Book One: Water is the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American animated television series produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the first season premiered on Nickelodeon on February 21, 2005. It consisted of 20 episodes and concluded on December 2, 2005. The series starred Zach Tyler Eisen, Mae Whitman, Jack DeSena, Dante Basco, Dee Bradley Baker, Mako Iwamatsu, and Jason Isaacs as the main character voices. The season revolves around the protagonist Aang and his friends Katara and Sokka going on a journey to the North Pole to find a Waterbending master to teach Aang and Katara. The Fire Nation is waging a seemingly endless imperialist war against the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, following the genocide of the Air Nomads one hundred years ago. Aang, the current Avatar, must master the four elements (Air, Water, Earth, and Fire) to end the war. Along the way, Aang and his friends are chased by various pursuers: the banished Fire Nation Prince Zuko, along with his uncle and former general Iroh, and Admiral Zhao of the Fire Navy. Each episode of the season attracted more than a million viewers on its first airing. Between January 31, 2006, and September 19, 2006, five DVD sets were released in the United States, each containing four episodes from the season. On September 12, 2006, Nickelodeon also released the "Complete Book 1 Collection Box Set", which contained all of the episodes in the season as well as a special features disc. The original releases were encoded in Region 1, a DVD type that plays only in North American DVD players. From 2007 to 2009, Nickelodeon released Region 2 DVDs, which can play in Europe. Book One: Water was adapted into a live-action film, titled The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan and released in July 2010, becoming universally panned by critics, audiences and the series' fans for numerous reasons. Episodes Production The show was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studio and aired on Nickelodeon, both of which are owned by Viacom. The show's executive producers were co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who worked alongside head writer and co-producer Aaron Ehasz. Eight episodes were directed by Dave Filoni. Animation directors Lauren MacMullan and Giancarlo Volpe directed five episodes each, and Anthony Lioi directed two. Episodes were written or co-written by a team of writers,