The entire season first premiered in the United States starting on September 10, 2013, on Cartoon Network with the first part,[4] while the second part premiered in the United States on July 7, 2014, for a two-week time period.[5] In Canada, the first part premiered on Teletoon during their "Can't Miss Thursdays" time slot starting January 9, 2014,[6][7] while the second part of the season also premiered during their "Can't Miss Thursdays" time slot on Teletoon starting on September 4, 2014.[8][9][10] The second half of the season also premiered on APTN in 2015.[2]
Synopsis
Similar to Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, this season also consists of 13-episode segments;[11] though, it returns to the traditional 26-episode length of the first three seasons. The winning characters for All-Stars are either Mike or Zoey, and the winning characters for Pahkitew Island are either Shawn or Sky, varying based on the region in which season finale airs. The grand prizes for both parts of this season are both C$1,000,000.
All-Stars
Total Drama All-Stars is the first part of the season. Christian Potenza first announced the season in an interview with Tom McGillis (the creator of the series), saying that Total Drama All-Stars would be very similar to Total Drama Island and Total Drama: Revenge of the Island, due to the high worldwide ratings of the latter.[3] Therefore, this part of the season takes place back at Camp Wawanakwa; in a single location once again, unlike Total Drama World Tour. This part is also very similar to the previous season, Total Drama: Revenge of the Island (both being very similar in terms of length, location, features and cameos).
This half is an all-star season which features a return of fourteen contestants from both the first and second generation cast.[1][12] This is the first season to feature characters from two different generations competing together. The theme for the season is "Heroes vs. Villains", meaning that competitors are separated into teams based on their past performance. Contestants that were relatively kind and good-natured were placed on the "Heroic Hamsters", while contestants that acted antagonistic were placed on the "Villainous Vultures".[13] Both the season's first title, "All-Stars" and the "Heroes vs. Villains" theme take after respective seasons from Survivor.
Cartoon Network's official synopsis describes the first part, Total Drama All-Stars as:
Total Drama is back, but this time the team at Fresh TV have assembled the best loved and most hated contestants from seasons past to compete – Heroes vs. Villains style![13]
Pahkitew Island
A brand new island is used for this season. This is the first new main location in the series since Total Drama Action.
Total Drama: Pahkitew Island is the second part of the fifth season. It was first announced on June 11, 2013 as a "sixth" season, even though it is still part of the fifth season.[14] This part features an entire new cast considered as the third generation of Total Drama characters and takes place at a brand new island, due to Camp Wawanakwa sinking into the ocean in the season finale of All Stars.
Italy was the first country to air Total Drama: Pahkitew Island starting on June 13, 2014; the season aired in North America throughout the second half of 2014.[15] This is the first season to air a new episode every day in the United States.[5] This part was story edited by Terry McGurrin, while Dennis Jackson and Melanie Jackson, series creators of Wapos Bay, also helped write and consult the plot for Pahkitew Island.[16]Total Drama: Pahkitew Island was sponsored by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, who helped with the Cree translations for the team names and various season references.[16]
A general synopsis from Teletoon describes the second part, Total Drama: Pahkitew Island as:
It's an all-new season in an all-new location: Pahkitew Island. Given that the Cree word for "explode" is Pahkitew, it's no wonder that host Chris McLean chose this new island to put a fresh collection of victims – er, contestants – through the most grueling challenges yet. Once again teen freaks, geeks, egos, and cowards smash, crash, and bash their way through the season with one goal in mind: winning that one million dollar prize. Who will take it home? No one knows until the final episode drops and the pain finally stops.[17]
Plot
Both parts feature a fictional titular reality show that follows the competition of fourteen animated teenagers at a fictional island. For Total Drama All-Stars, the original island used in the first season is featured, where the producers say it is located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario.[18] The second part of the season, Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, features a brand new island which producers say it is located somewhere in Western Canada.[19] The season's animated characters are depicted as campers who participate in themed challenges and must avoid being voted off the island by other fellow campers. At the end of the series, the winning contestant or the last camper to stand on the island will win C$1,000,000. The competition is hosted by Chris McLean (Christian Potenza), who is assisted by the camp's chef, Chef Hatchet (Clé Bennett).[20]
At the beginning of the competition, the fourteen campers are evenly placed into two teams which are themed to the genre of the competition. In each episode, the two teams participate in a challenge, in which one or more campers can win invincibility for their team. The losing team is called to the campfire at night, where they must vote one of their members off the island. The camper with the most votes is eliminated from the competition. At this campfire, McLean passes out marshmallows to the campers who have not been voted off, while the one who does not get a marshmallow is eliminated. That eliminated person must then walk to the island's dock and will be forced off of the island, and told to "never, ever come back", according to Chris.
