Will Avatar Become the Doctor Who of Animation?

[Winter]

There are a LOT of Avatar projects on the way right now. A new series following the next Avatar after Korra has been announced, there are no less then 3 Feature Length Theatrical Films on the way (One focusing on the Gaang, one for Kyoshi and one on the Krew) and other novels and comics that are in the works right now.

I've heard that there are plans to try to make this next MCU but I think the series this should be compared to is Doctor Who.

Think about it, we focus on a single person who takes on many forms as they travel several worlds throughout various points of history to stop evil while having adventures. Really the only thing that is different is that DW is Science-Fantasy while Avatar is Steampunk-Fantasy and that Avatar lacks a Rogue Gallery for the Avatar.

In all honesty this could be amazing. Avatar has so much potential as an on going series as you have a means of resetting the main character in a way that DOESN'T require the reset button so there is a set limit on how powerful they can become before restarting the cycle to learn those skills again. This thus allows us to avoid the issue I have with many Shōnen and Superhero stories where the main character becomes more and more powerful as the series progresses to the point that they become a literal God and thus the series has to keep one-upping the stakes until it just becomes silly.

But here, there is a limit, the Avatar must learn the different elements and master them BUT they do not truly take that knowledge with them into the next life and while there is a power-up mode it comes with a massive draw back and can only be used sparingly.

Further more thanks to The Legend of Korra the show has established that the antagonist can be ANY of the Four Nations or even a group that is not affiliated with any one nation. I mean we had the Equalist, Vaatu (whom may become a reoccurring nemesis to the Avatar) and the Dark Spirits in addition to the Northern Water Tribe, the Red Lotus (who may also very well go on to be a reoccurring antagonist throughout the series) and the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation wasn't even an antagonist this time around and sat the series out for the most part because they didn't want to get involved in war again.

Hell, keeping in mind that Asami and Mako are both of Fire Nation Decent AND what happens with the Kyoshi novels the Fire Nation was, for the most part, the Avatar's ally in this series.

In series like Star Wars or DC and Marvel, we always have the same set of enemies with few to no alterations and while that's not a bad thing Avatar having no real set group of enemies and even if they do that doesn't mean they'll be involved in every conflict. This means that there is a lot more variety in terms of what can be done with each series instead of it always having to be an invading Nation and War for every story.

As shown in the Kyoshi novels the threat could be a former companion of the Avatar instead of an outside threat which creates its own drama because the enemy is someone we used to trust.

A simple formula that can lead to some many different stories and concepts that allows to give us a protagonist that is a different person for every entry while also being the Same person. The rules are simple, the powers have built in limits and the we don't have literally thousands of protagonists to explore in the past so we can go back and there is no limit to the stories that can be told here.

I have to admit that I want this series to succeed as it would be great to have a long running cartoon that can shake things up that will allow the characters to grow and change while also allowing the lead to relearn what they have learned WITHOUT feeling like a cheat.

[sayla0079]

Doubtful Doctor who has 60 years' worth of content and that's just the show. There are also books and audio. Avatar will have to wait a LONG time before it can get to that level.

[Winter]

Doubtful Doctor who has 60 years' worth of content and that's just the show. There are also books and audio. Avatar will have to wait a LONG time before it can get to that level.

I meant more in the style of storytelling rather then pop-culture impact. Again, same person with different faces, companions, travels between worlds and various points in history and is themselves alien to others despite appearing to be human. I honestly thought of this comparison even before Korra was released and impact Avatar has had on Western Animation is comparable to DW back when it was first released.

Again, my point isn't "Will this show be the Next Doctor Who" in terms of pop-culture but a DW in terms of style of story.

[sayla0079]

Doubtful Doctor who has 60 years' worth of content and that's just the show. There are also books and audio. Avatar will have to wait a LONG time before it can get to that level.

I meant more in the style of storytelling rather then pop-culture impact. Again, same person with different faces, companions, travels between worlds and various points in history and is themselves alien to others despite appearing to be human. I honestly thought of this comparison even before Korra was released and impact Avatar has had on Western Animation is comparable to DW back when it was first released.

Again, my point isn't "Will this show be the Next Doctor Who" in terms of pop-culture but a DW in terms of style of story.

Depends on what is available to avatar.
Pop culture aside look at all the potential spinoffs for Doctor who besides SJA and Torchwood:

What companions got up to after they left (ex Romana in Espace, Susan in the other timeline among the many many others the Doctor has known)
Gallifrey itself (which could be similar to the Krypton series prequel-wise)
When Missy became Sacha and what was the actual event that made her relapse into evil and insanity
The Doctor and the Master when they were in school together.
Unit's adventures when the Doctor isn't around
The doctor's adventures after the movie but before the revival.

There is much story potential there, can Avatar say the same?

[Winter]

Depends on what is available to avatar.
Pop culture aside look at all the potential spinoffs for Doctor who besides SJA and Torchwood:

What companions got up to after they left (ex Romana in Espace, Susan in the other timeline among the many many others the Doctor has known)
Gallifrey itself (which could be similar to the Krypton series prequel-wise)
When Missy became Sacha and what was the actual event that made her relapse into evil and insanity
The Doctor and the Master when they were in school together.
Unit's adventures when the Doctor isn't around
The doctor's adventures after the movie but before the revival.

