Tom

Thomas "Tom" was a Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race contestant as a member of The Fashion Bloggers with Jen.

Personality

Tom is confident and tries hard, but doesn't have many skills beyond understanding fashion. He is always looking for new styles to try and never passes up the chance to show off his latest fashion trend, no matter how outlandish, even if they aren't well received at first. Flamboyant, yet fabulous, he tends to comically overreact in dangerous situations but is sure that his impeccable taste and trending skills will guarantee his victory. Despite Tom's flamboyant nature, he remains a loyal friend and partner and sticks by the side of his friends. He and his partner Jen plan to go far in the competition while teaching the other contestants a little something about competing with style.

Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race

Helmets?AreYouCrazy?! — Tom complains about the helmets they have to wear during the challenge, along with Jen.

Tom is first introduced in None Down, Eighteen to Go—Part 1 with his partner and fellow fashion blogger, Jen, believing they will win the race in style. They are the first to arrive at the sky deck for the scare challenge but are frightened by the skywalk and hesitate to do the challenge. Tom holds up s e v e r al tea ms to complain about the helmets being unfashionable. Their cowardice costs them their lead, but they eventually do the challenge, with Tom holding onto Jen for dear life, and make it on the second flight to Morocco.

Tom Caricature — Jen's caricature of Tom.

After placing tenth in Morocco, Tom and Jen are excited in French is an Eiffel Language when it is revealed they will be going to Paris. They accidentally hinder the Father and Son team, due to them getting hit by the rug they threw. Once the bloggers arrive in Paris, their taxi gets a flat tire in the middle of a shopping district. Tom attempts to fight the urge to go shopping but is unable to pass up the opportunity and the two eagerly run into the nearest store. Despite this detour, the two perform well during the challenge, with Tom posing for the caricature, all the while carrying multiple shopping bags. During the cheese rowing, Tom is forced to carefully balance the weight of the shopping on the cheese. Despite this handicap, they manage to achieve seventh place. In Mediterranean Homesick Blues, the Bloggers were supposed to take a train to Calanque de Maubois, but instead take a detour and arrive via a yacht owned by the Prince of Monaco.

Tom flip — Tom does a flip and completes the challenge.

Tom and Jen's relationship is tested in A Tisket, a Casket, I'm Gonna Blow a Gasket. During the episode, Tom buys a collection of fez hats, finding them stylish, and plans to make them "happen". While supportive of Tom's new fashion trend, Jen is not as enthusiastic about the hats and is hesitant to put hers on. Things escalate when Carrie brings up the question of who started their blog and the two begin to disagree, with the both of them asserting that they, themselves, started it. They continue to argue throughout the episode until Tom has to compete in the Botch or Watch. Not being as athletic as Jen, Tom struggles to perform the gymnastic routine, failing to do the final flip correctly each time. This concerns his partner, and after Tom injures himself in another attempt, Jen runs to Tom, doing a flip, and apologizes for the fight. Tom apologizes as well and after finally completing the challenge, the two race against the Dat ers to the Chill Zone. Sadly, they are beaten to the Chill Zone and are cut from the race. Despite their elimination, Tom is happy to have competed on the race and believes that they performed great, leaving with their bond stronger than ever.

Tom and Jen reappear in A Million Ways to Lose a Million Dollars with the other eliminated teams, applauding as the race to the final Chill Zone commences. They are last seen in the final group shot at the end of the episode.

1x01 - None Down, Eighteen to Go—Part 1
1x02 - None Down, Eighteen to Go—Part 2
1x03 - French is an Eiffel Language
1x04 - Mediterranean Homesick Blues
1x05 - Bjorken Telephone (no lines)
1x06 - Brazilian Pain Forest (no lines)
1x07 - A Tisket, a Casket, I'm Gonna Blow a Gasket
1x18 - Got Venom (flashback, no lines)
1x26 - A Million Ways to Lose a Million Dollars (no lines)

Total DramaRama Season 3

3x52 - A Bridgette Too Far (no lines)

Trivia

Comparisons

Tom is one of nine contestants to wear glasses, with the others being Beth, Cameron, Ellody, Harold, Mary, Miles, Sam, and Scarlett.
Tom is one of eleven characters who have dotted eyes, with the others being Beth, Chris, DJ, DJ's mother, Harold, Mary, Miles, Pete, Rodney, and Sam.

Miscellaneous

He shares the same name as the cameraman who filmed Courtney's audition tape.
Originally, Tom and Jen were supposed to be assistant producers.
It's revealed in French is an Eiffel Language that his and Jen's blog is named "Now Trending with Tom and Jen!”

References

Tom and his partner, Jen are named and designed after the creators of the Total Drama series, Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, respectively. This is referenced in A Bridgette Too Far where they are seen as the producers of the in-universe show.
- Curiously, Tom was meant to be gay, much like McGillis himself.
- This makes them one of two pairs to be named after staff members of the franchise, the other one being Laurie and Miles.
  - Coincidentally, both of these teams were eliminated back-t o-back with each other.
Both Tom and Jen are most likely a nod to the two hosts of the US version of the makeover reality show What Not to Wear, with Tom, in particular, being a parody of co-host Clinton Kelly.
According to Christian Potenza, Jeff Geddis found it "quite nerve-racking" to perform Tom's voice due to feeling that if he didn't make him sound as nicest as possible, he could get in trouble with Tom McGillis.