About halfway through the competition, the teams are disbanded, after which the challenges continue; the winner of each challenge then only receives invincibility for him or herself, whereupon a camper without invincibility is voted off the island. This process of elimination continues on until two players remains on the island. These two players, are now then subject to a final contest. At the end, a camper wins the competition, while the loser ends up being the runner-up. However, the runner-up is the winner in the other ending of the finale, as there are always two endings to Total Drama seasons. This season, along with every other season in the series, is a parody of the reality show Survivor while the host, Chris McLean is very similar to Survivor host Jeff Probst with the evil persona of Fear Factor'sJoe Rogan.[21]
The first part consisting of thirteen episodes is an all-star season using fourteen returning characters from the two previous seasons,[1] while the last thirteen episodes consist of a new cast introducing fourteen new characters.[14] Both halves with 13 episodes each are part of the 26 episodes that Cartoon Network ordered in 2012.[22] Cartoon Network aired the whole season first starting on September 10, 2013 on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. EST in the United States,[4] with Teletoon airing the season later on January 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. EST.[6]
This season also features the 100th episode of the entire series which was aired in Canada on February 27, 2014.[10] The 100th episode of the series is the 9th episode of this season, "Zeek and Ye Shall Find". All episodes for the fifth season are 21 minutes and 20 seconds long, all of them much shorter than previous seasons. This is the first season to feature a 20-second intro, as every other previous season had a full one-minute intro section.
Chris brings back 14 "all-star" contestants to compete in a "Heroes vs. Villains" battle for one million dollars. The order in which the contestants are introduced are as follows; Mike, Zoey, Lightning, Cameron, Sam, Scott, Jo, Courtney, Gwen, Duncan, Heather, Lindsay, Sierra, and as a joke, Ezekiel. Upon their return to Camp Wawanakwa, it is revealed that this season's challenges will nod past seasons, and teams will be arranged based on the past performances of the All-Stars; Heroes (Mike, Zoey, Cameron, Sam, Courtney, Lindsay, and Sierra) and Villains (Heather, Duncan, Lightning, Jo, Scott, and Gwen). Seeing as the Heroes have 7 players to the Villains' 6, Chris assigns the Drama Machine as the seventh Villain. While competing for a chance at invincibility and a night at the new spa hotel, an old heartache rears its ugly head, and old rivals Scott and Fang the shark reunite. Gwen attempts to apologize to Courtney for how the whole kissing Duncan situation went down in World Tour, but fails. At the end, Alejandro returns and wins it for his team, while Lindsay is flushed away.[24]
Alejandro and the contestants go digging through a beach for pieces of a statue from their world journey; while Heather and Jo fight for leadership of their team, Sam and Lightning are nothing but a hindrance to their respective teams. During the challenge, Scott accidentally hits Mike in the head with a shovel, which awakens his secret evil personality, Mal. Gwen attempts to make amends with Courtney again, but fails once again. Ultimately, Lightning gets the flush after his team loses due to his ineptitude.[29]
The remaining contestants go to war with each other with a disgusting arsenal at their disposal. Gwen tries to bring her team together while Courtney is a coward in using others. While Mike mysteriously loses his other personalities, unaware about Mal, Zoey stands in his place to win for her team. Ultimately, Jo gets eliminated, Duncan and Courtney switch teams due to their behavior, and Cameron goes to exile due to an identity crisis with Sierra.[32]
The contestants face a challenge that involves filling their stomachs and surviving their way through a nightmarish obstacle course without throwing up. Courtney tries to form an alliance while discovering Gwen is truly trying to patch things up. Meanwhile, Duncan copes with his new hero status and at the same time, recognizes Mike's voice from their past. While Sam appears to win the challenge, he cheats due to fearful necessity and ends up making him forfeit the challenge for his team, which leads to his elimination.[34]
