Author's Note: Welcome! It's the second to last premier of the series but it carries a lot of firsts. It's the first time that none of the returning characters have won a season. The first season with more than two casts interacting. A couple of other firsts that will be revealed in time. And... the first time since before the series started that we get to look forward to new Total Drama seasons. Downside, they'll require an HBO Max membership, but still new Total Drama. Anyway, Ias far as this season goes, like I've mentioned before there are twenty-four people from the past four seasons returning. There's one pairing I know I'm going to do, two more that depend on if I can make them work logistically, and a last one that'll depend on reviewer response. Also, this one is gonna feel kinda slow pace wise. It's really just to reintroduce the campers. And... that's it, let's get to it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Total Drama, the shuffled concept or the (most of) the characters.
Episode 01: Losers and Failures
The scene faded into a long-distance shot of Pahkitew Island, the sun high in the sky. "Last season, on Total Drama All-Stars 2!" a familiar voice began along with the familiar reverent music used to mark important moments in the series.
The beginning of the final challenge was shown, the last two campers shown digging through the junk heap for robot parts while the losing contestants watched from the stands. "Geoff and Contessa made it to the final million dollar challenge." The two were shown speaking to their loved ones.
"But, our finale was highjacked by none other than...," Chris and Chef were shown arguing, followed by the Peanut Gallery scattering to avoid a giant green foot, "Matthew." the hipster was shown announcing his intent before kidnapping Chris. "Contessa saved my bacon and proved herself the best of the best," Contessa was shown attacking the giant monster, being slammed into a cliff, headbutting Matthew, and finally electrocuting the hipster with her weapon, "earning herself a cool million," Chris was shown tossing the briefcase to the hopeless romantic, who accepted it with glee. "But before there was a winner," the host said over a clip of the Contessa getting ready to jump of of a helicopter in the finale, "there were a whole bunch of losers." A short montage of the twelve eliminations that season were shown in rapid succession.
"Which gave me a brilliant idea!" Chris said as the recap ended on him standing in front of a large green tent on what looked like Pahkitew Island. "We've done two seasons dedicated to the best of the best, but who's the best... of the worst?" he paused to chuckle. "To answer that, we're bringing back twenty-four losers and failures from all four generations for one big bad brutal battle! Right here! On Paaaahkitew Island!"
"These not-so-happy campers are gonna have to come to this old island with some new tricks if they wanna win the grand prize of one! Million! Dollars!" Chris continued as the shot briefly cut to a stock image of the million dollar case. "And the chance for the ultimate... Total! Drama! Redemption!"
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(Opening Theme)
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"Welcome back to 'Total Drama Redemption'!" Chris said as the camera faded back to him standing at a dock. "Alright! It's time to meet our players." The shot changed to a closer view of Chris. "We've really been playing the whole 'these guys suck at the game' angle, so, if they seem a little TO'd, that's probably why."
A boat was shown at the end of the dock briefly, before it sped off and revealed the first camper. It was a white girl; she had bushy red hair and wore a light blue t-shirt and a white skirt. "Carly! What's up!" Chris called from off-screen as the girl dropped her luggage with a yelp.
"D-don't scare me like that!" Carly whined as she awkwardly rubbed her arm. She dropped dashed past the host while ducking her head, and the host chuckled at The Shrinking Violet's antics.
"Never change Carly." Chris said. The scene cut to the next camper's arrival. This time, the departing boat revealed a hulking white boy with red hair and freckles, wearing overalls over a plain white t-shirt. "Rodney!" Chris greeted as the boy carried his two duffel bags up the dock.
"Hey Chris!" Rodney waved at the host. "Uh, what happened to the other island?" he asked, looking around the new camp uncertainly.
"It sank..." Chris told him with an uncertain expression. "You were there?"
"Hmm," The Country Boy murmured as he scratched his head. Chris pursed his lips and shoved him over to Carly, who shrieked and jumped out of the way, then turned back to the next returnee.
"Hey, Dakota!" Chris called to a tall, blonde, white girl dressed almost entirely in pink.
"Dakota here," she told the camera, lifting up her sunglasses as she walked towards the host and other campers. "And I'm here to...win...?" The Fame Monger trailed off nervously.
