User blog:Fire Eater/Call to Save Total Drama

Another season of Total Drama once again comes and goes bringing with it almost nothing but disappointment.

Total Drama All-Stars has pretty much been a waste of time, much like most of the other seasons that have come to be since the end of Total Drama Island. This season has embraced most of what I think are the worst trends in the show since Island ended, and it is clear that no lessons have been learned from the show's past mistakes and missteps.

All of these problems go back to the direction of the series, all the way back to the crews that have produced it. This has been some of the most troubling and most inconsistent writing I've seen from any animated show by far, all the way from Action to All-Stars. All of it falls back on the teams that have put it together, and if we want the obvious frustration I've seen from almost the entire fandom to end, then I think it's time to make that known in a bigger way.

I think we should be trying to reach out to Fresh TV (And possibly even their affiliates, I don't know) to explain to them why we as fans of Total Drama have been so frustrated with so much of what is in the series. I think we need to reach out to them directly in what ways that we can and explain to them very clearly and very plainly why what they're doing doesn't work, and why we, the longtime adult fandom just can't get into what they are giving us. And if this show really has been rebranded for even younger kids, then the bad trends are even more troubling.

We need to reach out to the crew, we need to reach out to the studio. We need to make them aware of how frustrated we've become as a fandom. And I've seen it, I can see a lot of folks don't like what they're doing. Myself included, I'm especially tired of a lot of what they're doing.

But we can't focus on any single problem if any of us were to do this, we need to address the full scope of the problem. We need to hit on every factor that has contributed to the mess that these seasons have become. And I can think of quite a few that come up regularly:


 * Factual inconsistencies/Lack of continuity


 * Zero Character Development/Negative Character Development


 * Terrible Running Gags (Ex. Feral Zeke)


 * Lack of the mature themes/jokes from Total Drama Island


 * Becoming childish


 * Highly inconsistent character portrayals


 * Nonsensical plot points


 * Abandoned plot points


 * Focusing too much on the same people and neglecting others


 * 13-episode seasons as opposed to 26-episode seasons


 * Very inconsistent writing due to the rotation of the writers from episode to episode


 * Occasionally boring or silly challenges


 * Becoming too mean-spirited even by Total Drama's standards


 * At times too much romantic drama


 * Too many spoilers

And the list goes on and on. These are some of the most popular complaints I've seen emerge here and elsewhere. I'm sure there are others, but you know where I'm coming from. Long story short, the writing for Total Drama has been terrible. Most of us seem to like Island from what I've seen, but most of the seasons to follow in its wake were either awful or mediocre. Too often though, they have strayed into outright terrible and above all, not fun.

That's why I'm encouraging folks to reach out to the creators at Fresh TV directly in whatever way you may be able to. Be it writing letters or emails of concern, writing up petitions to forward to them, I have no idea what the answer is. But staying silent on the matter or keeping the criticisms strictly to the fansites and blogs likely won't address the problems we have with the show. So we need to explain to them, civilly and calmly, why we are frustrated and do our best to explain as thoroughly as possible why we have become so troubled by these trends.

I know Fresh TV's main site has a contact page and probably so does their affiliates if we must contact them. And I have heard the contact info of some other forms elsewhere in passing. In fact, you might even be able to say something to the producers of Total Drama themselves if you go to the homepage of Elliott Animation. Apparently they're closely tied with Total Drama's animation and production, and many of the show's top figures are close associates of that firm. Just remember the name, Elliott Animation.

I know what some folks might say, that I'm foolish to think I can reach out to this crew and that I can in any way make my case to a big name studio company, and that next-to-nothing is going to really change much even as we try to explain our problems with the show's ongoing direction to them. And well, all I can say to that is is that you probably are right.

However.........Staying silent and keeping such complaints private will likely do nothing to convince them of the fact that we as a fandom have grown tired of a lot of the bad trends of bad writing we have seen; only by speaking out to them in a clear and larger voice can any hope of a change for the better be made. I'm in some other very large fandoms and in almost all of those that I'm in, when mistakes were made, when fans were upset, it became known to their creators and steps were taken in these to address the concerns raised by large groups of fans. There are producers out there in other fandoms who care about the opinions of their fans and have tried to make things more serviceable to them in response to the criticisms they have received. I've seen it, it is not impossible for us and the producers of the shows we follow to communicate over stuff like this. Frankly, I have no idea if the crew of Total Drama will do the same, so far they have done anything but, and the bad trends from after Island are still ongoing. But there's the point, they think this is okay, and clearly most of us do not. Spelling out our complaints and concerns to them, making clear why we have grown tired of the things they've done in more recent seasons.............Doing that in larger numbers and by addressing the entire scope of the matter as opposed to only one or two parts of it may be the only way of getting their attention, if that's possible. A difference can be made if it has enough people demanding it, as seen through history.

I'm not pretending we'll have any success here. I'm not pretending that they will listen. But I personally cannot stay silent about the ridiculous amounts of bad writing and blown opportunities from this show anymore. We all saw Island, we know for a fact that they can and have done better in the past, so how come that isn't the case anymore?

As the longtime adult fandom, we still matter. Our say still matters in getting this show back on track. Island was a great season, and it deserves a few good sequels that actually do it some justice. We're all fans of this series, so let's show our appreciation for it in the best way we can, by telling them how it can be and why it should be a lot better. But again, for anyone who tries, we need to address the full scope of the matter, because this show's problems trace back to all of these bad trends all playing out all at once. Some worse than others but still, they've been working hand in hand through much of this.

This is just me encouraging people to say their piece to those who make this series, to make them aware of how we really feel upfront and directly. Even if no one else does I'm still gonna explain my concerns in whatever way I am able. But I certainly hope a few other folks might try to get their own word out if they know a way of doing so and have the time to do so. I'm just as tired of what's going on here as so many of you are from what I've seen here and elsewhere. Whatever our disagreements, it seems most of us agree that the show could do a lot better. That's what I'm working towards, and I at least want to try to explain some of these concerns regardless of the outcome. This fandom has a strong voice, and I hope we can find ways to use it in a way that helps the show.

That's all I have to say for now.