MuggleCast 150 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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[Harry Potter theme plays]
Jim Dale: [as Professor McGonagall] This is Professor McGonagall welcoming you all to MuggleCast hoping you enjoyed – Dobby! Dobby, come here! Here! Dobby! [as Dobby] Yes, I’d just like to say how very pleased I am to introduce MuggleCast to all of you! Thank you! Thank you!
[Show music begins]
Andrew: Because it’s not every day you turn the big one-five-oh, this is MuggleCast Episode 150 for June 23rd, 2008.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 150th episode of MuggleCast. Yeah!
Laura: Woo!
Andrew: Woo-hoo! Da-da-da-da-da-da!
Micah: You didn’t hire a band or anything to play…?
Matt: I was waiting for a clip or something.
Andrew: Well, GoDaddy hasn’t been doing so well, so…
Micah: Oh.
Laura: Well, I’m just frankly amazed that we made it this far without killing each other yet. I mean…
Andrew: I know. [laughs]
[Micah laughs]
Laura: I mean, 150 episodes is a long time, guys.
Matt: Oh, so you’re saying – why do you think there’s only four people on the show today?
Laura: Oh, yeah. About that.
Andrew: Well, it’s our 150th introduction. You know, we say 150, but you then you have to remember that we’ve done these mini-shows, and we’ve done Leaky Mugs, so while it feels like 150, it’s not 150. [laughs] You know what I mean?
Laura: It’s more like 175, or something like that. [laughs]
Andrew: Right, exactly.
Laura: Oh gosh.
Andrew: Anyway. We have a very exciting show today for everybody. We’re going to be taking a look back at some of the best of MuggleCast as submitted by all of our wonderful listeners, who have been listening for such a long time. And we’ve got some other stuff going on. So I’m Andrew Sims.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.
Laura: Way to sound subdued, Matt. [laughs]
Andrew: What he does, is he always, like, copies whatever the last person – they’re voice tone.
Laura: Oh, yeah.
Micah: But he didn’t sound like he was sure of who he was.
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Matt: I’m Matt Britton, I’m Matt Britton, oh my God, I’m Matt Britton. [laughs sarcastically] Matt Britton.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: All right, Micah, give us the news.
Micah: Well… [laughs]
[Laura laughs]
Micah: I’ve never actually heard you say it like that before.
Andrew: I’ve been listening to a lot of Howard Stern lately, so I’m in a more broadcast news anchor sort of mood these days.
Micah: All right. All right. Let…
Andrew: Give us the news.
Micah: Okay.
Matt: Will you stop plugging Howard Stern?
Andrew: Hey now. Anyway, what’s going on in the news, Micah?
News: No Script in the Works for Theme Park
Micah: Well, over the last week or so we had a bit of a mini-movie fiasco going on, and this was back last Sunday, on June 15. The Sunday Mirror, the most reputable paper over in Britain, reported…
Andrew: Not.
Micah: …that J. K. Rowling had written a mini-movie script to be taped for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park, and they said that the trio was going to be involved, and they were going to film this prior to Deathly Hallows. And it seemed that this had a lot of credibility because MTV even, a couple days later on one of their movie blogs, made a post about how they had been in contact with Warner Brothers or somebody over at Warner Brothers, and they had never – they had not really confirmed nor denied, but the person seemed to think that because of the fact that a lot of the rides at Universal Studios, that are related to movies, have these, sort of, mini-movies, that it was probably going to happen. Then, of course, a couple days after that, Warner Brothers issues a statement saying that no scripts for any films related to the prequel that J. K. Rowling had written for charity or for any other purposes were in the works at this time. So, I think, more so than anything else, maybe we were just digging for news and it’s not really there.
Andrew and Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I could – I – I think this is a possibility though. Like, you can definitely see something like this happening. It’s happened on other rides before, like, you know, in Disney, you see tons of extra appearances by the characters in their film modes, so to speak.
Matt: Well, they can also do like – like a movie, like a mini-movie that people come in and watch it in like 3-D or something. Like in theme parks in Walt Disneyworld and Disneyland and other theme parks where you go in, put on your 3-D goggles, and watch the movie, and it has – sometimes it’s like four dimensional, where you can like feel the smoke coming at you, or just…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: … other things.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: Right. Right, but the point is, does it exist? Does this exist, Laura? Can you see this happening?
Laura: Oh, I think so. I mean, just because, I mean, I’ve been there and that’s how so many of the rides are in this theme park, especially as you’re waiting in line, because the lines for these rides tend to be obnoxiously long. So not only will they film some sort of mini-movie for the ride, but they’ll film something to keep you entertained while you’re standing in line. So I don’t see how they could really have this whole Harry Potter section and then not have any kind of movie interaction. It wouldn’t really make sense with the rest of the park.
Andrew: Right. Definitely. What else is going on?
News: Waterstone’s Website Gets 70,000 Visitors
Micah: Well, something that was of note was that the prequel that J. K. Rowling did write for charity actually ended up attracting 70,000 visitors over to Waterstone’s website, which…
Andrew: All MuggleNet. Next.
[Laura and Micah laugh]
News: Rowling Makes it on List of 1,000 New Classics
Micah: Yeah. There’s not – I mean, it’s not really that big of a – of a news story, but, you know, I thought it was kind of interesting, and we needed something to talk about. Next, [laughs] as you said, Entertainment Weekly made a list. Now, this kind of seemed a little bit odd to me. They created a list of one thousand new classics. That’s a lot, isn’t it?
Matt: Yeah, it is.
Micah: I find it hard to believe that you could find a thousand new classics. And new and classic don’t really go together. It’s kind of an oxymoron.
Laura: Well, it’s almost like – I mean, generally, if you call something a classic it’s kind of a very restricted field…
Micah: Right.
Laura: …of things, you know, and it’s like, to pick one thousand of them, it seems somewhat overwhelming. It’s like, okay, so are we classifying something as a classic just because it’s popular? You know?
Micah: Right. That’s what bothered me about this. Like you mentioned, there’s a little bit too many of them to name them classics. But, anyway. J.K. Rowling was named the top favorite author. Really no surprise there. But Goblet of Fire was named number two of the best read between 1983 and 2008. Interesting. why Goblet of Fire?
Andrew: What’s this based off of? This wasn’t people voting in a poll, right?
Micah: I honestly don’t know. You made the post.
[Everyone laughs]
Micah: Sorry.
Andrew: So I did. I don’t know. It’s – I think it was picked within the editors at Entertainment Weekly. It’s like, Goblet of Fire?
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean, does anyone here think it’s a classic? In the past twenty years or whatever?
Laura: Well I think the Harry Potter books as a collective series are classics…
Andrew: Yeah. Right. So why does it say Goblet of Fire?
Laura: [sighs] I mean, honestly, if I – I mean, I don’t like to chose favorites with Harry Potter ’cause there are things from all the books that I love, but I’ve always been especially partial to the fourth book, so I can kind of see where they’re coming from.
Matt: I just remember that Goblet of Fire had the biggest release party of the books to date.
Andrew: I think Goblet of Fire…
Laura: No.
Andrew: That was the first book actually had release parties.
Laura: It was. Yeah.
Andrew: Because nobody went to Prisoner of Azkaban. That was – yeah. Yeah. I mean it’s cool. It’s kind of weird though, I mean, I don’t know. What would you guys pick as a classic if you just had to pick one?
Laura: Out of Harry Potter? Or…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Hmm…
Andrew: I would pick the first.
Matt: Well, if you define classic it would be the first.
Andrew: Right, that’s what I’m saying, yeah.
Micah: I would agree with that.
Laura: But you mean like – I mean – I mean, are you talking in terms of, like, sequential order, or like, you know…
Andrew: Well, I guess I’m saying the definition of a classic would be something that, you know, a hundred years from now people will still be enjoying…
Matt: Well, in classic – oh sorry.
Andrew: Go ahead.
Matt: Well, in a classic you go for originality and Sorcerer’s Stone was the first book and…
Laura: That’s true. That’s a fair point.
Andrew: That’s what I’m saying. Yeah.
News: Cedric Diggory’s Death a Classic
Micah: So – and there were just a couple of other things that made some of Entertainment Weekly‘s lists. The death of Cedric Diggory was listed in the twenty-five classic death scenes. Now, again…
Andrew: That’s nice.
Micah: …Goblet of Fire. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, someone who put this list together was obviously a big Goblet of Fire fan, I think.
Micah: Right. I also wondered, looking at those two things, if maybe it was because that’s sort of when the series starts to really turn and it moves more from, you know, the happy end of things, the magical side of things, to the more serious and dark side.
Matt: Well, how do you think J.K. Rowling feels about this list, because she said that The Goblet of Fire is her least favorite book out of the series, also. And this turns out to be the biggest classic?
Andrew: No, I don’t – yeah, I don’t think – she’s probably thinking WTF, too.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: I’m sure she speaks in those terms. I’m sure she walks around going, “WTF!”
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Matt: LOL.
Laura: Oh my God. LOL!
Andrew: Well, I’m sure if she looks in the MuggleNet comments she sees comments like that.
Micah and Laura: Yep.
Andrew: Anyway, lastly, the most depressing news of the week, Micah?
