For the most part of my early childhood, I sat inside watching Nickelodeon while hiding from Oklahoma’s hundred plus summer heat. Shows like Pete and Pete, Doug, and Salute Your Shorts were my daily companions. Some of you may remember those good ol’ days when the answer to Are You Afraid of the Dark? was “Absolutely yes!” Back in the day when Ren and Stimpy, All That, and Rocko’s Modern Life were the highlights of a child’s world. I’ve often asked myself what happened to Nickelodeon since then. But in 2005, it redeemed itself from the Dark Ages of Dragon Tales, and brought Avatar: The Last Airbender to the world of cartoons.

Avatar is an Asian influenced animated series co-created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. The series begins in a world where the four elements — earth, air, fire, and water — can be manipulated and controlled by four separate kingdoms. There’s only one person, the Avatar, who is able to master all four elements and keep peace between the nations. But when the Avatar disappears, the Fire Nation wages war against the worlds. One hundred years later, the only remaining hope rests in the hands of twelve-year-old Aang, the last airbender, and the returned Avatar.

This Nickelodeon cartoon is the best animated series I have ever seen. The first time I watched it I was exhausted from work and travel, but my younger siblings urged me to watch just the first episode. They assured me I’d be hooked after that. I crashed after probably ten and was more than just hooked.

Now, 55 episodes, eight awards, and four nominations later, the final episodes of the third season were released to DVD on July 29. If you’ve been following the series or your kid has, this is something you don’t want to miss. After all those long summer months of wondering what Uncle Iroh was up to and whether Aang would be able to beat Fire Lord Ozai, you can sit down and enjoy the remaining six episodes of Avater: The Last Airbender.

I don’t want to give away anything about the ending. But I do want to say that it is amazing. I’m always disappointed in the purely child-directed stories within the epic war, so there were a couple of parts that I could have gone without, but overall, the ending is not disappointing. The pieces fall together smoothly with incredible fight scenes, perfect character development, and with the message of peace and freedom that the series has carried throughout.

If you haven’t already started watching Avatar, you need to. With the series completed, there’s no waiting for releases. I promise once you start, you may not be able to stop. And since it's summer, you can revisit those old Nickelodeon days of sitting lazily on the couch, and watching an animated series that will blow your mind.