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Total Drama All-Stars is the fifth season of the Total Drama franchise. The series' extension was ordered by Cartoon Network in October 2012 and first premiered on September 10, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. EST in the United States of America. The following year, the season also premiered in Canada (the country of origin) on January 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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. That means that this season takes place back at Camp Wawanakwa; in a single location once again, unlike Total Drama World Tour.

Like Total Drama: Revenge of the Island before it, Total Drama All-Stars will also be 13 episodes in length; breaking from the traditional 26-episode length of the first three seasons. This season is an all-star season using some of the most popular contestants from the existing cast. The theme for this season will be "Heroes vs. Villains" which means that all the protagonists team up and compete against all the antagonists.

Plot

Total Drama All-Stars is a fictional titular reality show that follows the competition of fourteen returning teenagers at Camp Wawanakwa, a fictional island located in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario (this is the last season to take place at the island, since it sinks at the end). The campers participate in themed challenges and must avoid being voted off the island by their 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).

At the beginning of the season, the fourteen campers are evenly placed into two teams, the Heroic Hamsters and the Villainous Vultures. 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 take the Flush of Shame that will flush them away and will "never, ever come back", according to Chris.

About halfway through the season, 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 of the season, a camper wins the competition, while the loser ends up being the runner-up. However, the runner-up can still be the winner in the alternate ending of the season finale. Total Drama All-Stars, 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's Joe Rogan.

Cartoon Network's official synopsis describes the new season 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!

Episodes

The thirteen episodes is an all-star season using fourteen returning characters from the existing cast. This season also features the 100th episode of the entire series which was aired in Canada on February 27, 2014. The 100th episode of the series is the 9th episode of this season, "Zeek and Ye Shall Find". Cartoon Network aired the season first on September 10, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. EST in the United States.

Characters

Seven characters from Total Drama World Tour and seven 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 protagonists (heroes) competed against all the antagonists (villains).

The fourteen returning contestants who competed in Total Drama All-Stars are Alejandro, Cameron, Courtney, Duncan, Gwen, Heather, Jo, Lightning, Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Scott, Sierra, and Zoey. However, Alejandro received a new voice actor, Alex House, and he was introduced into the season as the Drama Machine, before he was later revealed to be Alejandro inside the robot suit.

Here is a list of all the characters as described by Teletoon for this season:

