I agree with Mike Demcio; Dale HAS been potrayed as "an incompetent,
irresponsible, immature, idiot, who seems to have practically no self-control,
common sense, or for that matter, barely
any intelligence..." too often & in too many ways. Mike lists
several instances of this in his piece titled "Doubts About Dale",
which accommpanied his fan-fiction "Rhyme and Reason" (which
is 5 shades of totally awesome reading, well worth the hours it takes to
read it! {I downloaded it & brought it up in a word processing program.}
The characterization was very well done!)
Mike isn't the only one who's steamed about this. Several fans comment below:
Chris "Dale" Birkett:"I think people are really unfair to Dale. I don't mean people on the board, I just mean people in general. I was
just looking through Natahsa's "RR Literature" section, the one with letters from the comics and people were
saying really awful stuff about him. Things like "I don't think he should be a Rescue Ranger". Somebody even
called him Chip's (excuse the phrase) "Dip-sticky little sidekick". C'mon! I mean even if he isn't your favourite
character, you surely couldn't say anything REALLY bad about him. He comes up with good ideas, he's easy
going and he's fun. I like all the Rangers for all their qualities. Even though Dale's my favourite, I would love to
have a leader like Chip, A friend like Gadget, a fighter like Monty and a buddy like Zipper all on my side. If
someone else is your favourite, fine, that doesn't mean you should really try and tear the others to pieces- even
saying that they shouldn't be in the team. It is "Chip AND Dale's Rescue Rangers" after all. "
Here's Indy's response:"They are unfair indeed! I admit to liking Chip better than Dale, but I have some of Dale in me, too. Just because
he lives his life differently doesn't mean he isn't a contributing member. Dale's pulled the team's fat out of the fire
several times. Plus we saw what he could become if he was turned toward evil (Le Purrfect Crime).
One's personal habits are not the sum of one's character or ability. Case in point: my favorite literary hero was
slovenly, the worst tenant in his city, eccentric, prone to mood swings and often inexplicable behavior. I'm talking
about the immortal Sherlock Holmes. Holmes if anything was worse than Dale. I think our red-nosed protagonist
deserves a little slack."
I agree; Dale -does- deserve "a little slack". Heck, a lot of RR fans -must- like him--he came in second place in the poll which ran in the CDRR comics!!
Let's take a look at Dale's good qualities for a moment. As Gadget pointed
out in "The Case
of the Cola Cult", he has a good sense of humor. He's fun-loving and
easy-going, two qualities which make him very likeable (in my opinion).
He has a very active imagination, which can be a very good thing if you
don't let it carry you away (Unfortunately, sometimes Dale's imagination
DOES get the better of him.). He comes up with good ideas sometimes. He
had several in "Short Order Crooks". Mike mentioned one (using
the grinder), another was using the grease to free Gadget. Unfortunately,
his aim wasn't as good as his idea--Chip ended up wearing the grease &
slipping in it. He can be quite brave (though sometimes it seems that his
courage bypasses his common sense, as it seemed to do in "A Case of
Stage Blight" and "When Mice Were Men"), especially when
Gadget's in trouble (The way he distracted Tom in "RoboCat" is
a good example of this). He's willing to give people the benefit of the
doubt (Foxglove, for example) and has stood up for Gadget when the others
expressed some serious doubts (as he did in "RoboCat", for example).
He's a bit naive, but his heart's (usually) in the right place.
Sure, Dale's no detective (like Chip), but even he can put 2 and 2 together and come up with a reasonable answer. The toothpick routine in "The Pied Piper Power Play" was way out of line. That scene make him look like a complete moron! (how could anyone conclude that the initials M. J. stood for Fat Cat?!? Sure, the "Moonwalk Jackson" comment could have been an attempt to make light of the situation or to annoy Chip, but the rest was too much!) He isn't stupid (a little lazy, yes), he just needs a little incentive to think (or get something done). As for that scene with the cannon (from "Piratsy Under the Sea"), I'm afraid that's a hold-over from the old Chip 'N' Dale cartoons in which Chip drags Dale (who stands around, oblivious to what's going on) away from imminent danger at the last moment. The writer was trying to be funny. I dunno about you, but I didn't laugh. Furthermore, in "Love is a Many Splintered Thing", Zipper discovered a pile of sawdust and brought it to the attention of the other 'Rangers. Dale declared, "*gasp!* It's dandruff!" Last time I checked, dandruff was small, white flakes of dead skin which don't remotely smell like, or otherwise resemble, sawdust. Sure, Dale isn't the most observant fellow on the team and tends to exaggerate--but gimmie a break!
