If I’m gonna be honest, when I heard Bowie say “I am the first openly gay contestant” I said, in my head “oh god I’m gonna hate this guy” but he ended up being my favorite character since he was smart and I, as someone who usually hates the total drama romance, appreciate his approach if “we can put this on pause for now, but we can date later.” Is incredibly sweet and smart.
I think the strategy in TDI 2023 is at its best in Total Drama history. A lot of characters had a gameplan or prepared for the show. Even Gen 1, the cast that had the most strategy, still had worse strategy in comparison to 2023. Noah is described as a schemer but does no scheming. And there's a LOT of dudes that throw for their crush among that roster.
Heather was a terrible strategist. She preached about keeping enemies close and acting fake only to instantly drop that later. She tormented her own allies and didn't take elimination challenges as seriously as Julia did.
@@nuibaba280 I love Heather but she def had plot armor. On the episode where she was instigating by saying Trent was cheating, she didn’t have confirmed immunity during that challenge. She got it completely by LUCK, and if she hadn’t got lucky, she would be easily been eliminated
I thought they'd both be so annoying, but Zee and Bowie were my faves too. EDIT: I thought the influencers thing was kind of realistic, a lot of reality show contestants nowadays are just there to get exposure.
Julie was perfect for the influencer role. Pretty sure she told her followers she joined to test her mind and body, to come out a stronger person in tune with nature lol
I like how they used Julia's influencer stereotype to make her a twist villain, normally she would just tell all her plans through confessionals, but being an influencer forced her to not do so until the very reveal.
I don't think it appropriate to compare this cast to the previous ones. Because their philosophy on character creation has drastically changed, therefore so has the way the audience connects with the characters. The original cast was based on teenage stereotypes of the time. Said stereotypes would've probably given the audience ideas of the characters before they even watched the show, creating opinions of who they liked based off said stereotypes. The reason people had such strong connections with the characters (besides knowing them for longer) is because there probably was one that leaned on a specific trope or stereotype they already liked. Duncan for example, he was destined to be a popular character from the start because 'everyone likes a bad boy'. It's a very smart way to make a cast however it's not easy to replicate with a new set of characters. Even with Revenge they were running out of stereotypes (like have you ever shared a math class with someone with DID?) and by god they bloody ran out in Pahkitew Island. They only scraped by Ridonculous Race because they weren't limited to just teenagers. But with this new cast, where could they go? All they really had to work with was the influencer stereotype and the gay one to an extent (which if we're being honest, I'm glad they never even tried to have in the 2000s show) because that's all they had. They had to change their philosophy from 'teen stereotypes' to 'teen characters' because if they tried to stay true to their philosophy we could've easily had another Pahkitew. It's a sad truth that we can't have a cast similar to the OG generation and we never will. It's just impossible. So I think we should appreciate this new cast for what they are instead what they 'should've been'.
I think the new cast makes up for a lack of easy stereotypes by going a completely different direction. The cast is far less romance heavy in comparison to every single season, far less "everyone is good vibes", there's more strategy and logic with eliminations, and the cast is just meaner on average.
@@nuibaba280 Yeah I feel like more of this cast is treating it as a game and coming up with different strategies to win the game. Even then, the romance is still there. I guess they didn't want to lean to hard into it especially after the trainwrecks that was Duncan x Courtney/Gwen and Mike x Zoey
You’re definitely right about the whole limit on stereotypes thing, and for what it’s worth I think that the new season “played the hits” in a sense that they weren’t as intent on totally breaking new ground with characters, and honestly it worked a lot more than it didn’t in my opinion. Julia reminds me a lot of Heather and I don’t think I’m alone there. Ripper reminds me a lot of Owen, just a lot more competitive and mean-spirited (he probably eats less too, lol). I don’t even remember being super harsh on the cast in this video other than saying I didn’t have many strong feelings. Though I should also say that I don’t agree with the premise that comparing the new cast to old ones shouldn’t happen. It’s a very different show now, yeah, but the characters are also the core of the whole thing and a season needs likable characters. There’s pretty much a 1:1 correlation between how much I like seasons of the show and how many of my favorites are in it and how good their arcs are. If there’s anything that should be looked at though this lens, I would say it’s the characters.
@@switch2e I'll admit my initial comment was harsh. It was kind spurred by a built up frustration after seeing similar opinions throughout the fandom. Sorry if that confused ya. I can definitely get the perspective the season repeating motifs from previous contestants and I appreciated a lot of them! I especially love seeing the Geoff and Brody bro dynamic making a comeback with Raj and Wayne. I don't like that the fart jokes made a comeback but I digress (maybe its because I've 'matured' or I had been that exposed to the dark places of Deviantart). I agree with your opinion that the characters of Total Drama are vital to the quality of the show. The one thing I love about Total Drama is its emphasis of characters and their interactions. A better way of framing my point is 'don't compare the casts in the same context/expectations". That can range from: purpose, political correctness, stereotypes, fufilment of character philosophy, time we've gotten to know them. It's unfair to the new cast that people immediately expected these characters to hold a torch (is that a survivor reference?) to the previous generations who they've had more than a decade to solidify connections with. I just think people should try to give these characters more time and not have nostalgia for the original two casts cloud their enjoyment of the new season. In summary, give these kids time. Maybe then you'll start finding favourites!
@Freesmart I noticed it quickly and thought it sounded nothing alike also am I the only one who's bothered by them doing chefs total dramarama version
i will say, there is very little that i am more excited for than s2 Damien-he is clearly strong (physically and socially) and REALLY wants to win the show now, i can’t wait to see what they try and do with him
MK and Damien were definite highlights this season, MK's actually become my favorite TD contestant overall, I feel like the more laid-back relaxed characterizations benefits the cast as it makes them more relatable, and I'm more prone to liking characters I feel like I could meet irl
i actually like the cast for this season better than roti or pakhitew (idfk how to spell it) . i also like that they still kept some of the unhinged humor (the bungee jumping joke came in swinging) but they didn't keep the ignorant parts of total drama humor . the characters feel more real and like they could actually be real people , which is great considering we did lose some of that . things feel a little more real but not so real that i'm too stuck on how chris should probably be charged with child endangerment all over again or not be around minors at all .
