Peace and long life, Ranger fans!

Well, Thanksgiving's come and gone. I had a mostly good time visiting with relatives, eating fried turkey and catching up with everyone. I'm running a little behind tonight, as I took time out to watch Star Wars: Episode I for the first time. It was average, but I thought the story was weak and the characters mostly two-dimensional. They never allowed you to bond with any of them. Also, they made Anakin too young to be believable in his role and even had to do what I'd call write-arounds for him to fulfil his role. The idea of him being virgin-born and the Force coming from alien microbes were, I thought, two poor decisions that didn't further the story. I hope the next movie proves to be better.

Okay, that's my two cents for the week. On to more fun things. This week's caption spawned a great deal of response, and making a decision was difficult. I had to think of which one Gadget would like the most, and that made one of Q's offerings the choice for this week's caption. Congratulations, John, and the third caption is up and ready at the caption page--you'll find the link below as always. This one involves Dale saying something to Gadget. I'm sure the caption suggestions will be as creative as they've been the first two times.

And now, for the week that was...

For those of you that haven't ventured over to the Story Board lately, I recommend as I did last week a visit to see Newton's new story, "The Knight and the Jester". It's a great opening fanfiction for our new Rangerphile, and I hope to see more of them like that very soon!

On Wednesday, Joseph Sturch asked if there were ever animal jails in the episodes. Of course, there weren't. Mainly, criminals like Fat Cat were stealing from humans, so the Rangers would simply get the goods back and Big Fat Daddy C would typically slide down a sewer drain, shaking his fist in defiance. However, in the episode "Double-O-Dale" the spy was taken away with his "little rodent helpers", but only because he had them in his hands. The MP's probably let the rodents go once the spy was put away.

There has been some fanfic speculation on animal justice systems and jails, and in the next part of the Untold Ranger Tales, Chris and I explore that to an extent. Gotta make some time to edit!

Also on Wednesday, Dale brought back his Rescue Ranger page on a new site. Yay! Glad to see you're still with us, my friend, and that Ranger fandom hasn't left your blood.

Brian Walmer continues work on his Christmas story. Looking good so far!

Jaleel popped back in and gave us a neat pic on Thursday. Great airbrush work there, and an interesting looking character! Glad you're still able to join in every now and then, pally.

Zipper mentioned the idea of creating a Ranger RPG game on Thursday and Friday. I know there's been discussion of this in the past, and it didn't seem to go much anywhere. Maybe the Rangers and RPG's don't mix--or maybe Gadget just turns out to be too powerful for the forces of evil to handle ;-)

On Saturday, the J.A.M. asked about the "Lu-ceeelle!" reference in "Home Is Where You Hang Upside Down". It turns out, it was from Cool Hand Luke. I thought it was from one of Little Richard's songs. I always heard Dale saying it with LR's voice--hmm, maybe I shouldn't have said that ;-) Anyway, I agree that it's a great fanfic, no matter where the reference was from.

Another new Rangerphile! Welcome to the fold, Natalie, and we're glad you've joined the Ranger jamboree!

This afternoon, Robert Knaus wondered if we found our interest in the Rangers waning. I will admit that there was a time when it did, but mainly because I was too busy at the time to do anything about it. I've never gotten tired of the Rangers, and there's always something new to explore with them.

I think Man-Child expressed the community sentiment best, but let me add that being a Rangerphile is more than just being interested in the Rangers. It's something that stays with you--yes, you might forget them for a while, but then you'll see a picture or read a fanfic or see Chip and Dale in their old movie format and the old feeling will return. It's one of those inexpressible things that you can't really explain, sort of like Gadget's inventions. Whatever it is, it keeps me and the rest of the fandom coming back for more. And I'm glad it does.

Lastly, Joseph Sturch mentioned the similarity in appearance and character traits between Nimnul and Dexter. I could just hear them discussing that one.

Nimnul: Me? The world's greatest criminal mind, comparable to that puny little pipsqueak?

Dexter: Dexter, boy genius, is never to be compared with this irrepressible specimen! My intellect is far beyond his cranial capacity!

Nimnul: You just watch yourself, young man, or I'll challenge you to a battle of inventive genius!

Dexter: That'll be an interesting ten seconds...

Sounds like something someone could have fun with ;-) Hope all your Thanksgivings were good ones, and until next time if someone offers to let you go first into a room where the floor's moving, don't.