• Alejandro: Beneath Alejandro's ruggedly handsome good looks, charisma and athletic skills is a venomous, back-stabbing SNAKE. Alejandro sees all the other contestants as mere puppets to be used and turned against one another. Even when a player is fully aware that Alejandro is up to no good, it's tough to resist him once he turns on the charm. Having spent a year sealed in a robotic suit after a horrific accident involving lava in season three (he doesn't like to talk about it) has done little to curb Alejandro's nasty and ambitious personality; If anything, it's made it WORSE. His big brother and arch-nemesis, José, has the same personalities as Alejandro himself.
• Cameron: A sweet, but very weak guy who has led a very sheltered life, so sheltered in fact that not only was he home schooled but also lived in a BUBBLE up until becoming a competitor on Total Drama. He's soft-spoken and charming in a defenseless little animal-kinda way. Cameron doesn't amount to much in the physical department- any challenge involving strength or stamina tends to end badly for him- but his razor-sharp mind more than makes up for his athletic shortcomings.
• Courtney: A beautiful, polished girl of Hispanic background, Courtney is on her way to the university of her choice a year early (on scholarship) and decided to have one little adventure before diving into her combined pre-law, pre-MBA program. She's the classic Type A - polite and kind, but focused on winning - she is not one that is used to losing at anything. As captain of her tennis and debate teams and student council treasurer, Courtney follows the rules to the letter - until such time as they get between her and victory.
• Duncan: A tough looking kid with a rap sheet, a quick wit and lots of attitude. Likes to torture his teammates by making scary faces and well-aimed jibes until they cry. Underneath it all he has a huge heart... but we're talking under A LOT of layers. He tries his hardest to hide his nice guy tendencies by pushing people's buttons.
• Gwen: Gwen is the Goth chick with a sharp wit. Aggressively defensive. She's not a pessimist, but steadfastly refuses to be cheerful. She's likewise not bitter, but rather guarded and careful about whom she lets in. Her behavior can easily be mistaken for snobbery. She shuns the cameras and rolls her eyes at the antics of the other players- even though all she really wants is acceptance from others. Despite this, she is kind, gentle, and willing to help.
• Heather: Heather is fabulous but evil. She has exotic Asian looks and has been encouraged to model for teen magazines. Her goal is to win and has all the credentials that the best politicians have to pull it off - looks, confidence, leadership skills and unwavering focus on her goal. She can be merciless and her allies are only dear to her as long as they are useful - dare to cross her and you'll pay for it. A great manipulator, mentally as tough as they come, and absolutely bound and determined to get her way no matter what the cost.
• Jo: Think Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch from Glee) when she was sixteen. Butchy and tough - she's no nonsense and abhors wimps. She sniffs out weakness and exploits it. She's a winner and believes that second place is just the first loser. She doesn't spare words and shocks people with her bluntness. Her confessionals are a hilarious window into her unsympathetic soul. She's a fierce competitor (the kind who would actually step on someone as they lay injured!) with little time or patience for things like friends.
• Lightning: Think Smash Williams from Friday Night Lights, or Cuba Gooding Jr. from Jerry Maguire. A super fit, super talented, NFL-bound athlete who is always pumped on his own self-love. You gotta love the Lightning! The only thing he's more in love with than himself is the camera, and the mirror. He loves to show off, a total hot dog. He doesn't handle defeat well (he's actually never lost anything in his LIFE and if he does lose a challenge, he completely falls apart!) Lightning's sense of self-worth is so out of control that he honestly believes to be in the presence of one of his farts is an honor.
• Lindsay: The prettiest one on the show and, as if nature decided to be fair about things, also the dumbest girl you'll ever meet. She is bubbly, thrives on male attention and hates confrontation; NOT into getting dirty or messing up her hair. She doesn't have a malicious bone in her body and gets along with everyone... as long as they can put up with her bubble-headed outlook on life.
• Mike: Mike is your typical 17 year old guy (and also the winner of this season) who's usually into sports, music, girls... except that Mike isn't always Mike. Sometimes he's a gymnast called Svetlana, sometimes he's a cantankerous old geezer named Chester, while other times he's Manitoba Smith, an outdoors-man from the Outback, or Vito, a smooth talker with lots of attitude and a nice tan. Last but not least is Mal (short for The Malevolent One), a dark and a new brooding evil personality that, as of late, seems to be gaining a unsettling amount of strength...
• Sam: Seth Rogan-type of character. A nerd with heart. Comedy relief. Self-deprecating and funny, he's social and easy to hang with. Sam LOVES video games to an insane degree and has the heavily callused "gamer thumbs" to prove it. In fact, it's rare to see Sam WITHOUT one of his trusty, handheld gaming devices, happily playing away and oblivious to what's going on around him. It's this habit that often gets Sam into trouble as it can be difficult to get Sam focused on the game at hand verses the one in his hand...
• Scott: Scott is the guy who'll stir the pot just to cause trouble. He revels in watching the others react when he pulls pranks and blames others for them. He'll pull stunts like dumping out hard-won rewards, sabotaging his own team to getting players to suspect one other of foul play or expose someone's secrets- whatever it takes to get ahead. He's the ultimate schemer and plays the others off one another with the skills of a master chess player. Scott actually doesn't care about the cash prize; he is up front with the audience about how he's playing the game. He's in it to win it for the title and he'll mess with heads, lie, cheat, do whatever he has to do to make it happen.
• Sierra: To call Sierra a mere devotee of the Total Drama show is a severe understatement. Her encyclopedic knowledge of all the contestants, Chris, Chef and, well, anything to do with the series in general, boarders on terrifying. Being a contestant on Total Drama is her GREATEST dream come true. She has a crazy amount of energy and enthusiasm but often has trouble focusing it into anything constructive (beyond updating her numerous blogs about the show, that is). There is only thing more important to Sierra than her obsession with Total Drama: her romantic fixation with classic competitor Cody (much to his dismay).
• Zoey: Think Katy Perry, Zoey Deschanel - super fun, cute and easy to get along with all wrapped up in a rockabilly fashion sense. She has an incredibly big heart and only cares about the best for everyone... hero OR villain. Zoey has a tendency to apologize A LOT (even when there's nothing to apologize for) and may come across as a pushover but don't be fooled; push her too far (like separating her from her one true love) and you'll find beneath that passive and cheery demeanor lurks a fierce competitor with MAD SKILLS (Commando Zoey)! Zoey is the runner-up of this season.

Out of all the fourteen contestants, half are male and half are female. Seven of them are part of the first generation cast who have all been in Total Drama World Tour, while the other seven are part of the second generation cast who have all competed in Total Drama: Revenge of the Island (the seven being the highest ranking for their season). Out of the seven original contestants, only Alejandro and Sierra have competed in one previous season; the other five have all competed in the first three seasons before Total Drama All-Stars.

On July 2013, Cartoon Network started airing season promos that introduced non-competitors like Ezekiel, Izzy, and Owen. Even though they never competed in All-Stars, these characters still went on to have cameo appearances in the season (shown below).

Lindsay's and Jo's elimination were leaked via episode scripts and trailers long before the season started airing.