There is much story potential there, can Avatar say the same?

Avatar has the 4 Nations and the complex history of how they were and where they're going
The Spirit World which can be seen Alice in Wonderland if made by Hayao Miyazaki
The Four Elements and how they can be used in and out of combat
Vaatu who is the rival of Raava
I can easily see the White Lotus getting up to its own adventures since it's almost as old as the Avatar themselves.
And all Avatar's before Aang and after Korra.

Not to mention that Avatar has one advantage over DW which is that when it has to start a new series the lead can be reset WITHOUT losing the development of the original before them or influence the Avatar AFTER them.

This is best shown in the Kyoshi and Yangchen books, where the Avatar is a completely different person yet still retains their core traits yet has to relearn what they have learned because they have no true memory of their past life UNTIL they reconnect with said past life and even then they retain who they are in this new life.

So, I would say yes Avatar has as much story potential because we've already seen that potential used in series outside of TLA with not only Korra but Kyoshi and Yangchen.

[clearspira]

Sorry, I have to agree with Sayla. Dr Who has nearly limitless untapped potential. I would say one of the only things that has stopped the BBC from harnessing that potential is budget - but if the rumours of them signing a deal with Disney are true then those days are over.

And if they get hold of that Marvel anti-aging/deepfake tech then just then just think of what we could have. The return of every Doctor and companion, no matter how old or mortally challenged. If done well we are into exciting times. The writing just needs to be there.

[stryke]

I think it could have been but I do think they made a mistake with just how incredibly far they leaped forward in terms of the society tech level in just a single generation with Korra. While it worked well for that show it did greatly limit them in terms of setting they can explore. You could maybe get away with a retro 60's-80's era equivalent Avatar but after that it's going to have to get modern day or sci-fi where bending starts looking a lot less impressive.

Sure you can backtrack but then you're just re-doing the Aang era minus the fire nation navy, and you're very unlikely to do better than the original article. If they'd gone for say a Victorian era for Korra they could have squeezed in a fair few more shows and avatars that way.

[clearspira]

I think it could have been but I do think they made a mistake with just how incredibly far they leaped forward in terms of the society tech level in just a single generation with Korra. While it worked well for that show it did greatly limit them in terms of setting they can explore. You could maybe get away with a retro 60's-80's era equivalent Avatar but after that it's going to have to get modern day or sci-fi where bending starts looking a lot less impressive.

Sure you can backtrack but then you're just re-doing the Aang era minus the fire nation navy, and you're very unlikely to do better than the original article. If they'd gone for say a Victorian era for Korra they could have squeezed in a fair few more shows and avatars that way.

I think the tech jump was the worst mistake they possibly could have made. Thing is, its the ''Harry potter vs guns'' argument all over again. Modern armies would crush the wizarding world and modern armies would crush benders. Oh, the more powerful benders that can bend metal and rend mountains asunder would be a challenge, but they are relatively small in number they have to sleep, eat and go potty like everyone else does. Meanwhile the world governments are a 24/7 operation that can destroy you from the other side of the planet.

TL;DR, Avatar only works when the guys with the tanks, artillery and fighter jets aren't around. The Artemis Fowl series noted that. Ray gun does not beat bullet when there are a billion bullets coming your way.

[Winter]

I think it could have been but I do think they made a mistake with just how incredibly far they leaped forward in terms of the society tech level in just a single generation with Korra. While it worked well for that show it did greatly limit them in terms of setting they can explore. You could maybe get away with a retro 60's-80's era equivalent Avatar but after that it's going to have to get modern day or sci-fi where bending starts looking a lot less impressive.

Sure you can backtrack but then you're just re-doing the Aang era minus the fire nation navy, and you're very unlikely to do better than the original article. If they'd gone for say a Victorian era for Korra they could have squeezed in a fair few more shows and avatars that way.

The Last Airbender made a greater technology jump then Korra did in a MUCH shorter amount of time. Case in point we went from this.



To this



In the span about about 6 or 8 months or one year if you want to be generous.

In reality the first hot air ships were invented in 1852 while Zeppelins weren't really invented until 1910 meaning we somehow missed 60 years of technological advances (if not more given how TLA's airships actually seem MORE advanced then their real world counterparts that we have TODAY!!!).

Also keep in mind that Avatar has used tech NOT powered by bending that is just silly, remember THIS?!



Sure we don't know how long the Fire Nation was working on this but the fact that were able to make it kinda ridiculous to begin with. And seeing that the Fire Nation made peace and would share many of it's tech going to Republic City isn't that far fetched.

[hammerofglass]

Eh, have this guy in the fantasy 80s and then have a cataclysm after his show that knocks them right back to the techlevel they've been hovering around since the turtle cities in the ancient past. Maybe fit in a Mad Max scavenger world Avatar in between. Then do Victorian or whatever.