During a rare Blue Harvest Moon, all of the wildlife is affected, causing savage animals to become docile, and turning normally gentle creatures into ravenous monsters that hunt the teams. The moon also causes Mal to temporarily take over Mike's body and wreak havoc on his teammates, which Duncan is suspicious of. Meanwhile, Courtney starts to warm up to Scott, as Gwen continues to try to make amends. When Duncan expresses interest in Courtney, Gwen promptly breaks up with him. Cameron volunteers for elimination in order to distance himself from Sierra's affections, but is instead switched to the other team.[37]
The contestants return to Boney Island to retrieve eggs from all the mutants that were left there after the previous season. While Cameron quickly makes a new friend in Gwen, Duncan fears his new team is rubbing off on him. Meanwhile, Courtney and Scott bond, and Mike tries to get rid of Mal, but ends up giving him permanent control over his body. Gwen earns Courtney's trust after informing her that she broke up with Duncan. Heather finds the invincibility statue, but Alejandro steals it in a scheme to get back at her, and sends her down the drain. Meanwhile, Duncan remembers that Mal was in juvie with him.[40]
The final nine contestants square off against old enemies in a boxing tournament. Gwen and Courtney have their newly-formed friendship tested by Chris; Alejandro defeats his arrogant brother Jose and admits his love for Heather, and Mal’s true self is revealed by original contestant Izzy. Meanwhile, Duncan tries to ally with Zoey in order to eliminate Mike, but Chris lets the other team vote instead, and they eliminate Sierra due to her obsession towards Cameron.[42]
Chris merges the two teams, and pits the contestants in a boat race around Camp Wawanakwa. An unlikely foursome is forced to work together, while Gwen and Courtney team up. During the challenge, Mike briefly frees himself from Mal, but Mal quickly takes back control. Alejandro wins immunity while Duncan blows up Chris' mansion to restore his reputation as a villain. Chris furiously has Duncan disqualified and arrested for this, allowing Cameron to be spared from a suspicious elimination, due to Mal tampering with the votes.[44]
Chris prepares a big 100th episode spectacular, which is ruined when Ezekiel tries to enact his ultimate revenge on him. As the cast attempts to rescue Chris, Alejandro discovers the truth about Mike, but can't convince Cameron about it. Meanwhile, the relationship between Courtney and Scott takes the next step, only to become worse through the crisis. Gwen and Cameron team up to stop the kidnapper, Gwen manages to win the challenge and save the day, while Cameron becomes too injured to continue. Moments before Cameron is flushed, Mal reveals himself to him.[46]
The contestants must go through an extreme obstacle course with danger lurking around every corner. Alejandro and Mal begin a rivalry. Meanwhile, Courtney attempts to clear her name regarding Cameron hurt her relationship. In the end, Mike and his ally plot to defeat their current rival. However, this is not enough to prevent the flushing of Alejandro, who gets his long waited comeuppance for what he previously did, but he manages to warn Zoey about the threat before meeting his downfall.[49]
The final five take a find the ingredients to create a sundae to feed Chris' interns. Mal feeds some information between everyone and Courtney, ruining her relationships and forcing her to find some way of surviving, either on her own or through an alliance. Zoey tries to figure out the cryptic meaning of Alejandro's final words. Courtney appears to reach victory, but a twist in the rules leads her to lose completely, instead it makes Zoey the winner of the challenge, and ultimately Courtney is sent down to the sewers.[52]
The final four is given the final immunity challenge. Zoey discovers the evidence left by Alejandro that exposes Mike's true nature, which leads the hero to feel almost apologetic to him. Meanwhile, Mal ends up trapping Gwen in a pile of junk before sabotaging Scott's chance of winning against his old foe. In the end, Gwen is automatically eliminated due to defacing a painting of Chris, and Scott is eliminated by Zoey's sole vote to try and save Mike also giving her a final warning for who she is up against, thus allowing Mike and Zoey to move on to the finale.[55]
Mike and Zoey face each other with some added assistance on a moat climb to the million. Zoey finally gives her all to take down her enemy, but with some well deserved help, a relationship is saved. Chris tries to make things interesting by making the contest a free-for-all, where anyone in the game can win the prize, though Mike ultimately emerges as the champion. In the end, Chris is well-rewarded, even though a long-time home meets a cataclysmic end.[58]Alternate ending: While Mike distracts Chef, Zoey manages to grab the sword and uses all the strength she can use to pull it out, winning the season in the process.