Teams

All the fourteen heroes and villains were separated evenly into two teams. The first team is called the Heroic Hamsters which consists of only heroes while the second team is called the Villainous Vultures who consists of only villains. There will be seven contestants in Team Heroes and seven on Team Villains as seen in an official Episode 1 preview. Here are the original members of each team, as of Episode 1:

• Heroic Hamsters: Cameron, Courtney, Lindsay, Mike, Sam, Sierra, and Zoey.
• Villainous Vultures: Alejandro, Duncan, Gwen, Heather, Jo, Lightning, and Scott.

In Episode 3, "Saving Private Leechball", both Duncan and Courtney switch teams due to the former's heroic actions and the latter's villainous actions during the episode's challenge. In Episode 5, "Moon Madness", Cameron tried to vote himself out, but Chris wouldn't let him so Chris switched Cameron instead to the Villainous Vultures.

Cameos

A list of all the cameos in Total Drama All-Stars and their roles during their cameos are shown below:

• Note: Dakota was also seen in a photograph which was shown by Sam.

Production

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. 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.

As shown in the Fresh TV official Website, it seems that there will be 26 new episodes to be aired in 2013-2014. Tom McGillis later stated that the new 26 episodes will be split into two 13-episode seasons; where Season 5 will feature some of existing cast, while Season 6 will consist of only new cast which are yet to be introduced. Voice actors began recording lines for Season 5 in December 2012.

On January 28, 2013, Cartoon Network confirmed that the new season title will be Total Drama All-Stars. One day later on January 30, both Christian Potenza and Drew Nelson confirmed the title for Episode 4 which is "Food Fright" Drew Nelson also confirmed that the two new teams for this season are the Heroic Hamsters and the Villainous Vultures. 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, 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. 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!

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. Tom McGillis later confirmed on Twitter that the Canadian airdate will be on January 2014, while the U.S. airdate will be on September 2013. On August 19, 2013, Cartoon Network released the first official trailer for TDAS along with a new website that reveals all the characters.

Reception

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (March 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Total Drama All-Stars received generally good reviews as confirmed by Fresh TV.

See also

• Animation
• Television
• Canada

References

1. ^ Fresh TV reveals number of episodes for Season 5
2. ^ http://www.teletoonmedia.com/en/index.php/teletoon/highlight/category/january_2014_programming_highlights
3. ^ Date of Release Announced for Total Drama All-Stars!
4. ^ http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1181701/inspector-gadget-reboot-tops-off-teletoon-canada-s-latest-original-production-slate
5. ^ MIPCOM News with Tom McGillis!
6. ^ http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/2013-8-9-kid-cartoon-network-total-drama-all-stars
7. ^ Interview with Christian Potenza and Tom McGillis Cite error: The named reference "s5" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
8. ^ http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/total-drama-all-stars-ready-to-shine-on-cn/
9. ^ http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Cartoon+Network+Gets+In+Front+of+the+Upfront/8034926.html
10. http://www.toynewsi.com/news.php?itemid=19834
11. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/08/08/total-drama-all-stars-to-premiere-tuesday-september-10-on-cartoon-network/196401/
12. ^ http://instagram.com/p/VHoKWjxrF6/
13. Aaron Sagers (September 1, 2009), "Pop 20: If Facebook were a dinner party", The Monitor {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
14. http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=3de38b7dddbafe3fa262c2b48&id=bd85d0592b
15. http://www.abc.net.au/abc3/shows/14898.htm
16. ^ Interview with series creator, Tom McGillis (Skip to 1:42) on video
17. ^ http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/cnservice/cartoonsvc/content/xml/getContentById.do?contentId=338850&depth=5
18. ^ Total Drama All-Stars - Part 1
19. http://www.followgram.me/i/482669631496432517_372348497
20. Total Drama All-Stars - Part 2
21. http://www.freshtvinc.com/blog/total-drama-all-stars-speculation/
22. http://www.teletoon.com/en/tv/totalDramaAllStars/
23. http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/total-drama/preview/index.html
24. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjrLoHtxotY
25. Skip to 8:55
26. "Season 5 is Coming!". Youtube.com. 2012-07-19. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
27. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152459894935338&set=a.10150434372575338.630062.834770337&type=1&relevant_count=1
28. Early talks about Season 5 in 2010
29. https://www.facebook.com/thefreshchannel/posts/10152161018323147?comment_id=29492635&offset=0&total_comments=4

External links

• Official TDAS site on Cartoon Network
• Official TDAS site on Teletoon
• First Teaser Trailer for TDAS (Cartoon Network)
• Total Drama All-Stars Official Trailer

• Total Drama
• Canadian animated television series
• 2010s Canadian television series
• Reality television series parodies
• Flash cartoons
• Mockumentary television series
• Television series about television
• 2010s animated television series
• 2013 television seasons
• Cartoon Network programs
• Crossover animation