As the cameras went on, the audience was treated to the sight of an island, upon which stood a seemingly rundown summer camp and docks. After a moment, a man with dark hair, five-o-clock shadow and a blue shirt rose into frame. "Yo!" he called. "I'm your host, the incomparable Chris McLean, bringing you the hottest new reality show here at Camp Wawanakwa, located… somewhere in Ontario!"

"Here, we will bring together twenty-four unique contestants, who will have to face dangerous wildlife, disgusting campfood and, worst of all, each other. Every three or so days, two teams will compete in a challenge, with rewards going to the winner, while the losing team votes one of their own out of the show in a dramatic bonfire ceremony. The last person to remain on the island will be awarded with cheesy tabloid fame as well as a cash prize of... One. Hundred. Thousand dollars!" Chris told the audience.

"Who will withstand the pressure? Who will crumble under it? Find out right here, right now, on Total… Drama... Island!"

In post-production, the editing team added the intro to the show following Chris's announcement. As that played, a young man stood at the edge of the boat carrying him to the island. The breeze passing through his short red hair was nice, but he couldn't help but frown.

'Unless my eyes deceive me, there's no resort on that island,' he thought. He was looking forward to nine weeks in the lap of luxury, and the idea that the showrunners were willing to lie about this did not say good things about his time here... Oh, well. He'd win either way.

As the boat brought him closer, he could make out the familiar form of Chris McLean, the show's host and effectively their boss. At the other end of the dock were five other people, making him the sixth contestant to arrive. Wonderful; an early arrival meant he'd be able to observe most of his new 'friends' as they arrived.

The boat came to a stop next to the dock, and he jumped onto land with his suitcase in hand. "Liam, my man! Glad to see you made it," he said.

'First impressions aren't made twice,' Liam thought. It was why he had filled his luggage with casual clothing, such as the blue jeans, brown shoes and Nirvana T-shirt he was wearing now. Between that, his easygoing smile and half-asleep expression, he hopefully gave off the impression of being a total slacker. Which, to be fair, he was… when he could get away with it.

As it was, Liam gave the host a lazy smile. "Glad to be on the show, Chris," he said, taking in the sight of the camp.

"I'd think so," Chris said, before leaning in. "Just so you know, your requirement to attend sessions is suspended for as long as you behave, got it?" he whispered, his smile fading for a moment.

He nodded. "Got it loud and clear," he confirmed, before walking over to join the other contestants.

There was a blonde girl in shorts and a light blue jacket holding up a surfboard. She gave him a friendly wave as he approached, which he dutifully returned. Next to her was a thin brunette boy wearing a formal shirt, striped sweater and jeans. He held his hand out, saying "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Cody."

Liam maintained his smile and grabbed Cody's hand with his right before placing his left over it. "Liam. It's nice to meet you, Cody," he replied cordially. While he kept his left hand in place long enough to convey a sense of sincerity, he also gave the boy a quick look over.

'Wearing a formal sweater to the show. Low amount of strength in his hands. Friendly demeanor…' he thought, before coming to a conclusion: Geek.

There was also a very muscular girl with black hair, blue gym clothes and a mole on her left cheek. However, she didn't even glance in his direction, and Liam decided not to approach her for now. Fourth was a brown-haired boy wearing a blue cap, green hoodie and stubble on his chin, but he appeared to be too fascinated by his surroundings to really notice Liam. And finally, a young woman with pale skin, blue-and-black dyed hair and a similarly colored outfit.

As soon as she laid eyes on him and his relaxed demeanor, however, her lip curled and she looked away. Not a fan of slackers, then. That, plus her choice in makeup and the fact she stood slightly apart from others… 'Loner.'

His analysis of his competition came to a halt, however, as the seventh camper arrived. She was an Asian-Canadian girl with long black hair, a red crop top and green cargo shorts, as well as a pair of black sunglasses. Once she removed them, they could see her intense expression, looking at her surroundings with a glare strong enough to melt steel.

"Heather, good to see you," Chris said with more cheer than he felt.

