Total Dramarama: Does It Work So Far?

Well, here we are again. Total Drama. A franchise that gave up on years ago after getting mad at the series for taking a direction that I didn't approve. With that in mind, I really didn't have hopes for this. The only thing that I expected was more of the things that made me just move on just with toddlers. However, I must say that it's surprising how I enjoyed this. Like I did my Dragon Ball Super Rants, I'll speak my piece by segments. This time with 99% less rage. Let's begin.

The Premise

The premise of a babyfication spin-off has been around for decades. The earliest one that I remember watching was OG Muppet Babies which I feel this series takes some ques from. Out of the original adults from TD, Chef makes sense as the Daycare owner. Their choices for the "returning" characters are solid besides a few that I'll explain later. To make things short, it still feels like Total Drama besides the aging down of characters and removal of the competition. Now, we move on to what most people reading this are waiting for.

Harold

When I found out that Harold was returning through the leak, I was happy but cautious. I remembered the years of my personal faves including OG Harold being screwed over in later returns, this being a spin-off or not. However, it feels like they are doing things with his character that needed to be done YEARS ago. I won't say that I might have a part in influencing this. However, I do believe that they had a little more freedom this time with the characters compared to pandering World Tour and messy All-Stars.

The one thing that has surprised me was the Harold's friendship with Izzy. Like most Harold related stuff, it can happen in blink it and you'll miss it moments. I played with this idea in Harold's Facebook years ago; There are other fanfictions in the past that did this as well. So, I'm glad that it made it into official works. They surprisingly bounce off each other well. I wonder if there's a filmography gag that I'm missing here. Either way, they make a funny duo. 10/10

Total Dramarama - Harold and Izzy 3

Total Dramarama - Harold and Izzy 1

Total Dramarama - Harold and Izzy 2

Total Dramarama - Harold and Izzy 4

Total Dramarama - Harold and Izzy 5

While I'll miss Brian Froud, I believe this version of Harold works. He has his best and worst traits shown here. He seems to have interesting friendships with characters like Jude and Izzy. His character isn't tied to just Duncan, Courtney, and Leshawna anymore. I really wish we got this in the main series. However, I'm glad that "The Man of a Thousand Skills" at least has got one incarnation to be handled well so far.

The Other Characters

Again, I feel like this cast works for the most part. Courtney and Duncan do keep most of their original personality from the main series at least from Season 1. I'm just glad that they haven't dragged Harold and Gwen into their madness yet. Speaking of Gwen, I am a bit upset that she lost some of her depth from TD, but she is genuinely funny at times with her dark humor. Owen and Noah are great as usual especially as a duo. Beth and Leshawna have a mischievous side here, but I enjoy it compared to what in blue blazes that was going on with them in TDA and TDWT respectively. Izzy is Izzy. Chef again works well as the Daycare owner. MacArthur was a weird addition, but I can tolerate her here. While strange, I do like the addition of Jude from 6teen; he bring this laid personality that the cast needed. I think the only flawed ones so far are Cody and Bridgette; they needed something more to do in my opinion.

As for a character that could have worked, Heather would have worked as Angelica-type antagonist, but I could see it getting stale eventually. Lindsay would work as well, but I think she's canonically rich in the main series meaning she might can afford to go to a fancy preschool in this one. Scott could work as maybe a kid going to a rival daycare. Anything could happen in the future.

The Conclusion

These first 18+ episodes have ranged from enjoyable to great so far. Compared to TDWT, it didn't give me hope then shoot it down the third episode. Compared to TDAS, it wasn't a complete mess from start to finish. All the characters have been used well. It's cartoony enough that it isn't jarring. (I'm looking at you, Teen Titans Go!) All I hope it can keep it up until we at least get a new season of OG Total Drama. Or it can be the new main series. I don't know. Anyway, I hope you all have a nice day. Peace.

• Drinking: Pink Lemonade

• Listening to: Sunrise Sunset by J. Brown

• Games that I'm currently playing: Dragon Ball FighterZ and Monster Hunter World