Melinda Finster (1991)

Melinda Finster
Name	Melinda Finster
Gender	Female
Birth	September 13, 1957 - July 12, 1990
Occupation	Gardener
Interests	Gardening, playing with her son
Relatives	Chas Finster (husband, widower) Chuckie Finster (son) Shirley Finster (mother-in-law) Marvin Finster (father-in-law)
Friends	Didi, Stu, Betty, Howard, Charlotte, Drew,
Enemies	(none known)
First Appearance	Mother's Day (mentioned only; seen in flashbacks)
Last Appearance	Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (seen in photos and mentioned only), Super Hero Worship (Mentioned only)

Melinda Finster (born September 13, 1957 - July 12, 1990) was Chas Finster's first wife and the biological mother of Chuckie Finster until her death. She was voiced by actress Kim Cattrall in the episode Mother's Day.

Backstory

In the show's first two seasons, Chuckie's mom was sometimes mentioned, but was never seen apart from a possible cameo in "Barbecue Story," and later implied to no longer be around. After the series' revival, Chuckie's mom, named Melinda, was finally given more detail as she was shown onscreen in flashbacks in the episode Mother's Day. In that episode, it was explained the Melinda passed away of a sudden, terminal illness shortly after her son was born.

Melinda was an expert gardener, planting most of what grew in the Finster's yard. She was also very creative with squash. Little was known about her personality but it is assumed that she was a loving, supportive, and patient woman and that she loved both Chas and Chuckie dearly. When Chuckie shows Chas her pictures, everyone suddenly goes quiet.

The love Chuckie had for her was to the point that she gave him courage when he needed it, such as when he saw a butterfly. She assured him it was alright and he smiled, welcoming the butterfly. When she soon fell ill and was sent to the hospital, she began keeping a journal that she wrote in often. The last thing she wrote, most likely just before she died, was a poem for Chuckie.

Throughout Mother's Day, Chuckie is searching for a mother, but is unsuccessful. Finally, Chas talks with Didi, who tells Chas that he should talk with Chuckie about Melinda, and Chas finally tells Chuckie and suggests he tell Chuckie the truth. This would later pave a way for Klasky and Csupo to create a plot device in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, where Chuckie finally finds a new mother in the form of his stepmother, Kira (Chuckie also gains a new sibling in the form of Kira's daughter, Kimi).

Mother's Day

Melinda made her first appearance, though only through mentioning between Chas and Didi and photos, in the Rugrats episode Mother's Day. Chas had been going through a box of Melinda's belongings and decided to give them to Didi, so that he could hide them from Chuckie, who apparently had been getting into things lately. Didi hides the box in a closet.

Later on, Chuckie mentions his mother to the other babies; however, he only knows her as a dream. After some attempts to find a mom for Chuckie on Mother's Day (Spike, Lil, and Angelica), Angelica puts the babies in time-out in the closet. They unwittingly go through the box and Chuckie finds his mother's photo. Not knowing it's his real mother, he decides to give it to Chas for Mother's Day (believing Chas to be the closest thing he has to a mother). The group, including Angelica goes quiet when Chas realizes it's Melinda's photo.

At first Chaz tries to put Melinda's things away, until Didi confronts him about needing to share the things with Chuckie. Chas finally admits he's afraid Chuckie will miss his mother. Didi sympathetically tells him that they can miss Melinda together. Chas listens to Didi and tells Chuckie that the woman in the photo is actually his mother. He spends the rest of the day explaining that she was an expert gardener and planted the flowers in their yard. He then reads the last poem Melinda wrote in her diary, which she kept when she was in the hospital.

After reading the poem, Chas puts the poem and Melinda's photo in a two-picture frame. At the end, when Chuckie tells Tommy, Phil and Lil, it's shown that Chuckie actually understands the poem his mom wrote for him (somewhat, at least), and says that his mom's in the flowers, clouds, grass, sun, and in the wind.

Chaz met Melinda when she was selling organic produce at a swap meet.

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

In the second Rugrats film, Chas begins to realize that Chuckie is somewhat lonely for a new mom, as becomes evident during Lou and Lulu's wedding reception. The DJ requests for the kids and their mothers to dance together. Chas notices that Chuckie watches sadly while his friends are with their moms. Melinda is seen only in photos and Chas talks about how he still misses her. It is also shown that she made Wawa, Chuckie's teddy bear, for him.

Chuckie sees a cloud formation of him and Melinda in the song I Want a Mom during the plane sequence of the movie, showing how much he'd like to have a mother.

After Coco LaBouche tricks Chas into marrying her, she intends to have Wawa thrown away as she saw the toy as disgusting. However, after the wedding is stopped, Chas sees Coco is nothing like she pretended. Soon after, Chas and Kira fell in love and get married sometime after returning to America, and Chuckie not only gains a new mom in the form of Kira, but also a new sister in the form of Kimi Finster (who also gains a father in the form of Chas). During the wedding reception, Kimi asks Chuckie if he still misses his real mom, Melinda. Chuckie admits that he does, but that he knows she's watching over him. Chuckie says that he's lucky because he has two moms to look after him now. Chuckie joins Kimi and dances with his new mother, Kira, at the reception while Chas dances with Kimi.

A Poem to Chuckie (From Melinda)

My sweet, little Chuckie, though I must leave you behind me.

This poem will tell you where you always can find me.

When a gentle wind blows, that's my hand on your face.

And when the tree gives you shade, that's my sheltering embrace.

When the sun gives you freckles, that's me tickling my boy.

When the rain wets your hair, those are my tears of joy.

When the long grass enfolds you, that's me holding you tight.

When the Whippoorwill sings, that's me whispering, "Night, night."

Looks

Chaz and Melinda's wedding photo

Melinda was a pale peach color. She had a pair of white eyes with black pupils and orange hair (in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie, it is brown). She also has freckles, which have been passed down to her son.

Appearances

Melinda was first mentioned and was seen in memories (Chuckie thought the memory was a dream) in Mother's Day. She also makes a cameo in Finsterella.

Chuckie and Chas go and visit her grave during autumn because it was her favorite time of year; she loved decorating gourds (seen in Acorn Nuts & Diapey Butts).

Trivia

• When Chuckie presents her photo to Chas, all the adults go quiet, implying that in life Melinda knew Stu, Didi, Howard, Betty, Drew, Charlotte, and even Minka, Tommy and Dil's maternal grandmother.
• It is also possible Melinda could have been around for Angelica to get a glimpse of her. However, this has never been stated.
• In the episode Real or Robots?, Stu says "your mom and dad will come pick you up in the morning" to Chuckie. At this point, the writers had not yet decided the fate of Chuckie's mom.
• It is possible Melinda had no living or close relatives, as Chas has never mentioned his wife's relatives to visit or contact.
• She was mentioned in the All Grown Up! episode Super Hero Worship.
  • Even though Dil didn't talk throughout the series of Rugrats, he knows that Chuckie lost his mom because in Super Hero Worship, as he says to Tommy that Chuckie knows what it's like to lose someone.
    • It is unknown how Dil knows Chuckie's mom died, though he could have found out later on.

Gallery

You can find Melinda Finster gallery here.

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