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| 6 | %% The Ridonculous Race now has its own page. Please add examples there. Thanks! |
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| 14 | [[WMG:[[center: [-''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' [[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Main page]]\ |
| 15 | [[TotalDrama/TropesAToG A to G]] | '''H to P''' | [[TotalDrama/TropesQToZ Q to Z]]-]]]]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | !!Tropes with their own pages: |
| 18 | [[index]] |
| 19 | * [[HiddenDepths/TotalDrama Hidden Depths]] |
| 20 | * [[HumiliationConga/TotalDrama Humiliation Conga]] |
| 21 | * [[Hypocrite/TotalDrama Hypocrite]] |
| 22 | * [[Jerkass/TotalDrama Jerkass]] |
| 23 | * [[LaserGuidedKarma/TotalDrama Laser Guided Karma]] |
| 24 | * [[MeaningfulName/TotalDrama Meaningful Name]] |
| 25 | * [[MirrorCharacter/TotalDrama Mirror Character]] |
| 26 | * [[NiceGuy/TotalDrama Nice Guy]] |
| 27 | * [[OddFriendship/TotalDrama Odd Friendship]] |
| 28 | [[/index]] |
| 29 | !!Other Tropes: |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[folder:H]] |
| 34 | * HandyRemoteControl: Most commonly used by Chris as a bomb detonator. |
| 35 | * HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Blonde-haired contestants are by far more often nice and kindhearted than they're not. On the kind side are Bridgette, Lindsay, Owen, Geoff, Dakota, Dawn, Samey, and Wayne. On the mean side are Blaineley, Jo, Amy (Samey's twin), Sugar, and Julia, all of which didn't debut until after ''Action''. Emma zig-zags this trope, as while she's generally nice, she can become very petty, spiteful even, if it regards her ex-boyfriend Chase. |
| 36 | * HairRaisingHare: |
| 37 | ** The KillerRabbit in "Search and Do Not Destroy" looks cute at first, but reveals sharp fangs and roars viciously when Bridgette approaches him. |
| 38 | ** In "Moon Madness", the Blue Harvest Moon makes all fauna act the opposite of their normal self. Scott finds this out the hard way when he gets taken down by a gang of vicious bunnies. |
| 39 | * HarmlessElectrocution: |
| 40 | ** Played with in "Jamaica Me Sweat"; Tyler gets a momentary shock from an [[PsychoElectricEel electric eel]] but is unhurt. Gwen, however, gets shocked by ''three'' electric eels and has to be rescued by Alejandro and taken to the infirmary. |
| 41 | ** Played straight in "The Ex-Files", where the guys get shocked by a laser, an electric fence, a clone pod, and an alien, in that order, and don't take any lasting damage. |
| 42 | * TheHatMakesTheMan: In ''Revenge of the Island'', Mike (who has multiple personality disorder) becomes an adventurer called Manitoba Smith whenever he puts on a hat. |
| 43 | * [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend He is Not My Boyfriend]]: |
| 44 | ** Before they began dating, Courtney would fervently deny having any feelings for Duncan. |
| 45 | ** During ''World Tour'', Heather and Alejandro would become flustered and agitated whenever Chris called them "lovebirds". |
| 46 | ** Scarlett when everyone thinks she's dating Max in ''Pahkitew Island''. |
| 47 | * HeadPet: Duncan's chameleon in "Top Dog" stayed on his head during the woods challenge. |
| 48 | * HehHehYouSaidX: In the first episode of the 2023 series, Wayne and Raj laugh when Chris says the challenge contains booby traps. |
| 49 | * HeroAntagonist: The interns, according to WordOfGod. Also, any contestant that isn't a "villain" archetype is technically one with any other contestant outside of team competitions. |
| 50 | * HeterosexualLifePartners: |
| 51 | ** Katie and Sadie cannot bear to be separated from each other and practically share a brain. |
| 52 | ** Lindsay and Beth after they split from Heather. |
| 53 | ** Noah and Owen's relationship became this in ''World Tour''. |
| 54 | ** Gwen and Courtney are this in ''World Tour'' until Gwen kisses Courtney's boyfriend Duncan. They reconcile in ''All-Stars'', only for it all to blow up Courtney's elimination chart is made public. |
| 55 | ** Wayne and Raj in the 2023 reboot are this, with Chris even mentioning that they both came in "a package deal" during their introduction. [[spoiler:The "heterosexual" part is ironic on Raj's side [[ComingOutStory as he realizes that he is gay during his time on the game]], something that Wayne is very supportive of]]. |
| 56 | * HeWhoMustNotBeSeen: There are many animals on the summer camp islands that all sooner or later are encountered by the contestants. The exception are wolves. They roam around on Wawanakwa Island and Pahkitew Island, but are mostly only heard and only ever at night. In "Up the Creek", one is silhouetted against the moon while howling on a cliff top as the campfire ceremony commences. In "Hook, Line, and Screamer", one is only heard when the campers discuss a plan of action (it's a different sound from Chef's howling in "No Pain, No Game"). And in "Hurl and Go Seek", multiple wolves respond to Dave's howling. |
| 57 | * HidingTheHandicap: Mike's entire arc in ''Revenge of the Island'' is him attempting to hide his Multiple Personality Disorder, instead letting everyone believe he's just an overly dedicated method actor. He does this out of fear of being ridiculed, especially in regards to his crush Zoey. However, lying about his condition proves to be a problem, making the other campers (particularly Zoey) extremely frustrated by (what they believe to be) Mike willfully playing character. Mike eventually confesses his disorder to Zoey, who accepts him and assures him that he does not have to be ashamed of it. |
| 58 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: Each and every antagonist meets their downfall this way. |
| 59 | ** Heather in ''Island (2007)'' had been bullying Lindsay the entire game, including once threatening to shave her head. She's ultimately eliminated when getting a dare from Lindsay to shave her head. She kicks Chef's razor, resulting in her losing her hair. Since she didn't do it willingly, she was out. |
| 60 | ** Justin, after using his good looks to win over the other contestants during ''Action'', ultimately gets a facial injury that's enough to make the girls not want him anymore. |
| 61 | ** Alejandro, after seducing or charming his competition to elimination, loses to Heather, his long-term SlapSlapKiss love interest by her seducing him, kicking him in the "kiwis" and leaving him in the erupting volcano. |
| 62 | ** Scott, after running from Fang the Shark the entire season after taking his tooth, finally gets beaten up by it in the end. |
| 63 | ** Mal loses after Zoey sets up a "Friendship Final" that really is a plot to rescue Mike from his own subconscious. |
| 64 | * HollywoodAtlas: ''World Tour'' gives challenges based on the most basic elements of the location of the week. |
| 65 | * HollywoodHealing: Played around with. The show relies on AmusingInjuries a lot, but it also shows some injuries taking a realistic amount of time to heal, most notably Heather's black eye that took about 2 or 3 episodes to disappear. |
| 66 | * HollywoodPsych: Mike's Multiple Personality Disorder is a sensationalized take on the condition. For one, the language used is outdated, as by the time the series aired, the diagnostic term was Dissociative Identity Disorder and the word "alters" was more commonly used than "personalities," to better reflect each alter being an individual being. His switching between alters also occurs more quickly than in real-life cases. And of course, despite what "The Final Wreckening" displays, it's not possible to [[spoiler:permanently kill off alters, especially not by pressing a giant button inside your brain]].[[note]]It's possible for alters to merge with one another, which might be the case here as Mike retains all of his personalities' abilities, but it requires time and therapy, not simply pushing a button.[[/note]] |
| 67 | * HookHand: |
| 68 | ** In "The Sucky Outdoors", Duncan uses one to scare the daylights out of the Killer Bass at the end of his campfire story. |
| 69 | --->'''Duncan:''' ...because there, hanging from the door handle, was the ''bloody hook.'' They say that this killer is still alive, wandering these very woods. He could be just about anywhere, really. Maybe even right HERE! ''(whips out hook)'' |
| 70 | --->'''Killer Bass:''' AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! |
| 71 | ** The Escaped Psycho Killer with a Chainsaw and a Hook from "Hook, Line and, Screamer". |
| 72 | * HopelessSuitor: |
| 73 | ** Cody, whose advances towards Gwen are either ignored or outright rejected. |
| 74 | ** Ella, who really likes Dave and becomes heartbroken when she learns that he likes Sky. |
| 75 | * HorribleCampingTrip: "The Sucky Outdoors" features an overnight camping trip as the challenge; the Screaming Gophers get attacked by a bear and have to spend the night stuck up a tree, while the Killer Bass are unable to find food and get their tent burnt down. Then, just as Courtney angrily declares that the situation can't get any worse, [[CueTheRain it starts to rain]]. |
| 76 | * HugeGuyTinyGirl: |
| 77 | ** 296-pound BigFun Owen dates the lanky girl Izzy. |
| 78 | ** The large, corpulent B and the petite, short Dawn are close friends. |
| 79 | * HulkSpeak: [[spoiler:Dakota, after becoming Dakotazoid]] in "The Treasure Island of Dr. [=McLean=]". |
| 80 | * HumanPopsicle: |
| 81 | ** The fate of two interns in "Anything Yukon Do, I Can Do Better". |
| 82 | ** In the game ''Total Drama Freezer Burn,'' Alejandro has to jump across ice flotes in the Yukon. If you lose the game, he ends up frozen in a block of ice. |
| 83 | ** Sam and Lightning become stuck in a block of ice after falling into a frozen-over lake in "Ice Ice Baby". |
| 84 | * HumiliationConga: |
| 85 | ** Already eliminated once due to her volatile temper, Eva was brought back to the island and given a second chance. After she rages, intimidates, and threatens again, she barely loses a chance to win immunity to Leshawna. Not only is she voted out on the same day she returned, Chris rubs salt in the wound by revealing most of the campers' confessionals on who exactly voted for her. After being called a rage-aholic, crazy, scary, and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Ava]]", she's sent off in a straitjacket, unable to do anything but lob empty threats at the other campers as the Boat of Losers take her away. |
| 86 | ** Heather's elimination in ''Island''. She is forced to submit to every other camper's dares, such as being shot into a pile of pig dung, slapping herself in the face repeatedly and swimming in a pool filled with leeches, before finally being shaved bald and disqualified by Chris. |
| 87 | ** Toward the end of Courtney's run on ''Action'' and even into the finale, though she gets [[ThrowTheDogABone some consolation]] through sharing the winnings with Duncan in the end. In the alternate ending, her humiliation is more thorough. Then ''World Tour'' ''really'' did it to her, to say nothing of ''All-Stars''. Mal reveals her elimination list, causing her to lose her best friend and her boyfriend. She then loses her only opportunity to win the episode's challenge when a bird pukes on her sundae, and to top it all off gets flushed down a giant toilet while having to eat said sundae with tears in her eyes. When she reemerges at a beach, a pair of sharks pukes on her when she tries to ward them off with her sundae, leaving her a sobbing mess. |
| 88 | ** Blaineley receives a pretty nasty one in ''World Tour'', being thrown from the plane ''without a parachute'', trapping her in a full body cast, only for her to suffer even more when she has to represent "Team Heather" on the final Aftermath. |
| 89 | ** Duncan gets an epic pre-elimination beat-down by Ezekiel in "African Lying Safari", courtesy of Alejandro and Heather. And it doesn't get better from there. In ''All-Stars'', first he gets ignored by Courtney, then dumped by Gwen, then accused of getting soft, and finally sent to jail with an implication of impending prison rape. |
| 90 | ** Alejandro [[spoiler:gets kicked in the balls by Heather, thrown off the volcano, trampled by the rest of the cast, is burned in the lava flow and is revived in the same manner as [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Darth Vader]]]]. |
| 91 | [[/folder]] |
| 92 | |
| 93 | [[folder:I]] |
| 94 | * ICantFeelMyLegs: Being in a robot suit for a year left Alejandro's legs numb and unresponsive. He eventually regains use of them but [[WoundedGazelleGambit pretends he's still incapacitated so that Heather will let her guard down]]. |
| 95 | * IdiotBall: |
| 96 | ** Leshawna gets it in "If You Can't Take the Heat". Leaving [[BigEater Owen]] to guard the food alone? ''Really''? |