They should've retired Chris, as iconic as he is, and given his role to another host. Don is right there, he would've sufficed, the fandom likes Don already for the most part.
4:45 Alongside Owen, Rock, and Spud making a brief cameo to some degree, Shawn from Pahkitew also makes a brief appearance as one of the destroyed zombies of Axel.
the anticipation of you bringing up that scene of Emma in episode 5 made me physically recoil… there’s like two good moments in that episode but it’s crossing deviantart territory
They said they weren't trying to replicate Chris' old voice, which makes sense bc it sucks to avoid having "uncanny valley" with trying to replicate. I thought it was jarring at first, but the writing and acting are on point.
Honestly I don’t get that and think it’s just a straight up bad idea. Chris’s voice is iconic and if they didn’t have a problem getting sound-a-likes for Chef and Alejandro I don’t know why they did with Chris. Frankly, if there’s any character that I think should have gotten a sound-a-like, it would be Chris.
@switch2e Agree to disagree. The writing matters more to me and I like TDI Chris more than later seasons. Also, imo Alejandro's replacement was not like the original and gave way to the "uncanny valley" effect I was talking about.
I do like the 2023 Chris’s characterization a lot more than All Stars and Pahkitew Chris, that’s for sure. But I think that straight up changing his voice without even really trying to find someone who can sound similar is crazy. I guess they really just want to distance themselves from Potenza, to the point where they don’t even want any characters to sound like him, but I think that might have been a bit much for me. I guess everyone has different concepts of what should be done, but to me, Chris doesn’t sound like Chris anymore. Christian Potenza sounded like Chris. But I know a few people who can do a very close Chris voice and I think casting them would have been better for the show.
Honestly, the concept of them "fishing out the island" could have been very cool, with the island and its structures now showing evidence of water damage and nature growth after being sunken for so long
I loved this season, my only gripes is there wasn't 26 episodes but I'm pretty sure they're testing the waters before going back to that. Plus that fart episode was painful to get through.
@@switch2ei mean, rr WAS a 26 episode season of the td franchise meant to be a "return to form," marketed towards new and old fans; and dramarama was cancelled specifically so that fresh tv could focus on making new total drama seasons so i think longer seasons are definetly possible. the only caveat is that the airing might be staggered and clumped together over the course of a single month, like they did for tdpi and rr
I think when you remember this show is supposed to be a parody/satire, a lot of the cringe choices make sense. “Hey what’s up I’m here to slay” is so cringe that if it isn’t parody it wouldn’t be funny. I’d honestly say this show did a better job at being a parody/satire of reality tv and the youth than revenge of the island to pahkitew island. I mean revenge kind of leaned into early 2010’s teen culture but nowhere near as much as both island 2007 and island 2023. I also headcanon that chef took an actual job at a daycare and was softened by it. Would be cool if they made this real and explain why chef is so much more toned down and even sympathetic then Chris. I think that while the season is better than all stars and pahkitew, and in my opinion rivals revenge and even action, I think that some of the writing in the middle of the season was a bit weak. I feel like this season is the first time a 13 episode season actually works. This season’s vibes is fast paced nonsense that you get from pahkitew without being, well, pahkitew. The walking to the elimination ceremony scenes feel like the parody of survivor we know and love. While I do miss the slower paced of the first two and a bit of the third and fourth seasons, the fact that we’re still technically getting a 26 episode seasons worth with this one cast is a benefit that neither revenge of the island or pahkitew’s cast ever got. On the timeline/15 year explanation subject, I hope total drama just goes the floating timeline route because it would be a shame to see many of the older gens simply be too old to mesh well with the new gen. I also noticed the increase of meta humor. Julia stating she and Bowie are the villains, and Bowie stating he would be the gay character on the show are very meta and in my opinion good. Meta humor as a whole has become much more popular ever since Rick and Morty made it cool so it’s nice to see the meta humor somewhat be there, but not over the top of constant.
I like splitting the 13 episodes since it means we can have characters not just get 2 minutes of screen time and then get the boot. Since they come back and will get more screen time then
for me this season is the first season in a long while where I have no major issues with any of the characters. Chase I ended up liking the least but he doesn't bother me much or overstay his welcome like characters did in past seasons. Revenge we had to sit through Lightning & in some places he even wins. as you stated Pahkitew had Beardo & Rodney. another reviewer got me to appreciate Beardo a little more by pointing out he might be autistic but with Rodney the best thing about him is his adorable design. & then for the Ridonculous Race out of all the teams/characters they needed to keep around & deal with a major story arc they chose Spud from the Rockers. any of the other teams could have given Carrie the info she needed but no they chose to keep around the team with Spud.
Heres To Me Ranking Every Total Drama Season 8. All Stars 7. Revenge Of The Island 6. 2023 5. Pakitew Island 4. Action 3. Ridonculous Race 2. Island 1. World Tour
Alot of the zoomer stuff does feel kinda off but honestly it feels mostly accurate I do miss the lack of nostalgia but i have to remind my self its not just 15 years since the original in canon, its 16 years since island and even 8 since ridonculous race it really does need to be made for more modern and less nostalgia Also i absolutely adore the gay rep, bowie was great, raj coming ouy was so good, wayne being an actual ally is iconic Unironically i think this season i would place third in my list(or 4th if ridonculous race is included) with world tour and island taking up 1 and 2
I went into this season initially not expecting a lot considering it had been a long time since we'd had a season of sorts and the most recent one of Dramarama was... unsatisfactory to put it nicely. Initially, I was planning to watch them in 3 episode per day blocs, but once I got past the third episode, I said 'fuck it' and binged the whole season right then and there, and considering it had been a while since a season, I was pleasantly surprised. The way the show was sort of 'modernized' to have real Gen Z material was a nice touch to the new audience of Total Drama, such as Chase and Emma's prank channel or Nichelle/Julia being influencers of sorts. I also loved the inclusivity with the cast, having the first openly gay player in Bowie, and later, Raj. Speaking of Raj, it leads me to another point I wanted to mention which I appreciated: Raj coming out to Wayne as gay. Yes, while there were a few moments I disliked such as Wayne trying to pressure Raj into coming out to him, the overall reveal and Wayne accepting him warmed my heart so fucking much I may as well have boiled my blood with the fire that is wholesomeness. It was overall great within inclusivity and I overall enjoyed the relationship dynamics explored in the show, such as Millie/Priya, Wayne/Raj, Chase/Emma. Hell, even the shortlived rivalry of Axel/Ripper. Something I also wanted to point out as well was how it really turned back to its 'Survivor' roots and really implemented a lot of challenge and strategy from the show. In the first episode, the challenge is literally just a replica of 'Blind Leading the Blind' from the show and even all of the elements involved are from the show, bar the incredibly dangerous obstacles. In Survivor, it would've been... barrels and stuff. Additionally, the strategy here was next level and was shown immediately in the first episode with Caleb's elimination due to his status as a potential 'physical threat'. I loved the reconnection with Survivor and felt like a good breath of fresh air.