"You want us to stay here?!" she said, incensed. "I'm contacting my parents; you can not make us compete in a place like this!" she protested, waving a hand in the direction of the camp.

As she stomped over to stand with the other contestants, Chris simply produced the sheaf of papers again, a happy grin on his face. "Ah, I love our legal team," he said, while the other campers had mixed reactions to Heather.

Gwen frowned and looked away, already uninterested in making friends with her. Both Eva and Ezekiel basically ignored her, though for different reasons. Bridgette took a half-step away from her, put off by her hostile attitude. And Liam raised an eyebrow with a vaguely interested look on his face. A spoiled one, then. But her parents… 'Wealthy, political, or both?' he wondered. Knowing what kind of family spoiled her when raising her could offer some key insights into how this 'Heather' girl thought...

Cody, in contrast to all of them, stepped forward. "Nice to meet ya, beautiful. The names Cody, or rather, the Codemeister if you–"

"Don't care. Not interested," Heather told him bluntly, not even turning to look at him. That stopped the nerd cold, but he simply shrugged, willing to try again later.

Meanwhile, the next boat had arrived bearing an orange-haired girl wearing a light green sarong-esque skirt and green top with a window cut out. "Hey, everyone, it's Izzy!" Chris called.

"Hi, Chris!" Izzy called, beginning to walk to the edge of the boat. "Hi, everyo–" she started, before slipping and falling over the boat's railing. She flipped over and slammed face-first into the dock before falling into the water, making everyone watching wince.

Bridgette quickly ran over, saying "Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" She reached a hand out and Izzy quickly grabbed it, using it to climb onto the deck.

Once aboard, she shook herself to get rid of the water and stood up. "Wow. That felt… great!" she said, making Bridgette pause. "Well, except for the part where I hit my face. So, we're at a summer camp? Will there be paper mache? Is lunch soon?" she asked in rapid succession.

"Yes, maybe, and in a while," Chris answered. "Now move along, we've got other contestants to introduce!" he told her, and she and Bridgette both walked back to the others. Liam had to stop himself from blinking at the whole scene. Well, he found the crazy one. But what lie alongside the insanity?

The next boat dropped off two campers at once. Both of them were girls, and both had their dark hair up in pigtails while they wore matching pink short-shorts and striped tops. "Katie, Sadie, welcome to your new home for nine weeks," he greeted them.

The left girl, who was both thinner and more tanned, gasped happily. "Oh gosh, Sadie, it's a summer camp!" she declared.

The apparently-named Sadie clapped her hands. "Oh gosh, I've always wanted to go to summer camp with you, Katie. Eee!" she cried out, with Katie repeating her "Eee!" as they both ran over to join the others.

'A pair of 'besties' joined at the hip,' he observed. Any alliance with one of them would, by default, include the other. Unless, that is, he removed one of them. Then he could play guardian angel when the other floundered, securing him their help. Hmm… something to ponder.

As Chris was watching the duo, it distracted him from the next camper's arrival. At least, until they landed on the deck and shouted "Woo-hoo!" Turning, he got an eyeful of a very large blonde boy wearing khaki shorts and a white shirt, in the middle of which was a blue Canadian leaf. "Chris! Being here is just awesome! Woo!" he declared.

"Owen! Welcome!" Chris cheered back, happy to have such an excited vict– participant. Owen laughed and scooped him up in a bear hug, making Chris gasp as the air was squeezed out of his lungs. "...Alright, man. Alright!" he said, getting more and more hoarse.

Owen quickly let him go. "Sorry, man. It's just that this is so… so…" he said, trying to find the right word.

"Awesome?" Izzy helpfully supplied.

"Yes! Awesome! WOOO!" he cheered again, before joining them next to Izzy, who gave him a friendly smile. Owen's boat then departed, moving noticeably faster than it had on arrival.

Liam had two words to describe his impression: Party Boy.

The next boat came and left, leaving behind a male dark-haired teen wearing an olive shirt with a handprint in the center and camo sleeves, half-tucked into a pair of dark jeans. He was also carrying a guitar case in his right hand, indicating he was a performer. "Contestant number twelve: Trent!" Chris announced.

