Total_Drama_Island

<i>Total Drama Island</i>

Total Drama Island

English animated comedy television series


Total Drama Island (sometimes shortened to TDI) is the first season of Total Drama, a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration[1] with a special 44-minute season finale.

Quick Facts Total Drama Island, Starring ...

Plot

A grand view of the main setting used in this season (which is artificially recreated in the next season). The island is also used in the fourth and fifth seasons (which leads to its destruction).

Total Drama Island is set in the fictional titular reality show, which follows the competition of twenty-two unsuspecting and unwitting teenagers at Camp Wawanakwa, the most rundown, insect-infested, disgusting island in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario. The campers participate in competitions and challenges that get more insane and dangerous each week to avoid being voted off the island by their fellow campers and teammates. At the end of the series, the winning contestant will receive C$100,000 (US$73,129.00). The competition is hosted by Chris McLean, assisted by the camp's chef, Chef Hatchet, who is also Chris's best friend despite being mistreated at times. Egotistical and immoral, unless something affects him legally, Chris places the show's contestants in various life-threatening challenges.

At the beginning of the season, the campers are placed into two groups of eleven, the "Screaming Gophers" and the "Killer Bass". In each episode, the teams participate in a challenge, in which one or more campers can win invincibility for their team. The losing team is called to the campfire that night, where they vote one of their members off the island. The camper with the most votes is eliminated from the competition. At this campfire, McLean passes out marshmallows to the campers who have not been voted off, while the one who does not get a marshmallow must walk down the Dock of Shame to the Boat of Losers, which will take them away from the island and they will "never, never, never, ever, ever, ever, come back, ever" according to Chris (this was proved to be a lie in Episode 15, "No Pain, No Game", when he brought Eva and Izzy back into the game).

In Episode 14, the teams are disbanded, so it is every camper for themselves, after which the challenges continue; the winner of each challenge then only receives invincibility for themselves, whereupon the rest of the campers vote one camper without invincibility off the island. This process of elimination continues until two players remain. They are then subject to a final contest.

Total Drama Island is a parody of the reality show Survivor. McLean is very similar to Survivor host Jeff Probst.[2] This is the first season in which the winner does not get to keep the money, due to it being eaten by a shark in the episode "Total Drama, Drama, Drama, Drama Island". Owen won the first season.

Episodes

Total Drama Island premiered on July 8, 2007, on the Teletoon channel. This season has 26 episodes, each 22 minutes long, and two special episodes.[3] It was the third Cartoon Network show outside of Adult Swim and Toonami to have the U.S. rating of either "TV-PG" or "TV-PG-D", and a parental-guidance warning after every commercial break and at the beginning of the show (the first two being Sunday Pants and IGPX). Its rating in Canada was initially "G"; current broadcasts are rated "PG".

More information No. overall, No. in season ...

Source for list:[6]

Episode finale variations

For every season, the show's producers create two alternate endings for the final episode, such that the winner seen in one country's broadcasts is the runner-up in other countries (and vice versa) where the show airs. Owen is the original winner in Canada, but he is also shown as the winner in Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latin America (Cartoon Network), the Middle East, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.[citation needed] Gwen is the original runner-up in Canada, but she is also the winner in Finland, Japan, Latin America (Boomerang and TBS), Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

Characters

The primary cast of Total Drama Island.

Top: DJ, Duncan, Tyler, Harold, Geoff, and Heather
Standing: Lindsay, Leshawna, Eva, Justin, Owen, Noah, Trent, Gwen, and Cody
Sitting: Izzy, Bridgette, Courtney, Katie, Sadie, Ezekiel, and Beth

Staff

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Contestants

There are 22 original contestants who competed in Total Drama Island. They are Beth, Bridgette, Cody, Courtney (the leader of the Killer Bass before "X-Treme Torture"), DJ, Duncan (the leader of the Killer Bass since "X-Treme Torture"), Eva, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather (the leader of the Screaming Gophers), Izzy, Justin, Katie, Leshawna, Lindsay, Noah, Owen, Sadie, Trent, and Tyler. Many of the characters return in later seasons either as contestants or as guests.