The fourth camper could be seen hanging out the top of the boat, dancing to loud rap music. He was a shorter black boy with short curly black hair, wearing a baggy dark blue hoodie, baggy blue jeans, and a gold chain with a dollar sign. When the boat stopped, he jumped off and landed awkwardly, his suitcase being thrown after him. "Ey yo Chris! Waa-sup!"
"Gary..." Chris greeted back with a sigh. "Welcome back!"
"Gary?" The Rap Star Wannabe asked in feigned confusion. "Nah 'cuz. I'm goin' by my rap name full time now. Call me Young Easy baby!"
"Yeah," the host deadpanned. "The day I call you that is the day I hand you the million, now go stand with the others."
The rapper shrugged and went to join Carly and Rodney, the former keeping a noticeable distance and the latter just giving him an odd look.
"Hey everyone!" Chris called, putting the attention of both the campers and the camera back on him as he announced the next competitor. "It's Sierra!"
The tall, brown-skinned girl that stepped off the boat paused at the end of the dock, scowling at the host. She looked like she was about to say something for a few moments before she just sighed and joined the others, flipping her magenta-dyed braid in the host's face as she passed.
Chris just spat hair out of his mouth and glared at the The Obsessive Uber-Fan, "Hey!" he shouted. "Watch it!"
The sixth camper arrived without an announcement from the host; a tall head and messily cool black hair, wearing a confident smile, an olive green t-shirt with a black handprint on it, a camo-print long-sleeved undershirt, black pants, and a guitar case slung across his back. "Trent!" Chris greeted as the contestant approached. "Good to have you back!"
"Psyched to be back man." Trent answered, bumping fists with the host and continuing on to the already-arrived campers. "Hey guys, what's up. Sierra. Good to see you." The Cool Guy high-fived Gary and Sierra, and took his place among the group. Rodney just scratched his head and Carly gulped nervously.
The background music turned harsh as the next contestant arrived, standing at the bow of the ship and scowling. She was a thick and muscular white-skinned young woman of apparent Eastern European descent with a mole on her cheek wearing a blue sleeveless shirt and slightly darker shorts, who tossed down her luggage first and herself second. "Welcome back to the show, Eva!" Chris told the scowling young woman.
Eva grunted. "Nobody here better even think about getting me eliminated," she glared at the others. "Got it?"
"You, I missed." Chris said with a grin. "Don't worry though, we'll make sure to make things challenging for you."
Eva rolled her eyes, and focused on her competition. Carly was ducking behind Trent, who had already stepped forward to greet her, but The Hothead was having none of it. "Just keep things fair and I won't have to pound you into dust." She kept her bag close, and said nothing else.
The sound of the ship's horn told those at the dock that the next camper had arrived. At the end of the dock was a normal-looking Indian boy, brown-skinned and black-haired. He wore a cyan vest over a pale yellow collared shirt. "Welcome back Dave!" Chris announced as The Germaphobe stayed in place.
Another ship came and went, dropping off the next camper. A tanned-skin Asian girl of average height that was noticeably curvaceous. Her silky black hair was straight and fell to just below her shoulders, and her eyes were almond shaped. She wore a plain loose-fitting dull yellow t-shirt and dark khaki cargo shorts, and was wearing her turquoise backpack. "Welcome to back to the show, Britney!" the host said, frowning just a bit when the young woman before him didn't immediately meet his eye.
"Dave!" she cheered grabbing the boy next to her. "It's so good to see you!"
"We saw each other just a few minutes ago," Dave pointed out.
"I know," The Globetrotter pouted. "But they wouldn't let us be on the same boat. And I hate it when we're not together."
"I don't like it either," Dave said with a soft smile.
Britney gasped. "You don't?! I knew we were perfect for each other!"
"Uh...right..." Chris said, giving season six returnees an odd look as they walked away. The next camper arrived, and he quickly went back to hosting. "Contestant number ten is Jaxon!"
Dave and Britney groaned. "Not him," he whined.
"Yes him." Chris grinned. "Now as I was saying, welcome back Jax!" He motioned to the white boy looking at him in an oddly judging manner. The young man was blue-eyed and sported shaggy and unkempt long brown hair. Both his t-shirt and his pants were not only noticably tight, but an almost blinding white that contrasted heavily with his red sneakers and the red bandana tied around his neck.
