Total Drama Island

NOTE: This is only a review for "Total Drama Island", the first season of "Total Drama." Since TDI doesn't have it's own IMDB page like some of the subsequent seasons do, the only way to review it is on the IMDB page for the "Total Drama" franchise in general.

I have such fond memories of "Total Drama Island." The summer of 2008 was one of the best times in my life, and this show is one of the reasons for it. It kept me hooked all the way through and really left an impression on me. Revisiting it, it still is a great show to watch.

Created as a parody of shows such as Survivor and Fear Factor, Total Drama Island focuses on 22 teenagers arriving to Camp Wawanakwa to compete on a reality television show. The contestants are divided into two teams and must compete in challenges every three days. While the winning team earns invincibility, the losing team has to vote off one of their own players. Whoever is voted off must walk the Dock of Shame to the Boat of Losers and leave the island. The teams eventually dissolve and the elimination process continues until the last contestant standing wins a grand prize of $100,000.

One thing that makes TDI so good is its extremely likable cast of characters. They all have their own individual personalities and they all feel relatable in some way, like people you would meet in high school. My favorites are Trent, Gwen, Duncan, Leshawna, Cody, Bridgette, Geoff, and Owen (not just because he shares my name).

The interactions between the characters are usually quite engaging and the many storylines built up between them are played out well. We would see most of them again in later seasons, but a lot of them started going downhill and ended up getting derailed in some way. They were all at their most likable in this season.

The first season, I feel, did the best job of utilizing its cast of characters. With only a few exceptions, I feel that everyone was eliminated at just the right time.

The challenges are a lot of fun as well. A lot of them are very creative and are filled with memorable moments. With an ongoing narrative filled with all kinds of interesting stuff happening every episode, it makes you not want to miss a single one.

The show can also be quite hilarious at times and the animation, while rather basic (as to be expected from Teletoon), fits the show quite well.

This season does have a few problems, such as some toilet humor here and there and a few unfair eliminations, but they are all rather minor in the grand scheme of things.

"Total Drama Island" has a special place in my heart, and it still holds up extremely well. Too bad the sequels aren't anywhere near as good (although the spin-off "The Ridonculous Race" was pretty awesome). You should check this show out if you haven't already.

RATING: A

This show is so funny but I can't believe I was allowed to watch this as a kid. There were a lot of things that I didn't remember about the show but I'm really glad I rematched it.

I remember watching this show when I was younger on Netflix. Honestly some of it is still funny to me. But as the seasons went on, and they started running out of ideas, well it just became super cringy. The jokes were dry and the characters were lame. Total Drama pushes their limits, and honestly should have ended at season 5. After that, everything sucked. Season 7 was okay, but I missed Chris. The early seasons were funny because Total Drama didn't really care. It was a low budget cartoon and that's what it was meant to be, and I liked it that way. So I'm giving this an eight out of ten for good memories.

Sometimes, I think TD is one of the greatest shows on television. Other times, it's a major letdown and I hate it. I'll try to review each season separately without spoiling anything.

Island: this was the only season that every fan can agree is good. If you don't like this season, you probably wouldn't like the show. It does start out painfully slow, but once it gets going, it really gets interesting. Some of the best moments of the series here.

Action: I think this season was a major letdown. It felt kind of like a rehash, and the plot developments that did happen felt either forced or OOC. No new characters and very few new interactions were introduced.

World Tour: I think the first half did pretty well, but the second half had too much drama and not enough comedy. And there was a certain character who fans drew a certain conclusion about at the end, but I personally don't see it. (Remember, this review is spoiler free.) The songs were kind of hit or miss, but there were a few standouts on both ends of the spectrum.

Revenge of the Island: It was the most exaggerated and comical of the seasons. A lot of people hate this season, but I don't think it was that bad. A lot of your opinion of this season will depend on your opinion of the new cast.

All Stars: Again, I liked the first half better than the second half. As the season went on, one storyline took over the entire show and crowded out other potentially interesting story lines. I did like how well they brought together elements of all four previous seasons, though.

Pahkitew Island: I might have given up on Total Drama if this season was not good. The characters were pretty weird, but somehow they made them work. But all Total Drama seasons had problems with the ending, and this one was the worst offender.

Ridonculous Race: I really hope we see more of this in the future. Its quality was reminiscent of Island. A lot of fresh, original ideas were brought to the table here.

The introduction of an impressive array of stereotypical characters began this animated reality television show, the most brilliant and unexpected oxymoron I encountered as of late. There's a way to relate almost any of the characters to someone you've met at one point in your life. Each character is memorable in their own way, if only because of the brilliant stereotyping, or the sheer wackiness of some.

On the "reality" half, there is very little real about it, and yet, it actually feels real in ways. At times, it's a biting satire of many of the absurd reality TV programs aired in the past few years. At others, the relations and rivalries between characters feel very realistic. The only problem, really, is that some of the humor feels weak and forced. On the other hand, some of it works really well.

If only this show didn't spawn so much awful fan-fiction...

7/10, for a great concept and intelligent writing, if weak in the humor department at times.