User blog:StrangerAtaru/Not So Happy Campers 1 - Where 22 Weirdoes Get Stuck Together

I'm somewhat new when it comes to the blogging thing, but I decided to do sort of one regarding my rewatch of "Total Drama Island" and various impressions and thoughts that came to mind as I watched. Luckily I just got the 4-Disc set...yeah, CN version, not the Canadian one, but what can you do. There may be some biases but I guess I'll try to point them out as I go through this.

Why the rewatch: I actually just got into the show a few weeks ago: I had been watching TDWT with the CN premieres and just marathoned all of TDI and TDA at once. But somehow marathoning doesn't quite get everything you need out of them, so I'm going to just go through them and speak of them as they play, with a bit of reference to the Wikia to sort of remember as I go along.

-The show begins with an introduction to the concepts of the series by Chris McLain, former star and now reality TV mainstay...weirdly Chris becomes funnier in a weird morbid way as the series progressed but you can probably have a hard time picking up on his obvious ego when first watching it. It sort of suggests the marshmellow ceremony would involve actual marshmellows on a stick...but usually they're just handed out as is.

-The introduction to the cast for the most part gives off first impressions, some of which get further developed, others are just deceiving masks. I'll probably go through all in order of intro here as well as any other lingering thoughts with each for the episode:


 * 1) Beth: Beth is a girl who really grew on me, particularly thanks to TDA, but at first you sort of see her as someone who more or less tries to make friends easily and knows a bit about Chris. It's hard to hear her with her braces lisp but...that's just for the season.
 * 2) DJ: Somehow DJ becomes a wackjob thanks to later seasons...you sort of see it a bit in this episode with his reactions to the roach, but he does seem more "normal" with his initial introductions.
 * 3) Gwen: The Daria of the franchise, ripping up paperwork from the start and completely against the game. Honestly Gwen is sort of a mixed bag character: she has some great moments but other times where she just feels like a jerk...but here, she seems to portray the better aspect.
 * 4) Geoff: It's really hard to pin Geoff down with his first appearance. He does seem to show his party side and isn't as malicious as his Aftermath persona becomes.
 * 5) Lindsay: Let me say this first: Lindsay is probably my favorite character on the show, both due to how she's homaging, mocking and destroying the dumb blond princess stereotype...and yeah, she is cute too. Lindsay in particular gets a lot of focus in the first episode as if she's already a star...then again she was probably going to be anyway with how the original concept was made out.  And...somehow her memory problems just seem to keep popping up, particularly with her and Tyler come TDWT...
 * 6) Heather: Cold, stuck-up queen bee from the start, not really showing her manipulative side just yet. It is weirdly ironic that it is Lindsay and Beth in particular in her glasses...scouting out alliance victims already huh?
 * 7) Duncan: Duncan is one of those characters who makes an easy first impression in this episode, mostly due to his anti-social nature and the whole established concept of him being in juvvie...oh and him hitting on Heather and killing a bug.
 * 8) Tyler: He really didn't say or do much in the first episode, outside make an idiot of himself and establish his "connection" with Lindsay.
 * 9) Harold: I like Harold from the start due to him knowing that the summer-camp works better for him than some American Idol/Got Talent type competition. Strangely enough his problems with Duncan are already starting...
 * 10) Trent: Not much really to say: he also knows of Chris, and meets with Gwen...and thus the nightmarish paring wars begin.
 * 11) Bridgette: She seems to just portray herself as "the cool girl" at the get-go, the one who seems to take it easy no matter what. Honestly I love Bridgette but her character just feels quieter than others to really get going. (and yeah...she meets Geoff...thank goodness this isn't TDA)
 * 12) Noah: Honestly Noah is a character I couldn't really get into until TDWT...it's like he actually works better with someone to work off of in Owen than just insulting people from the start. Here he just comes off like...well a jerk.
 * 13) LeShawna: Large, proud and making weirdos (well Harold) inquisitive...yeah, that's LeShawna's first impression.
 * 14) Katie: (See below)
 * 15) Sadie: I have a lot to say about these two...but I'll wait until I get to a few other episodes. As is, I like them...but sometimes their over-reliance on one another does get a tad annoying.
 * 16) Ezekiel: Seeing what has happened with TDWT, it's just sad to see such a funny, full of potential character become...Gollum. He just seemed like a funny, congenial oddball at the start and really could have developed well had the show allowed for it.
 * 17) Cody: Like Noah, Cody does seem a tad more like a jerk at first, mostly due to his attempt to be a ladies' man with every last one of them...even Eva! He does mellow out though...even if for some reason it's really hard to find his personality once Sierra is brought onboard.
 * 18) Eva: Eva is...well, Eva. Let me be honest: I do like "atheletic girl" characters...but somehow she does show her temper already somewhat that will be such a problem with her.
 * 19) Owen: Everyone knows who he is by now, pretty much the face of the franchise thanks to CN. Though...the bits about his "preferences" does disturb me somewhat, at least he has his eating and fart jokes.
 * 20) Courtney: After Lindsay, Courtney is probably my favorite character...and you sort of see though that there is a tad of phoniness with her delivery of nice-ities at the start. Though it really is hard to say: is she being sincere in being nice at first...or is she already trying to gain the trust and respect of the others? (though I found it funny Chris mentioned "C.I.T." in this episode...and she doesn't just burst out of nowhere about it).
 * 21) Justin: Justin...scares me. And this is pre-TDA.  Though...you do sort of wonder of all the people attracted to him, Katie and Sadie fell the easiest...
 * 22) Izzy: And then there's Izzy. She crazy but not super-insane like she gets later on.  Heck...between this episode and the next few, she acts almost normal and unassuming, making you forget about her smashing into the Dock of Shame!

-The picking of the cabins seems to just keep emphasizing Cody as a jerk...while the roach incident I did mostly mention prior under Duncan. (though it was funny Tyler said "he could have done it too". -And then there was Chef. I sort of forgot he emphasized his soldier nature early on with the instructions...or that he was worried about Noah's skinniness...or that Lindsay was such a picky eater.

That pretty much wraps up the episode...without getting into the cliffhanger. Hopefully as I go along, I hope to do something like this with all of TDI...and then maybe TDA once it's on DVD.