| 97 | ** Almost all of the contestants get hit by this in ''All Stars'', with the most prominent cases being: Scott (who's now a full-blown moron), Courtney, Zoey, Cameron, and Heather. |
| 98 | ** Dave gets hit by this in the ''Pahkitew Island'' finale, which is lampshaded by Sky: |
| 99 | ---> '''Sky''': He was brighter before, wasn't he? |
| 100 | * ILied: Chris allows Eva and Izzy to return to the competition halfway through ''Island (2007)''. When questioned about it, he replies that he lied when he said that anyone voted off could never come back to the island. |
| 101 | * ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Duncan and Courtney and Heather and Alejandro run on this, the results aren't pretty. |
| 102 | * ImagineSpot: Despite parodying a reality show, there are many times where the audience can see what the characters are thinking. One episode of ''Island (2007)'' shows Owen's dream, and Mike's entire character in ''All-Stars'' revolves around his BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind against his split personalities. |
| 103 | * ImmoralRealityShow: The show embodies this trope. The very first event has the players dive off an absurdly high cliff into shark-infested waters, with only a very small "safe zone". It doesn't help that the host Chris [=McLean=] is an apathetic sadist. |
| 104 | * ImNotHereToMakeFriends: |
| 105 | ** When Lindsay realizes she has just been eliminated, she asks why Heather is not sad that her "best friend" is about to leave the competition. Heather coldly replies that the two were never friends and she only cares about fame. |
| 106 | --> '''Heather:''' We are not here to make friends. We are here to become celebrities, remember? |
| 107 | ** Scott fulfills this trope in ''Revenge of the Island''. He ends up becoming friends with Duncan and Courtney in ''All-Stars'', though. |
| 108 | ** Jo has several confessionals in which she makes clear she's not a team player and will let anyone who's no longer useful fall. |
| 109 | ** Dave literally says this in his audition video. |
| 110 | ** Sky has a variation. When she admits to liking Dave in one of her confessionals, she adds, "I'm not here to meet boys, I'm here to win!" |
| 111 | ** MK says "At least I didn't make any friends!" as she's being eliminated. |
| 112 | ** Julia compares having friends to having zits: she doesn't have any, she doesn't want any, and she doesn't want to see other people having any. |
| 113 | * ImpossibleHourglassFigure: Virtually every girl, especially Lindsay and Anne Maria. In fact it's easier to list the ones who ''aren't'' shaped like a conventionally flawless hourglass: Beth, Leshawna, Sadie, Jo, Staci, Sugar, Millie and Emma. |
| 114 | * ImprovisedZipline: Used by every member of Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot in order to cross a river filled with piranhas. |
| 115 | ** Alejandro uses his belt. |
| 116 | ** Owen uses his hands and gets rope burn. |
| 117 | ** Tyler uses his pants, but halfway down the line they end up [[StealthPun catching fire]]. |
| 118 | ** Izzy places Noah in a backpack, wears it, and then slides across using the straps. |
| 119 | * ImprobableAimingSkills: In "Dodgebrawl", Cody eliminates DJ and Katie from the dodgeball competition by throwing his ball in ways that make it work like a boomerang and a guided missile. |
| 120 | * IndecisiveParody: The show starts out satirizing reality show conventions in the island-based ''Island (2007)'' and movie conventions in the movie-themed ''Action'', but later seasons' increasing focus on shipping and other such {{plot tumor}}s progressively transforms the show into mainstream character-driven comedy that just happens to have a reality show setting. |
| 121 | * InexplicableLanguageFluency: Some wild animals--especially squirrels--can understand humans. |
| 122 | * InformedAbility: There are tons of these, many courtesy of the character bios that reveal many abilities and interests that don't make it into the actual show. |
| 123 | ** Ezekiel's bio states that he speaks eight languages and has won the National Spelling Bee. |
| 124 | ** Cody and Lindsay are from rich families. This is not addressed in the show, although it does explain why neither are that determined to win the prize money. |
| 125 | ** Courtney's ''Island (2007)'' bio claims she's a published author, having written the award-winning book ''Total Triumph for Teens'', and that her bedroom is covered with trophies, ribbons, and plaques. She's apparently never lost anything in her life before ''Total Drama'', which is surprising given her poor early performance in ''Island (2007)''. |
| 126 | ** Gwen is said to love her family very deeply and apparently become "soft as a marshmallow" around them, but she never mentions them, despite being away from her family for far longer than most of the campers were. |
| 127 | ** According to Trent's bio he loves motorbikes to such an extent that it even overshadows his love of music and that he spends almost all his time working on them. He never even ''says'' motorbike on-screen, though his love of music comes up often. |
| 128 | ** Zoey's label is "The Indie Chick", but nothing she ever does or says in the show supports that. The closest it gets is that there's a sewing machine in the foreground of her audition tape. |
| 129 | ** Amy and Samey wear cheerleading uniforms, but nothing is ever said about it and they don't show off any related skills either. |
| 130 | * InsecureProtagonistArrogantAntagonist: Mike, Zoey and Cameron are presented as the heroes of ''Revenge of the Island''. All three are presented as rather withdrawn, with Mike being [[FreakinessShame ashamed of having Multiple Personality Disorder]], Zoey being a ShrinkingViolet, and Cameron being a BubbleBoy. Compared to the villains of the season, Jo and Lightning are both egotistical {{Jerk Jock}}s and Scott is convinced he is the best player ever. |
| 131 | * InSeriesNickname: |
| 132 | ** Many are just shortened forms of their actual names: Geoff calls Bridgette "Bridge", Owen calls Izzy "Iz", Tyler calls Lindsay "Linds", and both Owen and Cody call Alejandro "Al" (which happens to be his BerserkButton). |
| 133 | ** Bridgette uses a lot of pet names for Geoff, including "Schmoopy-Boo", "Cutie-Patootie", and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Sweetie]]". |
| 134 | ** Geoff calls Bridgette his [[GranolaGirl "Granola Goddess"]] |
| 135 | ** Duncan calls Courtney "Princess" and Gwen "Pasty". |
| 136 | ** Izzy demands to be called "Esquire", "E-Scope", or "Explosivo" during ''Action''. She also calls Owen "Big-O". |
| 137 | ** Noah calls Izzy "Nutsie", while Eva is "Iron Woman" and Justin is "Anti-Me". |
| 138 | ** Owen and Noah refer to each other as [[FatAndSkinny "Chubby Buddy" and "Little Buddy"]] respectively, and during a wedding-themed challenge Blaineley calls Owen "Chubby Hubby" in a CallBack to this. |
| 139 | ** Ezekiel calls himself "[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Zeke]]", Duncan calls him "Ezeke", and everyone else calls him "Homeschool". [[spoiler:After his transformation,]] Chris calls him "Freakzekial". |
| 140 | ** Cody calls himself "Codemeister" or "Codester" while Sierra calls him "Codykins" or "Cody-Wody". Later when she sees Cameron as Cody, she calls him "Cam-Codykins." |
| 141 | ** Wayne calls Raj "Rajjy", and he sometimes calls Julia "Jules". Raj himself occasionally calls Wayne "Wayners". |
| 142 | * InsaneTrollLogic: Courtney's argument about why she should be TheLeader. |
| 143 | --> '''Courtney''': I happen to like winning and being in first class making me an ideal leader. |
| 144 | * InsistentTerminology: Inverted: Chris's mansion is ''not'' a cottage! |
| 145 | * InstantRoast: An eagle that gets struck in a lightning storm is instantly turned into a roast chicken. |
| 146 | * InsufferableGenius: Harold's bragging annoys almost everyone, but he certainly has the skills to back up his claims. |
| 147 | * InterchangeableAsianCultures: In "Super Happy Crazy Fun Time Japan" where the cast travels to Japan, Chef makes an entrance in a Chinese costume, which Harold immediately points out to be culturally insensitive. Later on, one of the challenges involves baby pandas, which are animals native to China, not Japan. Finally, when Lindsay recalls ordering pad thai at a Japanese restaurant, Leshawna angrily tells her that is a Thai dish. |
| 148 | * InternalDeconstruction: Duncan's character undergoes this in Season 3 and 5. He started as a delinquent with a soft side, unfortunately his deliquency is enabled over the course of Season 2 giving him a sense of entitlement and warped mentality that his deliquency is the right way to live. Season 3, he cheats on Courtney, and naturally she dumps him for it. He moves on quickly due to Courtney mistreating him and starts dating Gwen. Nonetheless, everyone starts to think less of him leaving him with no allies. Due to his arrogance, he thinks he can charm the self-respecting Courtney into an alliance as soon as the teams merge and is naturally rebuffed. His soft side comes back to bite him when his feelings towards Gwen get him eliminating further reinforcing his mentality his soft side is a flaw. Season 5 takes this and rolls with it to the end when his entitlement leads him to want Courtney and Gwen at the same time. Only by this point, Courtney has moved on and wants nothing to do with him, so he only ruins his relationship with Gwen who has grown past his bad boy image. At the same time, he starts growing and becoming nicer, but has an IgnoredEpiphany instead thinking it was his growth that alienated Gwen not his sense of entitlement so he resorts to blowing up Chris' cottage to prove he's bad which only results in him going to prison with Gwen thoroughly unsympathetic. |
| 149 | * InterruptedDeclarationOfLove: Happens to Tyler in "Can't Help Falling in Louvre". |
| 150 | -->'''Lindsay:''' Us being in Paris together means only one thing! |
| 151 | -->'''Tyler:''' I know. ''(music swells)'' I love y- |
| 152 | -->'''Lindsay:''' [[BaitAndSwitchComment Shopping!]] I can pick up new clothes for you! EEEE! |
| 153 | * InterruptedKiss: Each series intro except for ''World Tour'' ends with a couple almost kissing before something interrupts them. |
| 154 | * InterspeciesRomance: Bruno the bear, who previously attacked Blaineley, is seen hugging her on a swan boat during a Tunnel Of Love ride. The two appear to be very, very good friends. At least. |
| 155 | * {{Introdump}}: The first episode of every season introduces the contestants, setting, and premise of the season. |
| 156 | * IronButtMonkey: |
| 157 | ** Almost every single contestant has suffered multiple incidents of physical damage that should have, by all rights, left them permanently crippled or dead. Some big examples include Owen and Izzy getting crushed by a giant plane, Ezekiel and Alejandro being drenched in boiling lava, Scott and Cody getting severely mauled by animals, Sierra falling off a high cliff without a bungee cord and getting caught in a huge explosion, Justin falling off a castle tower that appeared to be at least 5 stories high, Wayne getting crushed by a giant boulder twice, and Julia getting stung by thousands of bees before falling off a mountain and a waterfall. Luckily all of the contestants either get out unharmed or get injured but fully recover in time. |
| 158 | ** There's also the designated "pain magnets" of each season: contestants who get injured excessively purely for {{Slapstick}} and [[PlayedForLaughs comedic effect]]. Currently, there's been Owen in ''Island'', Harold in ''Action'', Tyler in ''World Tour'', Brick in ''Revenge of the Island'', Scott in ''All Stars'', Max in ''Pahkitew Island'', and Chase in ''Island (2023)''. |
| 159 | * IronicName: The ''World Tour'' season features two teams that fit the trope. |
| 160 | ** Team Victory had the worst track record of any team in the season, with the entire team of 6 being eliminated in the first 7 eliminations. |
| 161 | ** This also goes for Team Chris is Really, Really, Really, Really Hot. While Sierra did come up with the name herself, she would be transferred over to Team Amazon while Izzy goes to Team Chris. If the team being dominated by heterosexual males (Alejandro, Noah, Owen, Tyler, and later Duncan) is not enough, everyone on the team (even the team member that came up with the name) hated Chris and want nothing to do with him or the show anymore. |
| 162 | ** Sugar, one of the contestants in ''Pahkitew Island'', is anything but sweet. She's spiteful, rude, and treats everyone around her rather poorly. |
| 163 | * {{Irony}}: |
