One Flu Over the Cuckoos

'''The contestants take part in a medically themed challenge. Somebody tries to make an alliance with two others, to counter their enemy. Then, when a deadly disease breaks out, things go critical on set. Though two partiers end up saving the cast. Then someone's acting skills gets them the reward.'''

Plot
The episode opens with the castmates returning to their trailers. The Screaming Gaffers are still discussing Gwen’s departure, as they comment on their shock about the deal she made with the other team in the previous episode. The Killer Grips then watch Izzy as she begins to reminisce about the features of the film lot that she recalls. Yawning, Lindsay declares that she is going to sleep, but finds the door of the trailer to be locked. The guys' trailer is also locked, confusing and irritating the castmates. In the midst of their confusion, an unexpected ambulance drives past. This frightens Izzy, who believes it to be the police. The ambulance leaves behind a stretcher with a body-like shape on it, resting underneath a cloth. The figure reveals itself to be Chris, who tells the castmates to calm down, as they "aren’t dead... yet."

Chris then tells them that he is only there to prepare them for the following day's challenge. He then throws them each a thick textbook, claiming that it is "the total of eight years of medical school." The contestants are then told that tomorrow they will be "playing doctor." Duncan is then shown in the confessional, talking about how much he dislikes doctors, but how he enjoys playing doctor. Harold is shown next, talking about how he could be a doctor if he wanted, as he has contracted over three hundred known diseases. The castmates are shown again, where Chris tells them that they should memorize the entire content of the textbooks by morning. Heather then protests that it is already very late, to which Chris just begins to talk about how "no medical school all-nighter is complete without pizza." Chef then brings a large stack of pizzas to the contestants, which they are shocked to find out is actually quite good, although Leshawna is slightly suspicious.

Meanwhile, DJ is shown in the kitchen with Chef, worried that his team will wonder where he is. Chef then tells him that, as long as the others are eating, they won't think twice about where DJ is. Chef then convinces him to continue to make the pizza. Beth and Justin are then shown, along with the rest of the Killer Grips, eating pizza and studying around a fire pit outside of the trailers. Justin asks Beth if he squints when he reads, to which she replies, blushing, that she doesn’t know, as his shirt is distracting her from answering. Justin then, before Beth could even complete her sentence, throws off his shirt, flustering her. She then slaps the textbook out of his hands and offers to read it to him, as to "spare his beautiful eyes." She continues to stare at Justin as she begins to read Chapter One.

Owen and Izzy are then shown, sitting on the opposite side of the fire from Beth and Justin, also studying and eating. Owen begins to tell Izzy about how he and his brothers had once had a "no-hands-pizza-off," saying that she "should have been there." Izzy then decides to "pretend that she was" there, and crouches on the ground, beginning to tear apart another pizza, still in the box, with her teeth. Due to her getting remains of the pizza everywhere, the other team members begin to become angry as they get covered in the pizza sauce. Izzy is then shown in the confessional, talking about how she is glad to be back on the show. She also claims to have been top of her class in pre-medical school, saying that the challenge will be a snap. Owen is then shown, talking about how great it is to have Izzy back, comparing it to Christmas, but with pizza, portmanteau-ed as "Pizzmas."

The Screaming Gaffers, besides DJ, who is still with Chef, are shown in the dining hall, also studying and eating. Duncan is shown doing more eating than studying, claiming that the pizza is "rad," while Harold questions whether Leshawna is going to have any of the pizza. Leshawna is then shown in the confessional, talking about how she loves pizza, but saying that her digestive system does not cope well with dairy products. The camera then returns to showing the team, while Duncan continues to eat the remains of the pizza. Harold tells him to stop, as DJ might want some. At the mention of their absent teammate's name, Heather suspiciously begins to question where DJ is. DJ overhears their conversation and quickly slips out of the kitchen and into the dining hall, claiming he was there the entire time and requests a slice of pizza. After receiving one from Duncan, DJ realizes how good it is and compliments himself.

Leshawna then rises from the table, telling her team that she doesn’t want to study any longer, saying that, as the following day's challenge is a reward challenge, they don't need to work so hard. Duncan agrees with her and follows Leshawna out of the dining hall. In the confessional, Heather is then shown talking about how she could have forced them to stay, but claimed that they couldn't help the team win unless the challenge was about piercings or plus-sized shopping.

