:51 Nope. I'm the top.

3:53 Okay, so I'm next because I've seen Avatar. Obviously, don't know Katie's seen it that much.

4:00 All the way through twice, which is an impressive feat.

4:04 And I'm excited to watch it.

4:05 How many total episodes are there?

4:07 There is 61 in Avatar the Last Yearbender.

4:10 Oh yeah, that's not that many.

4:11 Yeah.

4:11 I've also seen Korra, but anyway.

4:14 Okay, so next on the tier is Jessica pulling up the rear who has seen how many episodes? Zero. Alright. Okay, so what is your expectation for this television show we're forcing onto you?

4:26 Um, I think it's an animated show that was made for kids but that adults can enjoy. Similar to, I don't know, similar to Craig and I are really into watching um Voltron on uh Netflix, so the new Voltron. And so I feel like it's gonna be similar to Voltron in tone somehow.

4:50 Okay, some some fun fact for you. Joaquin Dos Santos, I think he's on the creative team. He's an Avatar Last Airbender alum. He was on that team. I know. Uh you're 100% wrong. It's a completely um, it's actually claymation, is what it is all the way through. And it's a serious melodrama.

5:08 Or Wallace and Gromit.

5:10 Wallace and Gromit meets Game of Thrones, and that's Avatar the Last Airbender for it.

5:13 Sounds amazing.

5:14 Yeah, actually, Jessica. It's gonna be a wild ride. Uh have you ever wanted to watch the series before?

5:21 I mean, when you guys have brought it up, I've definitely been like, yeah, I would watch that. I guess when did it come out on TV?

5:27 So it came out in 2015.

5:29 2005.

5:30 2005, yeah. Whoa. And then 2005-2008 was the original run.

5:37 Okay, so we were in high school. Mm-hmm. And what channel did it air on? It was a Nickelodeon show.

5:43 Did you watch Nickelodeon? Because I did not.

5:45 No, it was Disney and Cartoon Network.

5:49 Yeah. Okay, so yeah, Nickelodeon.

5:51 Well, and then like obviously like teen shows on like CWWB, I don't know what it was at the time.

5:57 All about that Lizzie McGuire life.

5:59 Yeah, like girls. Yeah, they're rebooting Lizzie Maguire. But then did you well, I guess this is totally unbelievable. We don't need to talk about Lizzie McGuire.

6:07 Okay, okay. Okay, so Nickelodeon, you know, they have everybody focused. They're rocking like SpongeBob, fairly odd parents, and then all of a sudden they have this like Eastern influenced, like fantastical bending the elements situation TV show.

6:22 I just feel like it shouldn't have been on Nickelodeon.

6:25 Like, yeah, I feel like you should look up what the lineup was.

6:28 Uh when it aired in the I think Danny Phantom might have been around.

6:33 I have friends that were way into Danny Phantom in high school. She loved Danny Phantom. I had seen Fairly Odd Parents for sure. I could tell you lots more about Fairly Odd Parents than Any Avatar! Okay. Probably could tell you more about Danny Phantom than Avatar just by osmosis. Oh my gosh.

6:56 Okay, so what do you think it's about?

6:59 Well, I think there's like the elements are part of it, right? Correct. Um, and it's kind of like um Eastern, like You're just saying that because I said that. Did you say that? I mean it's like and is the main kid bald? Like Kayu?

7:16 Did I just have to see?

7:18 He might be.

7:19 I feel like he looks like Cayu.

7:21 Oh god! No! Well, I mean, bald, bald child.

7:27 Yeah. Or like um, maybe a better comparison is uh in Dragon Ball um Goku's friend that's bald. Oh, Krillin? Krillin, yeah.

7:38 Um again, this is above me. No, this is good. This will be. Maybe we go back to the tiers, like Jessica and Jordan have more of like an upper nerd tier, and I'm like, don't know who or what they're talking about, but I can appreciate and respect the conversation.

7:56 Right. So I guess the question is was Avatar so Americans made Avatar for Nickelodeon?

8:04 So Avatar Last Airbender, animated show. People get it confused as an anime because it has that look about it. The animation was sourced to a South Korean company, and so they worked together with the creative team to produce the episodes, and then they recorded like all the voice, and it was it's a it's a technically an American animated show, but they just did the animation in South Korea.

8:28 Right. So it was creative, and the voice recordings were all here, and then it's cheaper to send it to South Korea to have it animated.

8:34 But man, they killed it. So uh buckle up, it's gonna be a really great ride. I'm really excited to watch it and to dissect it a little bit, have a little bit of conversation about this show. Yeah, it was definitely like Avatar Last Airbender is like totally like comfort food for me. Like I remember like buying all the DVDs and just like sitting at home and being like, I'm just gonna watch this episode, and then just like dulging.