| 164 | ** Ezekiel, the lowest-ranking contestant in the game, is the first person to find the million-dollar case during the hunt for it in "Total Drama Drama Drama Drama Island". |
| 165 | ** In ''Island (2007)'', Gwen's belief that she has been cheated on sends her into a HeroicBSOD, and Duncan declares in a confessional that two-timing is "messed up". In '' World Tour'', a major plot point is that the two have been dating behind Courtney's back. |
| 166 | * IslandOfMystery: Pahkitew Island is an artificial island. It's near-fully mechanical, plants and animals included, and controllable from an underground hub. |
| 167 | * ItsRainingMen: Several seasons start with the cast dropping from the sky. |
| 168 | ** In the opening credits for ''World Tour'', the contestants form a human pyramid on the plane's fuselage, only to fall when the pilot (Chef Hatchet) shakes them off. The contestants have parachutes, so they land safely... [[ButtMonkey except for Ezekiel]]. |
| 169 | ** In "Super Crazy Happy Fun Time in Japan" of ''World Tour'', one of the plane's doors blows out and the contestants are blown out. They plummet to earth without parachutes, [[ItMakesSenseInContext singing all the way down]], but land safely in a giant bowl of rice. |
| 170 | ** In ''All-Stars'', the contestants arrive on the island by jumping or being thrown out of the plane. They have no parachutes but land safely [[SoftWater in water]]. |
| 171 | ** In ''Pahkitew Island'', the contestants must jump out of the plane to get to the island. All have parachute packs, but only half of those contain actual parachutes, which is the season's team selection method. With or without parachutes, the contestants land safely in the water. |
| 172 | * IWillOnlySlowYouDown: Said verbatim by Sierra to Cody when he tries to take her with him even though her ankles are broken. |
| 173 | [[/folder]] |
| 174 | |
| 175 | [[folder:J]] |
| 176 | * JavelinThrower: An eliminated Eva shows off her throwing arm in "The Big Sleep" when she nearly skewers Courtney with a pointy stick for the girl's taunting way of saying goodbye. Jasmine shows off her throwing strength in "I Love You, Grease Pig!" when she uses a regular stick to impale a poisonous apple away from Samey. Lastly, a symbolic instance occurs during the song "Versus" in "Hawaiian Punch", during which Alejandro and Heather take on the role of gods and motivate their workers by throwing lightning at them. |
| 177 | * JiveTurkey: Leshawna frequently talks like this, fitting her stereotype of the SassyBlackWoman. |
| 178 | -->'''Leshawna''': [Introducing herself in her first scene] What's up y'all? Leshawna's in the house. Yo baby, hey how you doin'? How's it goin'? |
| 179 | ** Ezekiel also picks this up in "Celebrity Manhunt's Total Drama Action Reunion Special", unaware of how stupid it sounds when he says it. |
| 180 | * JokersLoveJunkFood: Ditzy comic relief character Zee has soda as his TrademarkFavoriteFood, even drinking it for breakfast. In his second season, he's sponsored by a soda brand and constantly drinks it to avoid spilling an important secret to Priya. |
| 181 | * JustFriends: |
| 182 | ** Leshawna's stance on the relationship between herself and Harold. |
| 183 | ** Sky initially views her relationship with Dave as this but eventually accepts that she has feelings for him. |
| 184 | [[/folder]] |
| 185 | |
| 186 | [[folder:K]] |
| 187 | * KarmaHoudini: |
| 188 | ** Chris [=McLean=] rates highest in this regard, though he eventually gets what's coming to him in "Brain vs. Brawn: The Ultimate Showdown" [[spoiler:when he is arrested by the RCMP for illegally turning Camp Wawanakwa into a toxic waste dump and gets thoroughly decontaminated. However come ''All-Stars'', he's been granted parole]]. It gets even worse in ''Pahkitew Island'', where he leaves the season with ZERO repercussions whatsoever, and Dave is left behind to be potentially mauled by Scuba Bear. |
| 189 | ** After her [[AlphaBitch true personality]] is exposed, Julia loses thousands of followers... then gets ''millions'' of new ones, who like who she actually is. |
| 190 | * KarmicButtMonkey: |
| 191 | ** Heather, the haughty, ruthless, and manipulative BigBad of the first season (and still something of a {{jerkass}} even after her CharacterDevelopment into an AntiHero in later seasons), is also the most frequently injured female contestant on the show. A few episodes of ''Island (2007)'' ended with her getting a big does of karma for her misdeeds of the episode (like having red ants dumped on her bed in "Not Quite Famous" or having the contents of a septic tank back up on her in the showers in "Search and Do Not Destroy"). |
| 192 | ** ''Revenge of the Island'' gives us Scott. As this season's BigBad, Scott is responsible for much of the drama on the island, by getting several of [[TeamKiller his teammates eliminated]] through manipulation or sabotage, and by forcing others into one-sided alliances by threatening to spill their secrets. That said, he's also the contestant who suffers the most humiliation and injuries and gets his comeuppance by the end of the season. |
| 193 | ** ''Island (2023)'' keeps this trend up with Julia, who [[BitchInSheepsClothing after being exposed]] as a BadInfluencer AlphaBitch, does everything in her power to win immunity and eliminate her competition. At the same time, she is exposed to lots of slapstick and humiliation for her troubles. |
| 194 | * KeepingTheEnemyClose: |
| 195 | ** In the second episode, Heather refuses to participate in the challenge because she doesn't want to get her hair wet. This prompts Leshawna to furiously push her off the cliff and into the lake below. Though the two would strike a truce later on, Heather confides to Lindsay that she only acted nice to Leshawna because, in shows like these, you must "keep your friends close; and your enemies, closer". |
| 196 | ** In "Riot on Set", as Gwen is choosing her teammates, Leshawna reminds her to keep her enemies closer. Gwen then begrudgingly picks Heather to join her group. |
| 197 | * KickTheDog: In every season, there is at least one villain who torments a more innocent camper. |
| 198 | ** Among the first generation, Heather towards both Lindsay and Beth and Duncan towards Harold. |
| 199 | ** Among the second generation, Jo towards Cameron. |
| 200 | ** Among the third generation, Amy towards Samey, and Sugar towards Ella. |
| 201 | * KidnappingBirdOfPrey: In her audition tape, Dawn holds up a squirrel in reverence of nature. It gets snatched up by an eagle. |
| 202 | * KillerRabbit: |
| 203 | ** In "Search and Do Not Destroy", Bridgette has to retrieve a key from an adorable little bunny. As soon as she approaches the critter, it roars furiously at her, showing a sharp row of teeth. |
| 204 | ** The pandas and baby seals from ''World Tour'' look cute enough, but become viciously vindictive after DJ accidentally injures them. |
| 205 | ** Mutated squirrel. '''[[EyeBeams Eye lasers]]!''' |
| 206 | ** A literal gigantic two-headed rabbit with super strength. |
| 207 | ** It gets exaggerated in "Moon Madness" when the weird moon radiation turns every bunny into a bloodthirsty killer. |
| 208 | * KindnessButton: Seeing Sierra [[spoiler:lose her hair]] in "Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles" provokes uncharacteristic kindness in Heather because of her own experience at the end of ''Total Drama Island''. |
| 209 | -->'''Heather:''' But really, I have to help. I've been where she is. Crazy or not, no girl should ever have to [[spoiler:be bald on national TV.]] |
| 210 | * KnightOfCerebus: |
| 211 | ** Mal in ''All-Stars''. As he is the first villain who does not require a reason to attempt to murder others, and regularly does so [[ForTheEvulz just for the fun of it]]. Unlike previous antagonists who are arguably {{Punch Clock Villain}}s just in it for the money and possess a moral conscience, he is [[LackOfEmpathy completely without remorse]]. |
| 212 | ** Scarlett in ''Pahkitew Island''. The episode in which her true nature is revealed takes a very dark turn from the usual lighthearted nature of the series. While the series occasionally puts the contestants' life on the line, her actions make this one of the few occasions where all of them are a few strokes away from imminent death, and just like Mal, she is [[LackOfEmpathy completely unphased by the prospect of them dying]]. |
| 213 | [[/folder]] |
| 214 | |
| 215 | [[folder:L]] |
| 216 | * LackOfEmpathy: Chris shows zero remorse for [[RedShirt his interns]]' or his contestants' suffering. |
| 217 | * LamePunReaction: |
| 218 | ** When reading ''The History of Canada'', Chris says that the North American beaver makes "a '''dam''' fine hat." |
| 219 | ** Chris (again) in the pilot of ''Action'' |
| 220 | --->'''Chris''': Really liking the twos today. Must be '''Tues'''day." |
| 221 | --->''(complete silence from the cast)'' |
| 222 | --->'''Chris''': Yeah, I don't get paid to write this show. |
| 223 | * LarynxDissonance: DJ's mom is voiced by the same person who also voices her son and Chef. |
| 224 | * LastMinuteHookup: |
| 225 | ** Harold and Leshawna, because Harold doesn't directly confess his love until he's kicked off the island with no other clue seen in the series before this episode. (Their relationship gets more exploration in later seasons.) |
| 226 | ** Mike and Zoey become an OfficialCouple at the end of the episode in which Mike is eliminated. |
| 227 | * LastSecondPhotoFailure: On the first episode, all 22 campers must pose for a group photo. However, Camp Wawanakwa is a shit hole. So of course, the dock collapses and all of the teenagers end up in the water. The picture shows some of them holding onto loose wood or sinking. |
| 228 | * LateArrivalSpoiler: |
| 229 | ** Advertisements inevitably indicate who the remaining contestants are by showing scenes from upcoming episodes, and promotional material during or after a season finale makes no effort to hide the names of the finalists. The worst example is an ad for ''World Tour'' that revealed the two finalists ''Action'' at a time when ''Action'' was still in progress with six contestants remaining. |
| 230 | ** Some Magazine/TVGuide-esque website posted small paragraphs about each episode. Oh, don't worry, the paragraphs don't reveal anything about the episode they're ''talking'' about: just who was eliminated in the last one. For example, the summary for "I See London..." says 'With DJ gone, only 2 teams remain!', the summary for "Greece's Pieces" says 'Owen is missing his little buddy Noah...' etc. |
| 231 | * LaxativePrank: |
| 232 | ** Heather sends Gwen a laxative-spiked cupcake in order to make her lose the final challenge of season one. Unfortunately for her, Owen eats the cupcake instead. |
| 233 | ** In the second season, the pizza they all (well, everyone but Leshawna, because "dairy and [her] do not agree.") eat is laced with itching powder and laxatives. |
| 234 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: |
| 235 | ** At the beginning of each episode, Chris reads a disclaimer that tells the audience not to try the stunts on the show because they were performed by ''animated'' teens. |
| 236 | ** Zee noticed how the confessionals seem to happen in real-time, as opposed to after the challenges are done. Keep in mind that he's also implied to be TheStoner. |
| 237 | * LeetLingo: Sierra in "Walk Like An Egyptian - Part 1". |
| 238 | -->"O-M-G, Chris! I am just so L-O-L!" |
| 239 | * LeftHanging: Many plotlines are left without proper sendoffs or conclusions. Examples include: |
| 240 | ** For Generation 1, Ezekiel is still a mutant and missing in-universe, Harold and Leshawna are in relationship limbo, and Sierra's gone back to being an immediate danger to Cody's well-being. |
| 241 | ** For Generation 2, Dakota is still a mutant. |
| 242 | ** For Generation 3, Dave's fate after being left behind with Scuba Bear on Pahkitew Island is unknown, Samey is barely better off against her sister than she was prior to participating, and Ella's feelings for Dave are still unrevealed to the latter. |
| 243 | * LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: Played with in "Get a Clue". At one point, Harold pulls out a keyboard to play a dramatic cue; Courtney immediately complains where that annoying music is coming from. |
| 244 | * {{Leitmotif}}: |
| 245 | ** The show has a specific melody that plays during heartwarming moments. |
| 246 | ** Whenever Justin flips his hair or removes his shirt, an EtherealChoir is heard. |
| 247 | ** The ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' theme can be heard whenever Izzy is sneaking up on someone. |