Leshawna and Duncan are then shown walking towards the trailers. Leshawna then stops Duncan and begins to talk about starting an alliance as, now that Gwen is gone, they need to "watch their backs" around Heather. She suggests that they, along with Harold, should form such an alliance in order to band against her and gain an advantage in the game. At the mention of involving Harold, Duncan laughs. Leshawna then becomes irritated as Duncan walks away. The following morning, all of the castmates, save Duncan and Leshawna, are exhausted from their all-nighter. While Harold complains over exhaustion and Lindsay claims her "brain is full," Duncan and Leshawna are flaunted their night's sleep, much to the others' annoyance. The castmates are then lead into a studio by Chris, who begins to prepare them for their challenge. He provides them with doctor-like outfits, asking if they are ready for the challenge. Heather claims that some are more ready than others, indicating Leshawna. Leshawna responds by saying that she made had own choice, while Chris grows excited over the tension between them, calling it his "favorite." Chris then explains their challenge, which he titles "Visiting Hours." He tells them that the reward given to the winners can only go to one person, who, when Duncan asks who 'the one' will be, Heather calls "the person who most directly contributes to the win." In the confessional, Heather is shown talking about how she will be the one who will receive the reward.

Harold is then shown, asking Chris what the reward is, to which Chris compliments him on being perceptive, but goes straight into describing the challenge, rather than answering his question. The challenge is to assemble a cadaver, and when Lindsay asks if he means a dead body, Chris replies that he means a giant dead body. Chris then explains that there are two tanks, containing the dismembered parts of a cadaver. Once a player answers a question, whose answer they would have learned from the studying they had done, they will attach themselves to a harness and dive into the tank to hopefully retrieve a part. The part will then need to be snapped into its correct place on the platform. Once the cadaver is completely assembled, the teams will pull them to the roof, where they will be reanimated by a blast of lightning. The first team to do so was to win the challenge.

The challenge then begins when Chris asks the first question, which Beth correctly answers. Once she is lowered into the tank, she finds the electric eels, which Chris has forgotten to mention. Chris then tells the contestants that if they get shocked three times by the eels, they will lose the chance to retrieve a body part. Despite, Beth still manages to retrieve a part and the challenge continues. Heather answers the next question correctly and receives a part, which Harold attempts to catch, but he is trampled by Duncan, who catches it instead. The next question is correctly answered by Owen, who gives a correct, but ridiculous-sounding answer, after which, Chris admits to the camera that he had changed some of the terms in the books he had given to the contestants. Owen then attempts to receive a part, but the rope attracted to his harness breaks, dropping him into the tank.

This is followed by a number of clips of castmates answering questions and attempting to receive parts for their cadaver, or "FrankenChris." The first one is of DJ, correctly answering a question, but he appears to fail to receive a part. Lindsay is then shown answering the question and retrieving a part. They then show the two teams assembling their cadavers, as they collect more of the pieces over time. Izzy is then shown answering a question correctly, followed by Owen, but it is not shown whether either of them did or did not receive a part. They then show Duncan, on the harness, attempting to pull out a piece of the cadaver. Harold is then shown, being attacked by eels, but managing to retrieve the head of the FrankenChris, leaving them in need of only one more part, while the Killer Grips still need two.

Next, Heather is shown, retrieving the final piece for the Screaming Gaffers. She tosses it to Duncan, who, before setting it in the platform, takes advantage of a distracted Harold by pulling down his pants. Harold then angrily yells at him, before Leshawna rushes over and tells them to separate. Harold then hops away, while Leshawna tells Duncan to "stop getting up in Harold's grill." Leshawna then tries to comfort Harold, telling him that Duncan was "just playing." Harold then claims that Duncan was lucky that he didn't attempt to use karate on him, and beings to rapidly move his arms, which forces his pants to fall down again. Leshawna then tells Harold that she thinks that they and Duncan would make a great alliance. Harold refuses, calling Leshawna 'nuts,' then hops away, annoying Leshawna.

Harold is then shown in the confessional, questioning why Leshawna even talks to Duncan. He insists that Duncan is a "worthless punk" or his name isn't "Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V." Harold then hurriedly tells the camera person not to tell Duncan about the "Doris" part.

They then show the contestants, who are attempting to complete the challenge. The Screaming Gaffers then attempt to raise their completed cadaver to the ceiling quickly, as the Killer Grips are only shortly behind them. The Killer Grips soon begin to raise their platform too, with Justin, Beth and Lindsay pulling, while Izzy and Owen watch. Izzy, overexcited as she watches the completion of the challenge, bites Owen on the arm only to discover an "icky" sore on his arm. Izzy then observes that he is 'burning up,' right before Owen lets out a "lemony burp." Justin quickly observes those as symptoms of a disease in the book, which Beth says is "Mortatistical Crumples Disease" which she recalls is fatal. Adding to the fear and shock already in place from this news, Heather adds that is it also highly contagious. Chris then quickly removes himself from the room, blocking the 'only' exit. Outside of the door, Chris reveals that there is "more to the disease than either team knows."

