Fifteen years after the show first began, the hosts welcome sixteen new contestants back to where it all began. After being divided into two teams, the players face their first challenge: an obstacle course filled with booby traps, where two blindfolded contestants on each team are guided by their teammates. One guide instead spends the challenge yelling at her ex-boyfriend on the other team, leading to the latter's victory. A scheming player on the losing team saves the biggest factor in their loss by sending a possible threat to an early elimination.
Plot[]
The episode begins with an introduction from Chris, saying it's been fifteen years since the show first aired and they're now back to where it all began. He tells the viewers that sixteen new contestants will arrive and battle to be the last one standing for one million dollars. Chris then states that winning won't be easy and it's not just any reboot, but a "reboot to the face." Chris anticipates crazier challenges and deadlier dares that were thought of by a writing team made up of angry monkeys who want nothing more than to see humanity fall.
Chris announces the reboot of the show.
After the theme song, Chris is at the Dock of Shame awaiting the contestants, The first contestant to arrive is Millie. In her audition, she states that people in her parents' generation can achieve fame by writing a novel, winning a Gemmy, or curing polio. But in Millie's generation, people can get famous by filming themselves eating hot peppers and vomiting while they cry. Millie states that she plans to join Total Drama Island to research the epic fail that is her generation. After Millie is dropped off, Chris introduces a tough-looking girl named Axel.
In her audition, Axel states that she's a survivalist with a primitive survival rating of 9.7. She claims that when the zombie apocalypse happens, she won't be scared, but the zombies should be. Axel arrives with a duffel bag filled with weapons, and Chris notes how prepared she is for everything before introducing the next contestant, Priya, a girl whose parents are huge Total Drama fans who have trained her for it her entire life in case there was a reboot. Priya recalls her first bungee jump was with her umbilical cord. She believes that there's nothing she isn't ready for. She's done all the scary challenges and the other players will be toast.
Ripper tears his shirt off.
The next contestant he introduces is an all-around fun dude, Hezekias, or as his friends refer to him, Zee. In the audition, after drinking a soda, Zee states that he might not be the strongest or the fastest before he trails off forgetting what he's talking about. Zee tries to hug Chris, only to be refused. The next introduced is a rude boy named Ripper. Ripper states that two things make a man look weak: Caring about other people and eating mild chicken wings, in which Ripper cares little about people and eats his wings "bum inferno hot". Ripper tells how he was arrested for pooping on a stranger's purse and rants about how the laws don't apply to him pooping his pants. On the island, he rips his shirt off and flexes his non-existent muscles before flirting with a disgusted Millie and Priya. Chris notices that Ripper didn't bring a suitcase and promises to bring him a new shirt once he realizes he ripped the only one he had.
Chris introduces Damien, someone who has never heard of Total Drama but auditioned because his friends dared him to. Upon arrival, Damien asks for the million dollars, which Chris asks if he's seen the show before and they won't give it to him. When Damien shares that he knows nothing about Total Drama, Chris notes how fun he's going to be. He then introduces Lauren, AKA "Scary Girl", who wants to come to the island to make new friends and watch them get hurt. Upon arrival, Scary Girl warns Chris to stop looking at her. Chris covers his eyes before introducing Bowie, who boasts that he will be Total Drama's first openly gay contestant. He describes how competitive he is by sharing that he won both Prom King and Queen a year before. He also states that he is coming for Total Drama Island's "crown."
Chase's livestream is called "3 Guys and a Girl in a Beach House".
Next up, riding on water skis is Chase, who is part of a live stream group known as "Three Guys and a Girl in a Beach House," though it is simply called "Three Guys in a Beach House" because his girlfriend Emma broke up with him. The group makes videos about pranks, dares, and stunts. As Chase is excited to be on the show, that excitement turns into surprise when Chris introduces his ex-girlfriend, Emma. She used to be a part of Chase's livestream but left after breaking up with him and she was hoping to never see him ever again. Upon realizing that he's on the show, Emma tries to attack Chase but is held back by Chris, who states that this meeting was planned.