8:58 Well, how did you come across it?

8:59 So I I was a late adopter for Avatar Last Airbender. I got into it pretty hardcore uh during the season one finale. And so I had like kind of swore it off because I was in this state of being kind of cool.

9:12 I was like, oh, I'm gonna watch everyone laughs what about being kind of cool. Wait, wait, like you were just too cool for that. Um Yeah.

9:24 No, I was like graduating. I was like, let's watch some like serious live-action drama.

9:28 So wait, who did you know that was watching it?

9:31 Nobody.

9:32 No, and you were just like flipping through the channels, and you're like, Well, I knew it existed.

9:35 Okay, I was a little salty about the premise of Avatar The Last Airbender because as a child I did a lot of like make-believe in the yard. And so I was like fascinated with the elements. I was like, oh, this is like I have this great idea, and I had these bamboo sticks, my brother and I'd be playing, and so we would like control the elements.

9:52 My character could do the wind, his character did water, and then lo and behold, like a year later, I'm assuming someone had bugged us. They stole my stole ideas from me. Controlling the elements isn't my idea at all. It's not even like kind of original. But yeah, I was like, this show, but then everything is like related to like Kung Fu or like they did martial arts.

10:13 So how the characters bend elements is that they it's very creative. All the elements are tied to like actual like martial arts moves from different um different variations. So I watched Didn't watch the first few episodes, and then I caught a rerun of season one, and I was like, what is this madness?

10:34 And it was just it blew my mind, and then I was hooked for life.

10:38 He's a lifer.

10:39 Katie, how'd you get how'd you watch it?

10:41 Uh, because you strongly encouraged us to watch it together, and I was less than enthused because I'm pretty sure with an ex-boyfriend that uh he was watching it, and so I'd already seen the first episode. Which ex-boyfriend? Bill! I was like, you're watching this? Anyway.

11:02 Bill, if you're listening, shout out. Shout out. Thanks for thanks for getting her started.

11:08 Oh my god. So yeah, I was like, uh, had watched the first episode and it was underwhelming for me, I guess.

11:17 But when we got back from Asia, we were in Long Beach and we were on a cleanse that Katie wanted to go on, wanted to cleanse like the rice meat diet we'd been on. And I was like, but we're I'm bringing all of Avatar with us. And she's like, I don't care. And so we're like miserable and starving, and we're like, let's do another episode.

11:36 And so I think we got through like most of the half first half of the series.

11:40 Right, because I was kind of like anti, not even not anti, just wasn't super enthusiastic about watching it, or I didn't think that it would be as great as Jordan thought it was. Uh and you didn't trust Jordan's taste? Then it really hasn't led to a show before. Yeah, yeah. I don't know, you guys. So I'm excited for you to watch it and to I don't know, just to see.

12:05 I mean, I definitely feel like it's gonna be right up my alley.

12:07 Perfect. And I hope that because we're recording you right now, that we're not building it up too much, because I'm gonna tell you right now, there's a little bit of a slow burn to the series.

12:16 I think that's also true, huh?

12:17 The first ten, because it was Nickelodeon, borderline juvenile times, but then there's a couple pivotal episodes where like, this is more than what I'm expecting, and then all of a sudden, like you are indeed in this like serialized storytelling and not this like episodic situation going on.

12:35 Right. So keep that in mind.

12:38 Are you ready to go watch the pilot episode of Avatar the Last Airbender? Oh my gosh, so much. Oh, good. So are you? Uh yeah. Final thoughts on what you're about to experience?

12:52 Um I'm excited. I'm excited that you guys are excited for me.

12:59 So stoked for your experience, your transformation.

13:02 Yeah.

13:03 Into the avatar.

13:05 And are we encouraging anyone who's listening?

13:10 Listeners at home, I'd like you to go into your cupboard. I know you have one. Open it with your hand or foot. Maybe you have a dog that does it for you. Grab your copy of Avatar, the last airbag.

13:21 Yeah, because you all have your copy of Avatar, right? Jessica, it was just in your cupboard that you opened with me.

13:26 Yeah, it just magically appeared. The elements brought it to my door.

13:30 Alright, well, on that note.

13:32 On that note, let's go watch some Avatar.

13:37 Is that the theme song?

13:48 Avatar the Last Airbender is a show. Is it about blue people? Nope. That's a hard pass. Let's not let's not go there.

13:57 Do you think fans have endured that?

13:59 Yes. Many times. You know, I'd be like, oh, have you guys seen Avatar? I'd be like, yeah, it's such a beautiful story about nature.

14:06 You're talking about me.

14:07 Yeah.