Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender (abbreviated as ATLA), also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang or just Avatar, is an American anime-influenced Animated television series. The series was created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It was produced by Nelvana Limited. The series was on Nickelodeon for three seasons. The pilot episode, The Boy in the Iceberg, was first broadcast on February 21, 2005. The last episode, Sozin's Comet, was broadcast on July 19, 2008.
The program is about a world where people can control, or "bend," one of the four elements--water, earth, fire, or air. The main character is Aang. He is the "Avatar". This means he can bend all four elements. In the series, Aang and his friends Katara, Sokka, and later Toph Beifong must save the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. Ozai is the ruler of the Fire Nation. Aang and his friends want to end a war between the Fire Nation and the other nations. The war has lasted for one hundred years. At the same time, Zuko tries to capture Aang and defeat him. Zuko used to be the prince of the Fire Nation. The series is based on different parts of Asian culture. The moves that the characters make when they bend are based on different styles of martial arts. These include kung fu and tai chi. The art style of the series is similar to the style of Japanese anime.
Avatar: The Last Airbender received high ratings when it was broadcast. Its highest rating was 5.6 million people. The series was made for young veiwers. Even people who were not 6 to 11 watched and liked it. Critics also like the show. They think its characters, art, music, and writing are all very good. In addition, Avatar: The Last Airbender talks about difficult things that children's shows do not talk about often. These include war, genocide, imperialism, and free will. The show has won many awards. It has won five Annie Awards, a Genesis Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Kids' Choice Award, and a Peabody Award. Many people think Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best animated series of all time.
There is a franchise of things related to Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of these is an animated sequel series, The Legend of Korra, that tells what happens 70 years after the events of the first show. The Legend of Korra premiered in 2012 and ended in 2014. There are also two prequel novels, a live-action film, and a series of comics, which are still being made. In July 2018, the complete series was released on Blu-ray. This was to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the ending of the show. The show was released on Netflix in the United States and Canada in May 2020. It was also released on Paramount+ in June 2020 and on Amazon Prime Video in January 2021. A live action version is currently being made by Netflix.
Episodes
Avatar: The Last Airbender takes place in a world that is home to humans, fantastic animals, and spirits. The world is divided into four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Air Nomads, and the Fire Nation. Each nation bases its society on the element (water, earth, fire, or air) that is in its name. Some people who live in each nation have the power to magically control and use, or "bend," the element of that nation. Those people are called "benders." They can use their powers of bending to fight. The way that the show portrays the fighting style from each nation is based on a martial art from real life. For instance, "waterbenders" (people who can magically control and use water) have a fighting style that is based on tai chi chuan from real life. Earthbending is mostly based on Hung Ga kung fu. Firebending is like Northern Shaolin kung fu. And Airbending is similar to baguazhang. Each nation is also connected to a season: autumn for the Air Nomads, winter for the Water Tribe, spring for the Earth Kingdom and summer for the Fire Nation.
In the world that Avatar: The Last Airbender shows, there is always only one person alive who can bend all four elements. That person is called the "Avatar." When one Avatar dies, he or she is reincarnated, or born again in another body. The Avatar's next body always belongs to the next nation in the Avatar Cycle. The cycle always goes in this order: water, earth, fire, air. Then it starts over again with water. The Avatar must learn how to bend the elements in the same order. He or she begins by learning how to bend the element of the country where they were born. Then he or she learns the next three elements in order. Usually, it is a challenge for the Avatar to learn how to bend the element that is the opposite of their first, or "native," element. For instance, the main character of the show, Aang, was born to Air Nomads, so air was the first element he learned to bend. The "opposite" element to air is earth, so for Aang, it was difficult to learn earthbending. This is because Earthbending focuses on steadiness and facing your opponent directly. This is different from airbending, which focuses on getting to your opponents in many different ways and changing your style quickly if it is necessary.