| 248 | ** Creepy horror music would start to play whenever Trent talked about his obsession with the number nine; the same music plays whenever Sierra has a stalkerish moment, such as when she reveals how much information she has on Cody (obtained by calling members of his family pretending to be a telemarketer). |
| 249 | ** Alejandro has a Latin theme tune. |
| 250 | ** Duncan has a rendition of ''Bad to the Bone'', which was surprisingly played for Tyler a couple times in ''World Tour''. |
| 251 | ** Brick has a military drum leitmotif. |
| 252 | ** ''In The Hall of the Mountain King'' is Mal's. Given that it's a song for people being sneaky... |
| 253 | * LesserOfTwoEvils: Aside from the BigBad, some seasons contain one or more secondary antagonists who are still troublesome but are greatly dwarfed in evil. |
| 254 | ** ''Island:'' [[{{Jerkass}} Duncan]] depending on [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold whether he's feeling nice or not]]. |
| 255 | ** ''World Tour:'' [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Courtney]] following her FaceHeelTurn, [[DragonWithAnAgenda Duncan]] (again), and former BigBad [[VillainProtagonist Heather]] who [[EvilVersusEvil clashes with]] Alejandro the newer, eviler antagonist. |
| 256 | ** ''Revenge of the Island'': [[BadBoss Jo]] who [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership pushes her team around]]. |
| 257 | ** ''All-Stars'': Virtually every former BigBad who's brought back due to the inclusion of the new BigBad [[spoiler: Mal the [[EvilerThanThou evilest villain to date]]]]. Special mention goes [[HeelFaceTurn newly redeemed]] [[AntiHero Alejandro]] who [[EvilVersusEvil tries to undermine]] the greater evil. |
| 258 | ** ''Pahkitew Island'': [[BigBadWannabe Max]] who [[HarmlessVillain tries hard to be evil but fails]]. |
| 259 | ** ''Island (2023):'' [[AffablyEvil Bowie]], who despite classifying as an antagonist alongside Julia, [[ALighterShadeOfBlack doesn't really hold grudges against anyone and isn't a bad person in the slightest]], he is just very competitive. There's also [[{{Schemer}} MK]], who attempts to cheat her way through victory by recording everyone's confessionals and trying to use them against other competitors. |
| 260 | * LethalChef: |
| 261 | ** Played with by Chef Hatchet. Though he is actually a competent chef, [[InvokedTrope it's his job]] to make barely edible slop for the contestants. |
| 262 | ** Lindsay accidentally poisons Trent with ill-prepared fugu blowfish in "Who Can You Trust?". |
| 263 | * LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: |
| 264 | ** On the Screaming Gophers, Lindsay is the ClassPrincess light to Heather's AlphaBitch dark. |
| 265 | ** Courtney can either be light or dark depending on which side of the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor she's on at the time. On Team Amazon, Courtney lies within the gray area between Heather's dark and Gwen's light. |
| 266 | ** On the Mutant Maggots, Zoey is the AllLovingHeroine light to Anne Maria's {{Joisey}} {{Jerkass}} dark. |
| 267 | ** On the Toxic Rats, Dawn is the empathetic light to Dakota's fame-mongering dark, although the latter is more of a LovableAlphaBitch. |
| 268 | ** With the twins on the Floating Salmon, Amy is the CruelCheerleader dark to Samey's PomPomGirl light. |
| 269 | ** On the Confused Bears, Ella is the Disney Princess wannabe light to Sugar's pageant brat dark with Sky lying in the gray area between the two. |
| 270 | ** All four girls on the Frogs of Death are on a spectrum, with the BitchInSheepsClothing Julia being straight dark, MK being a [[ALighterShadeOfBlack dark gray]] snarky pickpocket, Emma being [[ADarkerShadeOfGray light gray]] as a JerkassToOne (but justifiably so), and Nichelle being the lightest among the four as a LovableAlphaBitch. |
| 271 | * LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: |
| 272 | ** Chris and Chef behave like this in the first part of "Jamaican Me Sweat" when they run out of plane fuel and accidentally land in Jamaica, causing them to bicker. |
| 273 | ** Katie and Sadie also behave like this whenever there is the slightly wrinkle in their relationship. However, they are also [[EasilyForgiven quick to make up with each other]]. |
| 274 | ** Duncan and Courtney had their moments of this as well. |
| 275 | * LikeRealityUnlessNoted: The world of ''Total Drama'' is supposed to be like the present-day real world only with sketchier legal loopholes, less care for human and animal life, and technological advances ahead of the present. |
| 276 | * LimitedWardrobe: The characters wear the same outfit 90% of the time, though they are shown in sleepwear/underwear/swimwear when appropriate. |
| 277 | * LivingLieDetector: Clucky is a chicken with an uncanny ability to see through lies. In "I Love You, I Love You Knots", she is put to use in a truth or dare challenge to make sure that whoever gets a truth challenge actually is being truthful. |
| 278 | * TheLoad: |
| 279 | ** Ezekiel in ''World Tour'' is presented as the most incompetent participant, as his poor singing causes his castmates to be attacked by scarabs, and he costs his team the first challenge by losing the divining rod they were supposed to transport to the finish line. Unsurprisingly, he is the first to be eliminated. |
| 280 | ** Dakota from ''Revenge of the Island'' has no interest in winning because she's already rich. What she wants is camera time and her own paparazzi crew following her and she'll have her photo taken before doing anything else. The only reason she's not eliminated first is that the Toxic Rats prioritize getting rid of Staci, who does participate but annoys everyone with her blatant lies. |
| 281 | ** Beardo and Leonard of the Waneyihtam Maskwak in ''Pahkitew Island'' are comparable to Staci and Dakota in that the latter is the one that would cause long-term problems if not voted off early, while the former is the fall guy for the first elimination whose longterm potential is cut short. Leonard is a [=LARP=]er who truly believes he has magical abilities and botches challenges by relying on magic instead of doing anything practical. However, he at least has a plan for the first challenge while Beardo's sound-effect acting damages his team's efficiency.. |
| 282 | * LonelyRichKid: Dawn surmises that Dakota's desire to be famous is a cry for love. |
| 283 | --> '''Dakota:''' Who told you that, my therapist!? |
| 284 | * LoonyFan: |
| 285 | ** Sierra is this in spades. Her first appearance has her mentioning she knows the other players dental record. |
| 286 | ** Priya's parents. Them wanting their daughter to be on the show because they never got a chance to be on isn't terrible, but training her literally from birth is another story. |
| 287 | * LoopholeAbuse: In "Aftermath Aftermayhem", Blaineley says that whoever answers her question correctly will be allowed to re-enter the competition. When she accidentally answers her own question, Geoff declares that Blaineley is the winner and will join the other campers in the following episode. |
| 288 | * LotusPosition: |
| 289 | ** In "Brunch of Disgustingness", Lindsay is unable to eat the disgusting meals Chef presents, jeopardizing her team's chances of winning the competition. Bridgette then teaches her to meditate in this position, calming her down enough to swallow the next few dishes. Unfortunately, it somehow also ends up causing Lindsay to suffer from short-term memory loss. |
| 290 | ** Dawn's default sitting position is with her legs crossed. Whenever she has time for herself, she meditates in a full lotus position. |
| 291 | * LoveAtFirstSight: |
| 292 | ** Excluding Izzy and Owen and Duncan and Courtney, all the relationships that would occur in ''Island'' were foreshadowed to some degree in the first episode. |
| 293 | ** Mike and Zoey fall head over heels for one another literally the second they lock eyes. |
| 294 | * LoveDodecahedron: One of the most controversial elements of the series is the LoveTriangle between Courtney, Duncan, and Gwen, not in the least because so many more characters are pulled into it. In ''Island'', it starts with Gwen/Trent, Cody's one-sided crush on Gwen, Courtney/Duncan, and romantic tension between Duncan and Heather. In ''Action'', Gwen and Duncan grow close and Gwen and Trent break up, although Gwen retains some feelings for Trent. In ''World Tour'', Duncan and Gwen start a relationship despite that Duncan and Courtney aren't broken up yet and Gwen is befriending her. Also, newcomer Sierra has a major crush on Cody and therefore dislikes Gwen. After Duncan's cheating, Courtney falls for newcomer Alejandro, who has his eyes on Heather but strings along Courtney for the game. Heather has her eyes on Alejandro too and, jealous over the attention he pays Courtney, tries to make Alejandro jealous by flirting with Duncan. In ''All-Stars'', Courtney is suddenly over Alejandro and strikes up a thing with newcomer Scott, although her former crush on Alejandro does come up. Duncan and Gwen are still together but Duncan constantly asks about Courtney, which eventually causes Gwen to end it. For a time, Gwen and Courtney become incredibly close. Newcomer Cameron gets railroaded into a very Cody-like role, which comes with light romantic tension between him and Gwen. He also is manipulated into kissing Courtney to drive a wedge between her and Scott, which largely works. |
| 295 | * LoveTriangle: |
| 296 | ** Gwen's close friendship with Duncan causes hostility between him and her then-boyfriend Trent in ''Action''. Come ''World Tour'', Duncan and Gwen become an official couple, but this causes attrition with Courtney, whom Duncan has cheated on; Cody, who is Gwen's AbhorrentAdmirer; and Sierra, who likes Cody and resents Gwen for "taking him away from her". |
| 297 | ** Late in ''World Tour'', Heather and Courtney start competing for Alejandro's affections. In the end, Heather wins and the two begin dating during ''All-Stars''. |
| 298 | ** Zoey and Mike are in love, but so are Vito and Anne Maria, which would be a situation free of conflict if only Mike and Vito weren't alternate personalities of each other. Mike manages to subdue Vito and goes steady with Zoey by the end of the season. |
| 299 | ** Dave is obsessed with Sky, who does return the feelings but not with the single-minded intensity Dave displays. Ella falls for Dave in "A Blast From the Past" and thinks it's mutual, but Dave actually has no idea she has feelings for him. Ella discovers this and is consoled by Sky, who is happy for herself but genuinely sad for Ella. Ella is eliminated soon after and Dave never knows she liked him, while his own relationship with Sky goes horribly wrong due to poor communication on both sides. |
| 300 | [[/folder]] |
| 301 | |
| 302 | [[folder:M]] |
| 303 | * MadeOfIron: Every single contestant. In the very first episode of the series, the contestants have to jump off a tall cliff. Some of them wipe out, some don't. Regardless they walk away with no injuries. The competition arguably gets MORE dangerous after that, and the contestants rarely suffer any injuries at all. |
| 304 | ** Averted a few times when contestants are actually forced to sit out challenges because of injury. For example, Owen & Izzy in "Jamaica Me Sweat" |
| 305 | * MaleFrontalNudity: All instances are [[{{Pixellation}} pixelated]]. |
| 306 | ** Owen, [[FanDisservice far too often]]. |
| 307 | ** Harold, Duncan, and Justin in "One Million Bucks, B.C." |
| 308 | ** Chris in "The Aftermath: IV". |
| 309 | ** Justin, Trent, Cody, and Harold in "Celebrity Manhunt's TDA Reunion Special". |
| 310 | ** Lightning in "The Enchanted Franken-Forest". |
| 311 | ** Max in "Mo Monkey, Mo Problems". |
| 312 | * MaleGaze: The show has a lot of this, but the most noticeable is Courtney. Courtney gets a bunch of butt shots for no other reason besides {{Fanservice}} in every season in which she participates. |
| 313 | * ManiacMonkeys: Mandrills attack the contestants in "African Lying Safari", and DJ gets attacked by some tiny monkeys in "The Am-AH-zon Race". |
| 314 | * ManlyTears: |
| 315 | ** Duncan's performance in "Riot On Set" moves Chef to tears. |
| 316 | --->'''DJ:''' '' You're'' gonna teach me how to be tough? ''(snickers)'' |
| 317 | --->'''Chef:''' Tough guys cry! |
| 318 | ** After [[spoiler:Cameron defeats him]] in "Brain vs. Brawn: The Ultimate Showdown", [[spoiler:Lighting breaks down in the confessional, apologizing profusely to his father, [[WellDoneSonGuy who he believes he has let down]]]]. |
| 319 | * MarshmallowHell: |
| 320 | ** Cody falls into the Statue of Liberty's cleavage. The scene was cut out of the US version. |
| 321 | ** Cody gets this treatment many times by Sierra. |
| 322 | ** Noah gets this from Owen in the Yukon. |
| 323 | * MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: |
