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Total Drama

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Total Drama
The Total Drama logo.
GenreComedy / Animation / Drama / Action
Created byJennifer Pertsch
Tom McGillis
Developed byFresh TV Inc. / Teletoon
Directed byTodd Kauffman
Mark Thornton
Keith Oliver
Chad Hicks
Presented byFresh TV Inc. / Teletoon
Theme music composerVoodoo Highway Music & Post Inc
Opening theme"I Wanna be Famous!"
Ending theme"I Wanna be Famous!"
(Instrumental)
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes120 (including specials)
Production
Executive producersTom McGillis
Jennifer Pertsch
George Elliott
Brian Irving
Running time22 minutes (excluding commercials)
Production companiesTeletoon
Fresh TV Inc.
Neptoon Studios
Original release
NetworkTeletoon (CAN)
Cartoon Network (USA)
Disney XD & Kix! (UK)
Télétoon+ (FR)
K2 (IT)
ABC3 (AUS)
SAB TV (IN)
Sony Entertainment Network (Asia)
Cartoon Network (Latin America)
ReleaseJuly 8, 2007 - present[1][2] (Canada)
June 5, 2008 - present[3] (United States)

Total Drama is a Canadian animated reality television series which lampoons the conventions commonly found in reality television. The show and its sequel seasons are collectively referred to as the Total Drama series. It premiered on the Canadian cable television specialty channel, Teletoon on July 8, 2007 and on the American cable television channel, Cartoon Network on June 5, 2008.[3] All of the contestants have distinct personalities that serve as a main plot point with the characters consisting of the eponymous fictional reality series and the contestants therein. The style of this series is similar to that of Survivor, Fear Factor and The Amazing Race. The Total Drama series currently consists of four seasons that have aired in the past six years; the first season, Total Drama Island, the second season, Total Drama Action, the third season, Total Drama World Tour, and the fourth season, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, while a fifth season, Total Drama: All-Stars, is currently in production for a January 2014 air date[4] and a sixth season called Total Drama: Pahkitew Island is planned for later that year.[5] However, Tom McGillis, the creator of the series, expects Total Drama to make it past ten seasons well into the future.[6]

Format

The name of each season consists of the title Total Drama with a different word or phrase later in. That changing word or phrase defines the theme for that season. This series is a competition to win a cash prize $100,000 in the first season and $1,000,000 in every other season. This series takes elements of other widely known series such as Survivor, Endurance, The Real World, Road Rules, Iron Chef, The Apprentice, Project Runway, American Idol, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, The Challenge, The Voice, Big Brother, The X Factor and Total Wipeout. Like these other series, Total Drama is rated TV-PG because it features mild profanity, censored language, brief censored nudity, and some suggestive dialogue. When more suggestive dialogue is present, the episode is rated TV-PG-D.

Location

Every season in this series takes place in a different location. The first season, Total Drama Island, is set in Camp Wawanakwa, a fictional island located in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario. The second season, Total Drama Action, is set in an abandoned movie studio lot in Toronto, Ontario. In the third season, Total Drama World Tour, contestants are taken all around the world in the Total Drama Jumbo Jet, which seems to be structurally unstable. The countries that are visited in the third season includes France, Japan and Egypt. The fourth season, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, is set back at Camp Wawanakwa, but this time the island is radioactive. The fifth season, Total Drama: All-Stars, also takes place at the island,[7] due to the success of the first and fourth seasons. The sixth season, Total Drama: Pahkitew Island however, will take place at a new location at another island called Camp Pahkitew.[5]

Production

Total Drama was developed and produced by Fresh TV and was distributed by Cake Entertainment. The series is funded in part by the Canada Media Fund (formerly the Canadian Television Fund), and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. The first season was funded by Xenpohile Media, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. The series, primarily targeted at twelve to eighteen-year-olds, was animated at Elliott Animation and directed by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton of Neptoon Studios.[8] The creators, Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, studied what teenagers liked and disliked about reality television shows in the writing process.[9]