The next camper introduced is Mary-Kate, or as she prefers to be called, MK, a skilled thief who prides herself on being underestimated and believes that strength is not how you win Total Drama, but with secret talents instead. After MK, Chris swoons as he introduces Caleb. His handsome presence captures the attention of Priya, Emma, and Bowie, as well as a couple of fish. The intern driving the boat gets distracted long enough to crash the boat into the dock, apologizing and saying she's never seen anyone as handsome as Caleb. Zee is confident Caleb will win and bets $20 on it. Priya says that betting against himself is wrong, but Zee disagrees, noting the win-win situation he's in if either he or Caleb wins.
Wayne and Raj laugh at their idea of the lake turning into ice.
Next up, who Chris states were a "package deal," are Wayne and Raj, two hockey bros who came from Northern Alberta. Raj talks about the lake turning into ice. Wayne then states it would be "the biggest hockey rink ever." When they get to the dock, Chris then tells them they join the second team. Wayne and Raj then call Chris "coach." Wayne asks Raj what he thinks of the other team. Raj states he would be more impressed with a "clogged toilet." Ripper then gets flustered and tries to insult them, though he is unsuccessful. Raj and Wayne then make fun of Ripper. Ripper gets aggressive and tries to walk up to them, however, Axel tells him to "save it for the game." Chris then introduces someone who's a bit of a big deal: popular actress Nichelle LaDonna. Bowie, Emma, MK, and Priya seem like they are fans of Nichelle. Priya then tries to stay calm in her presence, but she screams that she's Nichelle's biggest fan. Nichelle doesn't seem to care and just responds "M'kay."
 Priya |
“ | That was not cool... | ” |
The next contestant introduced is Julia, who is an influencer. In her audition, Julia states that Total Drama would be a great place to share her "positive energy" with the world. Chris tries to tell her to go onto the right side of the dock, however, she interrupts him and takes a picture with him. Chris then reminds her of the contracts she signed saying that no phones were allowed on the island. Julia asks how she can grow as a person if she can't tell her followers. Chris tells her "That's a question for someone who cares about that question." he then tells her to give Chef her phone. Julia states that she is "stronger than you think." Chris then tells her to give him all of the phones. Chris tells her the phones will be safe at the bottom of the lake. Chef then tosses the phones into the lake. And Wayne find that move was so cold that they can hang ball-caps on his nipples.
Zee holds his team's flag as the teams are formed.
After introducing everyone, Chef then reveals the team names. The first team is The Ferocious Trout consisting of Axel, Chase, Damien, Millie, Priya, Ripper, Scary Girl, and Zee. The second team is The Frogs of Death, consisting of Bowie, Caleb, Emma, Julia, MK, Nichelle, Raj, and Wayne. Chris then explains the rules of the game. He explains that the winning team will win invincibility, the losing team, however, will have to eliminate one of their own. When you get eliminated, you will have to walk the Dock of Shame. However, instead of going home on the Boat of Losers, the eliminated contestant will now take the Drone of Despair.
Emma holds her team's flag.
Chris states that he gets joy from seeing the contestants accomplish nothing except hurting themselves. Damien then asks Chris how they are getting hurt. Chris explains why Damien doesn't know Chef, who is promoted as Chris' co-host in the reboot, saying that "He hasn't seen the show before." Chris then tells the contestants to go to their cabins to get settled in before their first challenge. Chris asks if they have any questions, to which Ripper responds by asking if the cabins are co-ed. In response to Ripper's answer, Axel drops her bag full of survival equipment on him. The contestants then ask a barrage of questions to Chris. Axel asks if she can vote now, Millie asks if the challenges get postponed if it gets too hot, Scary Girl asks if she can switch to the team with death in the name, Damien asks again if they're getting hurt, and Zee asks what if he doesn't have a question. Chris then blows a horn and tells them to ask no more questions and "beat it."
Priya has bad luck while trying to choose her bed.
On the girl's side of the Ferocious Trout cabin, Priya finds a bed she likes, before Axel places her bag on top, almost crushing her. She then moves to another bed, however, Scary Girl is on the bed above her. She asks Priya if she screams in her sleep, Priya tells her no, and Scary Girl tells her "We'll see." Priya then moves onto another bed and exclaims it's way better than the other two. After she says that, she gets stuck in her bed. Millie asks if she needs help and Priya says "I really do."
