''Total Drama Island'' (sometimes shortened to ''TDI'') is the first season of ''
Total Drama
''Total Drama'' (often shortened as ''TD'') is a Canadian animated television series created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis that premiered on Teletoon in Canada on July 8, 2007, and on Cartoon Network in the U.S. on June 5, 2008. The ser ...
'', a Canadian animated comedy television series created by
Tom McGillis
Tom McGillis is a Canadian writer, producer, and the president of Fresh TV Inc.
Early life
McGillis is the son of Donald and Marguerite McGillis.
Career
Along with partner Jennifer Pertsch, he was the creator and executive producer of the animat ...
and
Jennifer Pertsch Jennifer Pertsch is a Canadian writer, producer, story editor, and one of the founding partners of Fresh TV, a Toronto-based production studio specializing in teen and family oriented television projects. She began her career as a writer for Nelvan ...
. The series premiered in Canada on
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration with a special 44-minute season finale.
Plot
''Total Drama Island'' is set in the fictional titular reality show, which follows the competition of 22 unsuspecting and unwitting teenagers at Camp Wawanakwa, the most rundown, insect-infested, disgusting island in an unspecified area in
Muskoka, Ontario
The District Municipality of Muskoka, more generally referred to as the District of Muskoka or Muskoka, is a regional municipality in Central Ontario, Canada. Muskoka extends from Georgian Bay in the west, to the northern tip of Lake Couchiching ...
. 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$100,000 (
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
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 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 him or herself, 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
Jeff Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American reality show host and executive producer. He is best known as the Emmy Award-winning host of the U.S. version of the reality television show '' Survivor'' since 2000. He was also the host of ...
.
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".
Episodes
''Total Drama Island'' premiered on July 8, 2007, on the
Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
channel. This season has 26 episodes, each 22 minutes long, and two special episodes. It was the third Cartoon Network show outside of
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
and
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
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".
Source for list:
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 and Brazil (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. Gwen is the original runner-up in Canada, but she is also the winner in Finland, Japan, Latin America and Brazil (Boomerang and TBS) Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Characters
Staff
Contestants
There are 22 original contestants who competed in ''Total Drama Island''. They are Beth, Bridgette, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, 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.
Elimination Table
Color Key
: Finalist: This contestant made it to the final of the competition.
: Win: This contestant won the challenge and/or was immune from elimination.
: Safe: This contestant was safe from elimination.
: Low: This contestant was at risk of being eliminated.
: Eliminated: This contestant was eliminated.
: Eliminated: This contestant quit, was evacuated, or got disqualified.
: This contestant is out of the competition.
Production
''Total Drama Island'' was developed and produced by
Fresh TV
Fresh TV Inc. (formerly Fresh Animation) is a Canadian production company specializing in family entertainment aimed at preteens and teenagers, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Shows that have been broadcast internationally include '' Stoked'' ...
, starting in 2006, with an early name for the series being ''Camp TV''.
The season was animated at Elliott Animation and was directed by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton.
It was primarily targeted at twelve-to-eighteen-year-olds, and the creators,
Tom McGillis
Tom McGillis is a Canadian writer, producer, and the president of Fresh TV Inc.
Early life
McGillis is the son of Donald and Marguerite McGillis.
Career
Along with partner Jennifer Pertsch, he was the creator and executive producer of the animat ...
and
Jennifer Pertsch Jennifer Pertsch is a Canadian writer, producer, story editor, and one of the founding partners of Fresh TV, a Toronto-based production studio specializing in teen and family oriented television projects. She began her career as a writer for Nelvan ...
, studied what
tween
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following middle childhood and preceding adolescence.New Oxford American Dictionary. 2nd Edition. 2005. Oxford University Press. It commonly ends with the beginning of puberty. Preadolescence is ...
s liked and disliked about
reality television shows in the writing process.
McGillis said that they used a "countrywide online research project" to determine this demographic's likes.
Fresh TV partners McGillis, Pertsch, Elliott and
Irving produced the series.
The budget for the series was
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
8,000,000.
It was animated in
Flash
Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Fictional aliases
* Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed:
** Flash (Barry Allen)
** Flash (Jay Garrick)
** Wally West, the first Kid ...
,
at Elliott Animation's studio in Toronto.
Every cast and crew member on ''Total Drama Island'' had to sign a
confidentiality agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
not to disclose who the winner was.
All the characters were designed by Kauffman.
[Total Drama Island: Final 4](_blank)
/ref> Voice actors from the series ''6teen
''6teen'' (originally titled ''The Mall'') is a Canadian animated comedy television series originally produced by Nelvana, with the final two seasons being produced by Fresh TV. It began airing on November 7, 2004 until its final episode aired o ...