Giving the host a fist-bump, Trent said "Hey, it's good to meet you, Chris. Nice job on that figure-skating show."

Chris's smile, if it was possible, grew wider. "I knew I rocked that show. Thanks, man!" he replied.

Looking at the camp and docks, Trent said "So… this is it?" Chris nodded, and he took a look at the campers that had been assembled so far. "Oookaayy…" he said, before hesitantly making his way over.

As he did, he and Gwen looked at each other and he gave her a smile. She quickly looked away, but after a moment she glanced back and returned it. Liam also observed that Gwen's foot, which had been impatiently tapping against the dock, had stopped and even turned slightly in Trent's direction. Interesting...

The next boat, rather than ferrying its passenger, was pulling them behind it on water skis. They were male and wearing a red tracksuit with the letter 'T' on it, as well as red sweat-band over brown hair.

"Ladies and gentleman, Tyler!" Chriss announced, and Tyler waved at them. Unfortunately, doing so caused him to lose his grip on the handle, and he tumbled forward across the water, skipping like a stone until he hit the docks. Which launched him into the air, over the other campers' heads, and directly into the pile of luggage. "Ooohh!" Trent called, with most of the other campers sharing the sentiment.

One of the luggage bags was sent into the water, where it caused a splash high enough to reach up and cover Heather, who had been standing on the edge of the dock away from the rest of them. "My shoes!" she called, completely soaked and furious.

Chris, meanwhile, was ecstatic, and yelled "Wicked wipeout, bro! That'll be great for the ratings!"

From the depths of the luggage pile, Tyler's hand emerged and gave a thumbs up. The other contestants, sans Heather, relaxed upon seeing that the jock was fine. Liam had to fight to keep his smile from becoming a smirk as the scene played out before him. Eager, clumsy and-based on his outfit-a jock, too? He may have just found his first pawn.

The next boat left a girl with pink pants, a teal-and-olive shirt, and glasses with a notable set of braces. "Beth, you made it!" Chris said.

Upon seeing Chris, Beth gasped and immediately ran over to hug him, much to his discomfort. "Chris McLean! It's so incredible to meet you!" she said, before letting go and looking at him in mild surprise. "You know, when I saw you on TV, I thought you were taller," she remarked.

"Uh… sorry?" Chris said, not sure what to make of that, while Beth smiled and waved nervously towards the camera.

Scratch that, here was an excellent pawn. Nervous, socially awkward, apparently eager for affection? He needed to be quick, before someone else poached her. With that in mind, once Beth was close enough to them, he was the first to give her a polite wave.

As expected, she moved closer to him. "Hi! Looks like we're going to be each other's new friends!" she said, her tone excited while also containing an element of hopefulness. Not just eager for friends, then, but desperate for them.

Her speech also caused a small amount of spittle, which Liam ignored with little more than twitch. "I'm glad to have made a new friend," he said, getting Beth to grin widely before moving to stand next to him.

By then another boat was coming, this one bearing a dark-skinned girl with brown hair, a white shirt, gray vest and green capris. "Courtney, welcome!" he said, using the chance to avoid Beth as he helped Courtney off the boat.

"Thank you," she said politely. Once she was before the rest of them, she waved. "You must be the other contestants. Nice to meet you all!" she said.

Owen, still charged up, grabbed her hand and rapidly shook it. "How's it going? I'm Owen!" he said.

"Nice to meet you, Owen," she automatically replied, before her eyes landed on the soaked Heather, who was in the process of wringing out her hair. "Um… do you need a towel?" she asked.

The rich girl gave her a look of surprise, momentarily flummoxed by the act of kindness. Quickly pulling herself together, she nodded. "That would be appreciated," she said, and wordlessly accepted a fluffy white towel when Courtney opened her luggage bags to provide one.

Liam narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if this Courtney was being nice or 'nice'. Either way, she was already making connections. He'd have to keep an eye out.