News: Sorcerer’s Stone Cover a Classic Too
Micah: Hold on, you left out Mary GrandPre and her Sorcerer’s Stone cover.
Andrew: Oh God. You’re still on this? Come on.
Micah: Yeah! Number twenty on the 25 top classic covers. Come on!
Andrew: Great, great. That’s nice.
Depressing News: No Teaser Trailer
Micah: The most depressing news? What are you talking about?
Andrew: The trailer.
Micah: The fact that it’s five years since Order of the Phoenix was released?
Andrew: No, no, no. No teaser trailer with Get Smart.
Micah: Oh, no teaser trailer.
Matt: Oh.
Micah: Yeah. What’s up with that?
Andrew: I don’t know. I think…
Micah: Where’s…
Andrew: …it looks like…
Micah: We’re missing a picture. Come on! I mean, we don’t have a picture?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: We don’t have our weekly picture!
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Something’s really up. I actually got excited the other day. Someone was like “New picture in Borders email!” but it was like a fake Half-Blood Prince cover. It was weird. That Borders actually distributed. But, yeah, so no trailer. It looks like it’ll be with Get – Dark Knight. Unless WB comes completely out of the blue and releases it with Wall-E this week.
Matt: But that’s a – yeah, The Dark Knight‘s in a month away, though.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Well, has it ever happened…
Laura: If they release it with Wall-E, and I have to go see that movie, [laughs] I’m going to be very upset.
Matt: [gasps] You don’t want to see Wall-E?
Andrew: Awww.
Laura: No!
Andrew and Matt: Why not?
Laura: It looks inane.
Andrew: It looks fantastic. Do your Wall-E impression, Matt.
Matt: [in Wall-E voice] “Wall-E.”
Laura: Oh my God.
Andrew: He’s so cute, Wall-E’s so cute! Okay, fine, Laura. Think what you want.
Micah: Has it ever happened before that there is no teaser trailer? I mean, could we just get a regular trailer in a couple of months?
Andrew: No.
Matt: No.
Laura: No, there have always been teaser trailers.
Andrew: I think, though – I’m going to put some money down on this bet. Now that Get Smart is out of the way, Warner Brothers will have more time to focus on Harry Potter. So then, they will, you know, start releasing more stuff related to Half-Blood Prince. I’m just a betting man, though.
Matt: Do you think that’s the reason why they haven’t released any…
Andrew: Yes!
Matt: …promos…
Andrew: Yes.
Matt: …because they want everyone to center on Dark Knight?
Andrew: I think the people within WB who handle Harry Potter are busy with Get Smart right now.
Matt: Uh-huh.
Announcement: Portus 2008
Andrew: I’m just a betting man. So anyway, thank you, Micah, for that. Let’s move along to the announcements. Laura.
Laura: Andrew.
Andrew: It’s time for your weekly announcement.
Laura: [laughs] I don’t understand how this has become my weekly announcement, but…
Micah: It’s because you live there.
Laura: …somehow it has.
Micah: Didn’t you?
Laura: I did live there, yeah. Well…
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: …not there, but I did…
Andrew: Yeah, that’s exactly why.
Laura: …live in Texas.
Andrew: That’s exactly why it’s yours. Because it was Dallas, and, you know, we would always talk to you about Dallas.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: And, you know. You’re going home.
Laura: Yeah! I’m so excited! I’m going to the land of my childhood this summer, and the…
Andrew: Nobody cares. Let’s talk about Portus.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: You know what? I was about to say that I’m going to be there with some of my best friends, but you know what? Now I just don’t want to talk anymore. So…
Andrew: Awww. Okay, Matt, you want to talk about it?
Matt: Guys, just go. Just go to Portus.
[Laura laughs]
Matt: You want to see us. You know you do.
Laura: It’s going to be fun. Register now.
Andrew: But, no. In all seriousness, Portus2008.org. It’s going to be from July 10th to the 13th in Dallas, Texas. We’ll be doing a podcast there at midnight on Friday night. Now I have to check that. It’s Friday, right? Yeah, it’s Friday. But technically Saturday morning, and we’re going to have Aziza on the show soon. You guys remember, she interviewed Jim Dale with us, and soon we’ll have her on to answer your questions about Portus. People have some questions about Palooza passes, and all that, so, we’ll address that with her.
Announcement: Podcast Alley
Andrew: So, guys, want to remind everyone to vote for us on Podcast Alley, as always. I think we’re number one this week. We checked a couple days ago and we were number one – yes, we’re number one. So, that’s always good.
Announcement: MuggleCast T-shirt Clear-up
Andrew: Also, I want to clear up one more thing about t-shirts, because we’ve been getting a lot of emails lately, asking “Where can I get a MuggleCast t-shirt? Can I buy it for you under the table?” And, the answer is, we can’t sell t-shirts anymore. We can sell them at live events though, so in a case like Portus, we’ll be able to sell t-shirts there. So that’s my answer. I just wanted to clear that up instead of responding to everyone, so it’s a lot easier to do it here. Sorry, guys, but, you know, it’s all we can do.
Muggle Mail: Prequel is a Prequel
Andrew: Let’s move on to Muggle Mail this week.
Laura: Our first Muggle Mail comes from Katie, 20, of Nebraska. She writes:
“Hi MuggleCasters, I was just responding to your review of J.K.’s prequel that was auctioned recently. You said in Episode 149 that it wasn’t really a prequel to the ‘Harry Potter’ story, because it didn’t relate to Harry’s journey. But I think it is. For instance, ‘The Hobbit’ is considered a prequel to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, not because it relates to the major story line, but because it sets up the Ring’s discovery and introduction to The Shire. I think this prequel, if the whole thing were written, would be considered a prequel because I’m sure it would set up Lily and James’ deaths, which sets up the ‘Harry Potter’ saga. Let me know what you all think.”
Andrew: I thought this was just a good e-mail because, you know, I don’t know much about The Hobbit personally. So, I can’t really answer this.
Laura: Oh, great book. Well, I mean, the thing is, I think it’s slightly different. Because The Hobbit was actually a novel. And…
Andrew: Right. Yeah.
Laura: …she’s right, it did set up the entire trilogy that followed it. But it had a plot to it. This is just a fun thing that Jo wrote, you know, for the storybook. I don’t really…
Matt: Yeah. This is just a clip…
Laura: …think – yeah.
Matt: …actually.
Laura: I don’t think it really has any substance to it, really.
Matt: It really does have no – if this person – if Katie wanted to say that this was a prequel in regards to The Hobbit being a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, that’s – it’s not – there’s no connection between it at all. Because The Hobbit is actually a prequel saying it’s introducing all the characters in The Lord of the Rings book. And it is actually giving you a back story to…
Micah: Right.
Matt: …what actually happens to the main story in The Lord of the Rings, which is the One Ring being power. And, in this little snippet of J.K. Rowling’s little prequel, so to speak, it’s just establishing two friends having a night out.
Micah: Right.
Matt: Pretty much is all it is. It’s really no connection at all.
Micah: This is almost a side event to what would be the prequel. Like, this must be something that got mentioned in a story that Sirius or James were telling somebody at one point. If J.K. Rowling actually were to write a prequel, this is not – this is so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of what an actual prequel would be, in my opinion.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: Totally. Totally. It’s just that everyone called it a prequel because it made headlines. You know, the press. “J.K. Rowling Penning Harry Potter Prequel.” No. Not really. She is, but not really.
Laura: It was a fun little tidbit. That was the way I viewed it.
Andrew: Yeah. Exactly.
Muggle Mail: Names of British Houses
Micah: The next e-mail comes from Robert Powell, 62, of Edindale, Virginia. He said:
“In Episode 149, you spent a few moments discussing why J.K. Rowling named a couple houses, i.e. Shell Cottage and the Burrow. This is an old British tradition ranging from the Great Houses to rural thatched cottages. It endures, despite postal codes. A friend of mine purchased a house for a family and their widowed father and named it Fernwall Cottage by combining the second syllables of her married and maiden names. A bit eccentric, perhaps, but charming. Thanks for the show. As an older reader-listener, your podcast gave me lots of insights into a world I usually only get to observe from a distance of forty to fifty years.”
Andrew: A lot of people actually sent this in, explaining how that’s actually how it works over in England. So I thought that was interesting.
Matt: I think it’s really charming though, people name their homes. It just gives it more of like a personality.
Micah: Well, you guys just moved into an apartment. What do you going to name it?
Laura: Yeah. You guys should name it.
Andrew: Well…
Matt: [bleeped] Cottage.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: We actually have a Leaky Cauldron sign out front on – nailed to the door. Not to the door, but like perpendicular to the door. So everyone knows that the people living there are the weirdos…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …that like Harry Potter a lot. I don’t know. I guess Potter Cottage, MuggleCast Studios. I don’t know. We’ll come up with a name.
Muggle Mail: Black, White, and Red Periods
Matt: And our final Muggle Mail e-mail comes from Zeenia, 16, from Phoenix, Arizona. Zeenia writes:
“Hey MuggleCasters! While listening to Episode 148, you were talking about Fred Weasley’s death. Then someone, possibly Andrew, mentioned the deaths of Sirius and Dumbledore, and that made me think about the whole theory about someone that represented black would die in one book, someone that represented white in the next, and in the last one someone – and in the last, someone that represented red in the last. Could Fred be this person? And do you think the theory came true with the deaths and the books reflecting a black period, a white period, and a red period?”
