Total Drama Island is a Canadian animated television comedy series for tweens created by Jennifer Pertsch and Tom McGillis and developed by Fresh TV Inc. and Teletoon which parodies reality shows.
Twenty-two teenagers are on a island where they will go through crazy challenges. Every episode a character is eliminated. The last character standing wins tabloid fame and 100,000 dollars.
The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on 8 July, 2007. There are 26 half-hour episodes in the first season. A second season - entitled "Total Drama Action" - is in production.
Total Drama Island premiered in South Africa on DStv's Cartoon Network channel on Thursday 4 September 2008, at 18h05. It premieres with a double bill, after which episodes will air weekly at 18h30.
Episode Synopses
Synopsis
Twenty-two teens have just been sent to the oldest, mouldiest, most beat up, run-down, bug infested summer camp in Northern Ontario where they'll be forced to endure a summer of leaky cabins, crappy food and increasingly insane challenges.
Only one can win - the rest will walk the dreaded Dock of Shame. Tensions will run high, the hook-ups are SO on, and the cameras will be there to catch it all.
Total Drama Island is a comedy that showcases all the elements of our favourite reality TV shows within the framework of an exciting, larger-than-life elimination competition.
Heartwarming moments of thoughtfulness, romance and friendship are interspersed with backstabbing, scheming, sabotage, and broken alliances. But in this “reality show”, it's all scripted for maximum laughs.
The show features 22 completely different teens including a deluded wanna-be, a jock who sucks at sports, a fun-loving party guy, a goth loner, a juvenile delinquent, a gentle giant, a geek, a dweeb, a princess, a weight-lifting female bully, a soulful surfer girl, a couple of clueless BFF's (best female friends) and a Queen Bee - and sticking them all in a crappy summer camp cabin for eight weeks.
These are kids who wouldn't even acknowledge one another in the halls at school, and now they find themselves stuck together 24/7. The only thing they have in common: they're all city kids who don't have a hope of surviving alone in the wilderness, and they all came to win.
Before they arrived, they never had a reason to speak to one another. Now, stuck in the Northern Ontario woods with no access to the outside world, these teens must learn to work as a team... or watch their backs.
Will they ever open up to one another and become friends, or will they step on each other to win? Will they actually learn something about survival, or will they spend all their time hooking up with their crushes and sabotaging their foes?
And who will be the ultimate winner?
Characters
Chris – The Host
Chef – The Chef
Issy - The Psycho
Trent – The Cool Guy
Cody – The Geek
Heather – The Queen Bee
Justin – The Eye Candy
Owen – The Party Guy
Noah – The Schemer
Gwen – The Loner
Leshawna – The Sister with Attitude
Lindsay – The Dumb Princess
Beth – The Wannabe
Tyler – The Jock
Harold – The Dweeb
Bridgette – The Surfer Girl
Geoff – The Funniest Guy Around
DJ – The Brickhouse with Heart
Duncan – The Delinquent
Courtney – The 'Type A'
Eva – The Female Bully
Katie – The Sweet Girl
Sadie – The Sweet Girl's Friend
Ezekiel – The Home Schooled Guy
Production
Total Drama Island was developed, financed and produced by Fresh TV Inc. The series was animated at Elliott Animation and directed by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton.
It is primarily targeted at eight- to twelve-year-olds. Creators Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, studied what pre-teens liked and disliked about reality television shows in the writing process.
The budget for the series was US$8 million. It was animated in Flash at Elliott Animation's studio in Toronto.