Author's Note: While I was writing the first chapter of the story I recently released called, Zack's Birthday Surprise, I heard on Twitter from one of my friends that Rugrats is indeed, officially getting a revival according to a Facebook post released by Cheryl Chase, the voice of Angelica Pickles, and likewise, I've been inspired to start another alternate universe (AU) story, based off another story on this site, actually, technically, a sequel to that story, but the summary and a few flashbacks seen in this first chapter slash prologue here will hopefully give you a better idea as to what's going on. I'm sure I'll post another author's note at the end of this first chapter, but for now, let's get started.
The Real Rugrats Life Revival
Summary: The sequel to DemonAloisTrancy's story, The Real Rugrats Life. It's been twenty-five years since Thomas Krapotkin got his fame and fortune on the hit TV show Rugrats. Now, twenty-five years later, after living a quiet life for roughly fifteen years since their spinoff failed, will the next generation of the Krapotkins, Norberts, and rest of the crew be thrown back into the sometimes not so glorious life of television with a revival of their original series? Read this story and follow the journey ahead, for the next generation, as the legothy returns.
Disclaimer: All original characters on the set belong to Klasky Csupo. All characters off of the set belong to DemonAloisTrancy, except for the offspring and some of the pairings, which belong to yours truly. Not sure how else to put the disclaimer here, so should somebody show up that's brand new in a future chapter, I'll state such in an author's note at the start of the chapter, since this story will be updated for the most part as the revival happens, and the prequel to this story only got two chapters posted at the time I'm posting this sadly, having a long way to go before it reaches its climax. Oh, but I can safely state that Jesse Barrow belongs to Jesse Barrow Stories DEAD, Rosie Hall belongs to Nairobi-harper, and Peter Albany belongs to TCKing12. Okay, let's get started with the prologue slash first chapter then.
Chapter 1, Prologue, Again?
It had been many years since the cast and crew of Rugrats, and its spinoff series of All Grown Up had long since left the Klasky Csupo studios in California, and moved off to other parts of the country to grow up, get married, and start families of their own, all of which, with offspring of their own too. Only a few short months ago were Thomas Krapotkin, his mother Diane, along with Phillip and Lillian Macarthur and their mother Elizabeth were called back to California for a special twenty-five year reunion called On the Orange Couch Interviews, where they literally, sat down together on an orange couch at The Splat studios, a programming block on one of Nickelodeon's sister channels, that had been airing their original series late at nights for quite sometime at this point. Thomas had been so busy up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, with his wife Silvia and his two boys, Darin and Keenan, working as the head writer for the town's newspaper to really give this much thought, until he received the invitation in the mail, and received a phone call from his mother that she was invited back for this special reunion too, to honor twenty-five years since they began work on Rugrats.
Thomas wasn't sure about going, but luckily, he had remained in close contact with Charlie Norbert over the years, who encouraged him to go. Sadly, he had gotten an invitation to the orange couch interviews too, but between his mother having hip replacement surgery, and his wife Natalie, who played Nicole on the All Grown Up spinoff series, in fact, that's where they originally met and later, dated in high school after their life of stardom was long behind them where they were concerned, with her expecting a second child any day now, he sadly, had to turn down the invitation. Thomas was a little disappointed to learn this, but at least his mother, Phillip and Lillian Macarthur, and their mother would be there, though Lillian was now married, making MacArthur her madon name, but that was beside the point.
They traveled to California back in June of 2016 for the interviews, and it went quite smoothly, even though at points, Phillip, Lillian, and Thomas, while they had some vague memories of their time on Rugrats, because of so little they were at the time, many of their memories were very fuzzy come the twenty-five year reunion, and they were thankful to have their moms at this event to help answer a lot of the questions asked. They got through the taping of these interview segments, which the director, somebody who's name nobody could pronounce who worked for The Splat stated they would air in August during special marathons of their show, featuring episodes hand chosen most specifically by Elizabeth and Diane, since they had the most memories of the episodes filmed way back in the day.