| 324 | ** Jo (the angry sergeant) to Brick (the sensitive sergeant). |
| 325 | ** Sky (athletic and tough) to Dave (germaphobic and wimpy). |
| 326 | * MassOhCrap: |
| 327 | ** All the contestants get one when their bus starts heading towards a cliff in the ''Action'' special. |
| 328 | ** Team Amazon gets one right before Owen, the human cannonball, destroys their boat in "Sweden Sour". |
| 329 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 330 | ** [[BrilliantButLazy Noah]] is a Hebrew name for "restful." Cody can mean "cushion", turning the scene in ''Action'' where Noah is sleeping with his head on Cody's lap into an AccidentalPun. |
| 331 | ** [[FrivolousLawsuit Court]]ney influences most of the competitions in ''Action'' by calling her lawyers. |
| 332 | ** Gwen means "white" or "fair", tying to her kind-hearted nature and her rather pale skin. |
| 333 | ** Mike's evilest persona is named "Mal", the Latin word for evil. |
| 334 | ** Ripper is named after the farts he rips out, as well as his first shirt. |
| 335 | ** Chase often tries to get Emma to notice him despite how poorly he actually treats her. In other words, he chases after Emma. |
| 336 | * MeaninglessVillainVictory: Alejandro falls victim to this in his ending of ''World Tour'', where he wins the game, but [[spoiler:his prize has been burned to ashes and he has sustained such severe injuries that he has to remain inside a life support machine]]. |
| 337 | * MechanicalAnimals: In "Pakhitew Island", it's revealed that all of the animals on the island are robotic in nature, due to Chris wanting to avoid dealing with animal rights groups. However, during the episode "Scarlett Fever", the animals are going haywire and attack the contestants. |
| 338 | * MedalOfDishonor: The eliminated camper is given a Marshmallow of Toxic Loserdom in ''Revenge of the Island''. |
| 339 | * MediumAwareness: When Courtney sees [[CirclingBirdies birds circling her head]] after slamming into a camouflaged wall, she shoos them away, prompting one to angrily chirp back at her. |
| 340 | * TheMentallyDisturbed: Mike is entirely defined by his [[SplitPersonality Dissociative Identity Disorder]]. |
| 341 | * MercyKill: The Villainous Vultures were allowed to vote off a member of the Heroic Hamsters in "Suckers Punched". Despite the fact that almost everyone else on the team was more of a threat, the Vultures voted off Sierra so that she could meet up with Cody and get back to her blogs again, hopefully regaining her "sanity" (and Cameron's). |
| 342 | * TheMillstone: |
| 343 | ** Scott [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this as part of his TeamKiller strategy. Since Scott knows how to [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate his teammates]], he successfully convinces his teammates to eliminate someone else, usually by him [[FrameUp framing]] his victim beforehand. |
| 344 | ** Leonard overly relied on his non-existent wizard powers and was the reason why Team Maskwak lost its first two challenges. |
| 345 | ** Ripper decided to break the farting world record while his team is being hunted by a raptor, giving away their hiding spot. |
| 346 | ** Bowie tries invoking this while working with Julia, but she proves to be too strong of an ActionGirl to be slowed down by him. |
| 347 | * MinionWithAnFInEvil: [[AlphaBitch Heather]]'s alliance members in ''Island'' are the [[DumbBlonde ridiculously naive Lindsay]] and cheerful farm girl Beth. |
| 348 | * MirrorReveal: When Dakota starts morphing into a radioactive monster, the other campers look horrified and Chris gives her a mirror. At first, she thinks it's just a picture of a scary monster but when Scott tells her it's a mirror, she gets even angrier at Chris for what he has done to her. |
| 349 | * MistakenForFakeHair: During the episode "Camp Castaways", Owen (after realizing he's alone for ''eleven minutes'') grows a full beard. Both Heather and Gwen try to pull it off, thinking it's fake. Owen wails in agony both times. |
| 350 | * ModestyTowel: Heather records her audition video when she's fresh from a shower and wrapped in a towel. The appeal is part of her strategy to get on the show as she promises good ratings if she's selected. She then walks out of view and throws her towel back behind her. |
| 351 | * MoralityPet: Courtney being one to Duncan is a subversion. She claims to be trying to reform him into a better person, but her competitive nature compels him to be even more aggressive towards the other contestants, and her overbearing attitude ends up alienating him to the point he eventually breaks up with her. |
| 352 | * MotorMouth: Izzy talks much faster than the rest of the cast, to emphasize her {{Cloudcuckoolander}} personality. |
| 353 | * MrFanservice: Justin and Alejandro are considered the most attractive male members of the cast and get plenty of shirtless scenes. |
| 354 | * MsFanservice: |
| 355 | ** Lindsay, who wears a tight tank top and a miniskirt most of the time, and has even dressed up as an admiral and ComicBook/WonderWoman. |
| 356 | ** Heather, who sports a ModestyTowel in several [[ShowerScene Shower Scenes]] and accidentally flashed her boobs during "X-Treme Torture". |
| 357 | ** Courtney, Zoey, and Sky's behinds are the subject of many noteworthy closeups in the series. |
| 358 | ** Julia, whose clothes consist of a tight tank top and ripped shorts that exposes most of her [[LegFocus long legs]]. Her audition tape also has a full-body clip of her in a bikini. |
| 359 | * MultipleEndings: Every season has separate endings for each member of the final two. While WordOfGod states that no ending is more canon than the other (with subsequent seasons avoiding mentioning who won the previous season), some fans consider whomever wins in Canada, the franchise's home country, to be the "canon" winner. However, since Canada also chooses the winner through online votings, some fans prefer to go with whose ending feels more like a HappyEnding. The possible winners for each season are as follow: |
| 360 | ** ''Island (2007)'': [[spoiler:Owen or Gwen]]. However, in Part 2 of ''Island (2023)'' is explicitly mentioned that [[spoiler:Owen]] is the very first winner of ''Total Drama'', making [[spoiler:Gwen]]'s ending non-canon. |
| 361 | ** ''Action'': [[spoiler:Duncan or Beth]] |
| 362 | ** ''World Tour'': [[spoiler:Heather or Alejandro]] |
| 363 | ** ''Revenge of the Island'': [[spoiler:Cameron or Lightning]] |
| 364 | ** ''All-Stars'': [[spoiler:Mike or Zoey]] |
| 365 | ** ''Pahkitew Island'': [[spoiler:Sky or Shawn]] |
| 366 | ** Averted for ''Island (2023)'', as in Part 1 [[spoiler:Priya]] is the season's canonical winner and there is no alternate ending where [[spoiler:Bowie]] wins. Likewise, Part 2 has [[spoiler:Wayne]] as the season's canonical winner, with no alternate winning endings for [[spoiler:Caleb or Julia]]. |
| 367 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: Songs about a person [[TongueOnTheFlagpole stuck to a pole]], stripping down guards (ItMakesSenseInContext), shearing sheep, and others never were so awesome. |
| 368 | * TheMusical: Singing is required whenever signaled in ''Total Drama World Tour'', which was originally called ''Total Drama: The Musical'', and Chris even states that any contestant that refuses to sing is automatically eliminated ([[{{Irony}} although this rule isn't strictly enforced, which means no one was eliminated for not singing anyway]]). |
| 369 | * MusicalEpisode: "The Princess Pride" in ''Action'' features a couple songs from "Princess Courtney". |
| 370 | * MustHaveCaffeine: Shawn in ''Pahkitew Island''. He drinks it all the time to stay alert since he's a paranoid doomsayer. |
| 371 | [[/folder]] |
| 372 | |
| 373 | [[folder:N]] |
| 374 | * NakedPeopleAreFunny: Owen walking around naked is a RunningGag, though most of the other characters also get a [[{{Pixellation}} pixelated]] nudity shot sooner or later. |
| 375 | * NaturallyHusklessCoconuts: The contestants have encounters with coconuts, which resemble the popular depiction of them, even though coconuts' natural habitat is nowhere near Canada. Justified the second time, as Chris mentions that they were leftover props from a dinosaur movie. |
| 376 | * NearDeathExperience: All of the contestants come pretty close to serious harm during the entire series, but some notable instances are: |
| 377 | ** Alejandro [[spoiler:getting trampled and drenched in boiling lava]]. |
| 378 | ** Trent falling 5,000 feet from a plane. |
| 379 | ** Cody getting mauled by a bear. |
| 380 | ** Cody getting swallowed by a shark (Sierra got him out). |
| 381 | ** Ezekiel [[spoiler:getting blasted out of a volcano on fire]]. |
| 382 | ** Scott [[spoiler:getting mauled by Fang]]. |
| 383 | ** Izzy and Owen getting crushed by the plane. |
| 384 | ** Sierra getting caught in the plane's explosion. |
| 385 | ** Julia getting stung by possibly thousands of bees, dropping off a massive mountain-like beehive, and falling off a waterfall all in quick succession. |
| 386 | * NerdyBully: Scarlett at first seems like a standard nerd who befriends Max the LaughablyEvil BigBadWannabe, but is later revealed to be a BitchInSheepsClothing and has tricked Max into hurting himself multiple times for her own amusement. |
| 387 | * NeverTrustATrailer: |
| 388 | ** The third season is a musical. Good luck determining that from any of the marketing past the original trailer and pamphlet. |
| 389 | ** An ad for the wild west themed episode of ''Action'' showed Duncan and Bridgette in a showdown. Not only did this not happen in the episode, but Bridgette had been eliminated by that point and did not make an appearance. |
| 390 | ** The original trailer for ''Revenge of the Island'' featured Staci, with a full head of hair, getting eaten by Larry. However, in the first episode of the season she loses her hair after receiving the Toxic Marshmallow of Toxic Loserdom and the previously mentioned scene never happens. |
| 391 | * NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: |
| 392 | ** Courtney's super strength in ''Action''. |
| 393 | ** Harold has a tendency to use random and usually obscure skills during ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman situations. |
| 394 | ** Alejandro's endless arsenal of talents as part of being TheAce. |
| 395 | ** Sierra's ancestral teachings go from Chris [=McLean=] Scholaring to basket-weaving. |
| 396 | ** Tyler's incredible finger strength. This one is an odd case, because it appeared out of nowhere, was reused in another challenge in a later episode, and then wasn't even REFERENCED when he tried to punch through a metal door. |
| 397 | * NewRulesAsThePlotDemands: Invoked by Chris invoking ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem. |
| 398 | * NewSeasonNewName: Every season has a different name in the form, ''Total Drama X''. Season 1 is ''Total Drama Island'', a ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' parody satirizing reality show and teen drama conventions; Season 2 is ''Total Drama Action'', satirizing movie conventions; Season 3 is ''Total Drama World Tour'' (called ''Total Drama Musical'' in development), featuring a HollywoodAtlas and the cast singing OncePerEpisode; Season 4 is ''Total Drama Revenge of the Island'', returning to the original island (now a toxic waste dump) with a new slate of contestants; Season 5 is ''Total Drama All Stars'', an All Stars season mixing the original cast with the one from ''Revenge''; Season 6 is ''Total Drama Pahkitew Island'', set on a new island with another all-new contestant roster; Season 7, which was the final season of TDI, is ''Total Drama: The Ridonculous Race'', featuring a new host and thirty-two new contestants, along with some classic favorites. |
| 399 | * NiceGuy: |
| 400 | ** Geoff ([[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism except during the second season]]), [[FriendToAllLivingThings DJ]] and Owen. |
| 401 | -->'''Gwen:''' ''(to Owen)'' Have you ever had a bad thought about ''anyone?'' |
| 402 | ** For the girls, Bridgette (that is paired with Geoff) and Gwen; she becomes much more friendly after her de-frosting in ''Island (2007)''. Lindsay too (that is more a SpoiledSweet). |
| 403 | ** ''Revenge of the Island'' adds Mike (at least when his [[SplitPersonality main personality]] is in control), [[{{Geek}} Sam]] and [[TeenGenius Cameron]], who, after he wins in the finale of said season, gives a share to every one of his friends and his enemies. Female examples are Zoey (except for Scott and Mal in All-Stars, she's nice to practically everyone) and Dawn; she may be a little off her rocker, but she definitely is friendly, kind and considerate. |
