G'day, Rangerphiles!

Here we are again, another Sunday. Sure seemed to come up fast this week. I've been really busy with Ranger projects, so much so that the update I figured to announce today isn't quite ready. Apologies, but it'll be ready in the next couple of days.

There's also a major update for the boards coming, which is a big part of the reason my own update's lagging behind. Julie and I have been working hard on this together, and we think you're going to like it. Look for a joint announcement soon, and when it comes you won't be able to miss it! The other reason? That would be preparing the Artifacts itself.

I did manage to get to the captions, so let me congratulate you all on another great week of caption ideas. This time the prize goes to Dale, our Liverpudlian Rangerphile. Way to go, Dale! There's been some suggestions that I mention other worthy captions, so I'm going to start doing that as well in the form of runners-up. This week's runners-up were:

Schroeder

Chip:  Well, you're not Foxglove, but you'll have to do...
Zipper: Ugh, I wish he didn't eat so much pizza last night...

KS

Zipper: Don't worry, I gotcha!
Chip: I really wish Cassandra hadn't predicted I'd die after Zipper started talking.

Karl

Zipper: "So, Chip! Do we have an understanding?"
Chip: "Hmm...perhaps I SHOULD give Zipper more acting scenes."

and Chris Silva

Zipper: For the last time, Chip, Gadget is my woman, so hands off!
Chip: I liked it better when I only had to fight with Dale over Gadget...

The new caption is up on the Caption Page, linked below. Nimnul returns, reading a letter that doesn't seem to set well with him. What could posssibly have ticked off our kind-hearted mad scientist? Oh, the possibilities...

And now, the week that was...

Zxi started the week off with a preproduction pic of Chip and Dale playing laser tag. Great idea, and I could just see this as a modern-day opportunity for Chip and Dale to get the better of Donald Duck again. I can already hear the feather-brained fowl going ballistic when he loses ;-)

KS reported happily that he's close to getting Toon Disney. Unfortunately, as Man-Child pointed out, there aren't many of us that can get this desirable channel. And why is that? Maybe we ought to run that question by Tad Stones and see what he says--off the record, at least.

Alert! Gorilla's Ranger Map has reset itself! If you put your location on his map before, please do so again. If you didn't before, please do so now. We like to be able to see how many Rangerphiles there are and where they are. You don't have to give out any info other than your regular screen name. I just wish I was better at putting my little dot in place--I almost ended up in the Gulf of Mexico, glub!

Another new international Rangerphile, hurrah! Wouter from the Netherlands joined the place this week. Welcome, and hope you enjoy all this creative ruckus!

Jaleel had several updates to the Foxglove Feature this week, starting on Tuesday with an RPG stats for Liddy, the announcement of "A Tale of Two Foxgloves" by Allen Hopper, "Lightning Force Agency" by Alexander Armington, "The Young Rangers" by Abel DuSale, and new FoxyKISS outfits designed by Blue Streak. In other words, get over there and see it, pallies!

Also on Tuesday, Painless Doc Johnson started a Ranger community on MSN, centered around Gadget (who else?). Mosey on over, it's looking pretty good! He also figured out TheBoz's Ranger Code and provided us with GURPS stats for Gadget. Also note that you can "read" your Ranger Code at Mr. Pi's website! The things you learn by reading threads...

On Wednesday, Chip ID wondered what would've happened if Marie Sunslope in Matt Plotecher's "Plots" and "Fly to the Light" hadn't died. I think it certainly would've had an effect on Chip, as he and Marie already had an emotional bond. Maybe he would've matured further and been able to handle things easier. Of course, if she had been around they might've married before the Rangers would ever have been formed and we couldn't leave poor Gadget in that wrecked plane, now can we?

The Fictator bubbled up with a question about Rangerphile authors setting Ranger stories in different universes and why they do that. That quickly ballooned into A Conversation With Julie when she mentioned her anti Chip+Gadget feelings. Of course, anytime the Chip+Gadget issue comes up, it's going to be popular. Kudos btw to y'all for keeping this conversation aboveboard and not berating Julie--I get nervous when I think of her Magic Sword (TM) ;-)

But to respond to the actual question, I'll briefly comment on my own reasons for setting the Untold Ranger Tales in a different universe (I'm saying "I" here, but a lot of these reasons developed out of story talks with Chris Silva). Reason one would be that pairing Dale and Gadget would never be a popular choice with all the C+G sentiment. Second, I simply was curious to see if I could write a believable story with Dale and Gadget in romantic roles--after writing eight novel-length stories and working on the ninth, I can see that it is. Third, I wanted to develop Chip's character beyond his series limitations and see if I could found a soulmate for him that would be capable of a good relationship. Lahwhinie presented me with unique character possibilities that enriched the overall story immensely and made an excellent foil for Chip. Well, I could go on for days, but that's my thinking on the series in a nutshell.

Oh yeah, we were summarizing, weren't we? On Thursday, Kongo speculated on Mickey Mouse's chances against Fat Cat if the crime kitty kidnapped Minnie. I know that Mickey's not exactly a favorite around here, but I'll give him this--he can think on his feet, and he's handled worse than Fat Cat before. That said, it could work against him because he could get overconfident and mess up. In that case, our bold team would have to come to his rescue. Maybe Mickey could thank them by talking to the Disney execs and getting at least a Ranger movie for us...

The Painless one returned on Thursday, considering what radio shows Gadget might like. Since the radio would most likely be on when she's inventing, it'd probably be something she could tune out like easy listening or soft jazz or something like that. Just a guess, but she doesn't seem like a loud music person in any case.

And today Dumpsterside mentioned that his new fanfic is coming along nicely. Speaking of fanfics, there were a couple of updates announced this week! Loneheart announced updates to his "Gadget in Chains" story and Zipper to his "Dimensions of Change", both on the Story Board.

Well, that's it for now. I'm going to go watch the Olympics and then hopefully finish the work on that major update tonight or tomorrow. Until next week, avoid snakes in planes and keep safe!