Sure enough, two months later, everybody was gathered around in their respected homes, watching the special night of marathons and the interviews, introducing their children to what they did as young kids. This was especially moving for Natalie, who sadly, had a miscarriage at the time of the interviews, leaving her one and only daughter Melinda, to remain an only child, while for the Krapotkins, poor Thomas was dealing with his father, who had gone into the hospital just a few short days before the interviews were scheduled to air. Turns out the computer programmer known as Stuart Krapotkin had contracted a serious case of Pnewmonia, and it was uncertain how much longer he'd have to live.
And just like that, on the second night of the interviews airing, Thomas's father died, and it was a very hard weekend for him, his wife Silvia, and their young boys, Darin and Keenan. No matter, the grieving process came, and after the funeral was done and his stuff was gone through, everybody more or less, went back to their normal lives. Daycare started up for the kids, and everybody went back to their respected jobs. Little did they know though, that Angelica AdelaideCowhoon, who still lived in the California area, and who did join Thomas, Diane, Phillip, Lillian, and Elizabeth for the interviews, had been very busy speaking with Director Csupo and Co-director Klasky for quite sometime post these interviews, about the possibility of bringing the series back for a new generation.
"You do have two daughters, perfect for playing the part of you, and you'd make a fine Charlotte." Director Klasky said to Angelica one fall morning at one of their meetings, as Angelica had grown up and taken on a job at working as a stage hand for the Nickelodeon company, and continued doing some acting on the side, playing Lori Loud in a few episodes of Nickelodeon's newest show, The Loud House when her regular actress couldn't do the part.
"I suppose so, but, what are we thinking of doing? A made for TV movie? A reboot of the series? Will this follow us as adults and our kids playing themselves?" Angelica asked, just as Director Csupo held up a hand to stop her.
"No miss. We're reviving the original series, but obviously, you're too old to redeam your original role as Angelica, thus, perhaps either your daughter Zabrea, or your daughter Camden, could fulfill the role." Director Csupo explained.
"I'll have to speak to my daughters about doing this, but I bet they'd be thrilled to follow in the footsteps of their mommy." Angelica squealed with delight, as the nearly thirty-year-old blond lepped out of her seat at the conference table in excitement.
Quiet meetings continued like this throughout September and October, making sure that Nickelodeon was certain about this revival, before Angelica agreed to go on to Facebook one night in early to mid November, and seeing to contacting their other formal cast members of the show, to see if there was an interest in bringing everybody back. Though while Angelica, along with her husband Brody, and two daughters, Zabrea and Camden stayed more or less in the area, eager to do this program, everybody else had moved on to different lives. The Norberts now lived in the state of Ohio, where Charles sold eyeglasses, and his wife Natalie was a stay at home mom with their two-year-old daughter Melinda, Phillip, and his wife Whitney, who played Wally on the spinoff series fifteen years ago, lived in Florida. Whitney worked at Macy's while Phillip taught Chemistry at a community college in the area, and they had a daughter, also around age two named Danielle. Thomas lived in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, with his wife Silvia Weller, who owned her own hair dresser, and they had two young boys, one-year-old Darin, and three-months-old Keenan. And Lillian, who was pregnant with her first child, was married to Jesse Barrow. They, too lived in Florida not too far from Phillip, only Lillian taught English at the same community college as her brother, and Jesse played tuba in a local band. Lillian was expecting two boys, who she planned on naming Keith and Kelly.
And as for the other people who came on to the show later on, they too had moved off, gotten married, and worked in jobs far different from the TV studios, so on that night in mid November, when Thomas was sitting down, post him and his wife getting their boys to bed, he was taken by surprise when he stumbled upon a status update on Angelica Adelaide Cowhoon's Facebook wall.
"It's official. I've spoken with Director Csupo and Co-director Klasky, two people I've known since I was very little, and it looks like they're interested in bringing back Rugrats for a new generation. They'd like to see how this series might play out for a new generation with today's technology, and I personally think it might be great to give my daughters the same opportunity I had as a child growing up." Angelica wrote in her post.