The next camper to arrive was a tall, muscular Jamaican teen with a white cap, beard and a green shirt with the letter 'D' on it. However, his friendly expression was at complete odds with his intimidating statue. "DJ!" Chris greeted, giving him a high-five.

"Yo, Chris McLean!" DJ said, high-fiving him back. Giving his surroundings a look, he said "Hey, man, are you sure you got the right place?" When Chris confirmed that this was indeed the right place, DJ grunted and picked up his bags, looking decidedly miffed. "Hope they at least have a decent kitchen…" he muttered, though the other campers still heard it.

A gentle giant, then. Probably terrified of small vermin. That, or he'd try to make a pet out of one. Good for physical challenges, but not for ones that required courage. 'Likely too honest to consider an alliance,' Liam thought. Just then they heard rock music going off, making them all look at the next boat with interest.

The music was coming from a speaker, over which stood a male teen with hair that was black except for a lime green mohawk, as well as several piercings in his ears, nose and brow. A spiked collar was around his neck, and his black shirt had a green skull on it. Once the camp was in view, his already-grumpy expression turned angry, and he threw his bag onto the dock before jumping off. "I don't appreciate surprises, McLean," he declared.

"Yeah, your parole officer warned me about that, Duncan," Chris said. "He also said to give him a call if we ever need to have you thrown back in juvie," he revealed, chuckling.

That got Duncan to scoff, and he said "Whatever," before walking over. As he passed by Heather and Courtney, he smirked. "Meet you later by the campfire, gorgeouses," he said, prompting a disgusted look from both of them.

"Drop dead, you criminal," she said, while Courtney 'hmped' and looked away with her nose held high.

'A convicted criminal. Definitely someone who'd agree to an alliance-the right one, anyway-and willing to go unpleasant distances to succeed,' Liam observed. His reaction to Heather and Courtney might also mean he was willing to let his hormones talk… or it could be an act. So either a potential asset or a threat. Maybe even both.

The next boat also was playing music, though this time it was much more of the 'partying' variety. Rather appropriately, the one jamming out to it looked to be even more of a party animal than Owen, with blonde hair, an open pink shirt and a cowboy hat. As he came onto the dock, he said "Chris McLean, man! Nice to finally meet you, man!" and gave the host of fist-bump.

Returning it, Chris said "Geoff, my man! Welcome to the island, man!"

"Thanks, man!" Geoff replied, and Gwen grimaced.

"If those two say 'man' one more time, I'm going to hurl," she declared, making Beth and DJ move slightly away from her in case she wasn't joking. Liam, on the other hand, made sure to chuckle just loud enough for her to hear, getting a glance from her that was slightly less displeased than before.

The next boat dropped off an athletic young woman with light brown hair in a ponytail and brown eyes, wearing a red T-shirt, black knee-length shorts and black boots. "Daphne! I was wondering if you were going to make it," Chris said.

Daphne smirked. "No way am I missing out on a chance for this much fun," she told him, cracking her knuckles and looking around the island with a chuckle. "No resort, huh? That's fine; fewer fire extinguishers around."

The host leaned back. "Uh, right…" he said, making a mental note to have the interns restock on extinguishers. "Well, glad to know you'll make this interesting," he settled on.

"Hopefully," she replied, and walked over to join the others. As she did, Liam mentally hoped she and Izzy weren't put on the same team. Or at least, not the same team as him. He could only handle so much chaos in his daily life.

Chris failed to notice the next camper until they were right behind him and released a loud sigh. Whirling around, he saw a thin young man with red hair and stubble, glasses and a blue T-shirt with a spaceship on it. Under one arm, he was carrying an electric keyboard. "Ah, Harold. Welcome to camp," he said.

Harold was silent for a moment, looking around. "You mean the competition takes place at a crummy camp instead of a five-star hotel?" he asked. Chris nodded, and the redhead surprised them by pumping his fist. "Yes! My skills are so much more applicable here," he stated, and gladly joined the others.

