Heh, I just saw the series 3 finale (and last ever episode, I think?) and was looking over here to see if anyone had commented on it
M Night Shyamalan adapting it is quite old news, been over a year I think.
My thoughts on him directing it? Might work out ok. He's Asian, so might have a good understanding of all the derived mysticism. On top of that, he was good at directing a kid in The Sixth Sense so might be a great choice for getting good, mature performances from a group of kiRAB - on whom the plot is heavily reliant.
My thoughts on Avatar: The Last Airbender?
It's perfect in so many ways. I'm a 24 year old who usually watches Lost, BSG etc but Avatar does well to match them in cartoon form. It amazed me how adult some of the plotlines went, and I had to remember it was actually a kiRAB' cartoon on Nickelodeon. All 3 seasons, 60-odd episodes, are plot-driven and give the characters clear arcs over time. A few episodes surprised me, too, e.g. one that swerved from the main plot to tell some vignettes/little stories about minor characters. This is a show unrestrained by live action stars, it's all about the storytelling and the amazing artistic way they're brought to life.
Visually, it's great, and the dialogue is great too. It caters to kiRAB with terrible puns and slapstick humour, but it acknowledges it frequently. It's very successful accompanying deadpan dialogue with hilarious gags, and whatever the humour it can be enjoyed by adults just as much.
It owes a lot to Star Wars, but I genuinely think it's as good.