"He welcomes the new chance to compete," The Artist said, looking around the camp as if his fingers were a screen. "Yes, he can see quite a lot of potential with his new cast. His journey will end in the success of his goals."
"You're still doin' the third person thing I see," the host nodded. "Well, go on, stand with the others."
"And I thought the people from our season were weird," Trent whispered to Sierra.
"At least none of them have asked Malcolm to marry them yet," Sierra grumbled.
Trent laughed. "Man, I don't think I've ever seen anyone run as fast as that girl when you showed up."
Britney growled. "All I know is nobody better even look at Dave like that if they wanna keep their teeth."
The next camper to arrive was a pale-skinned goth girl, her hair dyed black and teal to match her lipstick and the majority of her outfit – black corset, black skirt, black leggings, blue and green sleeves.
"Alright!" Chris answered, beginning his introduction of the young woman. "Our other Aftermath host, Gwen, is here!"
"Well I guess we're not doing the interviews this time," Sierra said to the others.
"Fine by me," Eva grunted. "I don't do the whole interview thing."
"M-m-me either," Carly shuddered. "Being the center of attention is scary."
Gwen sighed. "Great to be back," The Loner said sarcastically. She stood by Ternt, who wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"Our next contestant is-" Chris started to say before he was interrupted by the next camper squealing. The camera cut to a slender teenage girl, her features an ambiguous mix of white and east Asian. She was wearing what looked like a short pink dress, though it may just have been a skirt and blouse with particularly poofy shoulders. Combined with the pink slippers, the pink evening gloves, and the pink bow in her black bouffant she gave the impression of a princess straight out of an animated fairytale. She ran straight for Gwen.
"Gwendolyn!" the girl shouted as she hugged the girl. "You never told me you were coming back too!"
"Hey, Ella," Gwen said, awkwardly returning the hug as Trent chuckled good naturedly.
"Oh. Em. Gasp," Sierra said, perking up. "Is there some Total Drama info I couldn't find for my blog?!" She dashed over to the girls. "How do you know each other?!"
"We're cousins!" Ella gushed.
"Can't you see the resemblance?" Gwen asked.
Sierra gave her a blank look. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not."
"That was genuine," Trent chimed in with a smirk. "And we were kinda last minute additions," he explained as an aside to The Fairytale Princess.
"Okay," Ella smiled. "You're forgiven Gwendolyn."
Gwen groaned. "Please, Ella. It's just Gwen."
Another person was dropped off – a larger white girl with hot pink short-shorts and wedge sandals and lipstick, a black-and-white striped shoulderless midriff-baring blouse, and dark hair in pigtails. "Our next camper is..." Chris rubbed his head, clearly trying to remember the camper's name, "Sadie! Her name is Sadie!"
"Oh, wow," She said, looking around the camp with nervous eyes. "I guess it's good to be back?" The Codependent said uncertainly as she joined the others.
"He was certain there were two of you," Jaxon told her with an eyebrow raised high.
"Well, Katie came back last season," she said. "Didn't you watch it?"
"Oh," Jaxon said. "He admits to not much caring about the other seasons."
The next camper's arrival was heralded by the sound of his beatboxing. Standing on board the ship was a scrawnier white boy with thick red hair and the barest minimum of a soul patch, wearing thick glasses, a blue t-shirt with a hamburger on it, a pinkish long-sleeved undershirt, and rather drab pants.
"Welcome back Harold," Chris said as the teen stepped off the boat.
As Harold walked up the dock, he smiled and looked around the camp. "Awesome!" he said, raising his hand for a high five that the host just stared at. The Dweb scowled and walked over to the others, giving a high five to Trent, then a hug to Sierra. He moved to hug Gwen, but a stern glare stopped him in his tracks.
"Nice to see a fellow Drama Brother in the game," a smirking Trent told him.
"Good to be back Trent," Harold said. "This time my mad skills aren't gonna let me down.
Chris chuckled to himself. The boat came and went, this time dropping off a white girl in a red cheerleader uniform. She had a small beauty mark on her right cheek and a scowl on her face.
"Hey!" Chris greeted as he approached the girl. "Amy! Welcome to back to your favorite show!"
"Uhhh," The Mean Twin groaned. "This isn't anyone's favorite show. "I'm just here to get the money I should've won the last two times I was here."
"Weren't you kicked out super early each time?" The host countered. "Losing to Samey both times."