Liam hummed. Another geek, it seemed. However, the mention of his 'skills' made him give Harold another look over. He held himself with confidence, like Cody, but this was less swagger and more self-assuredness. Not only that, but the keyboard he carried meant he at least could play music, if nothing else. Maybe he would be worth keeping an eye on.

Suddenly, Courtney called "Oh, wow…" and every female camper–plus Owen–looked to the next boat. On it was quite possibly the most attractive man they had ever seen, tanned and muscular with perfect skin and dark flowing hair. Clearly, he had to be a model of some kind, and he flashed them all a smile full of perfectly white teeth as he came ashore.

"This is Justin!" Chris announced, before shaking the young man's hand. "Just so you know, dude, we selected you entirely due to your looks," he said.

Justin shrugged. "I can deal with that, Chris. Great to be here," he said, and joined other campers, many of whom were still spellbound by his beauty. That was enough for Liam to at least place him in the 'potentially useful' column of his mental list.

Harold was not affected, however, which enabled him to gasp at the sight of the next contestant. They were a large girl of African-Canadian descent with long black hair, a beige shirt with apples on it and blue shorts. "Hey y'all, Leshawna's in the house now! The rest of y'all might as well leave now, 'cause I came here to win!" she declared, stepping off the boat.

Heather had to resist snorting at that while Liam raised an eyebrow, already wary, and Daphne grinned at the potential challenge. Harold stepped forward to talk to her, but failed to notice that Duncan had stuck his foot out until he tripped over it.

"Ah!" Harold shouted as he face-planted into the deck, nearly hitting his glasses against the wood. As Duncan snickered, he stood back up and glared at the punk. "Idiot!" he muttered, his chance to make a good first impression on Leshawna now ruined. In his place was DJ, who gave her a high-five and a wide smile.

The penultimate boat arrived, and Chris introduced them as they stepped off. "Everyone, this is Lindsay." The now-named girl was caucasian and had long blonde hair held back by a blue bandana. Her hourglass figure was clothed in a tight brown tank-top, an orange miniskirt and brown cowboy boots. Combine all this with her large blue eyes, and her entire image screamed 'beauty queen'. "Not too shabby," Chris said to the cameras.

"Hi!" Lindsay said as she stepped onto the deck. Then she paused, leaning closer to Chris. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere…" she said.

Frowning, the host said "I'm Chris McLean." When all that got him was a confused look, he said "The host of the show? That you're on?"

"Ooohh, that's where!" Lindsay said in realization.

"Uh… yeah…" Chris said, before deciding to move right along.

As Lindsay joined them, Liam had already placed her in the 'pawn' category and looked at the other campers for their reactions. To his concern, he noticed a calculating expression on Heather's face. Perhaps he wasn't the only one inspecting their fellow 'campers'. "And last but not least, Noah!"

The final camper was as thin as Cody but with darker skin, as well as wearing a red vest with blue sleeves over a white shirt and brown shorts. The moment he was on land, Noah asked "Did your crew get my email about my life-threatening allergies?"

Chris shrugged. "I'm sure one of them did!" he said.

Noah rolled his eyes. "Great…" he said sarcastically. "And of course this is where we're actually going to be staying," he said, taking a look at the camp.

Now that all of the contestants had arrived, Chris pulled a camera from his pocket. "Alright campers, we need a group photo for the promos. Everyone gather around and make sure you're in the shot!" he announced.

Each of the twenty-four campers assembled together, all of them smiling while several waved or struck poses. "Okay. One, two… Oh, hold on!" he said. "Forgot to clear memory for the photo."

After doing that, he said "Alright, one… Wait, lens cap!"

"Come on, man, my face is startin' to freeze!" Leshawna complained.

"Okay, all set. Everyone say 'Wawanakwa'!" he called, preparing to take the photo.

All of them began to say the camp's name, before the dock suddenly groaned beneath their feet, too rickety to support all their weight on one end at once. And sure enough, it collapsed just as the camera went off, leaving the 'promo' shot as one of all of them floundering in the water below.