| 404 | ** ''Pahkitew Island'' has Ella. She is one of the nicest, if not the nicest character in the whole series; she is an Actual Pacifist who just wants to be everyone's friend. Samey too, in contrast to her {{Jerkass}} sister. |
| 405 | ** ''Island (2023)'' has [[LovableJock Wayne and Raj]]. They might not be the brightest, but they are always willing to lend a hand to their fellow campers at all times. Both are also very supportive of each other in all aspects. |
| 406 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: |
| 407 | ** The three hosts: Chris, Chef and (despite not hosting the original ''Total Drama'') [[WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace Don]]. Don is a {{Narcissist}} but unlike [[{{Sadist}} Chris]], he prefers contestants who follow the rules and shows genuine concern for the contestants whenever they're in danger (Nice). Chris is a remorseless {{Sadist}} who shows no regret for his actions (Mean). Chef is the In-Between as while he does sometimes participate in the torment of the contestants, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold he often goes out of his way to be nice to them on some occasions and even teamed up in alliances]]. |
| 408 | ** In Heather's alliance in the first season, Lindsay is {{The Ditz}}y nice, Heather is the AlphaBitch mean, and Beth is the in-between, who is usually as nice as Lindsay but has wielded the JerkassBall at times. |
| 409 | ** Among the Killer Bass guys, DJ is the GentleGiant nice, Duncan is the juvie punk mean, and Geoff is the in-between, who is a chill SurferDude most of the time but had AcquiredSituationalNarcissism during the Aftermaths in ''Action''. |
| 410 | ** On the Mutant Maggots, Zoey is the AllLovingHeroine nice, Jo is the JerkJock mean, and Anne-Maria is the in-between, who is a {{Jerkass}} at times, but doesn't go out of her way to anatagonize people like Jo does. |
| 411 | ** The three girls on Team Maskwak: Ella is quite possibly ''the'' nicest character in the entire series, Sugar is extremely self-centered and hates Ella for petty reasons, and Sky is levelheaded and focused on winning. |
| 412 | ** The three antagonists and [[TheStrategist strategists]] of the reboot's first season, which coincidentally are all on the Frogs of Death: Bowie is the nice (ruthless and manipulative when it comes to the competition, [[ALighterShadeOfBlack but generally nice outside of it]]), Julia is the mean (she's an AlphaBitch who isn't above bullying and making fun of people for no reason other than her own amusement), and MK is the in-between ([[DeadpanSnarker very sarcastic]] and unfriendly towards her peers, but wishes no harm to them [[EvenEvilHasStandards and is even horrified when something bad happens to other competitors]]). |
| 413 | ** The three-boy friendship on the Ferocious Trouts: Zee is the extremely easygoing and friendly nice, Ripper is the rude and immature mean, and Chase is the in-between, as he is shown to be an [[ItsAllAboutMe extremely selfish]] {{Narcissist}} with a soft spot for his (ex)girlfriend Emma. |
| 414 | * NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Chris Mclean unsurprisingly takes a bit of inspiration from Jeff Probst, host of ''Survivor''. |
| 415 | ** Possibly a coincidence, but in ''Island'', Owen is fat, frequently naked, AmbiguouslyBi, and [[spoiler: in [[MultipleEndings some countries]], the winner of the first season]] - all traits he shares with ''Survivor'' contestant Richard Hatch. |
| 416 | ** Sam's appearance and voice are pretty clearly modelled on Creator/SethRogen. |
| 417 | ** Dakota has a lot in common with Creator/ParisHilton, even sporting a similar last name (Milton). |
| 418 | * NocturnalCrime: When Mal first emerged, he would started off by taking control of Mike's body and causing crimes at night. |
| 419 | * NoFullNameGiven: The vast majority of the contestants are only ever identified by their first name, save for a scant few examples where we learn the last name of someone. |
| 420 | * NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Mixed with HypocriticalHumor when it comes to Cody, who rebukes and rejects Sierra's advances while continuing to pursue an unwilling Gwen. |
| 421 | * NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: |
| 422 | ** Anne Maria regularly threatens others with a beatdown, having done so to Chris, Jo, Brick, and Dawn. The only one she ever punched was Brick, although she was aiming for Jo, and it was an impressive throw. |
| 423 | ** Jo threatens Dawn with one at the end of "Backstabbers Ahoy!" when everyone thinks she's a thief, but is stopped by Scott with the promise Dawn will be voted off anyway. |
| 424 | ** Lightning threatens to perform one of these when Cameron wins the "Eat, Puke, and Be Wary" challenge by riding on his back. |
| 425 | ** Jose falls victim to Alejandro's fury in "Suckers Punched", which is payback for a lifetime of bullying and daring to call Heather's personality unattractive. |
| 426 | ** In "I Love You, I Love You Knots", Rodney taunts the chicken Clucky by telling her he eats six eggs a day. She wants to fight him, but Chris holds her back. Shortly after, she gets her claws on the shock control and deep fries Rodney and his team in retaliation. |
| 427 | ** In "Scarlett Fever", Sugar beats down and hog-ties Scarlett when the latter attempts to blow up the island. |
| 428 | * NoJustNoReaction: Tyler, when he sees the hairstyles Lindsay plans to give him in "Can't Help Falling In Louvre". |
| 429 | * NonGameplayElimination: |
| 430 | ** Played with Izzy in ''Island (2007)'' - she flees when [[TheCloudcuckoolanderWasRight a helicopter comes to arrest her]], meaning that no one is eliminated that round, but she later returns to the game and then gets voted out normally. |
| 431 | ** Two in ''Action''. DJ quits and Owen is ejected by Chris for [[spoiler:failing as his [[TheMole mole]]]]. |
| 432 | ** ''World Tour'' has ''five'' instances of this happening: |
| 433 | *** Duncan initially quits in the very first episode because he refuses to sing, as it's required by the season's rules. Duncan later comes back to the competition, having no problems singing this time. |
| 434 | *** Ezekiel has an informal "elimination" by Chris before the competition even starts, though he quickly returns to the competition... only to get voted out by normal means. |
| 435 | *** Harold quits in a misguided attempt to impress Leshawna with his "honor", Izzy is taken away by the military, and finally there's the immediate elimination of Sierra after she blows up the plane (in the same episode she was granted invincibility, no less). |
| 436 | ** In ''Revenge of the Island'' Anne Maria quits the game after acquiring a giant diamond in the mine. Chris lets her go, but then informs her that the gemstone is actually cubic zirconia and that it's practically worthless. |
| 437 | ** ''All-Stars'' has Duncan getting arrested after blowing up Chris' [[InsistentTerminology cottage]], thereby removing him from the competition and Cameron being removed due to his injuries. |
| 438 | ** There are three instances of this happening in in ''Pahkitew Island'': |
| 439 | *** Technically, Amy never gets voted off. It's Sammy who gets voted off twice, but the first time she tricks everyone into thinking she's Amy, sending her sister packing. Amy returns in "A Blast From the Past", but isn't allowed to stay because Chris doesn't want this kind of trickery again. They're both booted from that episode. |
| 440 | *** In "Mo Monkey Mo Problems", Max gets voted off, but he is spared by Chris personally to make room for Ella's elimination. Ella is on the day's winning team and should have immunity, but because she sang, which Chris earlier forbade her from doing while in the game, she is disqualified from the competition. |
| 441 | *** At the end of "Scarlett Fever", Scarlett is immediately disqualified by Chris for attempted murder and blackmail, declaring her "the most eliminated camper to ever be eliminated". Max is directly disqualified by Chris in the same episode for gloating about how he is the only true villain remaining after Scarlett's elimination, prompting Chris to decide that he has had enough of "evil". |
| 442 | ** In Part 1 of ''Island (2023)'', both Wayne and Raj have to be removed from the competition after they had been both attacked by a cassowary and then thrown off a cliff, [[CareerEndingInjury leaving them too injured to compete]]. |
| 443 | ** Two instances in Part 2 of ''Island (2023)'' |
| 444 | *** Nichelle quits the game after receiving an offer to star in three Hollywood Superhero movies. As it turns out, the offer was forged by Julia, who wanted to get back at Nichelle for insulting her, and therefore has no value whatsoever. |
| 445 | *** Ripper quits the game after Axel is voted off. He likely wasn't planning on quitting, but as he hitched a ride by grabbing Axel as the drone of Despair was taking her away, Chris considers it quitting on Ripper's part. |
| 446 | * NoOSHACompliance: Contestant safety is obviously an afterthought for Chris. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] at times. |
| 447 | ** The first season had numerous references to interns being injured or killed in various accidents, presumably due to a lack of safety precautions. Particularly noteworthy is the incident when an intern dies whilst testing part of the final challenge. Chris reacts by saying to himself, "That seems safe enough." |
| 448 | ** ''Action'' takes place in a rundown and abandoned film lot. |
| 449 | ** During ''World Tour'', the contestants travel in a [[TheAllegedCar less than airworthy]] Jumbo Jet. |
| 450 | ** Camp Wawanakwa also suffers from "No EPA Compliance" in ''Revenge of the Island'' due to the adverse effects of toxic waste to the local fauna and flora after Chris rents it out as a dumping ground to a "nice, family-oriented" bio-hazardous waste disposal company. Except for the "Fun Zone" on Boney Island, the camp is remediated by the time ''All Stars'' takes place. [[spoiler:However, the island sinks by the finale, due to possibly illegal fracking by Chef to create the final challenge.]] |
| 451 | ** Pahkitew Island itself is the trope incarnate [[spoiler:after Chris reveals that the island is mostly mechanical and artificial]]. |
| 452 | * NoodlePeople: |
| 453 | ** Many of the nerdier guys such as Harold and Cody tend to be scrawny. Some non-nerdy guys like Mike, Dave, and Bowie are also relatively scrawny. |
| 454 | ** Many of the girls who aren't either overweight (e.g., Sadie, Leshawna, Staci, Sugar, Millie) or muscular/athletic (e.g., Eva, Jo, Jasmine, Axel) often have slender bodies with slim arms and long legs. |
| 455 | * NotInFrontOfTheParrot: In "Haute Camp-ture", the eliminated campers are given the chance to vote off one of the remaining contestants. After a few characters carelessly mention Leshawna, a nearby parrot starts repeating her name, which Chris decides to count as votes against her. |
| 456 | * NotSoImaginaryFriend: Beth's boyfriend, Brady, shows up during the ''Action'' finale, despite every other character believing him to be just a lie Beth had come up with to impress them. |
| 457 | * NuclearMutant: After Chris rents out Wawanakwa to be used as a dumping ground for toxic waste at some point between the first and fourth seasons, the flora and fauna on the island mutate into monsters. These monsters terrorize the new campers that arrive at Wawanakwa during the fourth season. |
| 458 | [[/folder]] |
| 459 | |
| 460 | [[folder:O]] |
| 461 | * OddFriendship: |
| 462 | ** [[SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan DJ and Duncan]]. |
| 463 | ** [[{{Goth}} Gwen]] and [[NiceGuy Geoff]] during the end of ''Island''. |
| 464 | ** [[PomPomGirl Lindsay]] and [[IJustWantToHaveFriends Beth]]. |
| 465 | ** [[BigFun Owen]] and [[DeadpanSnarker Noah]]. |
| 466 | ** [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Noah and Izzy]]. |
| 467 | ** [[LovableJock Tyler]] and [[SassyBlackWoman LeShawna]] in the ''Celebrity Manhunt'' special. |
| 468 | ** [[LovableJock Tyler]] and [[StereotypicalNerd Harold]] in ''World Tour''. |
| 469 | ** [[{{Geek}} Sam]] and [[SpoiledSweet Dakota]] in ''Revenge of the Island''. |
| 470 | ** [[StereotypicalNerd Cody]] and [[ChickMagnet Trent]]. |
| 471 | ** [[TheMentallyDisturbed Mike]] and [[LoonyFan Sierra]] in ''All-Stars''. |
| 472 | ** [[MellowFellow Zee]] and either [[TheBully Ripper]] or [[{{Narcissist}} Chase]]. |
| 473 | * OffScreenTeleportation: During the song of "Super Crazy Happy Fun Time Japan", Leshawna looks visibly confused as Lindsay teleports from holding her left hand to her right hand. |
| 474 | * OhCrap: Nearly every contestant that winds up in the bottom two for elimination automatically gets this expression. |
| 475 | * OlderThanTheyLook: |