"Well since you were smart enough not to let that useless waste back on the show I might have a chance now," Amy shot back.
"Not likely," Gwen muttered under her breath.
Amy stomped over to join the other campers, sending glares at everyone that had Carly yelping and ducking behind Eva. The iron woman looked behind her in shock, then growled at the cheerleader, making her back down but scowl when Eva was no longer focused on her.
The next camper to be dropped off was a scruffy white boy who looked to be dressed for colder weather, between his jeans, hoodie sweatshirt, and toque.
"Ezekiel!" Chris said, having regained his pleasantness and extended a hand for a high five. "What's up, man?"
The scruffy boy looked up. "I think I see a bird?" A few of the other contestants chuckled at his obliviousness. "Wait, that was a figure o' speech right?"
"He better not still be a sexist pig," Eva growled to herself.
"Well you've gotten better at figuring out how the real world works," Chris said to himself. "Just try not to get kicked off so early again," he warned the boy. "You might not get saved like last time." He finally allowed Ezekiel to pass.
"Yes, sir!" The Home Schooled Guy answered, walking awkwardly to join his fellow campers. He was met by a series of odd looks.
The young man who arrived next was easily the smallest contestant in the group, both in height and in weight. The black teen had short hair and large glasses, and wore a red hoodie and dark yellow shorts.
"Cameron!" Chris greeted. "The Cam man! Welcome back to Pahkitew Island!" The host greeted. "Finally good to be out of that bubble again huh?"
"Oh I don't need my bubble anymore," The Wide-Eyed Bubble boy told him with a smile. "I came back because I wanted to see how long I could last."
"Well I think you'll do great!" Chris told him, sending him to the other campers. As soon as Cameron was offscreen, the host turned to the camera and shook his head with a grimace.
The boat lingered for longer than usual as the next contestant was apparently slow to get off. Like many others he'd been standing on the bow of the ship, and the large curly-haired white boy's attention seemed to be solely on the portable console between his hands. "Yeah!" he said in a gruff voice amidst the various sound effects of his game. "Finally got that super speed! Better get moving before it runs out..."
"Ahem?" Chris called from the end of the dock; he was acknowledged by the gamer. "Sam! You can come down now!" The host's raised voice finally got the young man's attention.
"Oh, heheh, sorry about that." Sam said as he finally disembarked. "Good to be back though, it looks great!"
"Yeah, I'm sure it is." Chris said with a rekindled smile. "But I'm afraid I'm gonna have to confiscate that game thing you've got." The host snatched the device.
"Hey!" Sam protested. "I was just about to reach a save point!"
"Too bad." Chris replied, tucking the console into a pocket. "The rules clearly state that no electronic gaming devices are allowed on the island. You'd think you'd remember after it got you booted last time."
"Aww man..." The Nice-Guy Gamer groaned, slumping off with luggage in hand.
As Chris watched the dejected teen walk off, he completely missed the next arrival until a cloud of orange spray made him cough. "Gah!" Chris started, whipping around and gagging to address the camper. It was a girl, her skin dark but more the brownish-orange color of a fake tan than anything natural. She sported large hoop earrings, bright blue eye liner, and thick magenta lipstick the same color as her midriff-baring tube top. Light teal capris and purple wedge sandals rounded out her outfit, but more noticeable was the can of hairspray she was busily applying to the pouf of her long brown hair. "Anne Maria!" the host scowled. "Cut it out!"
The Jersey Girl widened her eyes and pursed her lips. "Fine," she said as she stuck the can in her hair. "But what's the point a bein' on camera if I'm not lookin' hot y'know?"
"What's the point of looking good when your hairspray tears a hole in the ozone layer and kills us all," Chris deadpanned. "Now go stand with the others."
She glared but did as she was told, and the boat dropped off the next contestant. He was a black boy with an eager face and an odd manner of dress. He was wearing a green robe with a simple yellow pattern on the front, a blatantly fake beard, and a tall green hat that was rather wizardly despite its visible patch and sag.
"Zounds," the boy said. "To be allowed to return."
"Leonard," Chris greeted. "Welcome back. How are ya? Think you got what it takes to win?"
"Well, Danger Island was tough," The LARPer said, "but with the new spells I learned? I'll be sure to take the dragon's eye. That's Dwarvish for one million dollars," he clarified.