Andrew: Maybe Laura can clear this up. Didn’t we talk about this so many episodes ago?
Laura: You know, I feel like I remember some kind of theory that concerned…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: And I feel like for the red we were considering Hagrid. Am I remembering correctly?
Andrew: You may be right.
Laura: But I don’t remember where the theory came from.
Andrew: Me neither. I do remember talking about something like this, though.
Laura: Yeah. Gosh. You know what? We should have a new segment called Homework or something where we assign the listeners homework to go and find the things that we talked about 50 episodes ago and remind us so that we know.
Andrew: Okay, well, here’s your homework. I was just going to say, someone point out to us when we talked about this. You know, 150 episodes now. Honestly, once we got to Episode 20, I started forgetting like stuff we talked about earlier on.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: It’s crazy how you forget stuff. But yeah, somebody email. Now, we’re going to get a lot of emails, but feel free to email in and help us out remember what we were talking about exactly.
Micah: It had something to do with Alchemy, didn’t it?
Andrew: Yeah, I think you may be right. I think you may be right.
Laura: Yeah, because we did do an episode on that. I think.
Micah: We did. At some point, yeah. Because it was all related to the Sorcerers Stone, I believe.
Andrew: Yeah, I think you’re right.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: And we said – what Laura had said before, that, you know, the three main colors, or something like that, were red, black, and white, and that Sirius died and then Dumbledore died and then as she mentioned, we thought that Hagrid was going to die because of the – because of his name and it’s relation to the color, but…
Laura: Oh, Rubeus. Yeah! Yeah! Now I remember.
Andrew: Okay. Yeah.
Laura: Oh, Okay.
Andrew: Well, thank you.
Micah: Yeah, someone email this, that’s probably the best thing to do.
Chapter-by-Chapter: Chapter 34, “The Forest Again”
Andrew: Well, that does it for Muggle Mail. Now we are going to move on to Chapter-by-Chapter. This week we are discussing Chapter 34?
Laura: Si.
Cry Babies
Andrew: Oh, boy. This is a sad chapter. Two cry babies in this panel cried while reading this chapter. I’m not going to say who, though.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Should we reveal?
Laura: It was Micah.
Andrew: Two of the four.
Micah: [laughs] Yeah, it was me.
Andrew: It was Micah.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: As he laughs. [laughs] Well, Matt was crying when we read the chapter just about an hour or two ago.
Laura: Ooooh! Matt!
Andrew: What gets to you about it, Matt?
Matt: It’s sad. That’s it.
Andrew: Laura?
Laura: Well, I…
Andrew: What really strikes your heart?
Laura: Well, just the whole part where he finally accepted that he had to die, and he was walking so calmly towards the forest and just thinking about all the little little things like, how many heart beats and how many more breaths it’ll take and, you know, just asking his parents if it would hurt. I was just like, “No!”
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, the entire part where his parents come back really got to me, especially when he was talking to his mother when he asked her to stay close to him right before he died.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: That was really sad.
Micah: I wonder if J.K. Rowling had a tough time writing this chapter.
Harry Reflects
Andrew: Well, lucky for you, we are going to be discussing all of that. I’ve outlined it into today’s Chapter-by-Chapter discussion. But we’ll start with the beginning of the chapter. The chapter begins with Harry dwelling on his death and, like Laura was saying, how many heart beats he has left, would it hurt, you know, and how appreciative he was of having his body. And it’s all of these things you never would think about, unless you know you’re going to die. Or I always think about people who are crippled, or permanently handicapped. You know, they see us as being so lucky to be able to just, you know, something simple as walk or reach your arm out to grab something. But here we see Harry being so appreciative of every last breath that he’s being able to draw right now. It’s really emotional.
Laura: Yeah, and I mean I think that everyone can kind of relate to how he felt. Maybe not on the more personal level of everyone having a near-death experience but say, even if you had someone really close to you who died. I think that in those days, weeks, and months following their death, you come to appreciate what you have so much more. So, it’s just kind of like if you have a friend or a close family member pass away.
The Word “Incontrovertible”
Andrew: So a quick light moment here. I want to bring it up because everyone will remember when we saw the Goblet of Fire – or sorry, Order of the Phoenix, I think it was the teaser trailer, when Dumbledore says, “The evidence that the Dark Lord has returned is incontrovertible.” And, I know me personally, I was like, “What? Incontrovertible? What? Is that even a word?”
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: And I just thought it was funny because then when you read the chapter, the word’s actually in there. I think – who says it? Was it Voldemort? I forget. Oh, J.K. – nobody said it. J.K. Rowling used it. I don’t know. I just thought it was funny because like we’re, “What’s that word?” and then it shows up in Deathly Hallows. Anyone else? Just me?
Micah: It was a good catch. I didn’t even notice.
Laura: Well, I never even asked you what that word was, but…
Andrew: Oh, thank you, Micah. What did you say, Laura?
Laura: Nothing.
Andrew: No, what did you say?
Laura: [laughs] No…
Andrew: It was a stab again, wasn’t it?
Laura: No, no, no. I was just saying that I wasn’t wondering what the word was. I mean…
Andrew: Oh, okay. [laughs]
Laura: Well, I mean, it’s like I told you earlier, because we discussed a little bit before the show, and I honestly think that in the movie they use the word because it sounded more like a word Dumbledore would use as opposed to saying, “This evidence is undeniable.” It just sounds so much more intelligent and eloquent to say, “incontrovertible.” So, it’s like, you know…
Matt: And it may be more widely used, you know, in the U.K. more than the U.S.
Micah: Yeah. [laughs]
Matt: We’re probably just not familiar with the word as much.
Andrew: That’s true.
Micah: I was going to say it sounds better with a British accent than any of us.
Laura: That’s true.
Andrew: [in an attempted British accent] “Incontrovertible.” Yeah.
Harry’s Perspective on Dumbledore
Micah: But I was kind of – what I thought was kind of interesting was on page 692, Harry talks about Dumbledore’s betrayal, and it’s the first time we really see, from Harry’s perspective, that – how he considers what Dumbledore has done to him in a negative way.
Andrew: Yeah. It was kind of sad seeing that, because, I mean, do you guys see it as a betrayal now? I mean I don’t.
Laura: Well, I mean, don’t we later establish that Dumbledore knew it wasn’t really going to kill him? I mean…
Andrew: Does Dumbledore say that? I don’t know. I forget.
Laura: I don’t remember, but I feel like in the end it turned out that he knew he wasn’t going to die. I mean, that’s how I feel anyway, but…
Matt: No, yeah. He knew that he wasn’t going to die because he knew about Harry being the final Horcrux and everything. He knew that Harry had to die ,but he wasn’t initially going to die.
Laura: But, I mean, it does really – it does really throw into question, you know, did – and I know we’ve had this discussion before, and I actually got a really long email about it, but did Dumbledore really consider Harry’s autonomy? Like, I know that, you know, it was for a good cause…
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: …and I know it needed to happen, but I still think there’s a certain amount of respect that one needs to have for a human being, you know? And it’s just – it’s kind of weird to see Dumbledore acting this way because you’ve always seen him as someone who regards every creature he’s ever encountered with fair and equal rights; House-elves to centaurs. And then here he is basically leading Harry towards his fate, and he’s completely blindsided at the last minute. You know what I’m saying? So it’s definitely…
Andrew: You bring up an awesome point.
Laura: It’s not an easy topic to grasp, you know?
Matt: No, no.
Micah: No.
Andrew: Yeah, no, you’re right, though. You’re right though. But I think – you know, we’ve talked about this before, I think Dumbledore was right to not tell Harry, because Harry, being the teenager that he is – granted, he’s mature – but he could have just killed himself. Been like, “Oh my God, I have to kill myself anyway? Screw this.” Boom bang done.
Micah: I think this is really, though, where Dumbledore’s character gets called into question, because while he is somebody who is clearly old enough to have experienced a lot of things during his life, and is far more than willing to die for the greater good, that’s a lot of responsibility to thrust upon a child, and Harry still is a child, the way that he did. You guys agree with that, or no?
Andrew: No, I do agree. But at least – but can’t you argue that he did everything right, if you’re just arguing that? Because he never told Harry that he had to die to kill Voldemort.
Laura: Yeah, I…
Micah: Yeah, but at the same time, I don’t think he was certain that Harry was going to live until that whole scene in his office where there was that puff of smoke and he says, “In essence divided.” He had no idea that that part of Voldemort’s soul was living in Harry until that point. At least that’s what I remember; I could be wrong.
Matt: And also that “gleam of triumph” in Goblet of Fire when Voldemort put Harry’s blood in him. That that means that Harry is part of Voldemort, and Harry cannot die if part of him is still with Voldemort.
Andrew: Yeah. You know, it’s a very interesting debate.
Matt: Well, it’s a very debatable topic. I don’t think we’re really going to come to any conclusion with that, because, you know, I think every character is flawed, and I think, you know, he’s just human.