hear me out: instead of dissappointing fans with a new voice for chris that feels like a betrayal or having someone try and imitate chris (because honestly, i don’t know how well it would have gone) - they should have made a new host. Three options: either have chef take over, make a completely new character (which i think might have been a bit too new). My favorite option though would be if (since he’s playing the host already) they were to get terry mcgurin to reprise his role as jonesy from 6teen - hear me out- i think his personality would be perfect and it would be a great reference to another fresh tv show ( i mean, people love all the refrences to 6teen and jude was already in dramarama)
Honestly I think the outcry at a close but imperfect Chris would have been comparable to just the Terry Chris. At the end of the day, I don't think it's a big deal and I think keeping the character Chris was reasonable. Honestly, if Terry were to reprise any of his roles, I would predict they bring Don on as a host for the show. I actually would be intrigued by that.
They already had everything planned, written, and were recording lines by the time allegations were happening. You can't magically redo all of that in a few weeks/months.
We don’t know exactly when Chris stopped working on the show, but there is a chance that when he stopped working for TD, the team was too far into production to scrap him as a host without sacrificing lots of time.
I personally liked this season it wasn't perfrct but it was still good. The characters are all pretty good with my favorites being Zee, Wayne, Raj, Scary girl/Lauren and Damien, and the only character that really got on my nerves was Ripper he wasn't annoying but he just kinda got repetitev some times but besides him the rest of the cast was good. Chris and Chef were to my suprise really good like yeah Chris dosen't have the same voice actor but that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of him, the chalenges were good, there were alot of fun jokes. And overal this is just a good and fun season and i like it for that 8/10
I believe the angles for the campers walking into the campfire is a reference to survivor where the castaways walk into the camp fire as well thought that was pretty cool
*SPOILER WARNING* I really really enjoyed this cast and it's a huge step up from All-Stars and Pahkitew, but man, at least doing 18-26 episodes would've done the show a lot more justice. As a gay guy (Albeit a masculine one) I was really excited to see them experiment with the same-sex romance in the new season, but because of how short the episode count is, it felt rushed and shoe horned in. I wanted more Raj and Bowie moments, maybe some drama that tears them apart or something and then ultimately confiding in each other in the end but what we got was pretty cut and dry. It felt a lot like how they rushed the Gwen kissing Duncan arc in season 3 and only lasting like 4 episodes. Also MK, Zee and Damien are goated and we must protect them at all costs.
@@switch2e Right!? I thought they would botch the stereotype a bit, but honestly I ended up loving Bowie the most besides Damien. As far as the character himself goes, he was very enjoyable to watch.
I'm excited for the second part of the season, as I feel that's where we are going to have a lot more character exploration. I hope they either take ripper out early or make him an actually interesting character because he and his character's humor was one of my least favorite things about this season. otherwise, it wasn't bad! i'm just happy to wait for more MK/Zee/Damien content, lmao
Having not watched this season, I have to agree that it's really strange for them to refrain from nostalgia-baiting. See, the entire concept of Total Drama, which was to parody reality TV shows, doesn't really work in the modern day where TV is dying and most people don't care about reality shows (with a couple exceptions). You'd think that the writers would shift focus to catering to manchildren like us who want to see references to the original series, rather than continue a parody of something that isn't as popular anymore. Either way, I predict that one of the next seasons is going to become a parody of the new greatest reality TV show of all time: Fishtank with Jason Goldstriker. Looking forward to it!
Oh man; switch. It seems we have polar opposite ideals about this season, in quite a few perspectives. I dont think lauren is a gimmick I think she was created as a love letter to anime culture and just about everything she says is a reference to one anime or another. Her persona strangely parallels the Demigod, from the anime "gate", named Rory Merury. I have a whole theory that she is speedrunning fame But i appreciate your side of this
Oh also, i dont think you spoke on them, in this video, but the two hockey bros are a parody of Riley and Jonesy from Letterkenny. Like.. one of them is even named Wayne, which is the main character of that show They even look similar haha. Its gotta be a reference & The influencer couple who broke up are a reference to PrankWars, i believe. As they broke up over a very similar thing, and were known to do heinous things to eachother. Their designs are eerily reminiscent
Technically part of the comprehensive roast of total drama new season so yeah also hello you almost done with revenge script so yeah also my thoughts is the new season i like and there are multiple references to the old seasons even the worst one and dramarama so yeah but overall this season is cool even if the dub is Italian also chris va is broke but trying it's hardest
This new season was Amazing and blew my expectations. Zee is now a Top 5 TD characters for me. I think the new Dude voicing Chris did a Very Great job yeah its not the same but i think it holds it down. Plus hes the same voice actor who did Jonesy from 6Teen so i cant hate on it.
I agree, I do like how the toned down Chris and the voice isn’t something I’d let ruin the show either for me as well, and I really did enjoy the revival but man Chris almost felt too nice at times. Allowing that Revote in the one episode, I agree with the camper who should of gone there, perfect time for them but man, even old Chris in island wouldn’t of allowed that lmao
Y’know off topic on the new season something that confused me when seeing the new cast was back in ridonculous race when Noah said he and Owen had been asked to join the next season of something so if it wasn’t this than maybe a ridonculous race season 2 or the more likely option is they just forgot
If you keep doing this for all seasons do you plan on Doing ridonculous race? Also since All Stars & Pahkitew are technically the same season after the revenge vid will they be the same video or 2 different videos?
My guess is he will cover All Stars next summer. And then Pahkitew the next one after that. They are technically the same season, but they are so different one might as well treat them otherwise.
