Romance

A question asked by many non-fans of "Rescue Rangers" is "Who does Gadget wind up with?" The series itself offers no clear answer, although many online Rangerphiles take events such as Foxglove's appearance and a very short flirting scene between Chip and Gadget as fairly conclusive evidence. This makes sense since, as noted in the Expressions of Fandom section, Rangerphiles on the Internet are usually romantics. Several respondents to the open-ended survey cited the romantic content of the show as part of what drew them in. Generally, in the program itself, Chip and Dale fought over Gadget, who rarely favored one chipmunk over the other. However, most online Rangerphiles believe Gadget and Chip should be a couple (statistics taken from Internet Survey and the Rangerphile Directory):

Feelings on whether Chip and Gadget should be a couple	Internet Survey	Rangerphile Directory
Strong pro (strongly supports relationship)	13/42 (31%)	*
Pro	12/42 (29%)	35/62 (57%)
Unsure/Neutral	7/42 (16%)	7/62 (11%)
Anti	3/42 (7%)	20/62 (32%)
Strong anti (strongly against relationship)	7/42 (16%)	*

*Data from the Rangerphile Directory condensed to 'pro,' 'anti,' and 'neutral.'

About sixty percent of Rangerphiles, then, think Chip and Gadget should be a couple. This is reflected in many fanfics; usually, Chip and Gadget either are a couple, wind up as a couple, or flirt in these stories. In the Rangerphile Directory data, there was a tendancy for female Rangerphiles to be less supportive of this relationship; that data is not replicated in the Internet survey.

Most Rangerphiles also feel that Dale and Foxglove should be a couple, despite the fact that Foxglove only appears in one episode, and Dale does not show any true romantic interest in her throughout the episode.

Feelings on whether Dale and Foxglove should be a couple	Internet Survey
Strong pro	15/42 (36%)
Pro	13/42 (31%)
Unsure	8/42 (19%)
Anti	3/42 (7%)
Strong anti	3/42 (7%)

There is less opposition to the Dale and Foxglove relationship. This may be due to the fact that little is known about Foxglove and Dale's relationship (there is little evidence to suggest it might have negative consequences), or due to the eloquent fan works "Home is Where You Hang Upside-Down" and "Consumation," both written by Roy Neal Grissom, which paint Foxglove as a sweet, gentle, and full-fledged character with a clearly defined personality, and trace how Dale falls in love with her. Or, it may be due to Foxglove's popularity as a one-shot character, her beauty, her voice (Deborah Walley), or the fans' sympathizing with Dale (generally a bumbling character) and their joy over him finally finding a lady who likes him. Some people who are against Chip and Gadget becoming a couple point out that, in fan fiction, Dale and Foxglove often get together before Chip and Gadget do--it may be that some authors bring Foxglove in so that she and Dale can get together, leaving Chip free to take Gadget without interference. This view is mostly confined to the 'antis' though.

There really is a strong tendancy in the Internet Rangerphile community to pair up the characters; some fans even suggest that Queenie (a queen bee, also a one-shot character) and Zipper should become a couple! Perhaps there is an idea that the characters cannot live happily ever after unless they find happiness in a mate. If so, that would go along nicely with the idea of "Rescue Rangers" as escape.

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