One special power that the Avatar has is called the "Avatar State." When an Avatar goes into the Avatar State, he or she gains all of the knowledge and abilities that all of the past Avatars have had. The Avatar State is a defense mechanism. An Avatar goes into this state automatically. However, if he or she practices for a very long time, he or she can control when they go into the Avatar State and what they do while they are in it. If an Avatar is killed in the Avatar State, then the Avatar Cycle will be broken. Then there will be no more Avatars. Through the years, there have been many Avatars. They keep all of the four nations peaceful. Another special power that the Avatar has is being able to go into the Spirit World. He or she can link the physical world to the Spirit World. In this way, he or she can solve problems that regular benders cannot.
Season One (Book One: Water)
One hundred years before the story begins, a twelve-year-old Airbender named Aang learns that he is the new Avatar. He is not happy when he learns this, because he knows that being the Avatar is a big responsibility, and he does not think he is ready for it. He is also scared of having to leave his mentor, Monk Gyatso, whom he loves very much. Aang flees from home on his animal guide, a flying bison named Appa. But they fly into a big storm and crash into the ocean, and Aang goes into the Avatar State and freezes himself and Appa inside an iceberg. They are frozen in a state of suspended animation--they cannot move, grow older, or die. While this is happening, the Fire Nation is beginning a war against the other three nations. Fire Lord Sozin, the leader of the Fire Nation, knows that the new Avatar is an Air Nomad (because of the Avatar Cycle's pattern), so he kills all of the Air Nomads in a genocide. This is because he wants to make sure that the Avatar, who is very powerful, will not be able to defeat the Fire Nation in the war. The Fire Nation army is able to kill all of the Air Nomads because a comet called "Sozin's Comet" made their bending much more powerful. But because the actual Avatar, Aang, is frozen in an iceberg, he is not killed. He is the only Airbender to survive the attack. For one hundred years, everybody in the world believes that the Avatar does not exist anymore.
A hundred years later, Katara and Sokka, two siblings who live in the Southern Water Tribe, free Aang and Appa from the iceberg. Katara is the only waterbender in her small tribe. She has taught herself how to bend. Her older brother, Sokka, cannot bend, but he is a warrior. Katara, Sokka, and Aang travel to the Northern Water Tribe so Aang and Katara can learn waterbending from a master. Aang does not know about the war or the genocide of the Air Nomads. While on their journey, they visit the Southern Air Temple, where Aang used to live. There, Aang discovers that the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads. He also meets his Avatar guide, Avatar Roku, who is the Avatar who came before Aang. Roku tells Aang that he must learn to bend all four elements by the summer solstice. This is because Sozin's Comet will return on that day, and it will make the firebenders' bending very powerful. If Aang does not defeat the current Fire Lord, Ozai, by the summer solstice, then the Fire Nation will take over the world and no one will be able to stop them anymore.
While Katara, Sokka, and Aang travel to the Northern Water Tribe, they are constantly chased by Prince Zuko. Zuko is the son of the current Fire Lord, Ozai, but Ozai banished him from the Fire Nation three years before the story starts. Zuko can only return to the Fire Nation and get back his honor if he captures the Avatar. He travels with his uncle Iroh, nicknamed "Dragon of the West", a legendary Fire Nation general and the older brother of Ozai. Zuko and another Fire Nation military officer, Admiral Zhao, compete to capture the Avatar. At the end of the season, Admiral Zhao leads the Fire Nation navy in attacking the Northern Water Tribe. During the attack, Zhao also kills the Moon Spirit. But Aang and his friends help fight back against this attack, and Yue, the princess of the Northern Water Tribe, sacrifices herself (in other words, she decides to die) so she can become the new Moon Spirit. In the end, Aang and his friends win the battle.
Season Two (Book Two: Earth)
After leaving the North Pole, Aang continues to learn and master waterbending with Katara. Aang, Katara, and Sokka look for someone who can teach Aang how to earthbend. They soon meet Toph Bei Fong, a young girl who is one of the best earthbenders in the world. She is blind, but knows how to "see" (or sense her surroundings) through earthbending and by feeling vibrations, or small shakes, in the earth. She teaches Aang to do the same.