Meanwhile, on the boy's side of the cabin, Ripper tells Zee that he called the bed beside the window. Zee tells him he didn't hear him call it, he then asks him if he wants top or bottom. Ripper tells Zee that he wants whichever one he wants. Ripper then asks if they should fight for it. Zee, however, just tells him he'll choose another bed. Ripper tells him he made a "good call."
 Ripper |
“ | Boom! Nobody messes with an alfalfa male! | ” |
MK steals Julia's phone.
On the boys' side of the Frogs of Death cabin, Wayne tells Raj that their team has some real hotties. Bowie thinks they are talking about him and gives them some privacy. On the girl's side, while Julia is looking at the flowers, MK secretly takes Julia's phone while she isn't looking. Bowie, meanwhile, is asking Emma what happened with her and Chase. Emma, however, doesn't want to get into it. She then states that, if she wins, she is donating half of her money to an animal hospital. Bowie tells her that he would never do that.
 Bowie |
“ | An alliance starts with two people. I like Emma's vibe, she's athletic and a little spicy. That's who I'm after. | ” |
Chris tells the campers that it's challenge time. He welcomes them to the first challenge and Chef explains the challenge to them. He explains that two people will be tied by a rope with another teammate to go through a course to reach a rotten fish bucket. Then after putting the bucket on a wooden plank. Zee states that this sounds super easy, Chris tells him he's right, so that's why they added booby traps. Wayne and Raj laughed, with Wayne saying: "He said, BOOBY traps" and Raj tells Wayne to keep it down because Chris or "Coach" is talking. and Chris explains that the booby traps are randomly scattered posts, lobster traps, messy mud puddles, nests of murder hornets, a pit full of hot coals, and more. Chris then tells the campers that the people getting the fish buckets will be blindfolded.
Ripper tells Zee that being blindfolded makes it harder to see. Zee agrees with Ripper. Ripper asks Zee where he got his soda and Zee tells him that he has no idea where he got it. After seeing this, Millie writes this down in her notebook.
 Millie |
“ | Anytime someone from my generation says or does something dumb, I make a note for my research. Ugh, my hand is already cramping. | ” |
Chef then continues explaining, stating that the two other teammates will guide the blindfolded person through the obstacle course. Whenever the blindfolded contestants reach the wooden plank, the remaining four teammates will carefully raise the buckets, however, if they aren't careful, one side will raise higher than the other, the buckets will drop, and that team will lose the challenge. Chris states that the team that wins will receive pizza and wings as a reward. The losing team will be sending someone home.
During the challenge, The Frogs of Death select Bowie and Emma to guide the blindfolded teammates, Nichelle and Wayne to be blindfolded, and the remaining four to raise the buckets. The Ferocious Trout select Damien and Millie to guide the blindfolded teammates, Chase and Ripper to be blindfolded, and the remaining four to raise the buckets.
When the challenge starts, Millie tries to direct Ripper and Chase to go left, Ripper, however, thinks that her left equals his right. Because of this, they run into a lobster trap. Ripper tries to get a lobster off, however, he ends up accidentally ripping his pants off instead. Everybody tries to look away, however, Ripper says that his shoe is untied and shows his butt to everyone again.
 Damien |
“ | No! No, no, no! You can not put that on TV! | ” |
Chase and Ripper instantly get along.
Meanwhile, with the Frogs of Death, Emma tells Nichelle and Wayne to duck under a hornet's nest. Nichelle tells the hornets that if they sting her, they better make sure they don't sting her on the face. Wayne gets stung by one, and, in response, jumps in pain. However, when he jumps, his head gets stuck in a nest. Millie, meanwhile, tells Ripper and Chase to move forward at a 45° angle. Ripper tells her that he doesn't speak nerd. Chase tries to lead both of them forward, however, Ripper trips on a rake and shows his butt to everyone, including the Frogs of Death. Bowie tells Emma not to look at Ripper right now. Emma doesn't listen to Bowie and looks at Ripper. Emma tells Ripper to turn around, which confuses Nichelle and Wayne. Bowie tells them that she was talking about Ripper who is showing a "full moon" to everyone. Chase hears this and tries to high-five Ripper, however, they both miss.