Before the host could say anything else, the next boat sped past and revealed another contestant. She was blonde, blue-eyed, well-endowed, and exceptionally pretty, she wore a blue bandana on her head, a short red tanktop over a longer red tube top, an orange miniskirt, and long, fashionable, high-heeled boots.
"Lindsay!" Chris said. "Good to see you!"
"Hey Carl!" Lindsay replied with a small wave of her fingers. She grabbed Leonard's hand and started walking over to the others. "Why are we here instead of the other island?"
"What?" Chris said in barely-contained confusion. "It sank. During the finale. You were there!"
"Are you sure?" Lindsay asked. "That played differently in my head."
"Just go stand with the others," the host ordered.
The Ditzy Genius shrugged and drug Leonard over to the other campers, eventually taking a spot near Cameron and Sam. Neither one seemed to notice the odd looks several campers gave them.
"That aside," Chris said, getting back into his groove, "here comes Scott!" The young man in question was a redheaded white boy wearing a grungy tank top. He sneered as he jumped off the boat, and spit into the lake. He ignored Chris' look of disgust and walked right past him.
"Hmph." Scott snorted once he'd gotten a look at the other contestants. "None of you look too tough."
"You wanna say that again?" Eva said harshly, stepping up to the freckled young man and brandishing a fist.
"Whoa! Calm down!" Trent said quickly as he and Ezekiel held the aggressive young woman back.
The Schemer snorted again, and joined the crowd.
A triumphant tune was played over the next competitor's arrival. She was shorter than the other girls, and her skin and features more reminiscent of someone from one of the First Nations. She was dressed in a pale olive and purple sleeveless blouse of her as well as tight black pants. A necklace of purple beads and red feather earrings rounded out her ensemble. She did a handspring off the bow of the boat and the camera followed as she did no less than three mid-air somersaults and landed on the docks on her feet. She smiled and waved, first to the camera, then to the other campers. "Impressive entrance Sky," Chris nodded.
"Hey everyone!" Sky said. "It's great to be back on the show! I can't wait to see what we're all capable of!"
"Glad to hear it!" Chris smiled as The Athlete took her place amongst the others. She stood next to Dave and frowned in confusion at the hateful glare Britney was sending her.
"And last but not least, Shawn!" The host announced the final returning camper, a shaggy-haired, vest-wearing white boy who looked unnecessarily on-edge. His eyes quickly darted about the area before he took a leap off the bow of the ship, doing a complete flip before landing in a crouch on the edge of the dock.
"Hey man, you seen any zombies around here lately?" he rolled forward and asked the host, still scanning the unfamiliar surroundings.
"...no?" Chris answered, taken just a bit off his guard by the teen's question. "Dude it's been how many years? Are you still on that?"
"Uh..." Shawn said, staring at the host in offense. "Yeah! Just because I haven't found proof doesn't mean they're not out there. I gotta make sure I'm prepared for when they finally show up. No way am I gonna let my brain get eaten!"
"Umm, yeah." Chris told The Zombie Conspiracy Nut, for lack of a better answer.
"Speakin' of eatin'," Gary piped up, "when's lunch yo? I'm hungry as a mug over here!"
"Chef's still cooking!" Chris explained, happy to get back on track. "Why don't you take some time to get to know each other?" He shot finger pistols at the twenty-four campers before turning to the camera. "And meet me at the campfire pit in fifteen minutes."
"Which one of these guys is gonna make it all the way to the end?" Chris asked the camera as the capstone theme played. "Find out! By tuning in fo Total! Drama! Redemption!"
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(Commercial Break)
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The camera zoomed outward from a shot of Chris standing behind the campfire pit facing away until all twenty-four campers were in the shot. Amy, Anne Maria, Ezekiel, Carly, and Sky sat on the front row of stumps with Rodney, Sadie, and Eva standing amongst them. The back row of seats were taken by Dakota, Ella, Scott, Lindsay, Leonard, and Cameron. The rest of the campers – Harold, Sierra, Gary, Shawn, Sam, Trent, Gwen, Jaxon, Dave and Britney – stood behind the stumps.