Meanwhile, Zuko and Iroh are now fugitives from the Fire Nation. They escape to Ba Sing Se, the capital city of the Earth Kingdom, where they try to start new lives. Zuko, with the help of his uncle, tries to accept the difficult events he has gone through in his life, and he learns to not be so focused on capturing the Avatar. Aang and his friends (who are sometimes called "Team Avatar") learn about a solar eclipse that will happen in the future. When the eclipse happens, all firebenders will lose their bending for a short time. So Team Avatar makes plans to invade the Fire Nation on that day. This is when Aang plans to defeat Fire Lord Ozai.
While Team Avatar travels to Ba Sing Se so they can tell the Earth King about the eclipse, Zuko's younger sister Azula and her two friends Mai and Ty Lee try to capture them. Finally, the three of them capture the Kyoshi Warriors (friends of Team Avatar) and pretend to be them, so that they can invade Ba Sing Se. Azula persuades an elite group of Earthbenders called the Dai Li to instigate a coup d'etat, allowing the Fire Nation to capture Ba Sing Se. At the end of the season, when Team Avatar is fighting against Azula and her allies, Zuko sides with Azula, who promises to restore his honor. When Aang enters the Avatar State, Azula shoots him with lightning. It hurts him very badly, and he almost dies. Katara brings Aang back to life with spirit water that she got from the North Pole in the previous season. But Aang's seventh chakra is blocked, and he cannot enter the Avatar State.
Season Three (Book Three: Fire)
Aang awakens to find the group disguised as Fire Nation soldiers heading West on a Fire Nation ship, while Zuko has been restored to his position as crown prince. Sokka has planned a small-scale invasion of the Fire Nation to capture the Fire Lord's palace and defeat Fire Lord Ozai, taking advantage of the solar eclipse. The invasion will be staged by a ragtag group of benders and warriors who Aang has helped along his journey. Initially the invasion proceeds as planned, but Aang fails to find the Fire Lord before the eclipse ends, because Azula knew about the invasion. The invasion ultimately fails, and only Aang and his closest friends are able to escape. Zuko, in a change of heart, decides to defy his father and join the Avatar. Zuko catches up with Aang at the Western Air Temple and offers to teach Aang Firebending. After some reluctance from Katara and Sokka, Team Avatar allows Zuko to join the group. In the series finale, Aang defeats Fire Lord Ozai by taking away his ability to firebend. With Ozai defeated, the war quickly ends. Zuko is crowned the new Fire Lord and, with the help of the Avatar and his friends, begins rebuilding the four nations. The series ends as Aang and Katara kiss in front of the sunset.
Characters
Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen) is a 12 year old. He is the most important character in the series. He was frozen in ice with his flying bison, Appa, for 100 years. He was found by a young Waterbender named Katara. Now he is the Avatar, the master of 4 different powers: water, earth, fire and air. Aang is a hero, but he doesn't want to be a hero. He is trying to make the world good again.
Katara (Mae Whitman) is 14 years old. She is a Waterbender. This means she can move water by moving her body. She is in the Southern Water Tribe. Katara has a brother. His name is Sokka. They find Aang in a big ball of ice. He had been frozen for 100 years. Katara and Sokka go with Aang on an adventure to kill the evil Lord. His is called Fire Lord Ozai. She is his first teacher for water.Katara can do bloodbending. This means she can move peoples' bodies by "bending" their blood. She does not like to do this.
Sokka (Jack DeSena) is 15 years old. He is a warrior. He is also Katara's brother. He lives in the Southern Water Tribe. He goes with Aang on his adventure to kill the evil Fire Lord. He is very funny, so he says he is "meat-loving" and "sarcastic". Sokka is different from his friends. He cannot "bend" anything, he is a fighter and a thinker. He has lots of good ideas and weapons. He has a boomerang and a sword he made from a meteorite. Michael Dante DiMartino, who made the TV show, said that Sokka could have been a Waterbender, but he never learned how to do it.
Toph (Jessie Flower) is 12 years old. She is blind. She is an Earthbender. Her family is rich, but she doesn't like money. She is very strong and she likes to fight. When she meets Aang and his friends she thinks they are strange. She wants to help them, so she goes with them on their adventure. She is Aang's teacher for Earthbending. She is blind, but she can still see things. Toph "sees" with her feet. She feels the earth move a little bit. Then she knows what is happening. Toph is the most powerful Earthbender ever.