Premiered in italy? Lol found it in Australia from all the fans posting the full series on tik tok lol. Sure they get taken down but someone else always ends up reposting it lol
It only has officially premiered on Italian streaming services. Ironically though they premiered it with the English dub so people have been reposting the show all over the internet
I'm not sure if I agree that TDI 2023 cast overcompensated from PI criticisms. They did the TDI staple of taking stereotypes and doing more with them. The designs look so much better in motion. The only real issue is that they have 13 episodes. I think the 2nd season and its 13 episode followup to the first season will help this cast a lot.
In general, this cast is comparable to the OG where they're more down to earth with cartoony aspects. Just with a different time period to take stuff from.
It was a definite improvement. I think on some level I’m just being a bit of a stickler. To me the season feels a lot more lowkey than PI and I think that’s a good thing but I also do think it all ended up being a little bit uneventful as well.
Funny you say that. CN didn't want nostalgia baiting, it's why they shut down the crew from using the old chars again. Along with a newer Chef from the child appealing DramaRama show coming back and suddenly being used. Probably for a wider audience, hinging on nostalgia isn't good for growth.
Do you remember where you heard this? Im not saying you’re lying but I hear a lot of things like this and often the people saying them are making it up
I hope the next season involves the new cast and members of the original cast. I like the new cast but idk if it would be all that interesting with just them in the same setting. At least Action and World tour had less contestants, a new setting and some new characters to spice things up. I don’t want to listen to any more of Ripper or Chase and Emma’s bs relationship
Oh :( I am no expert But just from the title.. i dont think you liked it 😢 Though your explaination on how youll tackle deep diving into these is appreciated and im still excited
My rankings would be from worst to best including rr is: All Stars Pakithew Island Revenge of the Island Action This Season Island Ridonculous Race World Tour
@@notdaphantom Revenge is not good enough to be above Island 2023. Island did a lot things better than Revenge and straight up fixed series wide issues (lopsided merge rosters and not enough justification for the villain to make it as far as they do). Some characters were made stupider than normal for Scott's convenience. Julia's called out consistently.
If people have an issue with the replacement va for Chris, maybe they should have a look in the mirror and understand that the original actor seems to be a true sack of trash. Move on and enjoy the fact that total drama is back.
I hope I didn’t overtly come off as THAT sharp and uncompromising about the situation. I don’t like the direction they took with Chris’s replacement VA but it’s not a huge deal to me. Obviously given what we know about the situation (which is mostly just hearsay about vague Facebook posts) they probably couldn’t and didn’t want to continue having Potenza in the cast. That’s very reasonable. I just personally believe the new voice actor should have been someone who was better at and made more of an effort of replicating Chris’s classic voice. Terry McGurrin is a great voice actor but I think they could have done better. (Although it seems that the creators of the show didn’t even want the new Chris to sound like old Chris anyway)
Sorry for the late comment (just found this vid) the only thing I didn't like was that he sounded too much like Don. Terry is great but I think at that point they could have just had Don host the season while they found a new VA for Chris and had them swap Chris in for S2.
I think the thing with maming alliances in TD is that you kinda need to bbe careful how you write them. We've seen Survivor seasons live and die in the eyes of the fandom by how an alliance in it played out. Did they dominate and make the season boring? Was it toppled in an amazing way? Was there in fighting that led to interesting betrayals? Was the alliance a minority that managed to act undetected? All of these things are open for writers to take and implant into TD, but it needs to be done right. Because if not ypu either feel like the alliance was pointless or you have to make some characters very dumb to allow an obvious coalition of characters to dominate. The strategy of alliances and how to manipulate votes thanks to it can be quite fun if explored well.
If I’m gonna be honest, when I heard Bowie say “I am the first openly gay contestant” I said, in my head “oh god I’m gonna hate this guy” but he ended up being my favorite character since he was smart and I, as someone who usually hates the total drama romance, appreciate his approach if “we can put this on pause for now, but we can date later.” Is incredibly sweet and smart.
I think the strategy in TDI 2023 is at its best in Total Drama history. A lot of characters had a gameplan or prepared for the show. Even Gen 1, the cast that had the most strategy, still had worse strategy in comparison to 2023. Noah is described as a schemer but does no scheming. And there's a LOT of dudes that throw for their crush among that roster.
Heather was a terrible strategist. She preached about keeping enemies close and acting fake only to instantly drop that later. She tormented her own allies and didn't take elimination challenges as seriously as Julia did.
@@nuibaba280 I love Heather but she def had plot armor. On the episode where she was instigating by saying Trent was cheating, she didn’t have confirmed immunity during that challenge. She got it completely by LUCK, and if she hadn’t got lucky, she would be easily been eliminated
@@nuibaba280 she won 2 immunities
@@olaf-chan-728 Her immunity wins didn't feel deserved. She literally got one by pure luck.
@@nuibaba280 eh true, let say izzy bounced every box and gave the right one to heather 🤣
I thought they'd both be so annoying, but Zee and Bowie were my faves too.
EDIT: I thought the influencers thing was kind of realistic, a lot of reality show contestants nowadays are just there to get exposure.
Julie was perfect for the influencer role. Pretty sure she told her followers she joined to test her mind and body, to come out a stronger person in tune with nature lol
I like how they used Julia's influencer stereotype to make her a twist villain, normally she would just tell all her plans through confessionals, but being an influencer forced her to not do so until the very reveal.
I don't think it appropriate to compare this cast to the previous ones. Because their philosophy on character creation has drastically changed, therefore so has the way the audience connects with the characters.
The original cast was based on teenage stereotypes of the time. Said stereotypes would've probably given the audience ideas of the characters before they even watched the show, creating opinions of who they liked based off said stereotypes. The reason people had such strong connections with the characters (besides knowing them for longer) is because there probably was one that leaned on a specific trope or stereotype they already liked. Duncan for example, he was destined to be a popular character from the start because 'everyone likes a bad boy'.
It's a very smart way to make a cast however it's not easy to replicate with a new set of characters. Even with Revenge they were running out of stereotypes (like have you ever shared a math class with someone with DID?) and by god they bloody ran out in Pahkitew Island. They only scraped by Ridonculous Race because they weren't limited to just teenagers.
