A new host introduces a spin-off series as well as the thirty six competitors, including a few familiar faces. They each arrive at a train station at their first location and are informed about their first race. One person slows down the elevator by pressing all the buttons, leaving most teams to take the stairs. Eventually, one team reaches the airport first, putting them on the first flight to the next location.
Plot
Eighteen teams compete around the world for one million dollars in the Ridonculous Race. Don first introduces the first location as Toronto, Ontario. He then introduces the competing teams shortly after. The first team to be introduced are Carrie and Devin, who have been best friends since childhood although Devin is unaware that Carrie has a secret crush on him. The next team is Mother and Daughter. In an interview, Taylor talks about how attractive she is, and Kelly is seen attempting to get along with her ungrateful daughter, Taylor. The Sisters are then introduced with Emma trying to make sure that Kitty's mind is in the game. The next team consists of "two exceptionally pale teens" named Crimson and Ennui, who remain silent as they're introduced. Also competing in the Race are Total Drama veterans, Owen and Noah, both of whom had competed in many reality shows since their last season and are known as the Reality TV Pros. The next team are identical twins, Mickey and Jay, who have been plagued with misfortune since birth. The last team to get off the bus are the Daters, Stephanie and Ryan, who have been dating for over two months.
By this point, two other teams have arrived at the train station. First are Olympian Ice Dancers, Jacques and Josee, followed by the Surfer Dudes, consisting of Brody and another Total Drama veteran, Geoff. Outside the station, Don introduces the remaining teams, the first being the Father and Son pair, Dwayne and Dwayne Jr. The next team introduced are the Police Cadets, who show up in a dramatic fashion, with MacArthur bursting through a window and Sanders climbing down a rope. The Stepbrothers, Chet and Lorenzo are then introduced, who are in the middle of a never-ending sibling fight after their parents married each other the previous year and forced them to enter the race in the hopes it would help them get along. Tom and Jen, the Fashion Bloggers, who believe that they're "highly attractive that have impeccable taste", appear to be positive that they could win the race. The next team being introduced are the Rockers, consisting of Rock and his quiet partner Spud. The next team is the Vegans, who are "granola loving hippies" consisting of Laurie and Miles. Another team, Mary and Ellody, are introduced as the Geniuses as they reveal their reasons for participating in the race, along with their plans for the prize money. A taxi drops off the LARPers, consisting of Tammy and former Total Drama: Pahkitew Island contestant, Leonard, who believes his early elimination was due to Pahkitew Island being too challenging for him (while they both still think they're real wizards he wasn't entirely wrong). The final team to arrive is the longtime, elderly tennis rivals, Gerry and Pete.
Don welcomes the contestants onto the twenty-six part race around the world and proceeds to explain the format of the race. At the end of each race, there will be a Chill Zone. The final pair to arrive at each Chill Zone may be cut from the competition, while the first team to reach the final Chill Zone of the race will win a million dollars. Don introduces the Don Box, which is a tip box that consists of tips to help the contestants throughout the race. The race begins at the CN Tower, with the contestants having to race on foot to find the Don Box so they can get their next tip. Father and Son are the first pair to reach the Don Box and find out that the next challenge is an "Either/Or." Don explains what an Either/Or is and requires teams to choose either climbing to the top of the tower via 144 flights of stairs or taking the elevator. If a pair chooses the elevator, teams will have to take an extra "scare" challenge, where they have to take a sky-walk around the tower. Though most teams decides to take the scare, Dwayne accidentally presses all the buttons on the elevator, forcing several other teams to take the stairs. However, the Fashion Bloggers believe that taking the elevator is still faster and end up being the first team to reach the top of the tower. However, they refuse to take the scare challenge due to refusing to wear the helmet, fearing it might ruin their fashion sense and hair.
Meanwhile in the staircase, the Surfer Dudes and Ice Dancers have no problem climbing them, but other teams begin experiencing delays; Mickey becomes delirious from the high altitude, the Stepbrothers continue to fight, and MacArthur has to carry Sanders as she is unable to continue. At ground level, the elevator finally arrives, allowing a few teams to enter. While waiting for the next elevator to arrive, Owen converses with Leonard, but gets in a awkward situation when the LARPer thinks of himself to be invisible, causing Owen to back away slowly. Once the first elevator reaches the top, Carrie and Devin are the first to take on the sky-walk, passing the Fashion Bloggers. The Best Friends face some issues due to Devin's fear of falling, though Carrie manages to calm him down. The other elevator arrives for the remaining teams, but unfortunately for them, Owen is unable to keep his bowels contained and releases a stench, disgusting everyone but Noah, who has grown accustomed by this point. The Ice Dancers finally make it to the top of the tower and are the first team to ride the zipline down to the airport, while grabbing their tip along the way. The pair easily completes this task and reaches the airport first.