McGillis says they used a "countrywide online research project" to determine this demographic's likes.[10] Fresh TV Inc. partners McGillis, Pertsch, Elliott and Irving produced the series.[11] The budget for the first season was $8 million.[12] It was animated in Flash,[8] at Elliott Animation's studio in Toronto.[11]

Every cast and crew member on Total Drama had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose who the winner was.[13] All the characters were designed by Kauffman.[14][dead link] An early name for the series was Camp TV when the series first started production in 2006.[15]

Characters

Main article: List of Total Drama characters

Total Drama has had a total of 38 contestants overall who have competed on the past four seasons. The first three seasons consisted of an original set of cast, with a total of 25 contestants (22 are introduced in the first episode of the series, while the other 3 are introduced later on), while the fourth season only consisted of a new cast, with only 13 contestants. Most contestants have competed in two or more seasons, but only four have won.

The characters of the Total Drama series

The names of all the contestants who have competed in the past four seasons are: Alejandro, Anne Maria, B, Beth, Blaineley, Brick, Bridgette, Cameron, Cody, Courtney, Dakota, Dawn, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Jo, Justin, Katie, Leshawna, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Noah, Owen, Sadie, Sam, Scott, Sierra, Staci, Trent, Tyler and Zoey. 22 characters competed in Season 1, 15 competed in Season 2, 18 competed in Season 3, 13 competed in Season 4, and 14 will compete in Season 5, while 14 new characters will be introduced in Season 6.

Voice actors

There are several voice actors who have voiced the characters in the Total Drama series. Christian Potenza played the role of host Chris McLean and said that the best part of the job was that his character could not be voted off the show.[16] Emilie-Claire Barlow plays Courtney on Total Drama Island and stated that Courtney was her favorite character that she had ever played.[17] Other voice actors include Julia Chantrey as Eva, Drew Nelson as Duncan, Megan Fahlenbock as Gwen, Stephanie Anne Mills as Lindsay and Katie, Adam Reid as Justin, Kristin Fairlie as Bridgette, and Rachel Wilson as Heather. Most voice actors have only voiced one character, but some have voiced two. Peter Oldring and Clé Bennett are the only two voice actors who have voiced three characters. Brian Froud is the only voice actor to voice a contestant from both the original and the new cast, as every other voice actor only voices a character from one generation. Alex House is a new voice actor who joined the Total Drama studios in 2013 and he will voice Alejandro, an old character already in the series.[18]

Winners

The show's producers prepare two alternate endings for the final episode, such that the winner seen in one country's broadcasts is the runner up in other countries where the show airs.

For Total Drama Island, Owen wins in Canada, the United States, Italy and Australia while Gwen wins in Poland, Romania, and Scandinavia (except Denmark). For Total Drama Action, Duncan is the winner in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Scandinavia (except Sweden), and Netherlands while Beth wins in Europe, Oceania, and Brazil. For Total Drama World Tour, Alejandro is the official winner in Canada, Africa and Europe while Heather wins in the United States, Oceania, and Latin America. Cameron is the official winner for Total Drama: Revenge of the Island in Canada, as well as everywhere else in the world, while Lightning wins only in the United States.

In most later versions of "Total Drama", which aired in some countries (like Hungary, Africa, Slovene, etc.), Owen, Beth, Alejandro, and Cameron are the season winners in these versions.

Out of all the four seasons, only in Total Drama Action and Total Drama: Revenge of the Island is where the winner keeps the money and is able to spend it at the end; unlike in Total Drama Island where the money is eaten by a shark, and in Total Drama World Tour where the money is thrown into a volcano. However, if one considers the later version of "Total Drama" as canon, where Beth wins Action instead of Duncan, then Revenge of the Island is the only season where the winner gets to keep the money, as Owen gave his up at the reunion special in "TDDDDI", Beth used hers to bail her and Lindsay out of prison in "CMTDARS", and Alejandro's was thrown in the volcano.