Harry Chooses to Tell Neville
Andrew: So Harry decides to tell Neville. While Harry’s walking out into the Hogwarts grounds, he sees Neville there on the ground, and he decides to tell Neville the secret that Nagini has to be killed. And then Harry goes and – well, Jo goes into a whole thing about how, you know, it’s a new trio that knows that Nagini has to die, then Harry’s dwelling on his death more. So I’m wondering, do you think Harry chose Neville for a particular reason, or just because Harry happened to see him outside? I mean, would he have happened to tell anyone? And is it kind of symbolic to choose him, given that Neville also fit the prophecy as being born at the end of July, and all that?
Laura: Yeah, absolutely. I think that it was definitely a defining moment that Jo gave to Neville, because for so often he was kind of seen as comic relief, and that’s really exemplified in the movies. They take a lot of creative license with Neville, and they make him seem, very – I don’t know, they make him seem very silly and sheepish, and that’s sort of the impression you get in the books, but at the same time, the bigger impression I got of Neville in the books was that even though he was somewhat awkward in the beginning, he was always a very loyal and brave person who would do what he needed to do when the occasion called. So, not only was it symbolic, but I don’t think Harry would have asked just anyone. I think he asked Neville because he truly trusted him.
Andrew: Quite emotional to see that, too. I mean, this whole chapter was emotional.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: But, you know, just how Harry – he said, like, “the new trio” that was going to know this.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I don’t know. It was nice.
Matt: Well, he also put in account that there’s the possibility that Ron and Hermione will die too.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: When he thought about – when he was telling Neville.
MuggleCast 150 Transcript (continued)
Rowling Writing This Chapter
Andrew: Yeah, and he couldn’t bear to imagine that, either. But let’s continue and move on. Harry is – boy, what a downer he is in this chapter. He’s dwelling on his death more, big loser, and he’s clinging on to every second. So, like Micah asked earlier – I’m glad he brought it up earlier, what do you think J. K. Rowling did to prepare for writing for this scene? I mean you have to essentially think about what would happen if you – if you knew you were going to die.
Laura: Yeah, I would think that would be the only way that you could prepare for writing a scene like that, you know? It’s like – and I think it’s – it’s the same way that we allow ourselves as readers to react to the scene. I mean, it wouldn’t have much effectiveness if we didn’t all imagine being in that scenario. Like, I mean, have you ever been in a situation where you could have been, like, a car accident maybe, you know? Where you’re driving down the road and all of a sudden someone switches into your lane, and they’re about to hit you head on, and it’s like…
Andrew: Right.
Laura: …it goes utterly fast, but at the same time it moves in slow motion. And I think that’s kind of the way that we can relate to it, so…
Micah: I think it’s also possible that she may have drawn on a lot of her own experiences from the troubled times that she had in her life and a lot of the – I guess emotions and feelings that she had herself, and, you know, she mentioned numerous times the kind of hardships that she went through, that she herself contemplated suicide at one point, so it’s possible that those things were used in the scene.
Andrew: I mean, you know, and J. K. Rowling said she was crying while writing the end of this book and, you have to imagine, I mean, if you’re trying to think about how you – how – what you would be thinking if you knew you were going to die, I mean, she may be crying while, you know, thinking about all this. I can’t imagine writing this whole chapter on my own, composing all of this. It’s amazing.
Laura: Yeah, it must have taken her a long time I would think, you know? It’s not the kind of thing you sit down and do in one sitting.
Andrew: Yeah, like, you know, after enjoying a funny T.V. show or something, after catching the latest “Extras” with Ricky Jarvis, she comes in and writes a depressing chapter as that one.
[Laura and Micah laugh]
The Snitch Opens
Andrew: So, and then of course while dwelling, Harry finally realizes that, “I open at the cl…” – he – he makes the connection to how, once you connect, once you grab the Snitch, it’s all over, and like, you know, now once Voldemort kills him it’s all over. And he realizes that “I open at the close” means it’ll open at his death, so he looks at the Snitch and he says “I am going to die,” and that’s when the Snitch finally opens up and, you know, it was really cool to realize what the riddle actually meant, but I have to wonder, what if he said this, you know, a few months ago? If he figured it out? Someone suggested it to him, and he actually did say, “I am going to die,” or do you think he would have been smart enough to say, “Okay, there’s no way I’m saying that because whatever I need, I’m going to need it if I ever die”?
Laura: Well, first of all, I think that – I think that there was some sort of magic within it that he had to actually know he was about to die. You couldn’t just say, “I’m going to die” because, well, everyone is going to die, so of course that’s true. But I think there needs to be a sense of immediacy with which you say it, you know?
Andrew: Yeah. No, I agree. So you think it listens to his voice with a passion and…
Laura: Well, I don’t know that it listens to his voice but, I mean, can a Snitch listen?
Andrew: Well, if it can hear you say, “I open at the close,” then…
Laura: I almost – I don’t know, I associate it more with like, the internal realization, not so much how you vocalize it.
Andrew: Yeah, but it’s just like how does the Snitch still open up though?
Micah: But doesn’t it respond strictly to flesh? Or isn’t it composed of flesh? I…
Andrew: Mmm…
Laura: The Snitch?
Andrew: The Snitch?
Micah: Well, there’s that whole conversation that takes place at the Burrow between Ron and Hermione and Harry, and Harry realizes that Snitches have flesh memories, and remember, he puts it in his mouth.
Laura: Yeah, in the first book.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Because he thinks that’s how it’ll open, ’cause thats how it opened – that’s how he caught it in the first Quidditch match.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: So I would think that there would have to be some sort of genuine emotion associated with, you know, the words that he’s saying, that he’s about to die, and that the Snitch would respond to it. If he’d just figured this out a couple months ago and said hey, I’m going to try this out and see what happens, you know, and there was no real emotion behind it, it may not have recognized it from Harry and decided to actually open.
Andrew: Yeah, I think you’re right.
Laura: Yeah, I think so too.
The Resurrection Stone
Andrew: All right, well, let’s move – continue to move along. So the Snitch opens up and within it is the Resurrection Stone. And I’m still a little confused about how this all works personally, but I’ll just pretend like I know. So he turns it over three times, and Sirius, James, Lily, and Lupin appear. Now, was Harry thinking of those four as he turned it over, or what? Why was it those four that appeared?
Laura: You know, I really don’t know. I – you know, there’s been a lot of debate about whether or not the Resurrection Stone actually brings people back or whether or not you’re actually speaking to those people.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Have we ever really gotten a clear cut answer on that? Because the way that I viewed it was almost kind of like when Harry saw his parents in Goblet of Fire. It wasn’t really them, it was like Dumbledore said, shadows of their spirits, you know?
Andrew: Yeah, because I was just wondering what, you know – ’cause why didn’t Cedric show up? But I have more questions. So…
Laura: Why didn’t Dumbledore show up? That’s what I think is weird.
Andrew: Yeah, that too!
Laura: You would think that more than anyone, that would be who Harry would want to see at that point because – but it’s almost like it goes hand in hand with the fact that Harry seems resigned to the fact, regardless of whether or not it was right or wrong, whether or not Dumbledore respected him as a person or not, he seems to have completely accepted the position that Dumbledore has put him in.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: And so it’s like he doesn’t even care to see Dumbledore.
Andrew: He would definitely want to see talk to him – or talk to him at this time, or I would think Dumbledore would somehow want to appear there.
Laura: It’s almost like Harry – it’s so weird that Dumbledore is not there, I can’t really describe it, but he’s been at every other major turning point, and yet here he’s not present.
Micah: To be honest with you…
Andrew: And all Dumbledore would have to do is say, “look, you’re not going to die.” But I guess Harry had to know that he was going to die because that’s what ultimately defeated Voldemort, wasn’t it?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: So…
Micah: The one thing I was going to say is that I don’t know that Harry would want to see Dumbledore at that point in time. I mean, if I were Harry I’d be pretty pissed off at him, to be honest with you.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: I mean, he essentially raised Harry over the last, you know, seven years of his life to die, for all Harry knows, and had absolutely, as far as we know right now, remorse about it.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah. Well, what I find interesting about it is that at every other point that Dumbledore has done something questionable to Harry, Harry has always been desperate to question him. Even after he died, like he would constantly – he held on to this hope that he would see Dumbledore in the mirror. He kept seeing the blue eye and hoping that it was Dumbledore. And it’s like at this point, Harry has completely let go of that need. He’s let go of that connection, and I think in this point, he is actually truly grown up and become a man.
Micah: Plus, I think Dumbledore was only contracted for King’s Cross.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Yeah, well, I was going to say, because if Dumbledore showed up here, then there wouldn’t be any awesome scene at King’s Cross, so, I mean…
Laura: Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: Could it be as cheesy of an answer that J.K. Rowling was just saving him for the next chapter? [laughs]
Laura: Well, it’s also the fact that even at the end of the next chapter – I don’t want to get too far ahead – but it’s basically confirmed that Dumbledore wasn’t really there, that it was just a dream.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: That Harry’s mind was inventing it, so I really think that it’s another – and we know that Jo has always been very straightforward when it comes to death in this series, and she’s very against the idea of leading people into the idea that you can come back after you die. And I really think it was another way of Jo putting that distance there to show people, you know, when you die, it’s over, you know, regardless of whether or not there’s an afterlife, you don’t return to this one.
Micah: But he was in limbo, wasn’t he?
Laura: Who? Harry?