But with this new cast, where could they go?
All they really had to work with was the influencer stereotype and the gay one to an extent (which if we're being honest, I'm glad they never even tried to have in the 2000s show) because that's all they had. They had to change their philosophy from 'teen stereotypes' to 'teen characters' because if they tried to stay true to their philosophy we could've easily had another Pahkitew.
It's a sad truth that we can't have a cast similar to the OG generation and we never will. It's just impossible. So I think we should appreciate this new cast for what they are instead what they 'should've been'.
I think the new cast makes up for a lack of easy stereotypes by going a completely different direction. The cast is far less romance heavy in comparison to every single season, far less "everyone is good vibes", there's more strategy and logic with eliminations, and the cast is just meaner on average.
@@nuibaba280 Yeah I feel like more of this cast is treating it as a game and coming up with different strategies to win the game. Even then, the romance is still there. I guess they didn't want to lean to hard into it especially after the trainwrecks that was Duncan x Courtney/Gwen and Mike x Zoey
You’re definitely right about the whole limit on stereotypes thing, and for what it’s worth I think that the new season “played the hits” in a sense that they weren’t as intent on totally breaking new ground with characters, and honestly it worked a lot more than it didn’t in my opinion. Julia reminds me a lot of Heather and I don’t think I’m alone there. Ripper reminds me a lot of Owen, just a lot more competitive and mean-spirited (he probably eats less too, lol).
I don’t even remember being super harsh on the cast in this video other than saying I didn’t have many strong feelings.
Though I should also say that I don’t agree with the premise that comparing the new cast to old ones shouldn’t happen. It’s a very different show now, yeah, but the characters are also the core of the whole thing and a season needs likable characters. There’s pretty much a 1:1 correlation between how much I like seasons of the show and how many of my favorites are in it and how good their arcs are. If there’s anything that should be looked at though this lens, I would say it’s the characters.
@@switch2e I'll admit my initial comment was harsh. It was kind spurred by a built up frustration after seeing similar opinions throughout the fandom. Sorry if that confused ya.
I can definitely get the perspective the season repeating motifs from previous contestants and I appreciated a lot of them! I especially love seeing the Geoff and Brody bro dynamic making a comeback with Raj and Wayne. I don't like that the fart jokes made a comeback but I digress (maybe its because I've 'matured' or I had been that exposed to the dark places of Deviantart).
I agree with your opinion that the characters of Total Drama are vital to the quality of the show. The one thing I love about Total Drama is its emphasis of characters and their interactions.
A better way of framing my point is 'don't compare the casts in the same context/expectations". That can range from: purpose, political correctness, stereotypes, fufilment of character philosophy, time we've gotten to know them. It's unfair to the new cast that people immediately expected these characters to hold a torch (is that a survivor reference?) to the previous generations who they've had more than a decade to solidify connections with. I just think people should try to give these characters more time and not have nostalgia for the original two casts cloud their enjoyment of the new season.
In summary, give these kids time. Maybe then you'll start finding favourites!
I disagree fundamentally. I can think of a lot of stereotypes present and comparing them to the high school I work in, it really does match
I knew they were replacing Chris’s VA but when I saw the first ep I was shocked they even replaced Chef’s VA as well
chef's been replaced for a while
@Freesmart I noticed it quickly and thought it sounded nothing alike also am I the only one who's bothered by them doing chefs total dramarama version
The season was ok writing Wise but Chris new voice bothers me
@@drunkenplatypus7299 You have to accept it.
I mean Chef is basically a different character at this point anyway
i will say, there is very little that i am more excited for than s2 Damien-he is clearly strong (physically and socially) and REALLY wants to win the show now, i can’t wait to see what they try and do with him
I didn’t mind the selfie challenge that much. They had one in Ridonculous Race that was basically the same.
True
MK and Damien were definite highlights this season, MK's actually become my favorite TD contestant overall, I feel like the more laid-back relaxed characterizations benefits the cast as it makes them more relatable, and I'm more prone to liking characters I feel like I could meet irl
i actually like the cast for this season better than roti or pakhitew (idfk how to spell it) . i also like that they still kept some of the unhinged humor (the bungee jumping joke came in swinging) but they didn't keep the ignorant parts of total drama humor . the characters feel more real and like they could actually be real people , which is great considering we did lose some of that . things feel a little more real but not so real that i'm too stuck on how chris should probably be charged with child endangerment all over again or not be around minors at all .
They should've retired Chris, as iconic as he is, and given his role to another host. Don is right there, he would've sufficed, the fandom likes Don already for the most part.
that wouldve been SO controversial if they did give don the host role for td
but like this was 10 months ago so ur opinion prob changed or it didnt
4:45 Alongside Owen, Rock, and Spud making a brief cameo to some degree, Shawn from Pahkitew also makes a brief appearance as one of the destroyed zombies of Axel.
the anticipation of you bringing up that scene of Emma in episode 5 made me physically recoil…
there’s like two good moments in that episode but it’s crossing deviantart territory
They said they weren't trying to replicate Chris' old voice, which makes sense bc it sucks to avoid having "uncanny valley" with trying to replicate. I thought it was jarring at first, but the writing and acting are on point.
Honestly I don’t get that and think it’s just a straight up bad idea. Chris’s voice is iconic and if they didn’t have a problem getting sound-a-likes for Chef and Alejandro I don’t know why they did with Chris. Frankly, if there’s any character that I think should have gotten a sound-a-like, it would be Chris.
@switch2e
Agree to disagree. The writing matters more to me and I like TDI Chris more than later seasons. Also, imo Alejandro's replacement was not like the original and gave way to the "uncanny valley" effect I was talking about.
@@MsMvsc i didnt even notice alejandros new voice so his new voice actor didnt bother me
@@switch2e Because of what happened with Chris' old voice actor. The network wants to disassociate from him and his morally reprehensible choices.
I do like the 2023 Chris’s characterization a lot more than All Stars and Pahkitew Chris, that’s for sure. But I think that straight up changing his voice without even really trying to find someone who can sound similar is crazy. I guess they really just want to distance themselves from Potenza, to the point where they don’t even want any characters to sound like him, but I think that might have been a bit much for me.