Zuko (Dante Basco) is 16 years old. He is the son of the evil Fire Lord, so he is a prince. In Season 1 he is the most important bad guy. Zuko's life was hard. Something happened and now his father doesn't like him. Zuko wants to catch the Avatar because he thinks his father would like that. Zuko does not like himself, he is angry, and his family is crazy. In the show Zuko learns how to be nice. He wears a blue mask to hide himself and then he saves people. In season three, he leaves the Fire Lord. He goes to Aang and becomes his friend. He becomes a Firebending teacher for Aang. At the end, he is the new Fire Lord.
Azula (Grey DeLisle) is a bad princess. She is a Firebender. She is Zuko's younger sister. She is an important bad guy in the show. Azula is very good at Firebending. It is easy for her to do it. She can make lightning. She is very mean to her friends Mai and Ty Lee. She uses fire to scare them. The Fire Lord likes her more than Zuko.
Iroh (Mako in season one and two, Greg Baldwin in season three used to be a general for the Fire Lord. He can make fire in his nose and mouth, so they call him the Dragon of the West. He is Prince Zuko's uncle and teacher. The Fire lord is Iroh's brother. Iroh is older than the Fire Lord. He should be the Lord, but the Fire Lord lied, so that he could be the Lord. People think Iroh is nice, kind, and happy. He does silly things so people think he is not strong or smart. But Iroh is very smart and strong. Iroh has a secret group of friends. They are strong and good at fighting. The friends are called The Order of the White Lotus. In the last episode they fight the Fire Nation. They win and the world becomes a good place. Iroh is special because he learned how to do Firebending from Dragons.
Other characters
Production
Avatar: The Last Airbender was co-created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko at Nelvana Limited in Tortnto Onartio, Canada. Animation work was done by the Korean animation studio DR Movie. According to Bryan Konietzko, the program was conceived in the spring of 2001 when he took an old sketch of a balding, middle-aged man and re-imagined the character as a child. Konietzko drew the character herding bison in the sky, and showed the sketch to Mike DiMartino. At the time, DiMartino was studying a documentary about explorers trapped in the South Pole.
Konietzko described their early development of the concept: The co-creators successfully pitched the idea to Nickelodeon VP and executive producer Eric Coleman just two weeks later.
The show was first revealed to the public in a teaser reel at Comic-Con 2004, and started show the episodes from 21 February 2005. In the United States, first two episodes of the series were shown together in a one-hour premiere event. A second twenty-episode season ran from 17 March 2006 through 1 December. A third and final season, beginning September 21, 2007, featured twenty-one episodes rather than the usual twenty. The final four episodes were packaged as a two-hour movie.
Cultural influences
Avatar is notable for borrowing extensively from Asian art and mythology to create its universe. The show's character designs are heavily influenced by anime as well as Chinese art and history, Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and Yoga. Traditional East Asian calligraphy styles are used for nearly all the writing in the show. For each instance of calligraphy, an appropriate style is used, ranging from seal script (more archaic) to clerical script. The show employed a cultural consultant, Edwin Zane, and calligrapher Siu-Leung Lee as consultants for the show's cultural influences.
The choreographed martial art bending moves were profoundly affected by Asian cinema. In an interview, Bryan revealed that, "Mike and I were really interested in other epic 'Legends & Lore' properties, like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but we knew that we wanted to take a different approach to that type of genre. Our love for Japanese anime, Hong Kong action and kung fu cinema, yoga, and Eastern philosophies led us to the initial inspiration for Avatar."
All music and sound used in the series was done by Jeremy Zuckerman and Benjamin Wynn, who form "The Track Team". They made use of a wide range of different instruments (such as the guzheng, pipa and duduk) to compose a background music that fits into the world.