New teenage contestants are introduced in this episode, while the previous contestants do not have main roles in this season.[62][63] This season takes place at a brand new location, this time on an island called Pahkitew Island.[17] A new set of fourteen campers are introduced in this episode, who are: Amy, Beardo, Dave, Ella, Jasmine, Leonard, Max, Rodney, Samey, Scarlett, Shawn, Sky, Sugar, and Topher.[64] All the fourteen characters are split into two teams, Team Kinosewak and Team Muskwak. The challenge is to build a house and Team Kinosewak wins the first challenge thanks to Jasmine, with Team Muskwak eliminating Beardo for his uselessness and unnecessary sounds. Beardo is then seen taking the Cannon of Shame.[64]
Chris sets up a greasy obstacle course relay race with a greasy baton. Sky and Jasmine quickly emerge to take over their teams, Samey becomes tired of being trampled by Amy, and a few contestants begin to get on Chris' nerves. Eventually, Jasmine wins it for her side, while Leonard runs out of "magic" and is made to disappear.
The two teams set off into a balloon war. Unfortunately for them, it is not water inside the balloons, but instead various weird and painful items. Dave attempts to get closer with Sky, while Amy and Samey become more intense. When Team Kinosewak’s winning streak meets its end, Samey is initially sent home; however, her long overdue payback to Amy gets her sent home instead.
Chris makes the teams go through a truth-or-dare showdown. Samey has to face up to her guilt regarding her problems with Amy, the attraction between Dave and Sky grow stronger, and Ella and Rodney continuously get tormented over and over. Ultimately, Rodney's issues with being truthful with his infatuations end up making him tongue-tied and eliminated.
The teams take part in a stick-collecting showdown in which emotions and relations run high. Dave seems to have it with Sky until Ella suddenly falls for him. Max tries to take charge of a partnership with Scarlett, while Jasmine and Shawn end up in danger due to Shawn’s paranoid obsession. In the end, Samey is eliminated as her theft of Amy's identity is exposed when the real Amy swims all the way back to the island and attacks her mid-challenge for revenge.
With nine contestants remaining, Chris initiates a monkey scavenger hunt, in which each team has to find a golden coin and insert it into a vending machine before the other. Sugar continues to hate on Ella, who additionally begins to dote on her crush Dave, while Max accidentally gets his team caught in one of his traps as a result of Scarlett's miscalculation. In the end, Max nearly leaves until Sugar anonymously convinces Chris to follow through on eliminating her arch-nemesis, Ella.
The teams are sent down into a cave complex and must navigate their whole team out. Dave has a hard time trying to impress Sky (as Sugar attempts to keep the two at arm's length from forming a possible alliance) while Jasmine's fear causes her team to be separated. Max and Scarlett finally reach their breaking point. In the end, no one wins the challenge after disobeying Chris' rules, but he decides to make things interesting by splitting up two partnerships.
The two teams slowly adjust to their new members as they are faced with their most dangerous challenge yet: babysitting. As they quietly run through three deadly courses, Sky is encouraged by Jasmine to forget about her relationship with her now rival Dave, while Max's maternal side is revealed. Topher's desire to replace Chris distracts him from the challenge, leading to the downfall of his team, and ultimately sending him flying.
The final seven contestants are merged. Their challenge is to eat a disgusting meal in which the first finisher gets to hunt the others in a hide-and-seek showdown. Dave loses self-control due to Sky rejecting her feelings, while Shawn finally reclaims the respect of Jasmine by confronting his fear and no longer abandoning her. Dave ultimately sends himself home, depressing Sky, while two players' discovery leads to an even more shocking conclusion.
With the island's secret leading it to potential meltdown, Chris forces the remaining contestants to stop its destruction. While Sky and Sugar work together and Jasmine fawns over Shawn, Scarlett finally reveals her true nature and takes over in order to gain the prize for herself, turning on Max in the process. In the end, Scarlett is apprehended and eliminated, but not without Chris also removing Max.