"Campers, it is my honor to welcome you to Total Drama Redemption!" Chris began. "All of you are here because you've never won the grand prize. But more than that. Maybe you only qualified for one season despite your friends competing two or even three times. Maybe you've competed multiple times and never made the merge. Maybe you've competed once and never made the merge." The camera cut to shots of a few groups of campers during the exposition. "Well here on Total Drama Redemption we've decided to give you one more chance. And we've made sure not to include any of the heavy hitters just to guarantee you'll have a better chance at one! Million! Dollars!" The music became triumphant for just a moment while the prize was announced.
"Umm, Chris?" Dave asked. "What's the sleeping situation gonna be?"
"Are we gonna have to build our own shelters again?" Sadie asked.
"Nope!" Chris answered. "We've rebuilt and updated the shelters from season six. One team will get the bunker, and the other one gets the treehouse. Now for the most important thing this season. You all may recall a little thing call the 'McLean Statue of Invincibility'?"
"How could I forget?" Scott grumbled under his breath.
"Well," Chris continued while ignoring the comment. "It's made its return. And it has friends!"
Amy raised an eyebrow in response.
"This time on top of the invincibility statue we have these!" He held up a wooden carving in each hand. The one on the left was of Chef Hatchett and the one on the right a stereotypical knight's helmet. "The Hatchett Statue of Elimination," he raised the Chef's head just a bit, "cancels out all vote other than the one that you cast and the Generic Statue of Protection," he lowered the Chef's head and raised the knight's helmet, "works the same as the regular invincibility statue with one twist, you can't use it on yourself. These babies will be hidden somewhere on the island," he tossed the two statues behind him, "and anyone caught creating fakes for any reason will be immediately disqualified," he added with a stern glance at Scott.
The dirt farmer scowled, but said nothing.
"Now!" Chris said, drawing the attention of both camera and cast. "We're gonna split you into two teams. If I call your name out, go stand over there." He pointed to a spot off-camera, and the view switched to show each contestant's reaction to their name being called and moving to the assigned spot.
"Trent, Gwen, Ezekiel, Sky, Dave, Lindsay, Harold, Dakota, Sam, Ella, Jaxon, and Anne Maria!" The camera cut the team assembled together. "You guys are now... The Ferrets of Failure!" A goofy tuba riff played as the team's logo, a green silhouette of a ferret facing right, slid into view above the team all except for Ella and Lindsay were irritated at the name.
"Aww," Lindsay gushed. "Ferrets are so cute!"
Britney's eyes widened. "Uh, I think you forgot to put me on the Ferrets," she said.
"The rest of you, over here!" Chris beckoned the remaining campers. Once again, the camera cut to each camper as they were named. "Britney, Shawn, Sierra, Cameron, Carly, Leonard, Eva, Rodney, Amy, Scott, Gary, and Sadie!" he listed. "Hurry iy up campers!"
The camera focused on the new team. "You guys are now, The Llamas of Loserdom" a flat oboe riff played as their logo, a red silhouette of a llama facing left slid into view above the twelve annoyed campers.
"Great name Chris," Sierra said sarcastically.
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Scott was first, arms folded as he looked around the small room. He snorted. "So McLean only brought back the biggest losers." He smirked. "Just makes it easier for me to win."
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"I'm not really sure how long I'll last," Sadie told the confessional. "Without Katie I'm... kinda lost."
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"Dang yo," Gary said in his confessional ."I can already see that cool mil' in my hands. Ain't no way these folks can beat me! I'm Young Easy baby!"
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Amy was filing her nails with a haughty expression. "For the first time in my life I don't have Samey holding me back," she explained. "That means that this season is mine."
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The scene changed to a shot of the treehouse used by the Confused Bears in season six. Chris entered view from the lower left with his back turned, and arm extended towards the shelter. "Llamas, you're in the Maskwak's old treefort," he turned around and pointed a thumb over his shoulder, "and Ferrets, you're in Kinosewak's old bunker."
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The viewpoint switched again to a close-up of a treefort door as it was opened from the outside, showing the layout of the room. On the left were two sets of bunk beds, and on the right another set and a large armoire.
On either side of the room were bunk beds; two sets along the right wall, one on the left next to a potbellied stove. "Uggh, why do we have to climb so high just to get to our beds?" The camera switch to a side view of Amy entering the girls' side of the Llamas' shelter. A dresser sat below a small front window, and between the that and a few coat armoire in the corner was another dresser and large mirror. An oil lamp rested on top of the dresser, unlit.