Inside of the studio, Duncan expresses his confusion at how Owen could somehow get a deadly illness. Owen then nervously wonders if it is "just the twenty-four-hour kind of fatal." Izzy then worriedly swears to him that she'll find a cure. Harold then declares that they need to quarantine Owen, while Beth has already blown up the quarantine bubble for him, and Duncan, Justin, and Leshawna are already lifting him and carrying him to the bubble. Heather then spots another sore on DJ, who claims that it must be a mistake, but is quarantined all the same. Owen then begins to say he is getting claustrophobic, to which Lindsay wonders if that is another symptom. Owen the beings to roll around in the bubble, claiming he wants to get out.

Next, Harold decides that they need to confirm that no one else has been infected. He begins to list off the symptoms of "Mortatistical Crumples Disease" which are explosive diarrhea (which, once he says it, sends Lindsay running into the port-o-potty inside the studio), itchy lips (after which Justin begins to feel like his lips are on fire, and they become inflamed as he itches them), sudden hot flashes (which Beth is shown currently experiencing), seasickness (which then has Heather throwing up), speaking in tongues (which, after he says such Izzy is shown speaking in gibberish), and temporary blindness. At first, no one has the last ailment, until Harold crashes in to Izzy by accident, causing him to believe that he is suddenly blind.

Leshawna is then shown in the confessional, claiming that, although the challenges are meant to be dangerous, she doesn't think they'd actually let one of the contestants die. However, Chris is then shown in a video watching/editing room, saying that, although you'd think they wouldn't, it would be very good for the show's ratings. The contestants are then shown, and, all, but Duncan and Leshawna think they are fatally ill. Duncan attempts to take a moaning Harold's temperature with a rectal thermometer, to which Harold tells him that he is the sick one. Yet, Duncan continues to attempt to put it inside Harold's mouth until Leshawna intervenes, giving him a glass of water.

Duncan then observes that he and Leshawna are the only two who are not sick, yet they are also the only two who hadn't studied all night. Leshawna agrees that she is starting to question the disease also, and says that they need to see the textbooks, as there must have been a detail that the others missed. Duncan then reminds her that the only exit is sealed, but Leshawna then finds another exit by lifting themselves up on the platforms. Duncan is convinced, despite his claim that he "isn't a fan of heights," to join Leshawna on the platform. Once they are outside of the studio, they split up, Duncan going to get a textbook, while Leshawna goes to the kitchen. Leshawna is then shown in the confessional talking about how she takes a practical approach to both Total Drama Action and life.

Meanwhile, the sick contestants are starting to reach their breaking point. Owen, still in the bubble, is crying, DJ, also still trapped in the bubble, desperately needs to go to the bathroom, Justin is complaining about how horrible his lips look, Beth is offering to kiss Justin before he and she both die, and Heather is writing her will. Amidst all of the chaos, Duncan and Leshawna reenter the studio, bringing the truth about the "disease." Duncan tells them that he can tell that all of their textbooks had been forged and filled with fake information. However, at that moment, Duncan also experiences diarrhea, and runs into the bathroom.

Harold then tells Leshawna that it can't be all fake, as none of them are pretending to be sick. Leshawna then tells them that the cheese in the pizza was full of itching powder and laxatives, which explains most of the symptoms. The sores are also noticed to be only slices of pepperoni. DJ then was let out of his bubble, allowing him to use the restroom. Owen, however, was still trapped inside, only to be let out by Izzy, who unfortunately had timed letting him out right after he had farted. This greatly disturbed the other contestants. The other symptoms, such as temporary blindness, are questioned until Izzy diagnosed them as "first year medical school condition," saying that their over-studying and lack of sleep had made them believe they had the disease.

Chris then comes down on a platform, announcing that the Screaming Gaffers had won, due to Duncan and Leshawna. He tries to mention their reward, but then remembers he had forgotten it, and leaves for a brief moment. During that time, Leshawna mentions the possible alliance to Duncan and Harold, saying that she just wanted it to "get Heather out of her face." Duncan then reveals that he knows of Harold's middle name being "Doris" by teasing him. This is followed by Harold in the confessional, accusing the camera person of telling Duncan. He says that he won't reveal any more secrets of his, but ends up accidentally revealing them anyway. Harold is then shown refusing to be in an alliance with Duncan, though he says he would have accepted if it were just Leshawna. Leshawna then angrily exclaims that they are both fools.

At this point, Chris returns, telling them that their reward is to spend time with their best friend. The team begins to argue over who will receive the award, until Leshawna begins to cry, telling them that she was so afraid of losing them. A shocked Heather admits that Leshawna "does have a heart," while Duncan admits that she had contributed the most to the challenge. She is then voted unanimously by the team to receive the reward, to which she tells them that they are all beautiful people. She then leaves the studio, crying, and gets into the lame-o-sine to greet her best cousin Leshaniqua. Her cousin expresses shock that she had been crying, saying that she never cried. Leshawna, redoing her makeup, said that she had just faked it in order to win the reward. She then expresses how glad she is to be away from the reality show for a short while. Chris responds to her negative attitude towards the show by saying that he hopes her morals and attitude will improve. He then signs off the show.

