When I first heard of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," I was more than a little skeptic. The fact that it was airing on Nickelodeon was probably the reason I just kind of shook my head. Then about three months ago, on a complete whim, I bought the first two chapters of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on DVD from Barnes & Noble Booksellers and, boy, was I blown away! This is one of the most humorous, fun, action-packed, and generally all-around entertaining cartoons I've seen in the longest time. It's just a pity that shows like "Avatar: The Last Airbender" are such a rarity these days. I'll be turning 21 on the 12th of next month; 13 years ago around this time at the age of 7, I remember that Nickelodeon had some of the best of children's programming on cable television. Then, 10 years ago, Nick began to slide into idiocy and continues to do so as I write this. Then around 1999, I gave up on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network completely. My opinion of both channels hasn't changed. But "Avatar: The Last Airbender," what I presume is an attempt to add a little pseudo-Anime'-style animation to its lineup in order to catch stragglers from other cultures (and perhaps Nick-weary adults like myself), is a breath of fresh air for this once-tired soul. While I don't think today's kids may completely understand the overall significance of some of this show's philosophy, subtext and terms (how many 5-year-olds know what an "avatar" is?), they may not have to be versed in Eastern Thought to get everything. "Avatar: The Last Airbender," a fusion of Eastern philosophy, Hinduism and martial arts, is set in a far-off land (dare I say, a Middle-Earth clone?) where four tribes rule the world and the most gifted members of each tribe have mastery over the Four Greek Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. The mastery of each of these is the term "bending," the ability to manipulate each element and use it for creative or destructive purposes. The Avatar, a sort of Christ-/Buddha-like figure, has mastery over all elements and is the most powerful bender of all. The main plot of the story gets underway when the Fire Nation grows too powerful and sets off on a campaign of world domination. But they first need the Avatar, who has mysteriously disappeared. Prince Zuko, from the Fire Nation, is leading a mission to capture the Avatar and gain re-admittance back to his kingdom. Two Water Tribe teenagers, a brother and sister named Sokka and Katara, respectively, make the discovery of a lifetime when they find that Aang, a 12-year-old Airbender who was frozen in a block of ice and also happens to be the last of his kind, is the new Avatar. But he still has many skills to master in a very short period of time, and the show follows the trio's journey to the North Pole with the mammoth six-legged bison Appa and the lemur Momo. If only more shows on Nickelodeon could follow the promise that "Avatar: The Last Airbender" has. What boggles my mind about this cartoon is its style, which, it really has that is completely original, even though the influence of Japanese Anime' is obviously apparent. We get some fairly funny jokes here and there, way out-there philosophy, and kung-fu-style element-bending battles that are pretty hard to top; it's the single greatest piece of imagination in today's children's programming! But my praise for "Avatar: The Last Airbender" doesn't really restore my faith in this channel (unless they wipe the slate clean and bring back all the original programs from my youthful years), it just reaffirms a hunch that they do have an ounce of competency left when it comes to entertainment.

10/10