I guess everyone has different concepts of what should be done, but to me, Chris doesn’t sound like Chris anymore. Christian Potenza sounded like Chris. But I know a few people who can do a very close Chris voice and I think casting them would have been better for the show.
Honestly, the concept of them "fishing out the island" could have been very cool, with the island and its structures now showing evidence of water damage and nature growth after being sunken for so long
I loved this season, my only gripes is there wasn't 26 episodes but I'm pretty sure they're testing the waters before going back to that. Plus that fart episode was painful to get through.
I don’t think they’re testing the waters. It seems to be something the networks are pretty dead set on. Kind of a shame.
@@switch2ei mean, rr WAS a 26 episode season of the td franchise meant to be a "return to form," marketed towards new and old fans; and dramarama was cancelled specifically so that fresh tv could focus on making new total drama seasons so i think longer seasons are definetly possible. the only caveat is that the airing might be staggered and clumped together over the course of a single month, like they did for tdpi and rr
Still i can't believe they voted off the yo mama guy in episode 1
I think when you remember this show is supposed to be a parody/satire, a lot of the cringe choices make sense. “Hey what’s up I’m here to slay” is so cringe that if it isn’t parody it wouldn’t be funny. I’d honestly say this show did a better job at being a parody/satire of reality tv and the youth than revenge of the island to pahkitew island. I mean revenge kind of leaned into early 2010’s teen culture but nowhere near as much as both island 2007 and island 2023.
I also headcanon that chef took an actual job at a daycare and was softened by it. Would be cool if they made this real and explain why chef is so much more toned down and even sympathetic then Chris.
I think that while the season is better than all stars and pahkitew, and in my opinion rivals revenge and even action, I think that some of the writing in the middle of the season was a bit weak.
I feel like this season is the first time a 13 episode season actually works. This season’s vibes is fast paced nonsense that you get from pahkitew without being, well, pahkitew. The walking to the elimination ceremony scenes feel like the parody of survivor we know and love.
While I do miss the slower paced of the first two and a bit of the third and fourth seasons, the fact that we’re still technically getting a 26 episode seasons worth with this one cast is a benefit that neither revenge of the island or pahkitew’s cast ever got.
On the timeline/15 year explanation subject, I hope total drama just goes the floating timeline route because it would be a shame to see many of the older gens simply be too old to mesh well with the new gen.
I also noticed the increase of meta humor. Julia stating she and Bowie are the villains, and Bowie stating he would be the gay character on the show are very meta and in my opinion good. Meta humor as a whole has become much more popular ever since Rick and Morty made it cool so it’s nice to see the meta humor somewhat be there, but not over the top of constant.
I like splitting the 13 episodes since it means we can have characters not just get 2 minutes of screen time and then get the boot. Since they come back and will get more screen time then
for me this season is the first season in a long while where I have no major issues with any of the characters. Chase I ended up liking the least but he doesn't bother me much or overstay his welcome like characters did in past seasons. Revenge we had to sit through Lightning & in some places he even wins. as you stated Pahkitew had Beardo & Rodney. another reviewer got me to appreciate Beardo a little more by pointing out he might be autistic but with Rodney the best thing about him is his adorable design. & then for the Ridonculous Race out of all the teams/characters they needed to keep around & deal with a major story arc they chose Spud from the Rockers. any of the other teams could have given Carrie the info she needed but no they chose to keep around the team with Spud.
Anyways. Chase and Lightning sweep.
Hop off the rockers
Heres To Me Ranking Every Total Drama Season
8. All Stars
7. Revenge Of The Island
6. 2023
5. Pakitew Island
4. Action
3. Ridonculous Race
2. Island
1. World Tour
I LOVED Zee, I’m so excited that we’re getting a season two because we get more of him 👏👏👏
Alot of the zoomer stuff does feel kinda off but honestly it feels mostly accurate
I do miss the lack of nostalgia but i have to remind my self its not just 15 years since the original in canon, its 16 years since island and even 8 since ridonculous race it really does need to be made for more modern and less nostalgia
Also i absolutely adore the gay rep, bowie was great, raj coming ouy was so good, wayne being an actual ally is iconic
Unironically i think this season i would place third in my list(or 4th if ridonculous race is included) with world tour and island taking up 1 and 2
Shits crazy once you realise the og cast are canonically 31 (bc chris said it was 15 years since the first TDI)
I went into this season initially not expecting a lot considering it had been a long time since we'd had a season of sorts and the most recent one of Dramarama was... unsatisfactory to put it nicely. Initially, I was planning to watch them in 3 episode per day blocs, but once I got past the third episode, I said 'fuck it' and binged the whole season right then and there, and considering it had been a while since a season, I was pleasantly surprised.
The way the show was sort of 'modernized' to have real Gen Z material was a nice touch to the new audience of Total Drama, such as Chase and Emma's prank channel or Nichelle/Julia being influencers of sorts. I also loved the inclusivity with the cast, having the first openly gay player in Bowie, and later, Raj. Speaking of Raj, it leads me to another point I wanted to mention which I appreciated: Raj coming out to Wayne as gay. Yes, while there were a few moments I disliked such as Wayne trying to pressure Raj into coming out to him, the overall reveal and Wayne accepting him warmed my heart so fucking much I may as well have boiled my blood with the fire that is wholesomeness. It was overall great within inclusivity and I overall enjoyed the relationship dynamics explored in the show, such as Millie/Priya, Wayne/Raj, Chase/Emma. Hell, even the shortlived rivalry of Axel/Ripper.
Something I also wanted to point out as well was how it really turned back to its 'Survivor' roots and really implemented a lot of challenge and strategy from the show. In the first episode, the challenge is literally just a replica of 'Blind Leading the Blind' from the show and even all of the elements involved are from the show, bar the incredibly dangerous obstacles. In Survivor, it would've been... barrels and stuff. Additionally, the strategy here was next level and was shown immediately in the first episode with Caleb's elimination due to his status as a potential 'physical threat'. I loved the reconnection with Survivor and felt like a good breath of fresh air.
can't wait for "uncomprehensive grill"
I think Terry did mention that the island isn't wanakanwa, and tbh I don't even think they never mentioned the name aside from the material
The only issue I really have with the Chris recast is that it prevents a second RR season without being very confusing why both hosts sound the same.
hear me out: instead of dissappointing fans with a new voice for chris that feels like a betrayal or having someone try and imitate chris (because honestly, i don’t know how well it would have gone) - they should have made a new host. Three options: either have chef take over, make a completely new character (which i think might have been a bit too new). My favorite option though would be if (since he’s playing the host already) they were to get terry mcgurin to reprise his role as jonesy from 6teen - hear me out- i think his personality would be perfect and it would be a great reference to another fresh tv show ( i mean, people love all the refrences to 6teen and jude was already in dramarama)
Honestly I think the outcry at a close but imperfect Chris would have been comparable to just the Terry Chris. At the end of the day, I don't think it's a big deal and I think keeping the character Chris was reasonable.