Millie |
“ | Wow! | ” |
Chris says that the challenge is evening out. Hearing this, Wayne states that him and Nichelle have to pick up the pace, and then get hit by a rake. Bowie tells them that slow and steady wins the race, however, Caleb tells them that they have to pick up the pace. Bowie, who is infatuated with Caleb, agrees with him and tells them to move. Wayne keeps running and runs into another rake which hits his groin. Wayne states that he's all right and that he's wearing a cup. Meanwhile, Chase and Ripper are in front of a mud puddle. Millie tells them to walk around it, however, Chase doesn't listen and walks into the mud puddle. Chris says that, unlike Julia's social media posts, that mud puddle was deep. Julia sarcastically tells him that he's so funny.
Emma is furious at Chase as he doesn't know what he did.
Emma tells her team to go forward, however, Chase thinks she is talking about him and thanks her for the help and calls her "babe." Emma tells him that she wasn't talking to him and that he's doing terrible. Chase asks her why she is so mad at him. Emma angrily shouts, "ARE YOU KIDDING?!"
Bowie |
“ | Ooooo! Here's where we find out what he did! I bet he kissed another girl, one hundred percent! Straight couples, am I right? | ” |
Emma reveals that the reason she is so mad at Chase and why they broke up is because he cut the brakes on her car.
Bowie |
“ | Straight couples are messed up. | ” |
The Frogs of Death walk to their first-ever Campfire Ceremony.
As Chase questions that Emma is still about that incident, she tells him that she is and he made her crash into a pet store, Emma says this is why she is donating 25% of the million to an animal hospital. MK tells her that she thought she was donating half of the money, in response, Emma immaturely mocks her by repeating what she said. Caleb breaks them up and shows them that the Ferocious Trout are winning. Wayne tells Nichelle to ride on his back because he is a "piggyback champion." When they are about to run into hot coals, Emma tells them to jump, however, the Ferocious Trout win, and Wayne and Nichelle fall on the hot coals. Chris announces that the Ferocious Trout have won and that the Frogs of Death will meet him at the Campfire Ceremony. Chris greets the Frogs of Death to the first elimination ceremony of the season, explaining that one of them will be heading home. Chef starts to state reasons why certain campers would be eliminated. Emma is at risk because she let her emotions get in the way and cost the team the lead.
 Emma |
“ | Okay, I messed up. Because of Chase. But from now on, my focus is on helping my team win. | ” |
Nichelle is at risk because she was more concerned about her looks, which slowed Wayne down.
 Nichelle |
“ | Uh, yeah! And don't play like I wasn't trying to win. My bum caught fire! | ” |
Chris explains that marshmallows will be given to those who are safe and the one camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately leave the island. Wayne and Raj said that they voted for each other, which annoys Chris since the votes were for who to eliminate. Chris gives marshmallows to Nichelle, MK, Bowie, Julia, Wayne, and Raj. The bottom two comes down to Caleb and Emma, the latter more panicked than the former due to what Chef mentioned, who is more confident. Chris finally gives the remaining marshmallow to Emma, leaving an utterly surprised Caleb as the first camper voted out of the competition. Emma cheers before apologizing to Caleb, complimenting his muscles and asking for his number.
Bowie is revealed to be the mastermind behind Caleb's elimination.
At the Dock of Shame, Caleb is questioning why he's going home when he's the strongest player on the team, smart and kind. He is about to go back to give the others a piece of his mind before the Drone of Despair picks him up. Bowie pops out of the bushes, proud of his handiwork.
Bowie |
“ | Yeah, I might have mentioned to a few people that Caleb looked unbeatable and that voting him off now might be our only chance. I told you, I came for the crown. | ” |
Chris admits he wasn't sure how the drone was going to work out, but he likes the results. He then signs off the first episode of the reboot.
