WARNING: My grammar and spelling is not the best.
So Total Drama is back for another season and I have decided to give my thoughts on the first episode of the fifth season titled "Total Drama All-Stars".
So the first episode starts out with Chef Hatchet informing Chris (Who is now in prision due to dumping toxic waste on the island last season) that a fifth season has been gree-lit. But this reunion is cut short by this seasons new opening sequence, which is only 20 seconds long rather than the shows usual minute long open. The opening doesn't bother me that much, I just don't see the point in shortening it after four seasons of the same opening theme, but I digress.
After the opening Chris introduces this seasons contestant, who are previous competitors brought back to Camp Wawanakwa due to Chris labelling them as "All-Stars". It is never explained why these contestants are considered All-Stars, which they should as some of these contestants competing this season do not really deserve the title of "All-Star" (Really? Sam over Brick?). Anyway, the contestants opening lines while being introduce are pretty bland and unfunny (Zoey's hasn't even reached the island yet and she is yapping about Mike), with the exception of Gwen, her opening line is going to start a lot of controversy. "He wasn't her boyfriend at the time".....Really writers? I know you aren't the best with continuity, but you seriously can't remember how one of the main plotlines of season three went down? Come on, that is seriously lazy, but we will get to more Gwen bashing later. Oh and also there is an Ezekiel cameo, because they are always hilarious! I wonder which will occur more this season, characters going bald or Ezekiel cameo's.
The contestants are then split into teams of Heroes and Villains based on there past performances. Duncan, Lightning, Scott, Heather, Jo and Gwen are placed on the Villainous Vultures, while Cameron, Mike, Zoey, Sam, Lindsay, Sierra and Courtney are placed on the Heroic Hamsters. Okay, I know Gwen is the "New Heather" and all that stuff, but is she really better than Courtney? She was sort of an antagonist in the second season, Gwen was season one's main female protagonist! Gwen is not happy about this and Duncan is not impress by her whining and thinks he might as well be with Courtney if Gwen is just going to be a downer all the time. Do I sense an interesting twist in the love triangle that has been going on two seasons too long!? Jo then points out that the Hamsters have one more member than the Vultures do, so Chris lets them have The Drama Robot as there seventh member. Heather seems suspicous of The Robot, but why? It probably has nothing to do with the fact it is the same robot Alejandro was placed inside at the end of season three and seen to still be inside at the beginning of season four. But surely that is all just a big conincident!..... Or is it?
At this point I was pretty disappointed by the first episode, I wasn't laughing much and it wasn't really catching my interest, but that all changed when the challenge started. Now that was more like it! Every contestant with a promient role in the challenge shines and I don't care much for the contestants who didn't do much so that was an added bonus. Lindsay, Scott and Lightning were especially funny and I ever got a laugh out of Sam when he fell on Cameron! Also Fang is back! Yaaaaay!
The Robot is also revealed to be Alejandro (shocker). Who is now voiced by Alex House, who does....an OKAY job. His voice is pretty good but the way he delivers his lines seem a bit off, but to be fair Marco Grazzini (Alejandro's original voice) wasn't that great of a voice actor in the first place. The Vultures end up winning the challenge and the Hamsters must choose someone to eliminate. Gwen also tries to make up with Courtney by.....giving her flowers? Okay, I don't know what the heck is going on with Gwen! All she does is whine about being a villain and the whole love triangle thing, (Which might become a square now that Jo might have an interest in Duncan! More twists!) I really hope this is just a one off and she comes back stronger next episode. Suprisingly, Lindsay is eliminated this episode, for being too slow during the challenge. Shouldn't Courtney have been eliminated? She made Lindsay push the stroller! Also shouldn't Mike, Zoey and Sierra know that Courtney is a bigger threat, they were fans of the show before the competiting, right? Also the Flush of Shame thing doesn't bug me that much, they should have saved it for a school themed season though, The Bus of Losers is too cliche.
So overall I'd give this episode........7.0/10. It started off slow and kind of awkward, but gained momentum towards the end. It is nice to see the old contestants competing again, even if some of them (Gwen) aren't as great as I remember them. Also, bonus points for keeping Zoey, Mike and Cameron quiet all episode. Nice touch.
I'll review episode two if this blog gets enough attention! So drop a comment! Thanks for reading.