"Well," Sadie answered, entering the room, "B got the idea to build it up in the air in case there was a stampede or something."
"Nobody cares, Whoever-you-are!" Amy yelled back.
"Greetings and salutations!" Leonard greeted from the doorway. He flashed a smile at the girls and the recently-arrived Eva, all of whom gave him odd looks. "I just wanted to make sure none of you needed help with anything."
He was forcefully shoved off the porch by Amy. "Get out of our side, nerd!"
"That was uncalled for." The camera cut to the Sierra entering the shelter's doorway, while Chris approached the ladder at the bottom. "Excuse me, but where are the electrical outlets?" Sierra asked. "I have a few things that need to be plugged in, and I'm sure the others do to."
The camera zoomed in on Chris's scowling face. "Hey, we gave you guys showers and bathrooms ." It cut again to a cluster of outhouses and outdoor showers surrounded by tarps. "What more do you want from us?"
"Wait," Amy said from off-camera. "So there are no outlets?!"
"I'm just messin' with ya!" Chris said, the camera showing his close-up again. "There's a costume tent next to the craft services tent," he explained as the camera cut to a large green tent next to a smaller beige one. "There are outlets and mirrors in there. But, you'll have to share."
"Well in that case you all can just wait for me in the mornings," Amy told her female teammates. "I'm the only one who actually looks good anyway."
"That attitude ain't gonna work around here princess," Eva growled as she got in the cheerleader's face.
The view shifted to Rodney, Gary, and Shawn taking a look outside of their door at the commotion outside and the sounds of a growing argument in the girls' side. "Those girls are kinda fiesty huh?" Rodney asked with a slight grimace.
"For reals," Gary agreed with a grin. "All we needs now is some oil and a coupla bikinis for a real show. Anyway," he shrugged. "Who's takin' what beds?"
"You can figure that out on your own," Shawn chimed in. "No way am I sleeping in a cabin with a bunch of other people! I mean sure, I'll keep all my non-essential stuff in here, but I'm not gonna leave myself open to a zombie attack by sleeping indoors."
The other boys shared a look of confusion. "So, uh, where are you gonna sleep?" Rodney asked.
"In a tree, obviously." Shawn answered, climbing on top of the structure and looking out into the forest. "I mean, I did it the last two times I competed and everyone knows that zombies can't climb, sheesh!" His roommates shared another look.
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The camera went back to the host, who was also approaching the Ferrets' new bunker. "Excuse me, Chris?" Sam asked from off-camera. Chris turned his head, and the camera cut to the gamer standing near the entrance of the bunker, just as Dakota was entering the girls' side. "Is there anything else we need to know?"
"I think I've pretty much covered everything," the host said as the camera showed a close-up of him looking around. He tapped his head, and shrugged. "So, until it's challenge time, you're all free to do whatever. You've got a half-an-hour to unpack and meet me at the Craft Service Tent! Starting..." he looked at his watch, "Now!"
"Sweet!" Sam smiled as he entered his new domain.
\
The scene transitioned via flash to the outside of another building. A military drumline started up as the camera cut to inside the building, where the queued-up campers were being addressed by Chef. "Listen up! I cook it! You eat it! I don't wanna hear any questions or complaints! You got that?!" The dishes behind him rattled when he finished.
"I'm just glad to get food in the first place," Saide said from the front of the line. The camera switched to a view of the Chef putting a scoop of some manner of dark green meat-like substance onto a bun on Sadie's tray. She and Jaxon took their filled trays, and the shot changed to an extreme close-up of the Chef's left eye.
"He can agree to that." Jaxon added off-camera. "Even if he did appreciate the last time as a metaphor for the disparity between the classes." Chef's eye twitched.
"If you don't shut up, my foot will be metaphor for yo' behind!" he yelled at the artist, and both he and Sadie quickly backed away.
"Huhuh, that guy needs to find a chill pill upgrade, right?" Sam chuckled to Ezekiel.
"What was that, tubby?" The Chef called out, beckoning the pair forward with one finger. "I didn't hear you."
"Uh, nothing, sir!" Sam panicked, taking his food and leaving.
"I'm sure," the Chef glared as Ezekiel stepped forward and grabbed a tray of food. "You! Homeschooled kid! Gimme your plate!" Ezekiel stopped and allowed the Chef to dole out another scoop of the mystery meat-like substance onto his plate.