Avatar
The term "Avatar" comes from the language of Sanskrit, one of the most ancient languages of India. The word Avatara, (Sanskrit: ), which means "descent"; its roots are ava means "down," and tri means "to pass." In the Hindu scriptures, avatara signifies the descent of Divinity into flesh. One who attains union with Spirit and then returns to earth to help humanity is called an avatar. The Chinese characters that appear at the top of the show's title card mean "the divine medium who has descended upon the mortal world."
When Aang was young, he unknowingly revealed that he was the Avatar when he chose four toys out of thousands, each of which were the childhood toys of the previous Avatars. In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a similar test for reincarnations of a Tulku Lama. In Magic and Mystery in Tibet, Alexandra David-Neel writes that "a number of objects such as rosaries, ritualistic implements, books, tea-cups, etc., are placed together, and the child must pick out those which belonged to the late tulku, thus showing that he recognizes the things which were theirs in their previous life." Each successor is expected to show signs of continuity with the previous Avatar, such as being born within a week of the death.
Elements and fighting styles
Avatar draws on the four classical elements common to many ancient philosophies for its bending arts: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. Although each has its own variation, most ancient philosophies incorporate these four elements in some way. Examples include the classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Greek elemental traditions. In the show's opening, each element is accompanied by two Chinese characters: an ancient Chinese seal script character on the left representing the element being shown and a modern Chinese character on the right describing some feature of the element.
The character Shui (pinyin: shui), which stands for water, is shown with Shan (pinyin: shan), which means benevolence and adaptivity. The character Tu (pinyin: tu), which stands for earth, is shown with Qiang (pinyin: qiang), which means for strength and stability. The character Huo (pinyin: huo), which stands for fire, is shown with Lie (pinyin: lie), which means intensity and passion. Finally, the character Qi (pinyin: qi), which stands for air, is shown with He (pinyin: he), which means peace and harmony.
In addition to the use of four classical elements in the series, the fighting styles associated with each element are all taken from different styles of Chinese martial arts. The series employed Sifu Kisu of the Harmonious Fist Chinese Athletic Association as a martial arts consultant. Each fighting style was chosen to represent the element it projected. Tai Chi was used for "Waterbending" in the series, and it focuses on alignment, body structure, breath, and visualization. Hung Gar was used for "Earthbending" in the series, and was chosen for its firmly rooted stances and powerful strikes to present the solid nature of earth. Northern Shaolin, which uses strong arm and leg movements was used for "Firebending". And Ba Gua, which uses dynamic circular movements and quick directional changes, was used for "Airbending". The only exception to these styles is Toph, who can be seen practicing a Chu Gar Southern Praying Mantis style.
Awards
Nielsen ratings
When the show first was shown it was rated the best animated television series in its demographic; new episodes averaged 3.1 million viewers each. A one-hour special showing of "The Secret of the Fire Nation" which was shown on 15 September 2006, consisting of "The Serpent's Pass" and "The Drill", gathered an audience of 5.1 million viewers. According to the Nielsen Media Research, the special was the best performing cable television show airing in that week. In 2007, Avatar was syndicated to more than 105 countries worldwide, and was one of Nickelodeon's top rated programs. The series was ranked first on Nickelodeon in Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Belgium, and Colombia.
The series finale, Sozin's Comet: The Final Battle, received the highest ratings of the series. Its 19 July 2008 premiere averaged 5.6 million viewers, 95% more viewers than Nickelodeon had received in mid-July 2007. During the week of 14 July, it ranked as the most-viewed program for the under-14 demographic. Sozin's Comet also appeared on iTunes' top ten list of best-selling television episodes during that same week. Sozin's Comets popularity affected online media as well; "Rise of the Phoenix King", a Nick.com online game based on Sozin's Comet, generated almost 815,000 game plays within three days.
Other awards
Other media
Literature
Dark Horse Comics released an art book titled Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Art of the Animated Series, on 2 June 2010 which contains 184 pages of the original art and creation behind the Avatar animated series.