During the race, Carrie is shocked to discover Devin already has a girlfriend and was originally supposed to be his partner, but is unavailable. Meanwhile, Noah explains that he is determined to win this race, being frustrated with the numerous losses on the other shows he's competed on. While crossing the sky-walk, Noah is almost blown off the edge by the wind, but is saved by Owen, who manages to grab hold of his leg. This sudden close brush with death makes Noah retract his previous statement, realizing that the race is just as dangerous as Total Drama. Other moments include: the Cadets playfully competing with each other for the top bunk in their dormitory, Kitty continuing to test her sister's patience with her immaturity, the Tennis Rivals’ antics causing them to get back at one another and fall off the zipline into the lake, and Geoff having to carry Brody after the latter suffers a leg cramp. Nonetheless, all teams end up arriving to the airport and book themselves on one of the three available flights to Morocco, where the next part of the race continues.
Route Markers
The race begins at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The teams must race on foot to the CN tower and find the Don box to find their next tip.
Choice A: Stairs
Teams must climb 144 flights of stairs to reach the world's tallest observation deck that's just under a billion stairs.
Teams that chose this task:
- Brody & Geoff
- Chet & Lorenzo
- Dwayne & Junior
- Jacques & Josee
- MacArthur & Sanders
- Ryan & Stephanie
- Jay & Mickey
Choice B: Scares
Teams must take the elevator, then get the scare of a lifetime by doing a sky walk all the way around the outside of tower CN.
Teams that chose this task:
Teams must take a flimsy zip line over Lake Ontario to this island airport and snag their next tip along the way.
Teams must book two seats on the next flights to Morocco.
Cast
Voice actor | Role(s) |
---|---|
Terry McGurrin | Don |
Scott McCord | Brody/Jacques/Owen |
Kristin Fairlie | Carrie |
Darren Frost | Chet |
Jeff Geddis | Devin/Tom |
Neil Crone | Dwayne |
Emilie-Claire Barlow | Ellody/Laurie |
Stacey DePass | Emma |
Dan Petronijevic | Geoff |
David Huband | Gerry |
Lyon Smith | Jay/Mickey |
Ashley Botting | Jen |
Julie Lemieux | Josee/Kelly |
Jacob Ewaniuk | Junior |
Stephanie Anne Mills | Kitty |
Clé Bennett | Leonard |
Carlos Díaz | Lorenzo/Rock |
Evany Rosen | MacArthur |
Carter Hayden | Noah |
Adrian Truss | Pete |
Joseph Motiki | Ryan |
Nicole Stamp | Sanders |
Nicki Burke | Stephanie |
Bryn McAuley | Taylor |
Leaderboard
First Place • Racing • Eliminated • Last placer on a non-elimination episode
Returns to the competition • Season winner • Season 2nd place
Trivia
General
- The team placings at the end of the episode are:
- Flight #1: Father and Son, Best Friends, Daters, Police Cadets, Ice Dancers, and Reality TV Pros.
- Flight #2: Sisters, Fashion Bloggers, Vegans, Geniuses, Mom and Daughter, and Rockers.
- Flight #3: LARPers, Stepbrothers, Adversity Twins, Surfer Dudes, Tennis Rivals, and Goths.
- Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race follows the trend of some seasons of Total Drama, to include a two-parter at the start of the season.
- The interaction between Owen and Leonard in this episode marks the first meeting between a first and third generation cast member of Total Drama.
- Bridgette is mentioned by Geoff when he is introduced, stating that she is currently in Australia for a surfing competition.
- The person waiting for the contestants at the top of the CN tower resembles Willy from Aftermath: Bridgette Over Troubled Water.
- It is revealed that Owen and Noah have been participating in other reality shows after Total Drama, similar to Tyler and Leshawna after Total Drama Action.
- At the beginning of the episode, Sasquatchanakwa, a bear, one of the tourists from The Aftermath: IV, the Canadian intern, Katie, Sadie, DJ, and Tyler's first Camp TV designs can be seen in the crowd of pedestrians.