Honestly, if Terry were to reprise any of his roles, I would predict they bring Don on as a host for the show. I actually would be intrigued by that.
They already had everything planned, written, and were recording lines by the time allegations were happening. You can't magically redo all of that in a few weeks/months.
We don’t know exactly when Chris stopped working on the show, but there is a chance that when he stopped working for TD, the team was too far into production to scrap him as a host without sacrificing lots of time.
I personally liked this season it wasn't perfrct but it was still good. The characters are all pretty good with my favorites being Zee, Wayne, Raj, Scary girl/Lauren and Damien, and the only character that really got on my nerves was Ripper he wasn't annoying but he just kinda got repetitev some times but besides him the rest of the cast was good. Chris and Chef were to my suprise really good like yeah Chris dosen't have the same voice actor but that didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of him, the chalenges were good, there were alot of fun jokes. And overal this is just a good and fun season and i like it for that 8/10
I agree on that 13 episodes thing, 13 episodes is really not enough it honestly should of have more some challenges could of been non elimination ones
Actually, the island is confirmed to not be the original Camp Wawanakwa, it’s a different island.
I believe the angles for the campers walking into the campfire is a reference to survivor where the castaways walk into the camp fire as well thought that was pretty cool
SPOILER WARNING
i only have one thing to say
they dedicated a whole episode to farts. in 2023. 💀
My favorites are Zee MK and Damien.
*SPOILER WARNING*
I really really enjoyed this cast and it's a huge step up from All-Stars and Pahkitew, but man, at least doing 18-26 episodes would've done the show a lot more justice. As a gay guy (Albeit a masculine one) I was really excited to see them experiment with the same-sex romance in the new season, but because of how short the episode count is, it felt rushed and shoe horned in. I wanted more Raj and Bowie moments, maybe some drama that tears them apart or something and then ultimately confiding in each other in the end but what we got was pretty cut and dry. It felt a lot like how they rushed the Gwen kissing Duncan arc in season 3 and only lasting like 4 episodes. Also MK, Zee and Damien are goated and we must protect them at all costs.
Honestly I loved Bowie so much. I think I just have a soft spot for the “queen” gay man stereotype LOL
@@switch2e Right!? I thought they would botch the stereotype a bit, but honestly I ended up loving Bowie the most besides Damien. As far as the character himself goes, he was very enjoyable to watch.
I'm excited for the second part of the season, as I feel that's where we are going to have a lot more character exploration. I hope they either take ripper out early or make him an actually interesting character because he and his character's humor was one of my least favorite things about this season. otherwise, it wasn't bad! i'm just happy to wait for more MK/Zee/Damien content, lmao
Having not watched this season, I have to agree that it's really strange for them to refrain from nostalgia-baiting. See, the entire concept of Total Drama, which was to parody reality TV shows, doesn't really work in the modern day where TV is dying and most people don't care about reality shows (with a couple exceptions). You'd think that the writers would shift focus to catering to manchildren like us who want to see references to the original series, rather than continue a parody of something that isn't as popular anymore. Either way, I predict that one of the next seasons is going to become a parody of the new greatest reality TV show of all time: Fishtank with Jason Goldstriker. Looking forward to it!
I think they couldve changed it to
“Total drama house”
And had it as a parody to those tiktok houses
Thank you for this!
Thanks for watching :)
Oh man; switch. It seems we have polar opposite ideals about this season, in quite a few perspectives.
I dont think lauren is a gimmick
I think she was created as a love letter to anime culture and just about everything she says is a reference to one anime or another.
Her persona strangely parallels the Demigod, from the anime "gate", named Rory Merury.
I have a whole theory that she is speedrunning fame
But i appreciate your side of this
Oh also, i dont think you spoke on them, in this video, but the two hockey bros are a parody of Riley and Jonesy from Letterkenny. Like.. one of them is even named Wayne, which is the main character of that show
They even look similar haha. Its gotta be a reference
&
The influencer couple who broke up are a reference to PrankWars, i believe. As they broke up over a very similar thing, and were known to do heinous things to eachother. Their designs are eerily reminiscent
Switchie i love your content
Omg thanks switche
Technically part of the comprehensive roast of total drama new season so yeah also hello you almost done with revenge script so yeah also my thoughts is the new season i like and there are multiple references to the old seasons even the worst one and dramarama so yeah but overall this season is cool even if the dub is Italian also chris va is broke but trying it's hardest
i loved this season so much-
I like the total (pun intended) lack of attention to Chris' new voice.
I love your hair
This is my favorite video
Really interesting take on the new season.
This new season was Amazing and blew my expectations. Zee is now a Top 5 TD characters for me. I think the new Dude voicing Chris did a Very Great job yeah its not the same but i think it holds it down. Plus hes the same voice actor who did Jonesy from 6Teen so i cant hate on it.
You are so smart please write my essays id die to be this articulate
you're so nice to me aligned ring pop
@@switch2e i am 😂🤍
I got used to Chris's new voice really fast. while it's not signature Chris, I still believe it fits the character. I think it has a strong cast
i have heard that in canon they just found a new island
I agree, I do like how the toned down Chris and the voice isn’t something I’d let ruin the show either for me as well, and I really did enjoy the revival but man Chris almost felt too nice at times. Allowing that Revote in the one episode, I agree with the camper who should of gone there, perfect time for them but man, even old Chris in island wouldn’t of allowed that lmao
Nah. Chris allowed contestants to cheat before in that season. He did it because he disliked Zee and the way he tried to vote Chris off.