General

 * Pictures of everyone whom the Screaming Gaffers are close to are shown:
 * Duncan's parole officer (who is patterned after Tyler's original design from Camp TV)
 * DJ's mother
 * Heather's mother
 * A male in a wizard cape who Brian Froud, Harold's voice actor, has named "Philonius." (it is unknown if he is a relative or friend of Harold's)
 * He resembles Harvey, an aftermath guest, only with red hair.
 * Leshawna's favorite cousin, Leshaniqua, appears. (her design is the same as Leshawna's original design for Camp TV, but with a slightly different wardrobe color)
 * When Izzy hears the sirens in the beginning of the episode, she screams out "Cops!" and hides in a nearby bush, pointing out that she may still be on the run from the RCMP.
 * Heather seems to show signs of change from the previous season, as she voted Leshawna to have the spa trip over herself. She also seemed compassionate when she saw Leshawna cry.
 * The symptoms that the cast experienced were:
 * Owen had a sore on his arm, a 'lemony burp' and a fever.
 * DJ also had a sore on his arm.
 * Justin's lips were inflamed.
 * Harold had temporary blindness.
 * Beth was having hot flashes.
 * Heather was sea sick.
 * Lindsay (and eventually Duncan) had explosive diarrhea.
 * Izzy was speaking in tongues.
 * It is revealed that Heather has a sister, in addition to her little brother, Damien. Like her brother, Heather also detests her sister.
 * Throughout this episode, Leshawna tries to form an alliance with Duncan and Harold. They both turn it down for obvious tensions.
 * It is unknown why Leshawna didn't pick DJ to be in the alliance after each of them refused. She is seen to be coming back to Harold, suggesting that she wouldn't feel good about being in an alliance against him. However she could have easily made an alliance with herself, Harold and DJ.
 * Leshawna shows more love towards Harold in this episode, despite her insistence that she does not like him.
 * Duncan mentions in this episode that he hates heights. Despite this, he showed no signs of being scared to jump off the cliff in Not So Happy Campers - Part 2. He may have been lying about his fear of heights to get out of the challenge.
 * Harold reveals that his full name is "Harold Norbert Cheever Doris McGrady V."
 * This is the first time a contestant's full name has been revealed. Others revealed since then include DJ, Cody, Alejandro, Brick, and Cameron.
 * Leshawna lies her way to the spa in this episode. This has been mentioned several times in other episodes:
 * In Masters of Disasters, her team finds out she lied.
 * In Full Metal Drama, her team doesn't trust her due to this.
 * In Ocean's Eight - Or Nine, she is locked up in the safe because her team stopped caring for her due to this.
 * In Million Dollar Babies, it is revealed she talked about the other castmates at the spa, making them mad.
 * In Dial M for Merger, at the beginning, everyone is still mad at Leshawna due what they found out in the previous episode.

Continuity

 * This is the first episode in Total Drama history in which Gwen does not appear, although she was mentioned by Duncan and Leshawna.
 * Harold is again seen in his red thong underwear, last seen in If You Can't Take The Heat....

Goofs

 * All contestants should have technically suffered from all the symptoms Harold mentioned since everyone ate the pizza except for Leshawna.
 * When the Screaming Gaffers were putting the last hand onto their 'FrankenChris', it was thrown to Duncan who then got distracted with pantsing Harold with it, and never put it on the platform. Then, several seconds later, Duncan was thrown the last arm, with another hand connected to it.
 * Both Heather and Harold were shocked three times by the eels, but were not disqualified, although Chris might have meant three attempts, in all of which you were shocked.
 * Before the challenge, the contestants had to wear uniforms. However, after the break, when they all suspect Owen of being contagious, their uniforms are missing and they don't return anywhere later on.
 * When Izzy bites Owen's arm and spots the red sore (pepperoni), it is on the inside of his arm near the armpit, but when he puts his arm down, it is on the outside of the arm where Izzy bit him.
 * The information on a digital television says that the title of this episode is 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo' instead of 'One Flu Over The Cuckoos'.
 * After Chris explained the challenge's reward was for one person, the Screaming Gaffers were fussing over why it was for one person only. At this time, Duncan turns, and his nose piercing is on the wrong side.
 * When everyone is sick except Duncan and Leshawna, Leshawna tells Duncan to climb up the chain, and he says he's not a big fan of heights. Yet, in the previous season and episodes, there was no sign of this fear from him whatsoever.
 * Leshawna states that she never cries, yet she is seen crying over Duncan's acting in Riot On Set.