- The shoes worn by the Travel Tip giver bear a striking resemblance to those worn by Harold.
- The orange bird from Moon Madness appears when Carrie is calming Devin before they take the "Scare" challenge.
- The airport the pairs have to zipline to is probably Billy Bishop airport due to it being built on an island as well.
- The teams who chose to do Stairs are Father and Son, Surfer Dudes, Ice Dancers, Adversity Twins, Police Cadets, Daters, and Stepbrothers.
- All the other teams chose Scares.
- This is the fifth time that Cartoon Network has aired two episodes together; in this case, it was with None Down, Eighteen to Go—Part 2. It previously happened with The Enchanted Franken-Forest and Brain vs. Brawn: The Ultimate Showdown; So, Uh, This Is My Team? and I Love You, Grease Pig!; This Is The Pits! and Three Zones and A Baby; Pahk'd With Talent and Lies, Cries and One Big Prize.
- This is the first season premiere since Monster Cash where nobody gets eliminated in the very first episode of the season.
Continuity
- Leonard mentions his past experience on Total Drama: Pahkitew Island when he's introduced.
- Both Owen and Geoff recall meeting Noah and Bridgette respectively on Total Drama.
- Noah possibly refers to his elimination on Dodgebrawl when he mentions his reasons for losing in every reality show he competed on in the past.
- Brody injuring his leg is similar to what happened to Geoff in Up the Creek.
- The Sisters' comments during their introduction foreshadows future events. Ironically, it is Emma who ended up being in a relationship and getting distracted while Kitty is the one who takes charge of the team.
- Toronto is also the main setting of Total Drama Action, as well as the location where the contestants of Total Drama World Tour first depart.
References
- "Either/Or" challenges are the equivalent of Detours from The Amazing Race.
- Several of the reality shows that Noah and Owen starred in are parodies of real life reality shows:
- Meltdown Kitchen is a parody of Hell's Kitchen.
- Scare Tractor is a parody of Fear Factor.
- While Don introduces Toronto, Canada to the audience, there is a man who greatly resembles former Toronto mayor, Rob Ford.
- When the LARPers arrive at the train station, Leonard and Tammy are drinking sodas with a circle on it that resembles the Pepsi logo.
- People for the Ethical Treatment of Ants is a reference to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, an animal rights organization.
Goofs
- When Don introduced Toronto, all his facts were incorrect.
- He stated Toronto is the capital of North America. Continents like North America don't have capitals and Ottawa is the capital of Canada.
- He stated it was the birthplace of Funk music, when it actually originated from African American communities.
- Don stated that the albino panther roams free there. White panthers tend to be located in places like China and Zimbabwe, but not Canada.
- When Carrie assures Devin that doing the skywalk challenge is safe, she clings onto him. When the safety net falls away, she can be seen standing by herself before she suddenly returns to clinging to Devin in the next shot.
- When Tom and Jen are in the elevator, the lights on the buttons go out as it passes floors, but the elevator only stops at one floor even though it should stop at all of them.
- As Emma and Kitty zipline to the airport, the Travel Tip that Kitty is holding is yellow instead of blue.
- Despite being the tenth and eleventh teams respectively to make it to the airport, the Daters and Reality TV Pros somehow end up on the first flight.
- When the Adversity Twins are first seen running up the stairs, Dwayne could be seen on the top of the stairs running again.
- When Jay uses his inhaler while being introduced, his hand is disconnected from his arm for a frame.
- When the Daters are introduced, Stephanie's right hand isn't fully drawn.
- The Rockers aren't shown running out of the elevator after Owen farted.
- When Owen hugs Noah while his introduction, Noah's neck and head are disconnected. In addition his back hair is missing.
- When the Ice Dancers are introduced, Josee's left hand is overlapping Jacques's right hand despite Josee being behind him.
- When Devin compliments Carrie in the interview after taking the zipline, the bracelet on her right hand is missing.
- When the four split screen of the teams preparing to race was shown, the Best Friends are not shown despite being in front of the Goths.
- When Carrie and Devin grab their helmets after reasching the observation deck, Carrie appears to have freckles.
- when the Reality TV Pros hit the mattress after completing the zipping challenge, Noah's helmet is red instead.
- When the Adversity Twins land on the Stepbrothers after completing the zipline challenge, Mickey has Jay's voice for a split second.