Y’know off topic on the new season something that confused me when seeing the new cast was back in ridonculous race when Noah said he and Owen had been asked to join the next season of something so if it wasn’t this than maybe a ridonculous race season 2 or the more likely option is they just forgot
Make a character tier list👀
Can't watch this yet,I have to watch all start back at Island everything you do a new season
they made total eclipse of the fart, remember that. so yeah that fart episode is definitely someone’s fetish
oh yeah! new td content
I’ve been told that Chris’ VA was actually charged for something (I forgot what), so I can only assume that’s why
If you keep doing this for all seasons do you plan on Doing ridonculous race? Also since All Stars & Pahkitew are technically the same season after the revenge vid will they be the same video or 2 different videos?
u stink of neth
he probably will
My guess is he will cover All Stars next summer. And then Pahkitew the next one after that. They are technically the same season, but they are so different one might as well treat them otherwise.
Premiered in italy? Lol found it in Australia from all the fans posting the full series on tik tok lol. Sure they get taken down but someone else always ends up reposting it lol
It only has officially premiered on Italian streaming services. Ironically though they premiered it with the English dub so people have been reposting the show all over the internet
based korn shirt
Hello! Just wanted to say they finished S2 today. Hope you can see it when you have time! There's a lot I think you'll like
Comprehensive roast of total drama reboot coming?
Will there eventually be an official video about this season, or will this be it?
0:58
I'm not sure if I agree that TDI 2023 cast overcompensated from PI criticisms. They did the TDI staple of taking stereotypes and doing more with them. The designs look so much better in motion. The only real issue is that they have 13 episodes. I think the 2nd season and its 13 episode followup to the first season will help this cast a lot.
In general, this cast is comparable to the OG where they're more down to earth with cartoony aspects. Just with a different time period to take stuff from.
It was a definite improvement. I think on some level I’m just being a bit of a stickler. To me the season feels a lot more lowkey than PI and I think that’s a good thing but I also do think it all ended up being a little bit uneventful as well.
Pog
W new vid
Everyone was perfect except for Ripper and Lauren
Funny you say that. CN didn't want nostalgia baiting, it's why they shut down the crew from using the old chars again. Along with a newer Chef from the child appealing DramaRama show coming back and suddenly being used. Probably for a wider audience, hinging on nostalgia isn't good for growth.
Do you remember where you heard this? Im not saying you’re lying but I hear a lot of things like this and often the people saying them are making it up
@@switch2e I can't provide the source here sadly. My comments disappear. Your other social media will have to do.
@@nuibaba280 Oh yeah CZcams is really annoying with that stuff
@@switch2e Did you see the source of my claims now?
Switch! Have you been watching season 2?
Yes!
What the hell is a ring light
A light that is shaped like a ring
I hope the next season involves the new cast and members of the original cast. I like the new cast but idk if it would be all that interesting with just them in the same setting. At least Action and World tour had less contestants, a new setting and some new characters to spice things up. I don’t want to listen to any more of Ripper or Chase and Emma’s bs relationship
Sorry but you'll have to deal with it. This cast needs another season to further develop.
Oh :(
I am no expert
But just from the title.. i dont think you liked it 😢
Though your explaination on how youll tackle deep diving into these is appreciated and im still excited
Is it just me or does he sound like JFK
I've never heard that comparison to be honest
I just hope they fix chase’s character. I really liked his design and was anticipating him but the season kinda made him unlikeable.
Sorry but no. Chase is meant to be an unlikable parody of toxic influencers. It's why he's so over the top.
I hated hated hated Priya.
i love switch1e
and switch2e lol
TDI had a ton of Millennial slang that was pretty cringe
My rankings would be from worst to best including rr is:
All Stars
Pakithew Island
Revenge of the Island
Action
This Season
Island
Ridonculous Race
World Tour
Revenge of the Island should be higher than Action and Island 2023
and imo World Tour isn't that great
@@notdaphantom Revenge is not good enough to be above Island 2023. Island did a lot things better than Revenge and straight up fixed series wide issues (lopsided merge rosters and not enough justification for the villain to make it as far as they do). Some characters were made stupider than normal for Scott's convenience. Julia's called out consistently.
@@notdaphantomrevenge of the island even tho it’s second fav it’s fairly placed since kinda was more zany challenges than characters and dialogue
Here’s mine:
All Stars (F-)
Pahkitew (F)
ROTI (C+)
Action (B-)
Reboot (B-)
Ridiculous Race (B+)
World Tour (A)
Island (A+)
@@notdaphantom Wait a minute, weren’t you on that one stream yesterday?
obviously they kicked that guy off for FAKE allegations I would bet all my money's savings on it
If people have an issue with the replacement va for Chris, maybe they should have a look in the mirror and understand that the original actor seems to be a true sack of trash. Move on and enjoy the fact that total drama is back.
I hope I didn’t overtly come off as THAT sharp and uncompromising about the situation. I don’t like the direction they took with Chris’s replacement VA but it’s not a huge deal to me. Obviously given what we know about the situation (which is mostly just hearsay about vague Facebook posts) they probably couldn’t and didn’t want to continue having Potenza in the cast. That’s very reasonable. I just personally believe the new voice actor should have been someone who was better at and made more of an effort of replicating Chris’s classic voice. Terry McGurrin is a great voice actor but I think they could have done better. (Although it seems that the creators of the show didn’t even want the new Chris to sound like old Chris anyway)
Sorry for the late comment (just found this vid) the only thing I didn't like was that he sounded too much like Don. Terry is great but I think at that point they could have just had Don host the season while they found a new VA for Chris and had them swap Chris in for S2.
@@TheMichaelmyth As implied / mentioned in the video, Terry may have had to pick up the role on short notice.
I think the thing with maming alliances in TD is that you kinda need to bbe careful how you write them.
We've seen Survivor seasons live and die in the eyes of the fandom by how an alliance in it played out. Did they dominate and make the season boring? Was it toppled in an amazing way? Was there in fighting that led to interesting betrayals? Was the alliance a minority that managed to act undetected?
All of these things are open for writers to take and implant into TD, but it needs to be done right. Because if not ypu either feel like the alliance was pointless or you have to make some characters very dumb to allow an obvious coalition of characters to dominate.
The strategy of alliances and how to manipulate votes thanks to it can be quite fun if explored well.