Episodes

Main article: List of Total Drama episodes

Broadcast

Total Drama first premiered on Teletoon on July 8, 2007 but then the United States started airing the show one year later, followed by other countries airing the series thereafter. Since then, Total Drama has become an international franchise, and one of the biggest successes for Teletoon yet. As of September 2011, Total Drama is shown in over 100 countries around the world while Cake Entertainment calls the show "phenomenally popular".[19]

Season Episodes Contestants Originally aired DVD release dates
Season premiere Season finale Region 1 Region 4
1 28 22 July 8, 2007 November 29, 2008 August 18, 2009 May 5, 2010[20] September 29, 2010[21]
2 27 15 January 11, 2009 June 10, 2010 — November 2, 2011[22][23] July 4, 2012[24]
3 26 18 June 10, 2010 April 24, 2011 — April 3, 2013[25] August 7, 2013[26]
4 13[27] 13[28] January 5, 2012[29] April 12, 2012[30] — 2014 TBA
5 13[31] 14[32][33] January 2014[4][5] Spring 2014 — Future
6 13[5] 14[34] Fall 2014[5] 2015 —

Source for table:[35]

Seasons

There are currently four seasons in the Total Drama series (with two new seasons currently in production) which are listed below. The winners and air dates listed in the table are from the original Canadian airings. In some countries, alternate endings have aired, where the Canadian runner-up wins the season.

Season Title Season premiere Season finale Winner Runner-up
1"Total Drama Island"July 8, 2007November 29, 2008OwenGwen
Total Drama Island is the first season of the series. It first premiered on Canada on July 8, 2007 and June 5, 2008 on the United States. This season takes place at Camp Wawanakwa, a fictional island located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario where the season is based on a summer camp theme (although a contestant is eliminated at the end of every episode). Like the whole series, this season is a competition to see which of the 22 contestants will survive and last the longest. This is because the contestants are brutally tortured along the way through the intense challenges they are given. Challenges are sometimes based on other reality shows like Fear Factor and Survivor. All of this is so that the winner of the season (the one to last the longest on the island and not get eliminated), will win a small fortune of $100,000 and cheesy fame.
2"Total Drama Action"January 11, 2009June 10, 2010DuncanBeth
Total Drama Action is the second season of the series. It premiered on Canada on January 11, 2009 and June 11 in the U.S. It is a sequel to the first season of the series, Total Drama Island. In this season, fourteen characters from Total Drama Island returned: Beth, Bridgette, DJ, Duncan, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Justin, Leshawna, Lindsay, Owen, and Trent. Courtney returns later on in the season due to a lawsuit. In this season, the contestants are taken to a brand new location: an old film lot in the center of Toronto, Ontario. The challenges are now based on movie genres, and the grand prize is now $1,000,000. Cody, Eva, Ezekiel, Noah, Katie, Sadie and Tyler do not return to compete, but still appeared for the aftermath special, an extra show which was hosted by Bridgette and Geoff, the first two eliminated contestants.
3"Total Drama World Tour"June 10, 2010April 24, 2011AlejandroHeather
Total Drama World Tour is the third season of the series. It premiered in 2010 internationally and continued onto 2011 in Canada. In this season, seventeen contestants are taken on a trip around the world as they compete in cultural themed challenges based on the countries or regions that they visit. An added twist in this season is that the contestants are required to break spontaneously into song, or else be immediately eliminated by Chris (although this rule was not strongly enforced, and no one was eliminated for not singing anyway). Fifteen of the original characters from Total Drama Island returned: Bridgette, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Ezekiel, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Leshawna, Noah, Lindsay, Owen and Tyler. Two new characters, Alejandro and Sierra, also joined the cast at the beginning of this season. Additionally, a third new character, Blaineley, was brought on to compete past the halfway point of the season. Beth, Eva, Geoff, Justin, Katie, Sadie and Trent did not return to compete, but have instead appeared for the aftermath specials. The prize for this season is also $1,000,000.
4"Total Drama: Revenge of the Island"January 5, 2012April 12, 2012CameronLightning
Total Drama: Revenge of the Island is the fourth season of the series. The series' extension was commissioned by Teletoon from the producers, Fresh TV Inc.[36] It premiered in Canada on January 5, 2012 and in the United States on June 5, 2012. This season returns to Camp Wawanakwa (the original setting of the first season), but no contestants from previous seasons return. Instead, a new set of thirteen contestants compete, which are Anne Maria, B, Brick, Cameron, Dakota, Dawn, Jo, Lightning, Mike, Sam, Scott, Staci and Zoey.[28] However, some characters from the original cast still have cameo appearances throughout the season.[37] Also, due to the island being abandoned for the past two seasons, Chris had lent the island to a biohazardous waste dump company, causing the island to turn radioactive.[38] This means that causes of radiation and toxic waste is the main theme for this season. This season only contains 13 episodes (half the length of a regular season),[27] and the cash prize is once again $1,000,000.
5"Total Drama: All-Stars"January 2014[4][5]Spring 2014TBDTBD
Total Drama: All-Stars is the upcoming fifth season of the series.[39] The series' extension was ordered by Cartoon Network in October 2012,[40] while the season will premiere in January 2014 on Canada and September 2013 in the United States.[4] This season will be 13 episodes long, just like the previous season.[31] On July 19, 2012 Christian Potenza announced the fifth season in an interview with Tom McGillis, saying that Season 5 would be very similar to Total Drama Island and Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, due to the high worldwide ratings of the latter.[41] That means that this season will take place back at Camp Wawanakwa, the original island used in the first season. Total Drama: All-Stars will feature the fourteen most popular contestants from previous seasons,[40] which are: Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Gwen, Heather, Jo, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Scott, Sierra, and Zoey. They will compete in several "Heroes vs. Villains" themed challenges, which means that the protagonists (heroes) will team up and compete against the antagonists (villains).[42] Voice actors began recording lines for Season 5 on December 2012. It is unknown whether any non-competing characters will have cameo appearances in this season.
6"Total Drama: Pahkitew Island"Fall 2014[5]2015TBDTBD
On June 11, 2013 a sixth season of the franchise was confirmed. It will consist of 13 episodes and will take place at a new location, this time on an island called Camp Pahkitew and will consist of an entire new cast.[5]