Promotion and merchandising
Avatar'''s success has led to some promotional advertising with third-party companies, such as Burger King and Upper Deck Entertainment. Avatar-themed roller coasters at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America and one formerly at Kings Island also appeared. During the show's runtime, Nickelodeon published two special issues of Nick Mag Presents dedicated entirely to the show. Various members of the Avatar staff and cast appeared at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con International convention, while Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko appeared with Martial Arts Consultant Sifu Kisu at the Pacific Media Expo on October 28, 2006. Avatar also has its own line of T-shirts, LEGO playsets, toys, a trading card game, a cine-manga, and three video games, as well as an MMO.
The Mattel-produced action figure toy line generated some controversy with its exclusion of any female characters. Mattel came to release information stating that they have taken account of Katara's increased role within the program, and that she would be included in the figure assortment for a mid 2007 release. The figure ultimately went unreleased, however, as the entire line was canceled before she could be produced.
Nickelodeon executives have since released optimistic plans for upcoming marketing strategies in regards to Avatar. Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami openly stated his belief that the franchise "could become their Harry Potter". They expect consumers to spend about $121 million in 2007, rising to $254 million by 2009. The marketing plans are to be coincided with the release of the first live-action movie based on the series in 2010, which will be the first movie in a trilogy.
Video games
In the series of Avatar: The Last Airbender based a video game trilogy:
Avatar: The Last Airbender, based on the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth, based on the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno, based on the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.Avatar: Legends of the Arena, a video game for Microsoft Windows, was launched on 25 September 2008 by Nickelodeon. Each user is able to create their own character, choose a nation, and to interact with others across the globe.
Movie adaptation
In the series of Avatar: The Last Airbender based the trilogy The Last Airbender:
The Last Airbender, which was released on 1 July 2010 (based on the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender)
The Last Airbender 2, which was set to be released in 2012 (based on the second season of Avatar: The Last Airbender). There is no further announcement.
The Last Airbender 3, which was set to be released in 2014 (based on the third season of Avatar: The Last Airbender). There is no further announcement.
List of actors
Avatar: The Legend of Korra
A series based on Avatar: The Last Airbender is currently in development at Nickelodeon and due for release in 2011. It will be created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender.Rumors Of New 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Animated Series Confirmed The show, tentatively titled Avatar: The Legend of Korra, will be a twelve-episode mini series that takes place in the same universe, 70 years after the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai. The development period and release dates were announced at the annual Comic-Con in San Diego on 22 July 2010.
The series will focus on Korra, a teenage female protagonist and current incarnation of the Avatar, who, according to the president of Nickelodeon, will be "hotheaded, independent, and ready to take on the world". She has already mastered the elements of Water, Earth, and Fire, but needs to master Air. The character was partly inspired by Avatar Kyoshi of the original series, whom the creators say was very popular among fans. In order to avoid repetition of Aang's adventures, the creators wanted to root the show in one place, called Republic City. A concept drawing of the city, released with the announcement of the series, shows the city's design as inspired by Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s, Hong Kong, Manhattan, and Vancouver. In the show, Korra will have to learn Airbending from master Tenzin, son of Avatar Aang and Katara, and contend with an anti-bender revolution taking place in the city.
While not targeting a different demographic than Avatar: The Last Airbender, Michael and Bryan have stated that the show won't cover more mature subject material necessarily, just different mature subjects, "It won't be another war, but a different sort of conflict." The creators also explained that there would be some "cheesy teen romance" for the main character, Korra. At the 2010 Comic-Con, it was revealed that the creators will continue to work with Joaquim Dos Santos and Ryuki Hung on the animation and design of the show. The creators also confirmed that they will directly write all twelve episodes, explaining that as a mini-series, episode fillers will be omitted, allowing for a "really tight" and "cool" story. In late July, Jeremy Zuckerman, composer of the original series, was confirmed to be returning to score The Legend of Korra''.
Live action remake
A live action remake is in the works for Netflix. Production and filming began in Vancouver, British Columbia on November 16, 2021. It ended on June 17, 2022.\ Stewart Whelan served as a cinematographer.
Notes
References
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Nickelodeon television series
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2000s American animated television series
Peabody Award winners
Emmy Award winners
English-language television programs
2005 American television series debuts
2008 television series endings