'' have lent their voices for ''Total Drama Island''. Christian Potenza
Christian Potenza (born December 23, 1972) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for voicing Jude Lizowski on ''6teen'' and Chris McLean in the ''Total Drama'' franchise.
Career
He has been on television since 1997, when he first ...
, 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. Emilie-Claire Barlow
Emilie-Claire Barlow (born 6 June 1976) is a Canadian singer, arranger, record producer, and voice actress. She has released several albums on her label, Empress Music Group, and has voiced characters for animated television series. She performs ...
plays a recurring role as Chrissy on ''6teen'' and plays Courtney on ''Total Drama Island''. Barlow stated that Courtney was her favorite character that she had ever played. Other voice actors from ''6teen'' include Julia Chantrey as Eva; Drew Nelson (Kai) as Duncan; Megan Fahlenbock
Megan Smith Fahlenbock (born June 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She has worked in animation and also had a few film roles. She is best known for her voice roles as Gwen on ''Total Drama'', Jen Masterson on ''6teen'', and Eva Kant in ''Diaboli ...
(Jen) as Gwen; Adam Reid
Adam Greydon Reid is a Canadian actor, writer, producer and director.
Biography
Reid attended Ryerson University's film program and won the 'Norman Jewison Filmmaker's Award' for his graduating short, ''Token for your Thoughts'', which also won ...
(Wayne) as Justin; Stephanie Anne Mills
Stephanie Anne Mills (born March 7, 1979) is a Canadian actress.
Biography
Born in Edmonton, Mills aspired to be a singer, dancer and actress as a young girl. In 2003, she had starred in '' Eloise at the Plaza'' with Julie Andrews. She does vo ...
(Kirsten) as Lindsay and Katie; Rachel Wilson (Melinda Wilson) as Heather; and Scott McCord
William Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He is known for his versatility and character work in film, television, animation and on stage. He is a Lifetime Member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurri ...
(Stone) as Owen and Trent.
Reception
Ratings
Carole Bonneau, the Vice President of Teletoon stated that ''Total Drama Island'', along with ''6teen
''6teen'' (originally titled ''The Mall'') is a Canadian animated comedy television series originally produced by Nelvana, with the final two seasons being produced by Fresh TV. It began airing on November 7, 2004 until its final episode aired o ...
'' were "consistently top performers" for audiences of ages 6–11, and also helped to bring in older viewers as well. When ''Total Drama Island'' aired on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
, it performed very well; ''The Toronto Star'' reported that, "in some age groups 'Total Drama Island'' showeda 500% ratings increase in tstime slot." On December 11, 2008, ''Total Drama Island'' garnered 3.5 million viewers. 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''. 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. As of 2011, ''Total Drama Island'' has aired in over 188 countries.
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. Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it an "enjoyable, smart show" and finding that it appealed to all demographics. Matthew Price of ''The Oklahoman
''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circulation) lists it as the 59th larges ...
'' gave a mixed review of the series, stating that it "starts unbelievably slowly", but deeming that the later episodes effectively spoofed reality shows. Debi Enker of ''The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' gave a negative review of the season's last episode, calling the art, design and writing "lamentable."
Public reaction
''Total Drama Island'' received a score of 8.2 on Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
from users.
Media
DVD releases
A DVD was released by Warner Home Video
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros.
It was founded in 1978 as WCI 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
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
. 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. In another review of the DVD, Jeffrey Kauffman of ''DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'' wrote that the character development was compelling and that the parody of reality shows were very funny. Mac McEntire of ''DVD Verdict
DVD Verdict was a judicial-themed website for DVD reviews. The site was founded in 1999. The editor-in-chief was Michael Stailey, who owned the website between 2004 and 2016, and the site employed a large editorial staff of critics, whose reviews ...
'' praised the character development as well, but noted that the show sometimes sinks to "lowbrow gross-outs". 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
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
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. The games were based on the challenges in the show. ''Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive!'' was nominated for an Interactive Emmy Award in 2007. However, the website is no longer available, as it was replaced by Total Drama Online and the Teletoon
Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and " cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts ...
and Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
official sites.
See also
*Mockumentary
A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary.
These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
Notes
References
External links
Official ''Total Drama Island'' blog
''Total Drama Island'' Interactive
totaldramaisland.com
Fresh TV announces ''Total Drama: The Musical''
*
{{Total Drama
Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
2007 Canadian television seasons
2008 Canadian television seasons
2000s Canadian animated television series
2000s Canadian satirical television series
Canadian adult animated comedy television series
Canadian children's animated comedy television series
Television shows set in Ontario
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Canadian flash animated television series
Canadian mockumentary television series