When I first came across this show, roughly around this summer, I was discussing cartoons with my roommate and we had made the declaration that 90s cartoons were the best ever. This was undeniably true (in our minds). We had Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Beast Wars, Gargoyles among tens of others. And when we turned on the TV while studying, the newer shows often make us sigh in desperation and think of "better" times. So, one could imagine my derision when I saw in an online article that listed the best cartoons of this decade (so far). Wanting to justify my scorn, I found the first episode of TDI on youtube and started watching. Twenty-three minutes later- I was hooked and had one of my shoes firmly jammed in my mouth. 
To explain, the concept of the show is that 22 teens (pictured above) are on this reality show called (you guessed it) Total Drama Island hosted by the jerkish host Chris McLean. It is a show within a show that openly lampoons the conventions of reality television while creating compelling drama of its own (sort of like what the movie Scream is to the slasher horror genre). Each of the characters is admittedly a stereotype- there is the goth girl, the juvenile delinquent, the nerd, the dumb blonde, the gentle giant, the party guy, the surfer girl, the queen bee among many others (though these are all played for laughs). However, in spite of each of the characters obviously being stereotypes, none are portrayed as the sole protagonist and all have flaws of some sort, which I find impressive. Obviously due to one character being voted off each episode, some characters end up better characterized than others, though there does not seem to be a bias for who should win upon the part of the writers. This being said, the viewer will root for whomever she or he wishes until the finale.
Now, the teens (pictured above)are competing on this island (as all reality shows must) for the chance at winning $100,000. They are divided into two teams and must compete in a series of challenges (some mental, the majority physical) in hopes to win. At the end of each episode, the losing team must vote off one of their members in a campfire ceremony where the member voted out boards the "boat of losers" and leaves the island.
Now, given that I am a college student, it is assumed that I should be watching South Park, Family Guy, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Jersey Shore and House. I do enjoy SP and the odd episodes of House and ATHF (especially if I am especially sleep deprived) but I find myself turned off by the language and overall senseless vulgarity. This is not to say that TDI is not less than saintly- characters swear, vomit and one character (whom I cannot stand) frequently breaks wind. However, it isn't done in a way to turn me off- rather the characters all act quite human. Even though I cannot stand Owen (the aforementioned character), I still come back episode after episode.
It is not because I like reality television (which I cannot stand), but it is the incredible dialogue (my personal benchmark for shows I watch) that the genre savvy characters throw around that keeps me around. Take this line from the host (pictured below) as an example:
Chris: (to the audience) Hi. Sometimes teenagers just don't get along. So the producers thought what better than exploit it for ourselves! It's gonna be AWESOME!! Yeah. That's pretty much the tone of the show. I would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate parodies of reality series, witty dialogue and dark humor. I'll return to more mature writings tomorrow- just needed to get back in the groove of writing every day.
-Reven
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