"Oh this is just so wonderful," Ella said. "I'd like to celebrate our fist day back on the show, with a song!"
"That's not really necessary Ella," Gwen said hastily.
"NEXT!" Chef yelled.
\
A flash marked the transition to a close-up of the meat-like-substance-on-a-bun on Dakota's tray. "Umm, excuse me, but what is this?"
"I don't think he's gonna tell you." Shawn told her as the camera showed a glaring Chef catch and kill a fly with one hand.
"Right..." Dakota agreed, scampering off and leaving Shawn as the sole camper left in line.
"But she does have a point," the scruffy teen said. "I remember the food looking like... food". \ Chef just stared at him and smashed the product with a meat hammer, not so much as blinking at it splattered both of them. "Right. I shoulda seen that coming." Shawn deadpanned.
\
Another flash and the scene changed to a slow pan over the campers eating their lunches; the Llamas sitting at the table closer to the kitchen, and the Ferrets nearer to the door. A rat was shown crawling across the floor between tables, though nobody commented on it.
The pan ended as Chris entered the lodge by the main door. "Welcome to Craft Services. Where you'll be served food meals every day!" he announced.
"Food being a relative term..." Dave muttered to himself, earning a metal lade to the face.
"Dave!" Britney cried, rushing over to the germaphobe.
Scott and Amy were shown smirking deviously.
"Today was a free day," Chris announced, the camera back on his face. He turned around to exit, and held up a single finger. "But tomorrow! The challenges start in full force!"
The capstone theme began to play as the camera cut to Chris outside the tent. "Wanna see how we'll torture these guys over the next few weeks?" he asked with a devious grin. "Find out by tuning in for more Total! Drama! Redemption!"
(Roll the Credits)
Author's Note Post Script: So that's a wrap on day one. Like I said, it's just reintroducing the characters and getting some interactions. Not much, because with twenty-six episodes I'll have ample time to do what I want. Believe it or not, the teams were chosen at random since I just could not think of a real idea on how to split them.
And now to explain the cast.
TDI
Trent: Yes, he made sixth place. But he only competed once, and I thought this was a good chance to see him again.
Gwen: Same as Trent, she's only competed once and that's rather jarring with the original twenty-two. Oh and her and Ella being cousins is canon... sort of... it really depends on how how 'canon' you consider Dramarama
Sierra: Like Gwen and Trent, she only competed once. So she was a shoo-in.
Amy: I needed a secondary antagonist for the season, and Amy's never really gotten that far in the game. Plus it'll give me the chance to write her without being a vehicle for someone else's character development.
Sky: She's been in three seasons, but never made the merge. I think that fits the theme of the season don't you?
Harold: Same as Sky, a three season pre-merger would jump at the chance for redemption.
Shawn: Like Sky and Harold, but even more screwed over. The guy just did not mesh well with the original twenty-two and wound up getting the short end of the stick quite a bit. But like Amy, this mixed cast should allow a bit more success for him. Hopefully.
Honorable Mentions:
Malcolm: Sorry to his fans, but despite his less than stellar run on the show, I'm pretty satisfied with his character. Plus he's in the Race, and Geoff coming back was kind of a special deal.
Sugar: It was either her or Amy, and I saw more potential with Amy. Plus 5th place wasn't exactly a poor run.
Staci: Let's be honest. I had no clue where to go with her. So she was pretty much never going to be here unless it was as the first boot.
ROTI
Well, this group was pretty much confirmed from the moment All-Stars premiered, so no need going into that. I will mention that adding Beardo t the Race was done purely to limit the pool of guys coming back. Figuring out the gender ratios of the returning campers, as well as picking first gen people, was a nightmare when there were four guys who qualified for the season.
PI
Like with the season four peeps. This one was pretty straightforward.
DI
This one has more to do with who I didn't add than who I did. Of the eight that qualified, Beth is about as interesting a character as a piece of driftwood, sorry to her fans, and Max is annoying. Pure personal preference there.
And as always I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention something.
I hope you all enjoyed the episode, or some part of it.
Please stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.
And I'd also like to remind you guys that a TVTropes page for this series does exist and needs you guys adding to it.
With that I'm signing off
-TotalDramaFan14