Micah: I mean, more or less. Or we’ll discuss that next week.
Laura: Yeah…
Micah: Yeah.
Laura: …but I’m talking about Dumbledore, specifically.
Comparing Death Scene to Chronicles of Narnia
Andrew: All right, well, we got an email here. Maybe this will get you back into it. We got an email here from someone that I thought we should bring up, because I’m pretty sure this occurs in Chronicles of Narnia, the movie, so I’ve seen this. It comes from Nick, 15 of Newcastle, Delaware. He writes:
“When I was reading Chapter 34 of ‘Deathly Hallows,’ ‘The Forest,’ again I noticed several occurrences throughout the chapter that reminded me of events that took place during C.S. Lewis’s novel ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.'”
The first one.
“First off, when Harry realizes that he must die to ensure the safety of everyone in the castle, this is similar to Aslan sacrificing himself to save the life of Edmund Pev…Pevensie? And second…”
Laura: Pevensie, yeah.
Andrew: Pevense? Okay. “Second, Harry…”
Laura: Pevensie.
Andrew: “…chooses to bring back his parents, Lupin, and Sirius for comfort while walking through the forest to his death. This is again similar to Aslan allowing Lucy and Susan Pevenense…Pevense to walk with him towards his death. And eventually, both the Pevense girls and Harry’s escorts leave before hey enter their death scenes.”
WTF? Laura, you got any ideas about this? Have you read Chronicles of Narnia?
Laura: Yeah, yeah. Mhm. And the similarities are definitely there. I mean, we know that J.K. Rowling has taken some cues from other fantasy novels, and I don’t think it would be unlike her to – I wouldn’t say borrow, but I mean to be inspired because, I mean, Narnia is obviously fantastic, but what’s very interesting about this, I think, is that Narnia has large religious references, I mean, we’re talking huge parallels. [laughs]
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: And it’s just interesting because you see a lot of people going on about how Harry Potter is demonic, and you have people like Laura Mallory who think that it’s satanistic…
[Micah laughs]
Laura: …but there are really so many Biblical parallels in Harry Potter it’s – it’s really quite ridiculous. I mean, just – we had the Biblical verses a few weeks ago on the show…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: …that were on Ariana and Lily and James’s tombstones.
Andrew: Right. Yeah.
Micah: And what’s even more interesting is that with C.S. Lewis, if you read that entire series, that Narnia isn’t even what it appears to be. I won’t – has anybody actually read he series or no?
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah, I mean, I’m not going to give it away, but it’s kind of similar to what Harry goes through.
Laura: Right.
Micah: What happens in the final battle.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Or after the final battle. In…
Andrew: I mean, its such a beautiful way to do it, to, you know, to escort the main character, or one of the main characters, to their death. It’s, you know – Harry walks through the forest and he sees Yaxley and Dololov?
Laura: Dolohov.
Harry Reveals Himself to Voldemort
Andrew: Dolohov. So he follows them back to where Voldemort is camped out, and of course, Voldemort is there with all the Death Eaters and Lucius is looking worse than ever, and they tell Voldemort that he wasn’t there. Voldemort says, “I was, it seems, mistaken.” And Harry, in what will be probably one of the coolest parts of the movie says, “You weren’t.” And J.K. Rowling describes Harry as saying it with such passion and trying to say it as loud as possible to make sure everyone heard him. It’s really cool, I thought.
Laura: Mhm.
Andrew: I mean, how exciting is that going to be? To see Harry ready kick some Voldie ass.
Laura: I think that whole scene’s going to be great. But I’m just looking forward to seeing the look on Voldemort’s face. You know?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: When Harry steps out and says, “you weren’t.”
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: It’s…
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. What do you think Voldemort would have done if he didn’t come to him? Because the Death Eaters, like, we know what he threaten, but the Death Eaters looked so scared. Like Voldemort, do you think he would have killed some more Death Eaters just out of fury before he went to get Harry?
Laura: Yeah, I can see him whipping his wand, you know, in anger and killing about five or six of those Death Eaters. Why not, you know?
Andrew: Yeah, exactly, sure.
Laura: He’s ruthless.
Andrew: So, and then Voldemort sends the green spell, and everything was gone. Or was it?! That’s for next week’s show.
Laura: Dun dun dun.
Andrew: You know, speaking of that…
Laura: And so that concludes the weekly MuggleCast episode’s Chapter-By-Chapter is now over. Harry died. The end.
Did The Casters Think Harry Was Dead?
Andrew: Awww. Oh yeah, I was going to ask you guys about this.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I didn’t put – I didn’t put – did you think, did you think Harry was dead at this point? Laura, were you crying some more? I cant remember, you were crying so much, it’s all a blur to me.
Laura: [laughs] Well, I didn’t know what to think.
[Micah laughs]
Laura: I was just – just the fact that she actually wrote it, to make you think, “oh my god, he’s dead.” The whole chapter was so emotional in it of itself. And in my defense, okay, we’ve been reading the book for twenty-four hours, we hadn’t slept, we hadn’t eaten, I was tired!
Andrew: But you still cried. I mean, we were all tired and you cried. No, it’s okay.
Laura: Jamie cried!
Andrew: No. Jamie cried when the book was released.
Laura: Yeah, I know.
Andrew: That was different. He had some alcohol in him too.
Laura: How is that different?
Andrew: Which is legal over there, by the way. So, I don’t know. Micah, did you think he was going to die?
Micah: Right there? There was too much of the book left. [laughs] And that’s kind of a stupid reason ,but…
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Andrew: No.
Micah: There was.
Andrew: No there wasn’t!
Micah: Well, there was enough. And…
Andrew: There was enough.
Micah: …part of what kind of made me think that it wasn’t over was, yeah, I know that there was that jet of green light and everything was gone, but there wasn’t the finality of Avada Kerdavra to it. Every other time that we’ve seen at least in the series that somebody has died that that curse has been used, and the curse it self – the words weren’t used, and to me, that made me think that for some reason it wasn’t over. You know, I had to see those words on the page…
Andrew: Really?
Micah: …in order to believe that he was actually dead. So, I mean, who knew?
Andrew: Wow. But, I mean, just that alone made you that confident? I mean, you’re just saying that now in hind sight to make you look really smart.
Micah: No, it was that and the fact that there was a lot of story left. No, I didn’t think he was going to die.
There was too much left to go through. I don’t know, I just – I was convinced that he wasn’t going to die. And yeah, that thing about the Avada Kedavra just made up when I read it this time, but I noticed it. It wasn’t there.
Andrew: Matt, do you think he was a goner?
Matt: No, I didn’t think he died when I read it. I kind of agree with Micah. There was just too much story left. And also, with all the other characters, J.K. Rowling actually stated that that character was dead or was gone, and at the end of this chapter we don’t really know anything. We just know that after the green light, there was nothing there.
Andrew: All right, well, there you go. That does conclude Chapter-by…
Micah: What did you think? Did you think he was dead?
Andrew: You know, I don’t know what I thought.
Micah: Did you think he was dead?
Andrew: I can’t remember. I can’t remember. I was too preoccupied watching Laura crying.
Laura: [sighs] Yeah, I remember that.
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: We actually – you, me, and Jamie were sitting on that bed and you had the freaking camera facing us, and I’m crying, and I’m looking the other way like “Oh God…”
Andrew: What camera?
Laura: “…don’t let this be broadcasting over the Internet.” The laptop.
Andrew: Oh, that camera, the live stream. Oh, okay.
Laura: Yeah, the live stream. And I’m like looking the other way like, “I don’t want anyone to see me crying.”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: I hate you.
Micah: All you had to do was look at the next page.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: Well, I did!
Andrew: Well, no.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: But, okay, he could have still died and, you know, with some extreme magic, like – or Harry just like – or J.K. Rowling just describing Heaven or something now. [laughs] She’s gone really overboard.
Micah: But Voldemort was still alive. The bad guy was not going to win in this story.
Laura: Well, no. I didn’t think…
Micah: That’s part of…
Laura: I didn’t think he was going too, but it was -regardless of the fact – I didn’t really know what I thought. I didn’t know. I was so – I was emotional. I was tired, and I wanted to finish the freakin’ book. But that chapter was so emotional.
Micah: Right, but… [laughs]
Laura: You can’t blame me for crying. Just ’cause I cried didn’t mean that I thought Harry was dead.
Micah: No, I’m not blaming you for that. I’m not blaming you for that. I just make fun of you for it, but I’m not blaming you for it.
Laura: You’re an ass.
Andrew: Well, let’s move on.
[Laura laughs]
Micah: I know I am, but only Harry could kill Voldemort. Voldemort wasn’t dead, therefore Harry wasn’t dead. That was my rationale.
Andrew: Okay, well, okay, whatever.
Micah: Let’s move on.
Andrew: We can go on with this for much longer, but – all right. Let’s do it.
Quote Quiz
[Quote Quiz intro plays]
Andrew: You know, I just realized this whole chapter is just Harry and Dumbledore, so….
Laura: You have a 50-50 chance of getting it right.
Andrew: I will give you a sentence anyway.
Laura: Are you serious?
Andrew: Yeah. Who said it? Who said it? You just can’t. I’m sorry. There’s no Quote Quiz this week.