The final four contestants compete in a race to the top of a mountain where the last person to cross the finish line is sent home. Sky and Sugar make a temporary alliance to take out Jasmine and Shawn, but Sugar goes back on her word. Meanwhile, Shawn is hesitant to split the prize money with Jasmine should they win, due to his longstanding fear. In the end, three players cross the finish line, while Jasmine is sent flying off the island due to Sugar's accidental sabotage.
The final three get to make their own challenges which the host decides to use with his own adjustments. After a hurdle race and a tree-hopping course leads to a three-way tie, it comes down to a talent show in which the contestants reveal some rather bizarre abilities. A conflict between Sky and Sugar reaches its boiling point, however, it is Sugar who should be in her element with the challenge that reveals how talentless she really is, getting her removed and reducing the competition to Shawn and Sky.
Shawn and Sky face each other with some needed assistance across the island that had been altered by Scarlett's hand. To further the danger, Chris makes things worse by revealing damaging dirt to the previously defeated, making the finalists work their hardest to make it to the finish line or else lose the money to the losers.Alternate ending: Shawn crosses the finish line and decides to split the million with Jasmine anyway. At the end, Jasmine and Shawn reconcile, and they shared one last kiss.
All-Stars
Characters
7 characters from Total Drama World Tour and 7 characters from Total Drama: Revenge of the Island returned to compete in Total Drama All-Stars. They all competed together during several "Heroes vs. Villains" themed challenges, which means that all the heroes competed against all the villains.[77]
Hatchet returns as the cook and co-host of the series.
Contestants
The 14 returning characters who competed in Total Drama All-Stars are Alejandro (Alessandro in VQ), Cameron, Courtney (Audrey in VQ), Duncan (Hugo in VQ), Gwen (Joëlle in VQ), Heather (Marilou in VQ), Jo, Lightning (Dutonnerre in VQ), Lindsay (Tania in VQ), Mike (Michel in VQ), Sam, Scott (Steph in VQ), Sierra (Sarah-Laurie in VQ), and Zoey (Zoé in VQ).
These are the fourteen new characters that were introduced in the second part of this season. Listed from left to right in order: Standing: Beardo, Max, Scarlett, Dave, Ella, Shawn (French Canadian/American winner), Sugar, and Leonard Sitting: Sky (English Canadian winner), Jasmine, Sammy (Samey), Amy, Topher, and Rodney
Total Drama: Pahkitew Island features an entire new cast.[14] This is the second time the series completely replaces any existing cast with an all new cast. The new characters competing are Amy, Beardo (Barbu in VQ), Dave (David in VQ), Ella (Eleanor in VQ), Jasmine, Leonard, Max, Rodney, Samey, Scarlett, Shawn (Cédric in VQ), Sky (Kristelle in VQ), Sugar, and Topher (Quentin in VQ).
On June 28, 2011, Christian Potenza mentioned an upcoming season of Total Drama. This was the first time a cast member mentioned a fifth season to the public.[78] One year later on July 19, 2012, Christian Potenza announced a fifth season of Total Drama in an interview with Tom McGillis, saying that Season 5 will be just like Seasons 1 and 4.[3] This hinted that this season will take place back at an island.
As shown in the Fresh TV official website, it seemed that there would be 26 new episodes to be aired in 2013–2014 for Season 5.[79] Tom McGillis later stated that the new 26 episodes will be split into two 13-episode seasons; where the first part will feature some of the existing cast, while the second part will consist of an only new cast which are yet to be introduced.[1] Voice actors began recording lines for Season 5 in December 2012.
Total Drama All-Stars
On January 28, 2013, Cartoon Network confirmed that the new season title will be Total Drama All-Stars for Part 1.[13] Two days later on January 30, both Christian Potenza and Drew Nelson confirmed the title for Episode 4 which is "Food Fright".[80] Drew Nelson also confirmed that the two new teams for this season are the Heroic Hamsters and the Villainous Vultures.[81] Rumors started floating in early 2010 about the season being "Heroes vs. Villains" and that both the original and the new cast would compete together,[82] but it wasn't until December 19, 2012 when Tom McGillis confirmed on ABC3 Australia that the theme for this season will indeed be "Heroes vs. Villains".