Series reception

The first season, Total Drama Island received general acclaim from critics and fans. Users from TV.com gave the show an 8.6 "Great",[43] while users from IMDB gave it a 7.5 out of 10.[44] Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "[c]lever cartoon reality show spoof".[45] The second season, Total Drama Action, however received less acclaim due to being seen as less on par with Total Drama Island although some critics[who?] did enjoy it as much as the first season.[citation needed] The third season, Total Drama World Tour, has also received critical acclaim from critics and won multiple awards including "Best Animated Series", "Best Voice Actress" (for Annick Obonsawin), and was also nominated for several other awards.[citation needed] As of 2011, the first season has been shown in over 188 countries[46] while the entire franchise has been seen in at least 100.[19]

Media

DVD releases

Up until November 1, 2011, only Total Drama Island had been released on DVD. Cartoon Network released their Total Drama Island DVD in the U.S. on August 18, 2009 (Region 1), while Madman Entertainment (Region 4) also released Total Drama Island on DVD in Australia, but this time in two parts (Collection 1 on May 5, 2010[20] and Collection 2 on September 29, 2010[21]). However, almost two years after Total Drama Action was first aired, Madman released their Collection 1 DVD of the second season on November 2, 2011[22][23] (with Collection 2 being released on July 4, 2012[24]), making Australia the only country that has released the entirety of Total Drama Action for private home viewing. Australia also released Total Drama World Tour on DVD with Collection 1 being released on April 3, 2013[25] while Collection 2 will be released on August 7, 2013.[26]

Total Drama Online

Teletoon is hosting a Total Drama-based website called Total Drama Online where players can play games and earn badges to win prizes.[47] Cartoon Network has a similar version of their site, and both websites are exclusive to viewers only in their corresponding countries.