Laura: Just pick some narration, that’ll drive them crazy. Pick something that’s not a quote. [laughs]
Andrew: I can’t, because I was just looking at some quotes and there’s not one sentence you can’t tell which person. It’s too easy. So that’s how we play…
[Quote Quiz intro plays]
Favorite Moments from Past Shows
Andrew: Well, it is our 150th episode, as we were reminding everyone, and we’re going to play now some clips highlighting the best of MuggleCast. All right, so this is sort of going to be our favorite segment this week. We’re going to play a few clips from the show highlighting the best of MuggleCast as a little tribute.
Clip 1: Jamie and Ben Plan a Wedding
Andrew: This first clip comes from Episode 36. It comes from Elysa.
Laura: I think that saying that there is one wand for one wizard is like saying there is one person you can be friends with, or one person you can fall in love with in the whole world. And I just – I don’t think that’s true. I think that there are different wands that can suit you and it also can depend on how you’ve grown as a person. It might change later.
Jamie: Well, I only love Ben.
Ben: Using the love analogy…
[Laura laughs]
Ben: …you know, you can like have people that you maybe you fall in love with and stuff, but maybe there’s only one true love. Maybe there’s only one wand…
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: You, Ben, for me.
[Laura laughs]
Jamie: I love you, Ben. Actually, Ben, Ben, this is a perfect moment for this. I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a – for a while now. I’m afraid I can’t get down on one knee, but…
[Laura keeps laughing]
Jamie: Ben?
Ben: Yeah?
Jamie: Ben Carlisle Shane…
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Eric: Carlo. His middle name is Carlo.
Jamie: Will you marry me?
Laura: Can I be the flower girl?
Ben: Of course, Jamie.
Jamie: Oh yes! Yes, definitely, definitely.
Eric: Can I be the best man?
Jamie: Eric, you are doing the speech. Eric, you are not doing the speech.
[Everyone laughs]
Ben: Yeah, you’re definitely not.
Andrew: Laura, I just…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …I think the best part of that clip is you just saying, “Can I be the flower girl?” So innocent, perfect timing.
[Laura and Andrew laugh]
Andrew: Good times.
Laura: Awww, good times, good times.
Clip 2: Hagrid’s on the Show
Andrew: Well, the next clip was sent in by quite a few people. This was Episode 73.
Andrew: Hold on, let me – it’s a long number. He lives in England, actually. Stupid U.K. numbers. Okay.
[Phone rings]
Ben: [impersonating Hagrid] Hello?
Andrew: Hi, yeah, Hagrid.
Ben: Rubeus Hagrid.
Andrew: Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid, welcome to the show! Thank you so much for joining us today.
Ben: Ah, you’re welcome, I was just flying my motorcycle.
Andrew: And, well, thank you for taking out the time to do this with us today. I mean this is a big honor. I know our fans have been very excited to see you on the show, and we weren’t kidding when we said this is the biggest guest to ever appear on a Harry Potter podcast. So thanks for coming on today.
Ben: You’re welcome.
Andrew: So, of course, that’s a very long interview, but [laughs] that’s just so funny, because…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …we hyped it up for a couple of weeks. We we’re saying…
Laura: And people were mad.
Andrew: Yeah. We were saying we are going to have…
Laura: People were kind of upset about that.
Andrew: …the biggest guest ever. And of course we meant…
Micah: Literally.
Andrew: We meant big, as in physical size, and so many people were upset. “Oh you guys should have – you guys shouldn’t have hyped it up. You should have just hyped one week prior.” Like all this stuff.
Micah: A lot of people, though, liked it. They thought it was really funny.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: People who actually have a sense of humor.
Laura: It was really funny.
Andrew: Yeah, they were either on one side of the spectrum or another. Either you loved it or you hated us for hyping it up. And you secretly loved it also.
Laura: Kind of like our April Fool’s jokes.
Andrew: Some people – who was it? Someone actually told me they thought we actually got Robbie Coltrane to – to do that for us.
Laura: Oh really!
Andrew: Yeah.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: I can’t remember who told me that, but someone did. I was thinking, “What? Really?” [laughs] I mean, you know, it’s kind of obvious when Ben just happens to leave right there. Our acting was awesome though.
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Clip 3: Voldemort’s Diary
Andrew: But all right, here’s another clip. This is from Episode 82 from Austin.
Micah: Well I – you know, I’ve always wandered, is it possible Voldemort entrusted information about Horcruxes to different Death Eaters. So not all of them knew, necessarily, about all of them, but – but individually some of them knew.
Laura: I think…
Jamie: I don’t think he’d tell them anything. It’s just he – he doesn’t take risks. It’s pointless.
Micah: How would [unintelligible] known about…
Jamie: It weakens himself.
Micah: …this in the first place?
Jamie: Well, there’s always a way of finding out. Perhaps he, you know, used Legillimency.
Laura: He read his diary.
Jamie: Yeah, he read his diary.
Micah: Maybe he witnessed the killing. That’s a possibility.
Jamie: “Dearest diary, today I killed someone and split my soul.”
Laura: Yeah. [laughs]
Jamie: “Have a good day. From Voldemort.”
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: That must be a distressing diary to read. Just think of the stuff he’s done. “Went to kill a young boy. Backfired. Damn. From Voldemort.”
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Jamie: “Don’t worry, killed his parents.”
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: Funny memories.
Matt: Just listening to those clips, you know, I miss Jamie and Ben.
Laura: Wow.
Micah: That was a weird choice
Andrew: [laughs] That was a weird choice you said, Micah?
Micah: Yeah…
Andrew: Why?
Micah: …that was a weird choice. I don’t know, I don’t know.
Andrew: I mean it wasn’t hilarious, but it was funny I thought. Yeah.
Micah: No, it was funny, it was just kind of random.
Andrew: Yeah, well, some people, you know, some of these things just stick…
Laura: You know, it’s actually kind of nice hearing these things that we haven’t, you know, I don’t know – because I feel like there are some people who send in the same clips over and over…
Micah: Probably.
Andrew: Right.
Laura: …and some stuff gets overused, but it’s nice to hear this other stuff.
Clip 4: Eric Has Laura’s Pants
Andrew: Yeah. Well, you know, speaking of that, we’re going in order here of episodes. Speaking of that, this one from Episode 97 was, I guess you could say, one of the classics.
Eric: Laura, Laura, Laura, I gave your pants back, right? Did you get them?
Andrew: Hey…
Laura: Oh my god.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Eric..
Laura: Eric.
Jamie: Nice, Eric.
Laura: No, we have to cut that out.
Andrew: No…
Eric: Did you get your pants back?
Laura: I did get them.
Eric: Thank you!
Andrew: Laura wants to cut it out because it’s true, that’s the funny part. Laura could have just played it off.
Laura: No it’s not!
Jamie: Were they suitably washed?
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: No, look. It’s a perfectly good explanation, okay? It was just in Los Angeles. She left a few hours before me, and she packed everything except one pair of pants, and I said, “Oh, that’s Laura’s, I think I should take it with me and I’ll mail it back to her when I get home.”
Andrew: Eight months after the fact… [laughs]
Eric: Eight months later, I did, yeah.
Laura: [laughs] And I didn’t get it until, like, right before you left for New Zealand, but whatever.
Andrew: All right, that’s a little weird, Eric.
Eric: Better late than never.
Jamie: Andrew…
[Everyone laughs]
Jamie: …we should tell the story of when you found my underwear in your sister’s room, and I don’t know how it got there, seriously, so…
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: We’ve…
Jamie: I seriously have no idea how it got there.
Andrew: We’ve moved on from that. I don’t want to think about that.
Eric: Guys!
Jamie: Andrew, you’re mom must have sorted them accidently because, I swear, I didn’t do anything untoward.
Andrew: It probably was my mom made the mistake, but – ’cause your underwear is girly underwear, so she probably thought “Oh, it’s Becca’s.”
Jamie: Yes, it’s completely – I wear knickers.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: What are knickers? What are knickers?
Andrew: I still haven’t found out what knickers are.
Laura: They’re underwear.
Andrew: Girl underwear?
Micah: Old ladies’…
Andrew: Oh.
Micah: Old ladies’…
Andrew: I didn’t know that. Micah, you – wow, Micah, you really jumped on that. Do you know something we don’t?
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Something you want to tell us?
Micah: That old women wear knickers?
Andrew: Yeah, that was funny though, ’cause Eric said it so out of the blue, you know, it just came out of no where.
Laura: Oh, I know. I remember hearing that and I was like, “Oh God,” like seriously. And you want to know the worst part? You named that episode “Laura’s Pants.” And…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: …my mom – when I was in England with you guys, my mom went over to visit my aunt and uncle, and she was telling them all about MuggleCast, and so they went online and looked at it and they saw one of the most recent episodes, and they go to my mom and they’re like, “Why is this called ‘Laura’s Pants’?”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: And she was like, “Uh, I don’t know!”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: So I’m like thinking, “Oh God, my family thinks these terrible things of me.” Thank you, Eric, thank you!
Andrew: Aw, that’s unfortunate timing; that’s unfortunate timing.
Laura: I know.
MuggleCast 150 Transcript (continued)
Clip 5: Viagra
Andrew: Well, next up we have a clip from Episode 121 from Nyurie – Nyurie – I’m sorry I’m doing your name wrong.
