Top 10 Best Total Drama Moments

Of all the new contestants on “Revenge of the Island”, Zoey’s shown to be one of the sweetest, most trusting… and most gullible of the crew. However, when Chef Hatchet pushes her buttons during a challenge –breaking her gift from Mike in the process, something inside Zoey snaps. She adopts a new cutthroat attitude, and develops expertise in laying traps and commando acrobatics, and a thirst for vengeance against anyone who’s crossed her, abused her, or stood in her way. “Total Drama” has a habit of pushing its contestants to extreme measures, but who would’ve thought it could turn an innocent, lonely girl into a psychotic, vengeful war machine? Fortunately, remembering her loved ones is enough to snap her out of it.

As a reality show of sorts, “Total Drama” was never afraid of showing the more perverse moments –censored, of course. One incident that comes to mind takes place during the water ski challenge in Season One, where Heather drives a ski through mud while Harold tries to collect flags along the way. It looks like victory is Harold’s until Heather decides to try and cut him loose; before she can try, however, her top gets snagged on a low-hanging branch and… Harold certainly gets an eyeful. This is the only instance on the show where a female character’s chest is exposed, but boy did it leave an impact, especially on Harold who was eliminated for losing the challenge –even Heather’s “accidental” schemes are nasty.

Season Three had a plethora of musical numbers to spare, but the one that really catches our ears is the villainous duet between Alejandro and Heather. Heather ends up trapped in a hole, and Alejandro seriously considers leaving her there. He successfully took out nearly every other female contestant, so what difference would it make? Fortunately for Heather, she’s able to appeal to Alejandro’s better nature –if he has one - and convinces him to help free her. Aside from the alternative rock instrumental, what really sells the song is the dramatic tension between these two – they’ve butted heads all season, and this eerie tune only cements their heated rivalry. Of course, we all know there’s a little something extra between them.

Chef Hatchet is on the hunt for Campers during the Hide and Seek challenge, and Crazy Izzy just accidentally gave herself away. However, Izzy isn’t going down without a fight, and challenges Chef to face her in hand-to-hand combat. The two are evenly matched until Izzy manages to kick Chef back and make a run for it, but their struggle ultimately ends in his favor. Izzy may be a psycho, but we have to give her credit – not everyone is crazy or brave enough to take on grouchy old Chef, and it resulted in one of the most epic, funniest showdowns in the show’s history. Spoiler alert, this isn’t the last time we see these two clash with each other.

Season One has finally ended, Owen or Gwen has won the coveted $100,000 prize, and the contestants can finally go home… or so they think. In the season epilogue, Chris offers the campers one last chance to win an even better prize - $1,000,000 –and all they have to do is find the briefcase. After a long day of searching, backstabbing, and unexpected character developments… everyone loses the case, but Chris gives 14 of them a chance to win the money again… in Season Two. That’s right, Chris’ little hunt for the million was all a rigmarole to announce another season of torture for our weary contestants. Unfortunately for them, it’s never really over until Chris says so.

During the Season One talent show challenge, the Killer Bass are bombing big time and are desperate enough to rely on Harold to save their tails; it’s not like they have anything left to lose. Turns out that may have been the best act of desperation ever because how does Harold blow the crowd away? With an unexpected, epic beatboxing solo. The jump cuts, the vocalizations, and the clear passion in Harold’s performance are all rewarded with thunderous applause and victory for his team. Harold may be a geeky know-it-all most of the time, but this proves that he definitely has “wicked skills” –maybe even enough to go professional someday?

After being booted out first in Season One –which he kind of deserved, Ezekiel was more determined than ever to win in Season Three. Unfortunately, history ends up repeating itself when he gets the boot in the second episode… but Zeke’s story doesn’t end there. He manages to sneak back onto the Jumbo Jet and can occasionally be seen hiding in the background throughout the rest of the season. But this game of “Where’s Waldo” takes a dark turn as we watch Ezekiel devolve from a homeschooled geek into a feral, Gollum-like beast after being isolated for so long. The tragic part is that Zeke stays feral for the rest of the series, all thanks to Chris –what a shock.

As one of the show’s biggest antagonists, Heather miraculously managed to manipulate her way to the final three of the first season. But in the semifinal challenge, karma finally catches up to her in a big way. She is dared to have her head shaved by Chef, but before she even accepts the dare, she hastily kicks the razor away, and it backfires… hilariously. Thanks to a technicality, Heather not only loses her hair but the game as well, thus putting an end to her reign of terror. Considering all the people she’s backstabbed and taken advantage of, we can’t think of anything more satisfying than watching the queen bee lose her crown –which doesn’t even grow back until Season Three.

At first, Duncan and Courtney had such a promising relationship in Season One – an unexpected romance blossoming between two polar opposites who originally couldn’t stand each other. However, throughout Seasons Two, their relationship becomes incredibly strained, and Duncan and Gwen kiss behind Courtney’s back in Season Three. When their dirty little secret is exposed… it goes about as well as you’d expect. To be honest, nobody was in the right in this scenario – Courtney’s controlling attitude pushed Duncan away, and Gwen and Duncan betrayed her trust and broke her heart; and worse yet, Gwen gets all the blame. Reality TV romance, is it EVER a good idea?

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dramatic honorable mentions.

Owen Takes an Epic Plunge
“Total Drama Island” (2007-08)

Heather Kisses Trent
“Total Drama Island” (2007-08)

Gwen Scares Off the Psycho Killer
“Total Drama Island” (2007-08)

Camp Wawanakwa Sinks
“Total Drama All-Stars” (2014)

Captain Hollywood
“Total Drama Action” (2009-10)

Throughout Season One, Heather and Lindsay had a rather dysfunctional friendship – Lindsay thinking they’re BFFs while Heather uses her as a pawn. However, when Lindsay is eliminated during the motocross challenge, she learns the truth about Heather’s deception… and gives her a surprising verbal lashing. Needless to say, it’s shocking to see the normally airheaded Lindsay tear into someone –she was always such a ditzy sweetheart. However, after everything Heather’s done –not just to her but everyone else, this eruption was well deserved, and it’s always empowering to see a former pushover stand up for themselves. The shocked reactions to Lindsay’s outburst really tie it all together as one of the show’s most hilarious and therapeutic scenes.