| 476 | ** Cody, Beth, Cameron, Dawn, Max, Priya, and MK are shorter and look considerably younger than their castmates, despite all contestants explicitly being 16. |
| 477 | ** Chris himself is on his mid-thirties, but looks like he is in his twenties. This becomes even more noticeable in ''Island (2023)'', which is stated to take place fifteen years after the original 2007 ''Island'': Chris is now in his early forties, but doesn't appear to have aged at all. |
| 478 | * OnceDoneNeverForgotten: |
| 479 | ** Gwen will likely never live down kissing another girl's boyfriend. That one scene led to Gwen getting voted out and all her allies abandoning her (with Sierra even referring to her as the "New Heather"), even though she'd been a good friend and strong competitor up until then. In ''All-Stars'', she is placed on the villain team entirely because of the kiss and becomes their TokenGoodTeammate. |
| 480 | ** Bridgette getting her tongue stuck to a pole when she tried to kiss Alejandro. Several characters love to ridicule her for it or are angry at her for her actions, even despite the fact Bridgette herself showed immense guilt and shame for what she did and was ultimately forgiven by Geoff, and how the couple moved on from it to happily continue their relationship. |
| 481 | * OneLetterName: |
| 482 | ** In "[[Recap/TotalDramaCelebrityManhuntsTDAReunionShow Celebrity Manhunt's TDA Reunion Show]]", Leshawna addresses DJ's Momma as "Mrs. M". The "M" might be short for "Momma", but just as well for her last name. |
| 483 | ** B goes by the name "B" because he is embarrassed by his official name, Beverly. |
| 484 | * OneSteveLimit: Generally adhered to despite the sheer number of characters, but technically averted, especially after "The Ridonculous Race": |
| 485 | ** There are two characters named Josh: the Celebrity Manhunt co-host and the mutated intern, though both are one-off characters and the latter is only seen in a single scene. |
| 486 | ** DJ is apparently short for Dev''o''n Joseph, and ''The Ridonculous Race'' introduces Dev''i''n. |
| 487 | ** There is a Dawn in ''Revenge of the Island'' as well as Don the ''Ridonculous Race'' host. |
| 488 | ** Brick's last name is Mcarthur, and ''Ridonculous Race'' introduces a contestant named Macarthur. |
| 489 | ** ''The Ridonculous Race'' gives us Emma and Mary, while the new 2023 season introduces a ''second'' Emma and Mary Kate (though the latter is OnlyKnownByInitials in the form of MK). |
| 490 | * OnlyKnownByInitials: |
| 491 | ** DJ, though at one point his mother gives him a FullNameUltimatum and calls him "Devon Joseph." |
| 492 | ** MK, who is only called by her actual name, Mary Kate, during her introduction scene. |
| 493 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Blaineley (Mildred) in ''World Tour'', Lightning (Rudolph) in ''Revenge of the Island'', Beardo (real name unknown), and much to her chagrin, Samey (Sammy) in ''Pahkitew Island'', and Zee (Hezekias) and Scary Girl (Lauren) in the 2023 reboot. |
| 494 | * OnlyOneName: Everyone except Chris ([=McLean=]), Chef (Hatchet), Harold (Norbert Cheever "Doris" [=McGrady=] V), Cody (Emmett Jameson-Anderson), DJ (Devon Joseph M.), Alejandro (Burromuerto), (Mildred) "Blaineley" (Stacy Andrews-O'Halloran), Dakota (Milton), Brick ([=MacArthur=]), Cameron (Corduroy Wilkins), (Rudolph) "Lightning" (Jackson), and Nichelle (Ladonna). |
| 495 | * OnlySaneMan: |
| 496 | ** During the first two seasons Gwen and Trent were often bewildered and annoyed by the behavior of their fellow contestants and the lunacy of some of the challenges but they both reached the "acceptance" stage by the time season three arrived. |
| 497 | ** Dave starts off as this, spending most of his time complaining about his teammates' strange personalities and bizarre behavior, but once he begins crushing on Sky his mental state steadily deteriorates. |
| 498 | ** Damien seems to be the only one to have never watched the show's previous seasons prior to entering. As a result, he's often the only one pointing out the unnecessary danger of the challenges, as everyone else seems accustomed to it. |
| 499 | * OnTheNext: Shown at the end of "Not so Happy Campers - Part 1". |
| 500 | * OperationJealousy: Employed for three episodes in a row in ''World Tour''. Courtney flirted with Tyler (to make Duncan jealous), Alejandro flirted with Courtney (to make Heather jealous) and Heather flirted with Duncan (to make Alejandro jealous). |
| 501 | * OptOut: Zig-zagged; it's played straight in some instances but subverted in others. |
| 502 | ** Heather and Gwen both refused to do certain challenges in ''Island'', but were convinced to participate by either Chris or their teammates. |
| 503 | ** Tyler tries to opt out of the "I See London..." challenge after Chris announces what it is. |
| 504 | ---> '''Tyler:''' We have to strip a ''dude?'' I'm out! |
| 505 | ** Noah tries to walk out on Blaineley's [[TheBusCameBack second chance]] challenge in "Aftermath Aftermayhem", but is forced to participate by his [[ReadTheFinePrint contract]]. |
| 506 | ** In "A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste", Anne Maria leaves Wawanakwa to cash-in a large diamond she got her hands on. It's only ''after'' she quits that Chris tells her that it's actually cubic zirconia, [[AllThatGlitters which is practically worthless]]. |
| 507 | ** In "Taste Buddies", Millie ditches the Wheel of Vomit before it even begins. |
| 508 | * OutOfFocus: |
| 509 | ** Eva, Katie and Sadie are the most egregious examples, as they do not get any attention in ''Action'' and ''World Tour'' outside of the Aftermaths. |
| 510 | ** Ezekiel, Cody, Noah and Tyler do not return for ''Action'' and of the four of them, Cody and Noah are the only ones who have any lines during the Aftermath episodes and each has only one line at that. |
| 511 | ** Beth, Justin, and Trent do not participate in ''World Tour'' after receiving focus and development during ''Action'', but still get a couple of lines and interactions during the Aftermath episodes. |
| 512 | * OutsideTheBoxTactic: A number of contestants (Courtney, Ezekiel, Topher, and Scarlett) develop tactics to win the game by going around its boundaries, although none of them reach a successful outcome. Starting ''Action'', Courtney lawyers up and gets herself on the show after she failed to qualify in "Total Drama, Drama, Drama, Drama Island", luxuries such as good food and a private bathroom, and even the occasional immunity. During ''World Tour'', Ezekiel becomes feral and from that point on he plays by his own rules to either get the prize money or kill Chris, while Chris occasionally cages and manipulates him to be an obstacle during challenges. Topher initially enters the game to meet his idol Chris, but starting "I Love You, Grease Pig!" his goal is to replace Chris. He steals his cellphone to contact the producers and foregoes challenges to focus on making calls. Scarlett also starts out as a normal contestant aiming for the grand prize, but once she figures out that the island is fully mechanical and has a control center, she ditches the game in favor of taking the island hostage. |
| 513 | * OverlyLongGag: In "Hook, Line and Screamer", DJ finds Heather shaving her legs and is so horrified he runs away screaming. The scene is followed by a 20-second-long montage of him fleeing through the bathroom wall, in the forest, up a cliff and ''underwater''. |
| 514 | %%** A few times with Owen farting. |
| 515 | * OverlyLongName: |
| 516 | ** Harold Norbert Cheever [[EmbarrassingMiddleName Doris]] [=McGrady=] the Fifth. |
| 517 | ** In ''World Tour'', Chris names one of the teams Team Chris is Really, Really, Really, Really Hot (Later on, Chris would give variations of the team's name because of the length, and the fact it's named after him, often shortening it to just "Chris is Hot"). |
| 518 | ** According to [[LoonyFan Sierra]], Cody's full name is Cody Emmett Jameson Anderson. |
| 519 | ** Mildred "Blaineley" Stacey Andrews O'Halloran. |
| 520 | ** In "Hook, Line and Screamer", the murderer is always referred to as "The Escaped Psycho Killer With the Chainsaw and the Hook". |
| 521 | ** One episode is titled Total Drama Yum-Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails. And the challenge: Total Drama Yum Yum Happy Go Time Candy Fish Tails Challenge (of celebration fun). |
| 522 | * OverlyNarrowSuperlative: Exaggerated in Sierra's song from ''World Tour'': |
| 523 | -->'''Sierra:''' Oui, my friends! Now I'm stuck telling you: If you fall in love with a boy on TV, and then audition to get on his show, and audition again, and finally get on his show, and be nice to him, and do nothing but kiss up, you will still, oui, end up in Paris, oui, feeling despaires, and the boy won't even take you outside! |
| 524 | [[/folder]] |
| 525 | |
| 526 | [[folder:P]] |
| 527 | * PaddingThePaper: In "Basic Straining", Chef makes all the contestants write a three hundred word essay about how much they love him. Duncan just writes "I like Chef very, very, very, very......... much". Duncan says he meets the exact word requirement, but this doesn't make Chef any less angry. |
| 528 | * PaintballEpisode: In "Paintball Deer Hunter", the campers are divided into groups of "hunters" and "deers". "Hunters" must track down the "deers" of the other team and shoot them with paintballs, with the winning team being the one whose campers have less stains by the end of the time limit. |
| 529 | * PaletteSwap: |
| 530 | ** Courtney's wedding dress in "Niagara Brawls" is a white recolor of her princess costume from "The Princess Pride", complete with the same tiara. |
| 531 | ** Chris' boat in "Newf Kids on the Block" is a green recolor of the Boat of Losers from ''Island''. |
| 532 | ** The cowboy hat Chris wears in "3:10 to Crazytown" is a grey recolor of Geoff's hat. |
| 533 | ** Lindsay's cowboy boots in "Runaway Model" are a blue recolor of the ones she wore. |
| 534 | ** The volcano at the end of ''World Tour'' is reused for the gum volcano in ''Dramarama'' and Honey Mountain in the reboot, with the lava recolored to pink gum and golden honey, respectively. |
| 535 | * TheParody: The show began as a clear parody of ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', satirizing reality show and teen drama conventions. Later island-based seasons are more character-driven, although they retain some of the satirical elements. |
| 536 | * ThePeepingTom: Cody tries to watch Gwen change into her swimsuit by looking through her cabin's screendoor in "Up the Creek", and "The Am-AH-zon Race" reveals that he owns a pair of X-Ray glasses which he evidently uses to spy on the rest of Team Amazon. |
| 537 | * PersonaNonGrata: As mentioned in Ella's audition tape, she's been banned from the mall ever since she sang all the ''World Tour'' songs in a one-person flash mob. |
| 538 | * PetTheDog: |
| 539 | ** When Sierra accidentally blows up the jet in "Awwwwww, Drumheller", Alejandro shields Heather from the blast. He is also concerned after Sierra recovers from the explosion. |
| 540 | ** Heather is infamous for faking these for ulterior motives, but she does occasionally play it straight: She consoles a heartbroken Courtney in "Greece's Pieces" and gives Sierra a headdress to cover her bald head in "Planes, Trains, and Hot Air Mobiles". |
| 541 | ** Chris allows Katie to reunite with Sadie in "Who Can You Trust?". Also, when Harold eliminates himself in "Super Happy Crazy Fun Time Japan", Chris wishes him luck without a hint of sarcasm. |
| 542 | * PettyChildhoodGrudge: In "Pahkitew Island", the teenage Amy abuses her twin sister Sammy because of a grudge she holds from their birth: Sammy took seventeen minutes to come out, which Amy claims was inconsiderate. |
| 543 | * PinkGirlBlueBoy: The mostly-female Team Amazon has a pink logo while the mostly-male Team Chris Is Really Really Really Really Hot has a blue one. |
| 544 | * PiranhaProblem: |
| 545 | ** Chris uses a piranha pit as an obstacle during a cycle race in "That's Off the Chain". |
| 546 | ** Lake Wawanakwa is stocked with piranha. In ''Revenge of the Island'', the piranha are mutated. |
| 547 | ** "The Am-AH-Zon Race" features both Owen and Tyler falling into a river and getting attacked by piranhas. |
| 548 | ** Piranhas are one of the dangers faced during the boat race in "You Regatta Be Kidding Me". Zoey purposely puts herself at risk of being eaten to make sure Mike is still Mike and not Mal. |
| 549 | * {{Pixellation}}: Played straight and for laughs when privates are exposed and when Leshawna flips off Heather in "Hawaiian Punch". |
| 550 | * PlayerElimination: In-universe. Besides player eliminations (which are predominantly VotedOffTheIsland), several challenges saw players drop out over time: |
