User blog comment:TheDipDap1234/DipDap's poorly written "The Ridonculous Race" review/@comment-11643042-20151021185028

I'll just talk about the teams in elimination order.

Leonard and Tammy. They had some good jokes, but their humor gets old real fast. I would like to see one or both of them have an actual plot (aside from Leonard's... romance?... with Sugar). I didn't expect them to go home first, but somebody had to.

Gerry and Pete. Their old man jokes were pretty funny, but again, they would've gotten old if they had stayed around much longer. I really thought they would focus more on their rivalry and less on their age. That could be a good plot for a future season.

Mary and Ellody. Between Cameron and Scarlett, we've seen a lot of brainiac humor on this series already. Courtney's VA has a voice that lends itself well to both her part and that of a brainiac. I expected their brains to be their downfall from the start, but again, I didn't expect them to go home so early. I didn't really care about them though, so it was just fine.

Laurie and Miles. I am a carnivore and proud of it. And I have very little sympathy for vegans. Nothing personal, I just don't like that they push their agenda on the rest of us. But that aside, they were pretty well written characters. I can see a future season where we find out whether Laurie is defecting. I could also see a recurring gag in that same season where they get attacked by an animal, and subsequently scratch it off their preservation list (like they did with the shark.)

Tom and Jen. They were like a less annoying version of Dakota. I was kind of surprised to see them go home as early as they did. But I guess the writers needed the screen time for other plots, so as a team that didn't have one, they were gone. I hope we get to see them in a future season.

Kelly and Taylor. Taylor sharing a VA with Amy (and Samey) really helped to bring out her annoying personality at first. That, in turn, helped to show her development and her new respect for her mother. The subplot with Dwayne trying to make an alliance with them seemed a bit forced, but it sort of worked. And it created a parallel: the father and son tried to form an alliance with the mother and daughter, just like the sisters tried to form an alliance with the brothers (twins). And I'll be honest, I did NOT see the twist coming of Taylor's dad buying a trophy store.

Jay and Mickey. I'm going to get a lot of flack for this, but I really liked them. Their concept was original, and I really felt bad for them. In hindsight, I'm glad they didn't do another Cameron story, but I'm also glad they didn't go home early. They have some good potential for some funny reactions to the challenges. But you're right, their theme music is too sad and unnecessary.

Chet and Lorenzo. Their plot could have been resolved much earlier. We all knew what the ending would be, so they were a little boring. What would have been a shocker is if the kids were right and they actually DIDN'T become friends.

Rock and Spud. I thought they would be two mindless rockers, but instead we got one mindless rocker and one straight man. That was interesting. They really didn't have much of a plot, per se, but they were funny enough characters that I'm glad they lasted this long. Spud's delayed reactions, although inconsistent, were pretty funny. The only thing I don't get is what the final two stages of heartbreak are. I could have sworn Devin only went through 5 stages of the 7.

Dwayne and Junior. It's a cliche that the kid is smarter than the parents. It's also a cliche that teammates who don't like each other gain a mutual respect by the end of their season/series. What made this plot good is the fact that that wasn't all there is to it. The two of them make a good team. Dwayne is good at some things that Junior is not. They twist the cliches I mentioned above and make a great storyline out of it.

Owen and Noah. I agree that Noah acted OOC sometimes thanks to Emma, but come on, that's the realistic effects of love. I think. I feel like this plotline started just so that Noah could have a girlfriend, because literally everyone else from the first cast except DJ had a relationship/crush at some point. I would like to see him return with a girlfriend AND his sarcastic wit. As for Owen, he was as weird and carefree as ever. Having him take charge only reminds you that he's not just a ticking time bomb of noxious fumes.

Ennui and Crimson. From these two I learned an important lesson about TV writing: anything can be funny with a deadpan tone. These two started in a similar place as Gwen, but took it completely in the opposite direction. If this were real life I would stay as far away from them as possible, but because it's fiction I can say they were comedy gold. All I can say about their elimination is that it was well-timed. I REALLY didn't want them winning a million dollars.

Stephanie and Ryan. At first they were TDA Gidgette. Then they were Niagara Brawls Duncney. I would have been just fine with them being eliminated in any given episode. I guess since this season paralleled TDI the most, I should have anticipated them getting back together right before their elimination. I think we were all thinking the same thing: "Oh yeah, that's gonna last."

Carrie and Devin. Carrie was a good character. Devin had no personality whatsoever. But we don't really find out enough about either one of them to know if they'd make a good couple. All we know is "They've been best friends forever." I would have at least given them a backstory. Phineas and Isabella (Phineas and Ferb) is like these two done right.

Kitty and Emma. What do you get when you cross Amy and Samey, Courtney and Lindsay, and Dipper and Mabel (Gravity Falls)? Two of my favorite characters this season. They started out feeling like Amy and Samey, then started to feel more like Courtney and Lindsay (the voice acting helped a lot there), and ended the race more like Dipper and Mabel. I just wish they would have actually won the race, or at least teamed up with the Cadets to rid themselves of the Ice Dancers.

Jacques and Josee. Lately TD has been slacking in the karma department. Scarlett got tied up and blasted away with Max, but that got Max eliminated too and she really should've been arrested. Amy just got cheated out of the game by Samey. Sugar... lost... a talent contest. That's it. And Jacques and Josee's karma was... taking third place. (Unless you count getting crushed by a hot dog cart.) Anyway, other than that they were well done antagonists. I liked how they took a while before it was clear that they were, in fact, the antagonists of the season. I liked their open efforts to sabotage other teams and Don's attitude towards it. I'm glad they want to become better people now, but I'm not sure if they will. Sounds like another potential plotline.

Valentina and Sanders. From the moment they formed a full-on rivalry with the Ice Dancers I knew they would be in the finale. It's one of the patterns of the Total Drama franchise (Gwen, Duncan, Heather, Cameron (if you count Lightning as the villain), Mike, and Sky were all rivals of the main antagonist.) They played a good cop/bad cop routine, but what made it so good was their ability to deviate from those roles. And, frankly, they like each other. They felt a lot like real people. And I loved the twist where Valentina revealed all about herself.

Brody and Geoff. I knew Geoff was nice, but giving up the million dollars because someone else found the Don Box first? Wow! These guys deserved to come back and win it all. The only problem was, that was disaster for the plot. I feel like the Surfers coming back threw off the whole dynamic that the final 3 had. If they hadn't returned, I am 80% sure the Cadets and Sisters would have formed an alliance to boot out the Ice Dancers... which would have gone about as well as that of Gwen and Owen in TDI. I do NOT ship them together (what a sick, twisted thing to do!), but I guess I ship Brody x Valentina? I just hope he finds out her true identity someday.

Sorry for the long block of text, and I doubt anyone will read this, so ridonculousrace is the key. IMDZVVS TG UF ZLNYJQRB!!!!!! GJY FBCNVRUI ZA D VBNIRFUE! SUA KFTG!!!!!!!! PLG!!!!!!.!.!!!!!!!!