Despite this, Chris said "Perfect, guys! You all have ten minutes to dry off and make it to the bonfire pit!"

The campers all groaned, some of them climbing back onto the dock and helping others up while others decided to simply swim to shore. Each of them was handed a towel by a pair of interns, who took them back and guided them to the bonfire once done.

Once all of them were assembled there, Chris began "This is Camp Wawanakwa, your home for nine weeks. Or, sixty-three days depending on how you want to look at it." A few of them groaned at thinking of a number that high, which was exactly the reaction he was going for. Chuckling, he said "The campers around you will be your teammates, your competition and possibly even your friends."

Duncan cleared his throat. "Hey, what are the sleeping arrangements going to be? Because I'd like to request a bed under her," he said, jerking a thumb at Heather.

Rearing back in revulsion, Heather quickly asked "They're not co-ed, right?"

"Nope!" Chris answered, causing Duncan to snap his fingers. "Each cabin is separated into a Boy's side and Girl's side. Any other questions before I announce the teams?" he asked. Lindsay, Katie and Sadie all raised their hands, but he said "No questions? Great! Now, when I call your name, go stand over there," and pointed off the left.

"Justin, Cody, Bridgette, Liam, Duncan, Katie, Courtney, Beth, Sadie, Ezekiel, Harold and Tyler," he rattled off, and the dozen named campers moved to where he indicated. Tossing them a green cloth, he announced "From now on, you guys are officially… the Screaming Gophers!" The cloth unfurled to show an emblem of a raging Gopher with fisticuffs.

"Wow. That's… awesome," Harold said in slight awe.

"Yay! We're on the same team!" Katie said, and she and Sadie both 'eee'-ed loud enough to make several of their teammates wince.

Chris continued "The rest of you–Geoff, Leshawna, Eva, Trent, Owen, Heather, Izzy, Lindsay, Daphne, Noah, Gwen and DJ–are now… the Killer Bass!" Like with the Gophers, they were also given a flag with their team emblem, in their case an angry bass that was out of water and ready to smack someone with its tail.

"Oh yeah, I'm a bass! I always dream of swimming with fishes! Woooo!" Owen declared, causing several of his new teammates to give him perplexed looks.

"Alright, campers, a few more things to go over," Chris said. "First off, cameras have been installed in all public areas, so you'll be recorded anytime you're out and about. Between that and the fact that you're all old enough to be summer camp counselors yourselves, you'll be otherwise unsupervised in your free time," he said, to the delight of several of them, especially Duncan and Geoff.

"Gophers, you have the east cabin, and Bass get the west one. I'll give you all half an hour to get settled in, and then lunch is served in the dining hall." Pointing to the hall in question, he said "And I'd advise not making a bad impression with our cook by being late. So… move it!" At his sudden shout, each camper scrambled to grab their luggage.

Confession Stall - Chris

"You will also have this confessional outhouse to air your innermost thoughts in. Let our ravenous viewers at home know how you really feel, or just get something off your chest. This is Total Drama Island, and we are here for it!" he declared.

Confession Stall - Gwen

"Okay. Well, so far I have to say… this sucks," she stated plainly.

Confession Stall - Liam

Liam leaned back, resting his head on his arms and propping his feet up in the corner. "Well, my team certainly seems… interesting. At a glance, the biggest threats seem like Duncan and Courtney, though I can't rule out Harold or Justin just yet. I also need to start talking with some of my more 'naive' teammates. In a game where my own team could decide to vote me off, their loyalty is worth their weight in gold," he said, before yawning. "I just hope the first challenge they give us ends before sundown. I have trouble sleeping, and spending the last day on a boat did not help," he said, appearing briefly uncomfortable before his lazy smile returned.

Confession Stall - Daphne

Looking directly into the camera, she said "I'll say this now, for all of you watching. I don't care about the cash prize, the tabloid fame, or anything of that. I came to have fun and hopefully score some friends along the way. If anyone tries to turn this into a miserable experience for me… I'll smash right through them." She punctuated this by slamming a fist into the palm of her right hand.