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Season summary

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Elimination table

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Production

On February 15, 2006, it was announced that Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch were working on a project called Camp TV.[7] According to Tom McGillis, Fresh TV was approached by Teletoon to create the show.[8] On March 27, 2006, the project was renamed Total Drama Island, and it was announced that the project would start production in June.[9]

Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch studied what tweens liked and disliked about reality television shows in the writing process.[8][10] McGillis said that they used a "countrywide online research project" to determine what 9-to-14 year olds were watching.[8][11] It was found that Canadian tweens enjoyed watching Fear Factor, Survivor, The Amazing Race, American Idol, and Canadian Idol.[8]

The season was animated at Elliott Animation and was directed by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton.[12] Fresh TV partners McGillis, Pertsch, Elliott and Irving produced the series.[13] The budget for the series was US$8,000,000.[14] It was animated in Flash,[12] at Elliott Animation's studio in Toronto.[13] Every cast and crew member on Total Drama Island had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose who the winner was.[15] All the characters were designed by Kauffman.[16] Voice actors from the series 6teen have lent their voices for Total Drama Island. Christian Potenza, who played the character Jude on 6teen, played the role of host Chris McLean. Potenza said that the best part of the job was that his character could not be voted off the show.[17] Emilie-Claire Barlow plays a recurring role as Chrissy on 6teen and plays Courtney on Total Drama Island. Barlow stated that Courtney was her favourite character that she had ever played.[18] Other voice actors from 6teen include Julia Chantrey as Eva; Drew Nelson (Kai) as Duncan; Megan Fahlenbock (Jen) as Gwen; Adam Reid (Wayne) as Justin; Stephanie Anne Mills (Kirsten) as Lindsay and Katie; Rachel Wilson (Melinda Wilson) as Heather; and Scott McCord (Stone) as Owen and Trent.

Reception

Ratings

Carole Bonneau, the Vice President of Teletoon stated that Total Drama Island, along with 6teen were "consistently top performers" for audiences of ages 6–11, and also helped to bring in older viewers as well.[19] When Total Drama Island aired on Cartoon Network, it performed very well; The Toronto Star reported that, "in some age groups [Total Drama Island showed] a 500% ratings increase in [its] time slot."[11] On December 11, 2008, Total Drama Island garnered 3.5 million viewers.[20] That year, the series was the top "regularly scheduled Thursday night program at 9 p.m. on all television throughout third quarter among kids 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14," according to the Animation World Network.[21] On Memorial Day weekend of 2009, a marathon of Total Drama Island increased viewership in age groups 2–11, 6–11, and 9–14, each by 20% or more compared to the same week in 2008.[22] As of 2011, Total Drama Island has aired in over 188 countries.[23]

Critical reception

Total Drama Island has received generally positive reviews. The series was nominated for a Gemini Award for "Best Animated Program or Series", shared by Tom McGillis, Jennifer Pertsch, George Elliott and Brian Irving.[24] Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it an "enjoyable, smart show" and finding that it appealed to all demographics.[25] Matthew Price of The Oklahoman gave a mixed review of the series, stating that it "starts unbelievably slowly", but deeming that the later episodes effectively spoofed reality shows.[26] Debi Enker of The Age gave a negative review of the season's last episode, calling the art, design and writing "lamentable."[27]

Public reaction

Total Drama Island received a score of 8.1 on Metacritic from users, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[28]

Media

DVD releases

A DVD was released by Warner Home Video on August 18, 2009, in the United States. It contains all of the 27 episodes (including TDI Rundown) of season one of this series in a 4 disc set, for a total of 594 minutes long. In addition, its bonus features (entitled as X-tras) are the audition tapes of twenty two campers, played after each of their respective eliminations, as well as Izzy's second audition tape and her exclusive interview with Chris (the latter of which is shown after Eva's second elimination). In Australia, Total Drama Island is on Region 4 DVD as separate volumes. This series of discs contains the widescreen version with uncut scenes and original dialogue, as seen on Teletoon and ABC3. In reviewing the DVD for season, Matthew Price of The Oklahoman wrote that while the show started out "unbelievably slowly," the series became more interesting as campers began getting voted off. Price also praised the parody of reality shows.[29] In another review of the DVD, Jeffrey Kauffman of DVD Talk wrote that the character development was compelling and that the parody of reality shows were very funny.[30] Mac McEntire of DVD Verdict praised the character development as well, but noted that the show sometimes sinks to "lowbrow gross-outs".[31] Both Kauffman and McEntire recommended the series DVD.

Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive!

Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive! was an online game in Canada and the US marketed in conjunction with the television series. It was produced by Xenophile Media. By registering a free account, the player could play games using a customizable avatar to earn points for marshmallows. Marshmallows are used as money in the game so the player can buy in-game items. The player who earned the most points had their avatar make a cameo appearance in the season finale.[8][32] The games were based on the challenges in the show.[8][33] Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive! was nominated for an Interactive Emmy Award in 2007.[32] However, the website is no longer available, as it was replaced by Total Drama Online and the Teletoon and Cartoon Network official sites.[34]

See also

Notes

  1. Owen was confirmed to be the canon winner by both Chris and Priya in episode 20 of Part 2 of the reboot of Total Drama Island.
  2. Sarah Gadon was credited as Sarah Gaddon in the closing credits.
  3. Owen was confirmed to be the canon winner by both Chris and Priya in episode 20 of Part 2 of the reboot of Total Drama Island.
  4. Owen was confirmed to be the canon winner by both Chris and Priya in episode 20 of Part 2 of the reboot of Total Drama Island.
  5. New teams were formed as a "Battle of the Sexes".
  6. The teams were dissolved.
  7. The contestants who tied in the special qualified for Season 2.
  8. An ending where Gwen wins exists, but future seasons only acknowledge Owen winning.
  9. The last marshmallow was supposed to be given to either Izzy or Lindsay, but Izzy left the competition.