Eric: After she says it, there’s actually a line Jo Rowling writes, “where Narcissa sat rigid and impassive, Bellatrix leaned towards Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness.” That is a brilliant character line for Bellatrix.
Micah: Does she not get any from her husband or something? I mean…
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Eric: Bellatrix doesn’t – oh, well, I don’t know.
Micah: She’s married.
Eric: Is that an actual question? Does Bellatrix get any?
Micah: [laughs] Well, I mean, look at the quote.
[Andrew laughs]
Eric: Well, yeah – no, no – yeah, it’s true. “If mere words can not demonstrate…”
Micah: Give him some Viagra or something.
Eric: [laughs] “…her longing for closeness…” Maybe… [laughs] …maybe there’s no magical solution yet. What would the Latin be? Think about it. Erectus? What – you know…
Micah: [laughs] I guess.
Eric: [laughs] “Magna” – no – “Erectus Maxima!”
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: I don’t know. I don’t now, man.
Micah: Engorgio maybe.
Eric: [laughs] Engorgio. No, no, Micah, that serves a different purpose. Jesus.
Micah: [laughs] What purpose is that?
Eric: To make it bigger.
[Micah laughs]
Eric: Not harder, but bigger.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Okay, well this concludes Chapter-by-Chapter for this week.
Andrew: All right, there’s another clip. Another MuggleCast classic.
[Someone speaks; unintelligible]
Andrew: Yeah, clearly! [laughs] See, that’s what happens – that’s why…
Micah: Laura, you weren’t on that episode?
Laura: No!
Andrew: That’s why we always say Laura’s like, you know, she brings us down. I don’t think I was on that episode either.
Laura: I hold you guys down.
Andrew: That was the episode that I wasn’t on, and I think it was you, Micah, Mikey, Eric…
Micah: No, you said, “Okay, that concludes Chapter-by-Chapter.”
Clip 6: Matt Visualizes Harry Dancing
Andrew: Oh, that’s right. That’s right. I just chose to stay out of it. I took the high road. All right, next up, Episode 133 from Kelly.
[“Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel begins playing]
Micah: Because, in reality, they’re still pretty young. You know.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: But it’s kind of a more upbeat song, you know?
[Matt laughs]
Micah: It has some really solemn lyrics, but it’s an upbeat song. So I don’t – it’s kind of hard to place that.
Andrew: No, no. The lyrics are terrible…
Matt: Yeah. [laughs]
Andrew: …if you listen to it. If you get the meaning of the song, it’s terrible. I don’t know what it is, I’ve just heard it’s terrible.
Matt: I could just see Harry running down the Great Hall scene…
[Laura laughs]
Matt: …Remus and Tonks lying there, dead. And then he just breaks out and dances to this song.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Andrew: There you go, there’s a classic Matt moment. That was funny, Matt, good job.
Laura: Awww, Matt.
Clip 7: [beep]
Andrew: The next clip comes from Episode 134. I think this may be one of our all-time best moments. At least – it was probably the most emailed. Here it is now.
Andrew: Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the program. I just wanted to start the show off this week with a few e-mails I got about last week’s show. So let me kick it off here.
Jen, from New Jersey: “I just wanted to tell you that you accidentally dropped the F-bomb in Episode 133 at 59 minutes, 31 seconds. Just wanted to tell you so you can edit it out, or whatever.”
Ima Clone, from Nashville: “At 59, 30 of Episode 133, you dropped an F-bomb. Not very family friendly, as you mentioned earlier in the episode.”
Jessica B., 17 of Cobleskill, NY: “You said a very bad word during minute 59 and you missed it again. Woops, slipping up in your old age.”
Nick B., 13 of Boston: “I can’t believe you dropped an F-bomb on the show and didn’t cut it out. Can you believe this was my mom’s first show? Just kidding, but I thought I might point it out to you. Hahaha.”
Emily, 18 of Lynchburg College, Virginia: “Just FYI, Andrew, you dropped an F-bomb that made it through editing at 59:31 on Episode 133. Just thought you should know. Not really concerned, but thought you might be.”
From Matt: “Hey, Andrew, you accidentally forgot to edit yourself out saying” [beep] “around 50, 60 minutes into the show. It is not really noticeable, but I thought I would let you know.”
Holeen: “You totally said” [beep] “on air at 59 minutes, 31 seconds. Oopsies!”
I know! I said the F-word! Sorry! Argh!
Matt: What’s the…wait.
Laura: Now you know how I feel when you forget to edit me.
[Andrew sighs]
Matt: What’s the word? The F…Is it “fecal matter”?
[Laura laughs]
Matt: Is it “frustrated”?
Andrew: Yes, Matt, whatever you say.
Matt: Oh, wait. It’s [beep].
[Elysa and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: You said [beep] on the show, Andrew? You’re not supposed to say [beep] on the show.
Laura: I can’t [beep]-ing believe you [beep]-ing said that, you [beep]-ing moron. [series of beeps]
Andrew: Guys, seriously, seriously. Shut the [beep] up.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Ummm….
Laura: Yeah, It’s really great when you produce a quality show and then the only e-mails you get are about one slip up.
Andrew: Seriously, it was 99%, “59 minutes, 30 seconds you said the F- Bomb.” No, thanks, everyone, seriously, for e-mailing it in. I do appreciate it, though… [beep]
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I’m Andrew Sims.
Andrew: Ah, geez. You know, we got so many people complaining about this, going through the cursing rant, but on the other hand, the opposite side of the spectrum once again, people loved it.
Micah: You know what, Andrew? You know what?
Andrew: What?
Micah: I thought it was [beep]-ing hilarious.
Andrew: Aw, gee, Micah. I thought it was [beep]-ing hilarious, too.
Micah: Really?
Andrew: Yeah!
Micah: I’m glad you [beep]-ing think that. That’s [beep]-ing amazing.
Andrew: Thank you very much.
Matt: Guys, shut the [beep] up.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Clip 8: Andrew Sings
Andrew: Yeah, this last one comes from Episode 135. This is from Samantha. This is our last one for today.
Matt: On Broadway, too?
Andrew: Wait, can I give you a sample, like give you an idea of what it could be like?
Laura: Oh, God.
Matt: You play Hairspray, I will kill you.
[“Good Morning Baltimore” from Hairspray starts to play]
Mikey: Okay. Come on. Come on, Andrew, let’s hear it.
Andrew: [sings horribly] Good morning, Hogwarts school! Every day’s like an open door! Every night is a fantasy! Every sound’s like a symphony! Good morning, Hogwarts school!
Laura: Okay, Andrew. You’re done.
Andrew: [continues singing horribly] And some day when I take out my wand…
Mikey: Oh wow…
Andrew: [still singing horribly] …the world’s going to wake up and see…
Laura: Andrew…
Andrew: [singing horribly some more] Ginny Weasley and me!
Matt: Andrew!
Laura: Okay.
Mikey: Oh, geez.
Laura: Let me just say something.
Andrew: I think that’s how it could start.
Mikey: Oh, you know what, though?
Matt: I would definitely go…
Mikey: I would totally go see it, regardless.
Matt: …I just don’t think it’s going to happen.
Mikey: I just don’t think we should ever let Andrew audition for it.
Laura: No.
Andrew: Wait.
Laura: Because if Andrew was on the soundtrack and it got put on iTunes, they would either have to remove or significantly decrease the preview segment on there to keep people’s ears from bleeding.
Matt: Ooooh.
Mikey: Ooooh.
Andrew: What was wrong with that, though? I mean, it set up the plot.
Mikey: Ouch.
Andrew: My voice was fine. I hit all the notes.
[Laura and Mikey laugh]
Mikey: [impersonating Andrew] “My voice was fine!”
Matt: He sounds like a contestant on American Idol.
Andrew: Ah, geez. Laura, you were brutal.
Laura: Oh, my God, I’m so mean!
Andrew: Yeah, you are!
Laura: I don’t know, maybe I was PMS-ing or something.
[Andrew, Matt and Micah laugh]
Laura: I don’t know what the deal was.
Andrew: [laughs] I think you were just so upset about my singing and it was all boiling up and then that explosion…
Laura: Well, you know what’s funny? When you started playing that clip, I don’t know if you could hear me, but when you started playing it, I was like, “Oh, God.” But I actually said it at the same time as I said it in the clip without intending to.
Andrew: Oh, really? [laughs]
Laura: Because, like, I remembered what it was, and apparently I’d also said it. Yeah! So it was like I said it twice. Anyway, I thought it was funny.
Andrew: Oh, that’s funny. [laughs] Well, there you go.
Laura: I don’t know why I was so mean to you, I’m sorry.
Matt: God, you were brutal.
Andrew: Those were some of the best moments of MuggleCast. I hope everyone enjoyed them. I thought they were pretty funny. I mean, that’s only – we got several hundred entries, and I wish we could play them all, but, you know, there’s just not enough time.
Micah: Yeah, but what about from the earlier episodes? I mean really early episodes? We didn’t have much of anything, huh?
Andrew: Yeah, not as many people sent in early moments. I guess you just forget some of the funnier stuff way back when, so…
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Well, didn’t you guys do that for episode one hundred? Go back?
Andrew: We did.
Micah: Oh.
