Total Drama: Revenge of the Island

Plot

The season is a fictional reality show following thirteen new contestants at Camp Wawanakwa, a summer camp on a fictional island in Muskoka, Ontario. The island, abandoned for two seasons, has been used as a toxic nuclear waste dump, making it the setting for brutal challenges. The campers compete in challenges to avoid being voted off, spending nearly two weeks (13 days) on the island. The winner receives C$1,000,000.

The competition is hosted by Chris McLean, assisted by Chef Hatchet. At the start, the campers are split into two teams: the Mutant Maggots and the Toxic Rats. Each episode features a challenge where one or more campers can win invincibility for their team. The losing team votes off a member at an elimination ceremony, where Chris gives marshmallows to safe contestants and a radioactive marshmallow to the eliminated one, who is then catapulted from the Hurl of Shame.

An eliminated camper can stay if they find a wooden Chris head, in which case the contestant with the second most votes is eliminated. About halfway through, the teams are disbanded; the winner of each challenge receives invincibility, and a camper without invincibility is voted off. This continues until two players, Cameron and Lightning, remain for a final contest.

Episodes

Total Drama: Revenge of the Island premiered on Teletoon and Cartoon Network in 2012. Teletoon aired it in Canada on Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m. EST from January 5, 2012, to April 12, 2012. In the United States, Cartoon Network began airing it on June 5, 2012, on Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m. EST. The first worldwide airing was in France via Canal+ Family. The producers created two alternate endings for the final episode; the winner varies by country. Cameron is the original winner in Canada and also wins in many other countries, while Lightning is the original runner-up in Canada but wins in the United States and the Philippines. When the finale aired in the United States, the penultimate episode and finale were combined into a one-hour finale, and viewers could vote for a winner on Cartoon Network's website, though Zoey places third regardless.

Characters

This season features a new set of thirteen contestants: Anne Maria, B, Brick, Cameron, Dakota, Dawn, Jo, Lightning, Mike, Sam, Scott, Staci, and Zoey. It is the first time the series completely replaces all existing cast members. Their audition tapes are available online on Teletoon's and Cartoon Network's websites, as well as on YouTube. Early production had twelve contestants with different designs; the thirteenth, B, was added later.

B's design resembled a character from the Total Drama Island special. Jo was originally named B (standing for Beverly) and received a final design; Mary was renamed to Jo. Molly was renamed to Zoey. Anne Maria, Brick, Lightning, and Scott had minor outfit modifications; Sam and Scott had different facial hair.

Dakota, Staci, and Zoey underwent the most design changes; Zoey's final design used clothing and body shape from Dakota's original design. Mike and Cameron had their ethnicities changed. Dawn replaced an unused character named Zoey. Cameron's initial design was later reused for Jay and Mickey on Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race.

Nine original contestants made cameo appearances: Bridgette, DJ, Duncan, Ezekiel, Gwen, Heather, Izzy, Lindsay, and Owen. All original contestants except Blaineley appeared on a yacht at the season's start, revealing their status after Total Drama World Tour.

Production

The season was developed and produced by Fresh TV and distributed by Cake Entertainment. New voice actors were hired for the new characters, though Brian Froud, the voice actor of Harold, returned to voice Sam. The season was directed by Keith Oliver and Chad Hicks, with Todd Kauffman having a small role. Production began in early 2010 under the working title Total Drama Reloaded, and new characters were released to the public that year.

Production continued for almost a year for a planned 2011 release, but major delays in 2011 pushed the air date to 2012. Many scenes involving radioactive material had to be cut or edited. Other cut content included backgrounds, extra scenes, a flying squirrel concept, and an episode where Dakota hosts the show after locking Chef and Chris in a closet. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and nuclear accident led staff to find some radioactive scenes insensitive, prompting modifications to remove some radioactive references.

Re-editing required more time, delaying the U.S. air date to September 2011, but the season was not fully finished until late 2011. France aired the entire season on Canal+ in eight days from December 21, 2011, to December 29, 2011, the only country to air it in 2011.