Cast[]
| Voice actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Terry McGurrin | Chris |
| Deven Mack | Chef Hatchet |
| Tamara Almeida | Axel |
| Brandon Michael Arrington | Bowie |
| Kwaku Adu-Poku | Caleb |
| Julius Cho | Chase |
| Daniel Keith Morrison | Damien |
| Melanie Leishman | Emma |
| Julie Sype | Julia |
| Barbara Mamabolo | Millie |
| Kimberly-Ann Truong | MK |
| Tymika Tafari | Nichelle |
| Eman Ayaz | Priya |
| Varun Saranga | Raj |
| Fred Kennedy | Ripper |
| Katie Griffin | Scary Girl |
| Jack Copeland | Wayne |
| Gerardo Gismondi | Zee |
- Priya's parents appear in her audition tape. However, they have no lines.
- Chase's friends appear in his audition tape, as well as Emma's. However, they have no lines.
- Brightly and an unnamed male character appear in Damien's audition tape. However, they have no lines.
- Gwen's parents from Total DramaRama appear in MK's audition tape, and her father speaks. However, it is unknown who voiced him.
- A female intern speaks. However, it is unknown who voiced her.
Elimination Ceremony[]
| Elimination Ceremony 1: Frogs of Death 
| |
|---|---|
| Status | Contestant |
| Safe |       Nichelle, MK, Bowie, Julia, Wayne, Raj |
| Low |  Emma |
| Out |  Caleb |
Still in the running[]
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Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode was confirmed by Christian Potenza to have been recorded around September 2021. In addition, Potenza originally reprised his role as Chris in for Total Drama Island (2023) as a whole but was later replaced by Terry McGurrin after Fresh TV "let him go", with McGurrin citing the recasting as a "creative decision" to acknowledge the season as a reboot.
- Therefore, this episode marks the first time in the franchise in which Chris is voiced by someone other than Christian Potenza, being replaced by Terry McGurrin.
- Similarly, Clé Bennett doesn't reprise his role as Chef Hatchet from previous seasons as well, with Chef now being voiced by Deven Mack, reprising his role from Total DramaRama. Likewise, Chef no longer wears his cooking attire but wears his teacher clothing from the spin-off, making this the first time in the main series that Chef is seen without his cooking attire on a usual basis.
- Chris states that the reboot began 15 years after the original show premiered. This matches the actual time frame, as the show was first aired in 2007 or 2008. Thus, based on the indications of the intervals between seasons, in turn, this sets the following seasons (TDA, TDWT, TDRI, TDAS, and TDPI), as well as the spin-off as taking place across 2007 or 2008 to 2010 or 2011, approximately.
- Due to how all prior Total Drama competitors were all required to be 16 years old when joining the show, this also indicates that the first-generation cast—including Alejandro and Sierra but not Blaineley—are now around 31, the second-generation cast are now around 30 and the third-generation are now around 29. The Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race cast is also around between the ages of 28 to 80s.
- This however is unlikely for the case of Bowie and Priya, the former mentions he was the prom king and queen of his school, implying he is at least 17, while the latter was born at least after the original Total Drama Island, implying she's 15.
- On top of this, Terry McGurrin has hinted that any past contestants may not appear with visible signs of aging in any potential further appearances due to cartoons rarely tracking on the ages of characters.
- This however is unlikely for the case of Bowie and Priya, the former mentions he was the prom king and queen of his school, implying he is at least 17, while the latter was born at least after the original Total Drama Island, implying she's 15.
- Due to how all prior Total Drama competitors were all required to be 16 years old when joining the show, this also indicates that the first-generation cast—including Alejandro and Sierra but not Blaineley—are now around 31, the second-generation cast are now around 30 and the third-generation are now around 29. The Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race cast is also around between the ages of 28 to 80s.
- The order of the campers who arrived on the island is Millie, Axel, Priya, Zee, Ripper, Damien, Scary Girl, Bowie, Chase, Emma, MK, Caleb, Raj and Wayne, Nichelle, and Julia.
- The Ferocious Trout is introduced before the Frogs of Death, aside from Bowie and Chase being swapped.
- During her audition tape, Julia is seen inside Total Drama Action's makeup trailer.
- Emma's house in her audition tape is the same as Harold's from Total DramaRama.
- Julia's winter coat in her audition tape is the same as Heather's winter coat that was seen in the exclusive clip of "The Obsta-Kill Kourse".