| 551 | ** The Awake-a-thon was a challenge to see which player could stay awake the longest, with the winner ensuring their tribe invincibility. |
| 552 | ** "Dodgebrawl" featured a best-of-five dodgeball match, played with traditional rules - get hit and you're out. |
| 553 | ** "Say Uncle" was a challenge requiring players to last ten seconds in a grueling task (barrel of leeches, poison ivy wrap, etc.) or spend the rest of the challenge in stockades - ineligible for immunity. |
| 554 | ** In "Saving Private Leechball", each team was given leeches to attack the other side. If you got hit with a leech, you were out. Last player standing wins. |
| 555 | ** ''Pahkitew Island'' had another "last player standing" challenge involving balloons rigged with paint, itching powder, and other assorted nasties. |
| 556 | ** Also in ''Pahkitew Island'', the merge challenge was a game of hide and seek, where any player caught by Sugar (who was already immune) was out of the challenge, while anyone who got away until sunrise won invincibility. |
| 557 | * PlotArmor: It's obvious that some characters only survive as long as they do because the plot necessitates it. |
| 558 | ** The most obvious example of this would be Heather in ''Island'', who survives all the way to the Final 3 despite everyone outside of her alliance despising her and having multiple opportunities to vote her out. After the merge, she had to be repeatedly given immunity because it was the only plausible way for her to stay in the game. |
| 559 | ** Owen's actions in ''Island'' cost his team some wins. He was specifically blamed by Heather for losing ''The Sucky Outdoors'' because of his overexaggerated stories, his hunger essentially cost his team the win in "If You Can't Take the Heat...", and most egregiously in "Are We There, Yeti?", he chose to eat cinnamon rolls instead of getting him and Duncan immunity and Duncan is eliminated instead because Chef said so. |
| 560 | ** Duncan is among the most ridiculous examples. In ''Action'', he survives three eliminations, one of them out of pure luck. This was even enforced by Chris in ''World Tour''. In "Greece's Pieces", Duncan was actually voted off, but Chris decides to ignore the votes and keep him on, all for the sake of drama of him cheating on Courtney with Gwen. |
| 561 | ** Cody in ''World Tour''. After the merge, he can literally do nothing for two episodes (either due to lack of motivation or out of commission) and makes it as far as the final three. He was only safe from being voted out due to the other contestants' feud to target him. What's even more degrading is that he made it far due to other people helping him, namely Sierra, who continues to help him even after she is eliminated. |
| 562 | ** Ripper in the reboot. He annoys his team with his obnoxious personality, his "help" usually injures or disgusts somebody, and he cares more for his ToiletHumor than the challenges. He survives being in the bottom two against Axel (the others made her the leader, then voted her off), Scary Girl (Millie betrayed their alliance and swung the votes in his favor), and Damien (he asked to be eliminated, yet this also came after he saved his teammates' lives after Ripper put them in danger), and avoided another thanks to Wayne and Raj needing medical attention. He's booted long after the majority of the cast got sick of him. |
| 563 | * PlotHole: |
| 564 | ** In "That's Off the Chain", Duncan's bike has got an engine attached to it even though Heather was the only one who had access to one through Lindsay taking it from Chef's motorcycle. So how was Duncan able to get his hands on one? |
| 565 | ** In "Hide and Be Sneaky", Geoff tells Bridgette that he didn't go along with the guys' plan to vote her off. If that was the case, that means there would only be 3 votes towards Bridgette, Owen's, DJ's, and Duncan's. The exact same amount of votes that were toward Duncan (Bridgette, Gwen, and Leshawna) and Owen (Heather, Lindsay, and Izzy). So, how did Bridgette get vote off? |
| 566 | ** In "Mutiny on the Soundstage", having replaced Chris as the host, Chef has to run back and forth to ask both Beth and Duncan their respective questions, as Duncan has an advantage of several challenges. At one time, due to being tired, he stalls for time by asking Beth unnecessary follow-up questions about Gwen. Meanwhile, Duncan continues progressing with challenges. Who exactly was asking Duncan questions if Chef was with Beth the whole time? |
| 567 | ** How exactly did Dawn, a girl with supernatural powers and able to read everyone's auras, emotions and past, fall victim to Scott's manipulation? |
| 568 | * PoorCommunicationKills: {{Deconstruction}}. The reasons why the romantic potential between Sky and Dave bites the dust are, on one hand, that Dave won't hear anything negative about his chances with Sky and, on the other, that Sky does not directly tell Dave why she does not want to date him. Namely, she has her eyes on the prize first and foremost and moreover, she has a boyfriend at home that she wants to break up with properly before giving her and Dave a shot. Sky incorrectly presumes that Dave at least understands that winning takes precedence over all else, while Dave experiments with accomplishments and romantic gestures to get closer to her. In "Hurl And Go Seek", angry that she lost and that Dave brags about beating her, Sky tells Dave that he'll never beat her again or date her. And while she rightfully calls him out on not listening to her, she still doesn't grab the moment to say what Dave is supposed to listen to. A confused Dave asks to be her boyfriend and Sky rejects him, leading to Dave voting himself off. This comes to a head during the finale, where Dave returns as Sky's helper. Sky kisses Dave to motivate him and tells him that she does truly like him, but that she wants to give it her all to win first, omitting still any mention of her boyfriend. Dave is determined to get Sky her victory until Chris sabotages them by showing Sky's audition tape in which she mentions her boyfriend. Sky acknowledges that she messed up, but at this point Dave refuses to have anything more to do with her than ensure she loses. |
| 569 | * PoorlyTimedConfession: Alejandro invokes this several times to mess with the other team: |
| 570 | ** In "Newf Kids on the Rock", a cursed DJ has to kiss a fish for a challenge and he notices that the fish has an Egyptian symbol on it. Alejandro tells him that that kissing the fish will break his Egyptian curse, but by the end of the episode, it's revealed that Alejandro drew the symbol on the fish. In "Jamaica Me Sweat", with DJ believes that the curse is lifted, he starts doing well in the competition and he believes he can win. But when Alejandro "accidentally" confessed to Tyler the truth about the fish with DJ standing behind him, DJ starts doing poorly and eventually gets eliminated. |
| 571 | ** In "Greece's Pieces", he invokes Tyler into doing this during the competition to create a rift between Gwen and Courtney, who were starting to become friends. Tyler witnessed [[spoiler: Duncan and Gwen kissing each other despite Duncan being in a relationship with Courtney. Before the tiebreaker match can begin, when Tyler reveals the kiss to everyone, Courtney became furious at Gwen. And while their team won the challenge, Courtney began trying to sabotage her own team into losing so she can vote Gwen off.]] |
| 572 | * PortmanteauCoupleName: In-universe examples are "Duncney" (Duncan/Courtney), "Gigette" (Geoff/Bridgette), "Gwuncan" (Gwen/Duncan) and "Coderra"/"Siody" (Sierra/Cody). |
| 573 | * PostSupportRegret: Lindsay was Heather's willing BetaBitch throughout almost the whole first season, even disregarding others at her will and forgiving the meanest acts, until Heather betrays her in "That's Off the Chain", letting her get eliminated to save herself. Lindsay then realizes her fellow contestants were right about Heather being a ManipulativeBitch launches into one of the most appreciated scenes of the season, possibly the series as a whole, telling off Heather on live TV. |
| 574 | * PowerTrio: |
| 575 | ** [[FreudianTrio Geoff, DJ and Duncan]] (''Island (2007)''). |
| 576 | ** [[BeautyBrainsAndBrawn Bridgette, Gwen and Leshawna]] (''Island (2007)''). |
| 577 | ** [[TheHecateSisters Heather, Lindsay and Beth]] (''Island (2007)''). |
| 578 | ** [[BlondeBrunetteRedhead Izzy, Noah and Owen]] (''World Tour''). |
| 579 | ** Cameron, Mike and Zoey (''Revenge'' and ''All-Stars''). |
| 580 | ** [[TwoGuysAndAGirl Dave, Shawn and Sky]] (''Pahkitew Island''). |
| 581 | ** [[NiceMeanAndInBetween Zee, Ripper and Chase]] (''Island (2023): Part 1'') |
| 582 | ** [[ComicTrio Bowie, Raj and Wayne]] (''Island (2023): Part 2'') |
| 583 | * PragmaticVillainy: Heather is the BigBad of ''Island'' and always a villain; mean and hated by nearly everyone. However, she will not screw with her teammates if doing so would hurt the team's chances of winning a challenge ([[OutOfCharacterMoment except for in "Not Quite Famous"]]), and more than once has gotten mad at others for doing just that, most notably Courtney during ''World Tour''. |
| 584 | * PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy: Harold has mad beatboxing and rap skillz. |
| 585 | * PreviouslyOn: Every episode is started by Chris uttering this sentence, followed by a brief recap of the last episode's events. |
| 586 | * PrimAndProperBun: Scarlett sports one in ''Pahkitew Island'', given her intelligence. |
| 587 | * PrincessesPreferPink: Ella's dress, playing off her Disney princess parody. |
| 588 | * PrisonRape: In the post-flush short about Duncan, he's in jail and writing a letter home when his cellmate starts discomfortingly grinning at him and a cheery sound effect plays. Duncan ends his letter with a request to get him a lawyer and fast. |
| 589 | * PromWrecker: Discussed when Gwen lists "prom destroyer" as something that she wants to be in the song "Before We Die" in ''World Tour''. |
| 590 | * ProperlyParanoid: |
| 591 | ** In ''World Tour,'' it turns out that Courtney's and Trent's fears that Duncan and Gwen were becoming more than friends were pretty understandable after all. |
| 592 | ** In ''Pahkitew Island'', although Shawn's zombie phobia usually has him labeled as a CloudCuckoolander, it has proven useful on a fair few occasions. As if his BerserkButton is pushed, he can perform amazing feats. |
| 593 | * PsychicPowers: Dawn has the power to read aura. |
| 594 | * PsychoForHire: Chef Hatchet, and in a way, Duncan. |
| 595 | * {{Pun}} |
| 596 | ** As Sam is being mauled by grizzlies: |
| 597 | --->'''Sam''': I can't bear it! |
| 598 | ** In the same episode, as Sam gets [[GroinAttack struck in the groin]] by a booby trap: |
| 599 | ---> '''Chris''': Nuts? ''(offers Chef a bag of nuts)'' |
| 600 | * PunctuatedForEmphasis |
| 601 | --> '''Sierra:''' I! WANT! MY! KISS!/RESPECT! MY! CODY! |
| 602 | --> '''Tyler:''' NEVER! LEAVE! A MAN! BEHIND! |
| 603 | --> '''Chris:''' TOTAL! DRAMA! (current season's name)! |
| 604 | --> '''Mal:''' I'm just. GETTING. STARTED./HERE. I. COME! |
| 605 | * PutOnABus: |
| 606 | ** During the first three seasons eliminated contestants were sent to either the Playa des Losers hotel (season one) or the aftermath studio (seasons two and three) so that Chris could keep tabs on them in case he wanted to [[TheBusCameBack bring someone back into the competition]]. |
| 607 | ** Most of the first three seasons' cast gets this in ''Revenge'', with some showing up in single episodes. |
| 608 | ** With the exceptions of Owen, Ezekiel, and Izzy, none of the characters that did not compete in ''All-Stars'' appear during said season. |
| 609 | ** With Duncan [[spoiler: blowing up Chris's villa, to desperately prove to everyone (and himself) that he wasn't going soft. Caused him to be arrested, heading to "adult prison."]] |
| 610 | * PuttingTheBandBackTogether: In ''All-Stars'', Mike has to do this with his other personalities in their battle against Mal, starting with Chester in "You Regatta be Kidding Me". |
| 611 | * PyrrhicVictory: |
| 612 | ** [[spoiler:Heather and Alejandro]] in both ''World Tour'' endings. [[spoiler:Not only is the cash prize lost in a volcanic eruption, but Alejandro is covered in lava and forced inside the Drama Machine to heal. In Heather's ending, she also gets crushed by a volcanic rock before the screen cuts to static]]. |
| 613 | ** [[spoiler:Beth]] in the alternate ending of ''Action''. The money was used to pay off the damage done to the Mona Lisa in the special, and she's completely left out of the third season. |
| 614 | [[/folder]] |
| 615 |
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