I have seen more people than I thought talk about how the whole of Total Drama happens over the course of only like about a year or so, and that characters aging and such is only a headcanon. Now, I'm not dissing any of these people, but this kind of makes me feel insane a little bit? Because during my watch through of the series, I've been under the impression that the passage of time is very often mentioned. Combining this with the fact that I LOVE numbers and timelines, I have decided to come up with a rough timeline for this silly ahh show from seasons 1-5b. Which no one has asked for, this is completely self-indulgent. God I love timelines
First, I'm going to list a few assumptions I'm making, just so I've got them written down and we can all understand where I'm coming from when I make seemingly random claims and stuff.
We are going to assume that every contestant that is brought on the show is approximately 16 years old when they are enrolled, with a one year variance in each direction. So, the majority of the kids will be 16, but some may be as young as 15 or as old as 17. I am assuming this because Chris, in season 1, states that the campers are 16, but no direct mention of ages happens again throughout the series to my memory. Besides, enrollment at this age gives Chris the maximum amount of time to take advantage of their teenage-ness without it being way too weird.
Whilst the majority of campers are underage, it will be assumed that the length of the show's run will take place over the Canadian school summer holidays, which according to google is from June to September. When the majority of contestants seem to be in a position where they no longer need to attend school, we will assume the show can take place at any time throughout the year.
It will be assumed that season 1 is set in the year that it was aired, 2007. Each year after that will be dictated by the characters.
There's not much to say that hasn't already said in the assumptions section. In episode one, Chris informs us that all the campers needed to do to qualify for the show is be a teenager and be interesting and told us that they were all 16, so we've got a pretty solid starting point here. I must say that I could have just left the in-universe year as a mystery time period, but like… those mobile phones that they use… they're pretty telling.
Assumed in-universe year: 2007
Campers’ ages: 16, 15-17 range
The biggest piece of evidence that there has been a year progression from season one is Justin, who is really insistent that this year on total drama action will be his year to dominate the game. He refers to season two as "this year" in a confessional in episode one, and more notably in episode one's bonus tape he refers to season one as "last year":
"Last year, I wasn't really a contender. But this year, this year will be different. I may be a pretty boy on the outside, but in here… there's a man filled with rage who's in this thing to win, and mark my words, I will stop at nothing, so no one better stand in my way 'cause I will make sure they don't… uh… stand in my way for long, okay? Ah, perfection."
Which.. Sure, man yeah. Full of rage. I see it. Anyway. Thank you, Justin. So, we can guess that season two takes place a year after season one.
Assumed in-universe year: 2008
Campers’ ages: 17, 16-18 range
World Tour is a bit tricky for me, mostly because of the inclusion of Alejandro and Sierra; they are the first campers (if we can even call them campers in this season) without a solid age starting point. However, in the assumptions section, I did say that every character enrolled in the show would be within the 15-17 age range. Just because of the other campers’ ages, I will assume that Alejandro and Sierra are in the older range of that age bracket, around 17 throughout the length of the season.
Now, TDWT is probably the first season that doesn't take place exclusively during summer. I honestly think it might take place during the Canadian winter, since each time they go to Canada it appears to be snowing and cold. Besides, I do think that in general it would be pretty difficult to make it to all these places all around the world in the span of like two months or so, not to mention the setup of all the challenges. Ew.
Anyway, as for the in-show mentions of a new year, the characters causally mention it multiple times throughout the length of the season:
Ezekiel, episode 1: "This year's winner is in the house!"
Chris, episode 4: "… we found teams try harder during elimination challenges, so this year, there's no set routine. Every challenge could end in elimination!"
Bridgette, episode 6: "I thought I hated interviewing people on the show last year, but being a guest is even worse."
And probably more! So, that's enough for me.
Assumed in-universe year: 2009
Campers’ ages: 18, 17-19 range
Total Drama Revenge of the Island
A fresh batch of kids! You know what that means. We're back to the episodes being shot during the summer holidays, yaay. And since they had to do a challenge every day, they'd only be filming for like, two weeks. I am going to assume these two weeks are right at the start of the summer holidays in June, just to make it easier for me later on.
Anyway, just like the last season, the characters casually mention the advancement in time throughout the series:
Chris, episode 1: "Oh look, it's former player Owen, who's not competing this year!"
Chris, episode 2: "Last time on Total Drama Revenge of the Island, thirteen new competitors were blown away by this year's challenges!"
Chris, episode 8: "Instead of letting last year's losers have all the fun, we brought one of this year's duds!"
Also, in episode 12, Chris describes how he left Larry the man-eating plant by himself on Wawanakwa "a few years" ago. Later on in the episode, Chris claims that "Larry hasn't had a decent meal since [he] stopped feeding him three years ago!". We can assume Chris hasn't been on Wawanakwa much since Total Drama Island, which according to this timeline, is accurate.
Assumed in-universe year: 2010
Campers’ ages: 16, 15-17 range
At the end of TDROTI, Chris gets locked up in jail for 12 months for dumping radioactive waste on Wawanakwa. Within that time, I sure don't think Chris would be shooting any more seasons, unless we count the ones he made up in his cell. Although I don't think I need any more proof than that, I will note the times characters casually mentioned the year's turnover anyway:
Chris, episode 1: "This year's challenges all nod to classes from the past, but with harsh new twists to make this the toughest Total Drama season ever!"
Alejandro, episode 1: "I was stuck in that robot suit for a year!" (He mentions this multiple times within this episode, and in episode 2 + 3 as well)
Chris, episode 1: "This year, we've got a brand new elimination device"
Heather, episode 3: "Leeches? Chris is really making us earn the million this year."
Chris, episode 9: "… Was it last year, when I sealed you inside a mine filled with toxic waste?" [referring to season 4]
Mal [posing as Mike], episode 12: "Look, I know it's been hard for you to trust me this year. But I really am back in the driver's seat now!"
Additionally, in episode 10, Courtney defends herself from Scott's kissing allegations with the fact she had kissed Alejandro "years ago", 'years' being more than one year. In this timeline, TDWT was two years ago at this point, which again is complying to her claim.
Assumed in-universe year: 2011
Gen 1 campers’ ages: 20, 19-21 range
Gen 2 campers’ ages: 17, 16-18 range
Total Drama Pahkitew Island
Another new batch of kids! Now, at the end of TDAS, Chris gets a phone call from some network executive and tells us that they're going "straight into a new season". This makes me believe that Pahkitew Island and All Stars take place in the same year. This certainly can work, since TDAS and TDPI, like TDROTI, are only shot over a period of about two weeks. This fits into the two-month summer holidays just fine, with a gap for setting up the new season in the middle. But, we'll let the characters do the speaking:
Nothing. They never talk about All Stars being last year's season. So, with this uncharacteristic lack of proof of a year break, we can assume that TDAS and TDPI taking place in the same year is correct.
Assumed in-universe year: 2011
Campers’ ages: 16, 15-17 range
And that's the end of my timeline! I know it's not the most interesting, but searching for all this at least made me feel less crazy lol. From this ig we can gather the most common birth years amongst each generation, being 1991 for gen 1, 1994 for gen 2 and 1995 for gen 3. So that's pretty cool.
But anyway, thanks for reading!
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