- For the first time in the show, the audition tapes were included in the show itself instead of being released like bonuses due to Cartoon Network not ordering them, unlike past seasons, playing during the introductions of all the contestants, save for Caleb, Nichelle, Raj, and Wayne.
- That said, Terry McGurrin has confirmed that these four contestants had audition tapes but they were all cut for different reasons: Raj and Wayne were easy characters to establish quickly without an audition of their own, Nichelle's audition was reworked into her movie clips seen two episodes later and Caleb's audition was cut for pacing reasons with its core idea being used for a scene in the next episode's recap.
- That makes Wayne and Raj the only fourth-generation contestants to not have any part of their audition shown.
- Terry McGurrin originally suggested to not have Chris mention that fifteen years have passed since the show's premiere as past seasons rarely acknowledged years passing through the show, but other creatives and Cartoon Network wanted the line to stay because it spoke about how successful Total Drama is.
- This is the only episode where Wayne has received a vote against him, although it was an accidental one from Raj. However, despite this, Wayne does not end up in the bottom two.
Continuity[]
- Several characters from the original series, as well as Total DramaRama, make cameos in contestants' introductions.
- In Axel's intro, there is a cardboard zombie cut-out that ironically resembles Shawn.
- In Priya's intro, her father dresses up as Owen, even wearing a mask of the former contestant.
- In MK's intro, a couple resembling Gwen's parents from Total DramaRama appear. While her mother remains the same, her father's hair color has been changed to grey.
- In Damien's intro, Brightly and Fred from Total DramaRama appear. They're Damien's friends in this continuity, daring him to sign up for Total Drama.
- Rudy from "Exercising the Demons".
- The doctor from "OWW", "Cactus Makes Perfect" and "The Cone-versation".
- The pizza delivery lady from "Stop! Hamster Time".
- The female Eskimo from "Lord of the Ring Toss".
- This episode contains multiple nods to "Not So Happy Campers—Part 1":
- Ripper asks if the cabins are co-ed, which is the same as Heather after Duncan asks for a bunk under hers.
- Likewise, Axel dropping her bag onto Ripper's feet mirrors Eva doing the same with Cody when he tries to greet her.
- Chase is introduced water skiing, much like Tyler.
- Caleb's introduction parallels Justin's introduction.
- When Chef's disgusting camp food is shown, the pizza seen in the scene is one of the dishes served in "Brunch of Disgustingness."
- Also, from "Brunch of Disgustingness", there is a bull cowering in fear upon seeing Chase's friends eating beef testicles.
- Chris announces the cast as "new victims" before correcting himself to "new contestants", much like how he announced the cast of Total Drama All-Stars in "Heroes vs. Villains." He also does this in Total Drama: Pahkitew Island while announcing the season.
- Bowie cites in the confessional that his reasons to have Caleb voted off were that he looked unbeatable so he could be a threat in the future. Fittingly enough, the following season sees Caleb making it to the finale.
References[]
- At the end of his audition tape, Chase says "don't forget to subscribe!" This line is said in many videos on YouTube.
- Julia says that she is a Mandy Bellville brand ambassador, which is a reference to the Italian clothing store for women Brandy Melville.
Goofs[]
- When Zee introduces himself as Hezekias, the captions list it as "Ezequias."
- In Ripper's introduction, Axel is nowhere to be seen whilst the others are shown on the Dock of Shame.
- When Chase sees Emma, we see the rest of the introduced contestants behind him, however Damien is missing.
- Whilst Bowie and Emma talk, Bowie has his sunglasses resting on his forehead. However, when he asks Emma to tell him everything that happened, they vanish, but they return once Emma tells him about her plans for the money.
Gallery[]
See also[]
- "Meet the Victims"
- "Pirates of the Cabbagean"
- "Drown Town Abbey"
- "Numbskull Island"
- "Jurassic Fart"
- "Launch Back of Notre Game"
- "Severe Eggs and Pains"
- "The Wheel of Vomit"
- "Paddle Field Earth"
- "The Truth, The Pole Truth and Nothing But the Truth"
- "Tortoise Rigamortis"
- "Caved by the Bell"
- "Magma Cum Laude"