References

  1. ^ "Elliott Animation - Productions - Total Drama Island". Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.
  2. ^ "Total Drama Island: GOPHERS vs. BASS".
  3. ^ a b Thorny (2008-06-03). "Howdy Neighbor!... (or is it neighbor?)". Total Drama Action. Retrieved 2008-06-11-Present. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d https://twitter.com/tommcgillis/status/345897902918496257
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1181701/inspector-gadget-reboot-tops-off-teletoon-canada-s-latest-original-production-slate
  6. ^ https://twitter.com/tommcgillis/status/345896747932995584
  7. ^ http://toynewsi.com/news.php?itemid=19834
  8. ^ a b admin (June 29, 2007), "Title Drama Island", Cold Hard Flash, retrieved December 25, 2010
  9. ^ Playback Staff (May 15, 2006), "Total Drama Island ribs reality TV", Playback, retrieved December 25, 2010
  10. ^ Raju Mudhar, "Canadian cartoon show sucking 'em all back in", The Toronto Star, retrieved December 25, 2010
  11. ^ a b Playback Staff (May 15, 2006), Total Drama Island: And So It Begins, retrieved December 25, 2010
  12. ^ Annalisa D'Aprile, "L'Isola di cartone che prende in giro i reality", Kata Web (in Italian), retrieved December 25, 2010
  13. ^ Teletoon (Jun 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, retrieved December 25, 2010
  14. ^ Total Drama Island: Final 4
  15. ^ admin (March 27, 2006), "Neptoon's Promo Washes Ashore", Cold Hard Flash, retrieved December 25, 2010
  16. ^ Krissie Rutherford (November 3, 2006), "Newest role is 'every guy's dream' - Gemini-nominated Oakville actor has written his own dream role", Oakville Beaver {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  17. ^ Asma Khaliq (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, retrieved December 25, 2010
  18. ^ Total Drama: All-Stars - Part 1 (Skip to 2:05)
  19. ^ a b Read the last sentence. (TD airs in 100 countries and is "phenomenally popular")
  20. ^ a b "Total Drama Island: Collection 1". Madman.com.au. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  21. ^ a b "Total Drama Island: Collection 2". Madman.com.au. 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  22. ^ a b "Total Drama Action : Collection 1". DVD Warehouse. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  23. ^ a b "Total Drama Action: Collection 1". Madman.com.au. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  24. ^ a b "Total Drama Season 2 and 3". Madman.com.au. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  25. ^ a b http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/19431/total-drama-world-tour-collection-1
  26. ^ a b http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/20127/total-drama-world-tour-collection-2
  27. ^ a b Read Question #4
  28. ^ a b http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/03/23/cartoon-network-2011-upfront-overview-950014/20110323cartoon02/ (Scroll down to the bottom of the page)
  29. ^ "TELETOON Canada Inc. | New Animated, Live-Action Series and 'Can't Miss Thursdays' Highlight TELETOON's Exciting Winter-Spring 2012 Lineup". Newswire.ca. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  30. ^ "Total Drama: Revenge of the Island (OAD: 04/12/2012) - Zap2it". Affiliate.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  31. ^ a b "Fresh TV reveals number of episodes for Season 5". Freshtvinc.com. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  32. ^ (Skip to 2:49) for Episode 1 Script
  33. ^ Count the characters in the Team list; there are 14
  34. ^ http://www.teletoonmedia.com/en/images/thumbs/Pahkitew_Promo_Poster2-THUMB.JPG
  35. ^ http://www.tv.com/shows/total-drama-island/episodes/
  36. ^ "Fresh TV:News". Fresh TV, Inc. September 23, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  37. ^ Read Question #5
  38. ^ http://www.cakeentertainment.com/pages/cat-tdr.htm
  39. ^ http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Cartoon+Network+Gets+In+Front+of+the+Upfront/8034926.html
  40. ^ a b MIPCOM News with Tom McGillis!
  41. ^ Interview with Christian Potenza and Tom McGillis
  42. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/studio3/
  43. ^ Total Drama Island Show Reviews on TV
  44. ^ Total Drama Island (2007)
  45. ^ Total Drama Island - Television Review
  46. ^ Stinson, Scott (13 October 2011). "Stinson: CanCon on the Croisette at Mipcom". The Globe and Mail. Toronto ON. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  47. ^ http://www.totaldramaonline.com/
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