Thomas just leaned back in his computer chair, staring in shock at his computer screen. For starters, one of the reasons why their spinoff series was canceled roughly fifteen years ago was not only because their parents were all distraut over the fact that their kids grades were slipping in school, and Thomas recalls getting teased by kids who were envious of him getting to leave school for several days at a time to shoot several All Grown Up episodes, but what really pulled the plug was towards the end of shooting season five, Angelica Adelaid went into a deep spout of depression. Charlotte and Andrew reported to the crew that she had begun cutting herself, and they had to put her into a mental institution. In fact, she was seeking treatment during the recording of the final episode produced, Golden Boy, hince, the main reason why she didn't show up in that final episode of the show, and to this day, rumors were still posted online claiming that Angelica killed herself at age thirteen, since many knew that's what got their series canceled, starting that stupid bogus Rugrats theory that blew Thomas's mind to this very day.
"Well, maybe with all of us finally returning, we can finally prove that stupid theory wrong, now that people will see that Angelica never did take her own life at age thirteen like so many people thought." Thomas thought to himself, just as he heard footsteps come into the room.
Startled, he turned around in his chair to see his wife Silvia in the doorway. Her bright red hair flowing down her back, as she stood there, wearing a dark blue bath robe. He met Silvia long after the show ended, as while the girl they got to play Rachel was nice, some girl who originally had pink hair named Rosie Hall, they never really hit it off. Heck, they hated one another on set, and it took the jaws of life to get Thomas and Rosie to get along during episodes where she played a major part, like Rachel, Rachel, Lost at Sea, the beginning scene of RV Having Fun Yet, etc.
"Something wrong Thomas?" Silvia asked, a look of concern spread across her face.
"I wouldn't say something, wrong, persay. Here, read." Thomas said, motioning for his wife to come closer to his computer screen to read the Facebook post put up by Angelica.
She read it quickly and shortly afterwards, she had the same shocked look on her face as her husband had five minutes prior.
"So, let me get this straight. They want you guys to come back, playing the parents of the original characters, and bringing our children on bored to play well, you as a toddler?" Silvia asked.
"I guess. Gosh, it's been so long since I last spoke to Director Csupo. I'm going to have to look up his phone number and give him a call tomorrow on my coffee break and see what's really going on." Thomas said, standing up from his chair and leaving his study to head to the master bedroom to start getting ready for bed.
"I don't know, what do you think about this?" Silvia asked, crawling into her side of the bed.
Thomas finished brushing his teeth at the sink and changing into his pajamas, as he then crawled into bed next to his wife and snuggled up next to her.
"I honestly don't know. I mean, I was such a nervous wreck as a child. I remember the whole experience while being fun, it was also, agonizing at points. Thankfully Charles Norbert Junior and I hit it off pretty well, and I became a stronger person as a result, but let's face it. I never really, well, you know, got to just, enjoy being a little kid. By the time we finished shooting Rugrats, I more or less, started school, and while lots of kids thought what I got to do was pretty special, there were times I got teased in school as well, because people were envious of me. It was especially bad in middle school when I returned to shoot All Grown Up, and while I'm sure this revival will bring us plenty of money, so my quitting my job at the paper to go back into acting, as I portray the role of my father, Stu Pickles on the series, as I'm assuming that's probably what they'll want me to do, I just don't know if I want to put my boys through the pressures of television life." Thomas explained worriedly to his wife.
"Hmmm, well things from what it looks like are still in the early stages of development here. It's not like a final casting call has been made yet. If I were you, see about having a telephone meeting with Director Csupo and see what they're interested in doing." Silvia suggested.
"Yeah I guess you're right." Thomas said, as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The following day at his coffee break, Thomas did an online search for Director Csupo and found his current phone number. He gave him a call at the studios out in California, and to his surprise, he answered on the third ring.
"Hello?" Director Csupo said into the phone.
"Uh, hello, Director Csupo. Not sure if you remember me, but I'm, Thomas Krapotkin. I played the adorable Tommy Pickles on your show so many years ago." Thomas said into the phone.