On February 1, 2013, Christian Potenza released a new video that contains several new information about Total Drama All-Stars, including season episode titles, new voice actors, and plot information.[83] That same day, Christian Potenza also released the first lines of the season from Episode 4:
When a Hero's eating time is up, they hear this ... and the Villains get this ... Last time on a very special episode of Total Drama All-Stars: ... Say hello to my metal friend! ... I sincerely doubt it, Al ... next, I'll allow it, his pain was our gain ... Which team will finish their barf-tastic breakfast first? Find out after the break on Total Drama All-Stars![83]
On June 11, 2013, it was confirmed that the airdate for the whole season will take place in early 2014; mostly during the winter of 2014.[14] Tom McGillis later confirmed on Twitter that the Canadian airdate will be in January 2014, while the U.S. airdate will be in September 2013.[7] On August 19, 2013, Cartoon Network released the first official trailer for Total Drama All-Stars along with a new website that reveals all the characters. Lindsay and Jo's eliminations were leaked via episode scripts and trailers before the season started airing.
Total Drama: Pahkitew Island
As for Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, production was done, and it was released in the United States. [10] The season was first announced to air on May 27, [84] but was later delayed to July 7.[5] This part is under the same production code as the previous part, Total Drama All-Stars.[22] However, the script for the entire first episode was leaked online about a year before the season's release.[64] Scarlett's final design along with one second of the fully animated first episode was also leaked on Instagram by her Venezuelan Spanish voice actor.[85]
On March 21, 2014, the entire cast design was revealed by Fresh TV along with new promotions for the season.[19]Bryn McAuley who will be voicing the twins, Amy and Samey, was the first confirmed voice actress.[86] On April 9, 2014, Fresh TV Inc. celebrated the International Day of Pink by making the Pahkitew Island cast all wear pink clothing, symbolizing the support for anti-bullying.[87] Before the official cast release Sunday Muse was also confirmed to voice Ella,[88] while Ian Ronningen was set to voice Rodney.[89] On May 30, 2014, a new teaser trailer was released for Total Drama: Pahkitew Island in Italy, marking the first time fully animated scenes were released to the public.[90] Several trailers in English were released later on Cake Entertainment's website. On June 16, Cartoon Network posted the Pahkitew Island website, along with the audition tapes for Sugar, Samey, Amy, Leonard, and Max.[91] Italy was the first country to air full episodes of Pahkitew Island.[15] On June 23, the audition tapes of Beardo, Rodney, Ella, Topher, and Dave were released. On June 26, the entire cast and the characters they voiced were released via Fresh's re:fresh blog.[92] On July 1, ABC3 announced that Total Drama: Pahkitew Island will air on July 14, 2014 in Australia.[93]
Reception
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Ratings
Total Drama All-Stars was the #1 telecast on Cartoon Network with the highest ratings for the week of the season premiere.[94] Additionally, it ranked as the #1 telecast on all television among kids 6–11 and 9–14 for Tuesday prime-time airings. It also claimed #1 in its 7 p.m. time period among kids 9–14 and 6–11.[5]
Critical reaction
Total Drama All-Stars has received mixed to negative reviews from critics, but overwhelmingly negative reviews from the show's fanbase. Many lamented the "character derailment" within the old and new cast of characters, especially that of the host Chris McLean, the predictability of eliminations, the absurdity of the show despite its "reality show" premise, and for leaving many character arcs unresolved. It currently holds a 5.4 rating on Metacritic based on 9 reviews.[95] Like the previous season, both parts were criticised for their short length in comparison to the first three seasons. Total Drama: Pahkitew Island, however, was considerably more positive. However, there was some criticism regarding the stereotypes of the new cast, with many criticising the new contestants for being unrealistic and, as with All-Stars, for the lack of closure to certain character arcs in-tandem with Chris McLean's aforementioned derailment. The season currently holds a 73% approval rating according to Rotten Tomatoes. [96]
Alleged fate controversy
The finale of All-Stars gained some infamy when it broadcast due to the sequence showing the eliminated contestants in balloons floating towards the sun, causing audiences to believe that they were being killed off from Total Drama. According to Fresh TV, the company that worked on the show, it is confirmed that their fate was not lethal as the balloons popped before reaching the intense heat, meaning they all survived.[citation needed]