References

  1. "Elliott Animation - Productions - Total Drama Island". Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. Sagers, Aaron (September 1, 2009), "Pop 20: If Facebook were a dinner party", The Monitor
  3. "Elliott Animation – Productions – Total Drama Island". Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  4. TV.com. "Total Drama Island". TV.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  5. "Shows A-Z - total drama on cartoon - TheFutonCritic.com". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  6. "Teletoon - Total Drama Island". Archived from the original on October 22, 2013.
  7. Simpson, Aaron (February 15, 2006). "The Reality of Camp TV". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  8. Javed, Noor (July 9, 2007). "New animated reality show Total Drama Island proves 'real factor' unnecessary". Whitehorse Daily Star. p. 15. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  9. "Neptoon's Promo Washes Ashore". Cold Hard Flash. March 27, 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
  10. Playback Staff (May 15, 2006), "Total Drama Island ribs reality TV", Playback, retrieved December 25, 2010
  11. Mudhar, Raju (January 11, 2009), "Canadian cartoon show sucking 'em all back in", The Toronto Star, archived from the original on October 5, 2010, retrieved December 25, 2010
  12. admin (June 29, 2007), "Title Drama Island", Cold Hard Flash, archived from the original on July 17, 2008, retrieved December 25, 2010
  13. Playback Staff (May 15, 2006), Total Drama Island: And So It Begins, retrieved December 25, 2010
  14. D'Aprile, Annalisa, "L'Isola di cartone che prende in giro i reality", Kata Web (in Italian), archived from the original on May 14, 2010, retrieved December 25, 2010
  15. Teletoon (June 24, 2007), "From the creators of the award winning series 6teen, the number one show on Teletoon, comes a truly unique reality show for kids", Channel Canada, archived from the original on December 28, 2008, retrieved December 25, 2010
  16. Rutherford, Krissie (November 3, 2006), "Newest role is 'every guy's dream' – Gemini-nominated Oakville actor has written his own dream role", Oakville Beaver
  17. Khaliq, Asma (March 1, 2007), "Up close with a familiar voice: From Sailor Mars to Timmy's ads, Emilie-Claire Barlow is someone you've definitely heard", The Toronto Star, archived from the original on August 13, 2009, retrieved December 25, 2010
  18. "Teletoon orders new series for fall", Media in Canada, retrieved December 22, 2010
  19. Levin, Gary (December 18, 2008), "Nielsens: Dallas, 'Boston' score key ratings wins", USA Today, archived from the original on February 8, 2009, retrieved December 25, 2010
  20. Moody, Annemarie (October 2, 2008), "Ratings Highlights For Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon", Animation World Network, archived from the original on December 12, 2009, retrieved December 26, 2010
  21. Gorman, Bill (May 27, 2009), "Cartoon Network's Total Drama Island Earns Double Digit Increases", TV by the Numbers, archived from the original on October 25, 2012, retrieved December 25, 2010
  22. Stinson, Scott (October 13, 2011). "Stinson: CanCon on the Croisette at Mipcom". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. Archived from the original on October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  23. "Fresh TV Inc. Celebrates Three Gemini Nominations for Top Rated Shows", ChannelCanada.com, August 27, 2008, archived from the original on August 5, 2009, retrieved March 21, 2009
  24. Antonia, KJ Dell (June 6, 2008). "Total Drama Island". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  25. Price, Matthew (September 25, 2009). "DVD Review: "Total Drama Island: The Complete Season One"". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  26. Enker, Debi (June 10, 2010), "Total Drama Island", The Age, p. 36
  27. "Read User Reviews and Submit your own for Total Drama Island - Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  28. Price, Matthew (September 25, 2009), "DVD Reviews", The Oklahoman
  29. Kauffman, Jeffrey (August 18, 2009), "Total Drama Island: The Complete Series", DVD Talk, archived from the original on June 19, 2015, retrieved December 25, 2010
  30. McEntire, Mac (August 19, 2009), "Total Drama Island: The Complete Series", DVD Verdict, archived from the original on October 31, 2010, retrieved December 26, 2010
  31. "Xenophile Media and Fresh TV Receive International Interactive Emmy(R) Award Nomination for Total Drama Island – Totally Interactive!", Canada Newswire, March 6, 2008
  32. "BellFund Annual Report: 2006" (PDF), BellFund, 2006, archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2010, retrieved December 26, 2010
  33. "ACCUEIL - teletoon.com". Archived from the original on October 28, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2014.

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