"Yes, I was just thinking about you. I take it you saw Angelica's posting on Facebook that Nickelodeon has greenlighted our revival to bring the show back." Director Csupo said.
"Yes, yes I did. Quite the shock I must say." Thomas said.
Meanwhile, during their conversation, Director Csupo had pulled up Thomas's Facebook page, and was taking a look at the pictures of him, his wife and his two boys.
"Oh how perfect! You have two young boys? Darin and Keenan? And I see here that your dad died earlier this year. I'm very sorry for your loss. We had heard, and wanted to attend the funeral, but Klasky and I have been very busy as I'm sure you might have guessed." Director Csupo said.
"That's okay, I understand, and thank you. Yeah I was hoping my father would have pulled through the Pneumonia, but sadly, this wasn't the case." Thomas said with a frown.
"So, would you be interested in returning? We'd love it if you'd play Stu Pickles on the revival, and it looks like your oldest son Darin here is just the right age to play you, Tommy, as a toddler." Director Csupo said.
Thomas thought about it for a few minutes. He didn't want to disappoint the man, but at the same time, he'd have to see to resigning from his job at the paper, packing up his family, moving back to California from Massachusetts, and so on. The man still had his moments of anxiety as an adult, and all of this preparation sounded so overwhelming to him at that moment, that the dark haired twenty-five-year-old news reporter nearly had a heart attack right then and there in his chair.
After several minutes of silence from the other end of the phone, as Thomas had started hyperventalating into a paper bag at this point, Director Csupo spoke up.
"Thomas Krapotkin, are you still there?" Director Csupo said into the phone.
Thomas caught his breath and spoke up.
"Look, Director Csupo, I'm going to need some time to think this over. I know for sure I probably can't even quit my job before the end of the year, as it's already mid November and the holidays are just around the corner. May I please have some time to think this over and discuss things with my wife?" Thomas asked.
"Sure thing. We're not planning to start production on whatever we're planning to release, whether it be a made for TV movie or the first episode until January of 2017, so take the next couple of months to think it over, and in the meantime, we'll be in touch." Director Csupo said.
The two of them exchanged contact details, like phone numbers and email addresses, and saw to ending their call. And over the next couple of months, Director Csupo and Co-director Klasky saw to speaking with the Norberts, MacArthurs, and everybody else who had worked on the show prior, to see who was interested in coming back, and who wasn't. In early January of 2017, an in person meeting would take place in California at the Klasky Csupo studios, for everybody to reunite, and the signing of permission slips and contracts to take place, before the real work on the Rugrats revival, began.
And this, ends chapter 1 and the prologue.
Author's Note: To tell you the honest truth, I'm honestly not sure if DemonAloisTrancy was going to cover both, Rugrats and All Grown Up in her story, or just Rugrats, but I felt it only fair to cover the time spent working on the other series, since at twenty-five, the characters would have more memories of their work on All Grown Up, with very vague, fuzzy memories of their work on Rugrats at this point. Again, I hope I didn't get anything as uncannon or off putting in this story, DemonAloisTrancy, if you are reading this, feel free to leave a review and find me elsewhere to talk about this and what you wanted to do with the prequel so I can make sure to get things more correct when examining flashbacks in future chapters so I don't get anything wrong. And just as I'm updating my other story, A Finster House Divided as updates to the situation it's parodying in my real life come along, this story here will be updated as more news comes out about the Rugrats revival that's happening, and obviously as the made for TV movie and or episodes air, it will play out similarly to how the original story of DemonAloisTrancy's did, as we look at how things go for these characters behind the scenes. So chances are the next chapter will let you all know if indeed, Darin Krapotkin will be playing Tommy Pickles in the revival where Fan Fiction is concerned, and so on. For now, thanks for reading, and at some point down the road, this story will see another update, once more info about the real revival is released. And in the meantime, be looking for updates to other ongoing stories, and releases of other new stories in my regular universe of the Celrock and Rugrats Fan Fiction universe, to come soon!