Rubber Bando (or Dale with super-powers)
"I've seen weirder things than that in the cafeteria..."--Monterey
Jack
In the episode, "It's a Bird, It's Insane, It's Dale", a meteor
fragment bestowed super-elasticity upon Dale. Although he let the fragment's
power go to his head, he was a fairly competent superhero while he was
Rubber Bando. Sure, he stopped the purse-snatcher by accident, but look
how creatively his used his powers:
--He made himself flat in order to glide
--He inflated his fist for a bigger punch
--He put out a fire all by himself by the "water balloon" method.
--He disguised himself as a rug and wrapped up those rogue dogs (thus stopping
the pet store rampage single-handedly).
--And what about all those stunts he pulled while "distracting"
Seymour?
Like I said before, he DID let those powers go to his head. "Being a superhero is different from being a Rescue Ranger," Dale said, "It's a lot better!" He made a big deal about all the stuff he could do and then suggested that the 'Rangers could be his sidekicks. However, after he was framed, he didn't know how to handle it and begged the 'Rangers for help. His arrogance had cost him; he just didn't realize it until he really needed his friends.
The Dating Game
or "Which gal should he go after--Foxglove or Gadget?"
Let's see...Foxglove has a crush on Dale and Gadget hasn't shown any deep
feelings toward Dale (other than friendship). Have I left anyone out? Chip?
Ignore him for the moment; I'm talking about Dale's love life, *not*
his (see "Regarding Gadget" for my comments on Chip and Gadget).
First, let's list what he has in common with Gadget. They're both warm-hearted,
loyal, and have creative imaginations. They also tend to make messes, but
Gadget usually cleans hers up when she's done. Also, their minds have a
tendancy to wander on occassion.
So, what does Dale have in common with Foxglove? They're both easy-going,
loyal, fun-loving and basically good at heart. Dale tends to stay up late
and Foxglove is nocturnal by nature.
Which gal could compensate for his faults better? In my opinion, it would
be Foxglove. When Dale forgot that the glider could only hold one chipmunk, did Foxgolve scold him? No. Her reaction was, "What a guy!" (and then SHE dropped out of the sky, too! [grin]) Gadget, however tends to scold him when he "messes up". (Her most frequent complain is that Dale reads too many comic books--and believes them.)
In summary:
1> Gadget isn't the right gal for Dale.
2> Dale isn't the right guy for Gadget
3> Foxglove and Dale make a good couple.
"Why Dale; what a lovely dress!"--Monterey Jack
Dale has worn a dress 3 times in the series: {Oh, my! Once more & he'd
match Gadget's record :D } twice as part of a disguise, and another time
because Buffy Ratskiwatski didn't give him any choice. ;)
Ooops! Make that 4 times; Natasha lists them below:
You know what's really scary? Dale has *tied* Gadget with the times he's worn dresses. And he seemed to be enjoying it in some eps...
Dale's:
1.) In "Adventures in Squirrelsitting" he wore a dress in that dance number. (so did Chip!)
2.) In "Out of Scale" he wore a dress when Buffie put him in that dollhouse.
3.) In "The S.S. Drainpipe" he wore a dress when he was in disguise as Rat Capone's main squeeze.
4.) In "To the Rescue" Part 1 when he was dancing along with Fat Cat's "The Best of Everything."
Gadget's:1.) In "Double 'O Chipmunk" when she was disguised as Gidget, Gadget's so-called 'cousin'
2.) In "A Case of Stage Blight" when Sewernose De Bergerac put her in that costume
3.) In "Dirty Rotten Diapers" when she was in a Raggedy Ann-type garb
4.) In "Mind You Cheese and Q's" when she was disguised as "Bubbles" (Chip being "Clyde." Kind of cute ;)
That's pretty disturbing. And to top it off, Chip's worn a dress twice, and Zipper has once. Only Monty hasn't worn a dress...Consider the source...
My opinions may be somewhat biased considering that Dale and I have
a lot in common. Dale likes heavy metal (Iron Goose), I like heavy metal
(Metallica). Dale makes messes, I make messes. Dale stays up late and sleeps
late, I stay up late and sleep in whenever I can (in other words, we're
both "night owls" and not "morning people"). He love
chocolate, I love chocolate (Hmm. I wonder if he likes coffee, too...).
He loves video games, I love video games. Dale's funny and fun-loving,
I'm funny (sometimes) and fun-loving. He likes comic books, I like comic
books (I have better taste, though.
Okay, I'm done now. Let's go back to Kat's Rescue Rangers Page.