Andrew: We did play a highlight, didn’t we? No, we didn’t. Episode 100 was live in London.
Micah: Maybe for fifty.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Or something like that.
Make the Music Connection
Andrew: No, I don’t think so either. All right, well, moving along, it’s time to play a segment we haven’t played in a while, but now that the MuggleCast studio is up, we can get back into it.
[“Make the Music Connection” intro plays]
Andrew: Oh, yes. Who wants to go first?
Laura: I’ll go first.
Andrew: Ah, thank you, Laura.
Laura: I’m brave.
Andrew: Mmm, what song should I pick for you? Okay. There’s a new song out. It’s pretty popular.
Laura: Uh-huh…
Andrew: I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it. You may not have. I just heard it for the first time on Howard Stern the other day. It’s number one on iTunes right now, so here it is.
[“I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry begins playing]
Andrew: “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. Make the connection.
Laura: Oh, wow. [laughs] Well, I don’t know if I can make – I mean, at first I was thinking when it was – before it got to the “I kissed a girl” part, I was thinking about Harry and Ginny’s relationship and how he hadn’t intended for it to be so short…
Andrew: The chorus changes everything.
Laura: …when he broke up with her at the end of the sixth book. Yeah, but the only thing I can think of is just because it would be considered against the “social norm” for a girl to kiss another girl, so I mean, I just think about Aberforth and how people consider him somewhat interesting for his goat fetish.
Andrew: Okay, not bad.
Matt: How about Dumbledore kissing McGonagall?
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: Well the thing is, it’s not that you can compare – it’s not that anybody who listens to our episode on Dumbledore being gay would know that you cannot compare homosexuality to bestiality, but I guess you can compare the way people view it socially. So that would be my…
Andrew: Good job, Laura. Good job, Laura. Micah or Matt, who wants to go next?
Matt: [in a low voice] I’ll go.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: That was Matt.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: Matt? Now this is another new song. That was Matt. This is another new song. It may be hard, so I’ll give you some time. All right. Matt, make the connection.
[“7 Things” by Miley Cyrus begins to play]
Andrew: “7 Things” by Miley Cyrus. New single.
Matt: I don’t – that’s such a crappy song! Why don’t you pick a good song?
Andrew: It’s not about how good it is, it’s all about the lyrics.
Matt: Well, I’m reading the lyrics right now.
Laura: Well, the music’s crappy and the “rock” music in the fourth movie was crappy.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: Well, I’m surprised you played this. You could’ve played High School Musical One, Two, or Three or Four or Five or Six, or…
Andrew: You could say Voldemort – like, this is Harry’s song to Voldemort because the seven things he hates about Voldemort are the Horcruxes. That’s ultimately what’s sending him though all these crazy, you know, journeys.
Matt: Okay.
Andrew: You see it from that perspective, I see it as being quite funny.
Matt: Yeah, that’s okay.
Andrew: You like that, Micah?
Micah: Yeah, that was good, very good.
Andrew: Okay. Micah, I was going to give you a song from Camp Rock, the brand new Disney T.V. show, but I decided I’ll give you something simpler.
Laura: Oh, my God, you’re kidding me.
Andrew: Okay, so, here we go.
[“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 begins to play]
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Andrew: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2.
Andrew: Make the connection.
Micah: Great song. I would say it’s Snape’s song. He never found what he was looking for with Lily no matter how hard he tried.
Andrew: So true. So true.
Andrew: And that’s how we play…
[“Make the Music Connection” outro plays]
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul
Andrew: All right, let’s see. So, let’s wrap things up today.
[Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul intro plays]
Andrew: Canine Edition! Comes from Andrea, 16, of Wisconsin. She writes:
“Dear MugglCasters, several weeks ago my three-year-old dog was hit by a car. The days following her death were some of the worst I’ve ever been through. I couldn’t even open the front door without missing her high-pitched bark. Whenever I wanted to get away from the rest of the family or just forget about it for a while, I’d pick up my iPod and go on a long walk listening to MuggleCast. Even listening to episodes long past, I was able to escape my grief for an hour filled with good old ‘Potter’ discussions. I was even able to laugh at jokes. Though I still miss my dog terribly, MuggleCast continues to be a bright spot in my day. Whenever I’m sick and tired of my house or just want a break from life, I download a few old episodes and go out with my iPod. You guys never fail to make me laugh and always provide interesting discussion. Thanks for helping me through a really tough spot in my life. Love, and Pickles! Andrea.”
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: She also mentions the song that Micah picked for Snape’s death last week, “Behind Blue Eyes,” was one of the songs she listened to after her dog’s death. Micah, that was a great song. You know, I hadn’t listened to it until I actually edited it in, but it was wonderful. Some people even emailed in and said that that was a great song to give to Snape.
Micah: Yeah. The lyrics definitely apply, and maybe not the eye color as much, but I do what I can.
Last Thoughts on 150 Episodes
Andrew: No, that’s the big thing. But that’s okay. Yeah, that’s okay. You did good. But I think that does wrap up the show for today. Does anyone have any final thoughts about making it to 150 episodes?
Micah: We’ve outlasted most big-time televisions series, I would think. Right?
Andrew: That’s true.
Laura: Yeah, that is true.
Micah: Are we older than Dumbledore?
Laura: We didn’t get canceled.
Micah: No, he’s probably older.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: No?
Laura: Yeah, I think so.
Another TwilightSource Plug
Andrew: And then, for anyone who checks TwilightSource.com, we’re actually older than Edward Cullen.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: There you go. TwilightSource.com.
Laura: Yeah, there we go.
Micah: That was…shameless.
[Andrew laughs]
The Casters’ Favorite Moments
Micah: But what about – what about our favorite moments over the past 150 episodes? I know we played fans’ moments, but what were your guys’ favorite moments? If you can pick a few, or just one, or maybe even an episode.
Andrew: I’d have to say the live shows have been my favorite. They’re always very exciting, we’re always very excited beforehand to get them started, there’s always a lot of anticipation. Overall, it’s just so much fun. And doing the live shows in person, too, are a lot of fun as well. I mean, I was talking about the live online ones. But the ones in person are really fun as well. I know it’s not really a moment, but…
Laura: Yeah, it’s…
Andrew: …it’s a moment to me.
Laura: Well, it’s nice to be able to put faces to the people that have been e-mailing in, because so many of the people…
Andrew: Yes.
Laura: …who come to the live shows will come up and be, like, “Oh, I sent you this e-mail,” or, “I sent you this thing to the P.O. Box.” It’s like, “Oh, I know who you are,” and it’s really cool to be able to put faces to those people who are really so loyal to the show.
Andrew: I agree. I agree. Micah, how about you? Do you have a favorite moment?
Micah: Yeah, well, I agree with what you were saying before about the live events that we’ve done, particulary Enlightening, I thought that was a great live show. The crowd was really into it, and it was a great venue, and it seemed to go on forever. I did like – I can’t remember what episode it was – the whole otter, weasel connection. Do you guys remember that?
Laura: Oh, yeah.
Andrew: You know – you know what? Someone sent that in, and I was going to play it, but I didn’t and I’m sorry. I actually went back, downloaded the episode, but something was wrong with it. I can’t remember what. But yeah, that was definitely a great – really funny. Sorry, Micah.
Micah: No, no, it’s fine. I mean, I was just – that was a funny moment. I think that was probably one of the first shows that I did, you know, and…
Andrew: You can tell – Micah, you’ve really evolved, like, your voice was – when you first started, it was very deep and unemotional. I mean, it’s still deep, but, you know, it’s…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: …you have more emotion in it now. You have more energy in it now. That’s what I’m trying to say.
Micah: That’s right. I hate the frickin’ Half-Blood Prince pictures. I mean, you can tell that there’s contempt in my voice, can’t you, when I say that now?
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: I really just don’t like the pictures.
Andrew: Yes, you can. Matt, how about you? Do you have a favorite moment from the past episodes? I see you there on the episodes page of MuggleCast.com.
Matt: Yeah, I actually found my favorite – well, it’s my favorite episode, too. It’s Episode 27. It was the week right before – actually, no. It was the Valentine’s Day episode, and you guys were talking about a bunch of stuff, but I think the one part that I just most enjoyed listening to was when you guys were discussing Umbridge being taken into the forest and you were wondering what the Centaurs did with Umbridge.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Micah: Oh.
Laura: Oh God. [laughs]
Micah: Yeah, I might have said something that prompted that.
Matt: Yeah, no, that was you.
Laura: No, I remember that, Micah. Micah was like – Micah goes, “Magorian…”
[Micah laughs]
Laura: “…had his way with her. I remember that specifically.” [laughs]
Micah: Oh, boy.
Andrew: Oh, I’ve got to listen to that now. I completely forgot about that.
[Laura laughs]
Micah: So, yeah, I’ve had a few inappropriate comments here or there over the course of the… [laughs]
Laura: You?
Andrew: You have an inappropriate comment every single episode.
Micah: Yeah, and think about all the ones that don’t make it to the final cut. I just think it’s cool to see how it has evolved since the first episode, you know, into what it’s become 150 episodes, almost three years later. It’s really impressive and, you know…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …you guys are a few years younger than I am, but, you know, I’ve been really impressed with the way that, you know, you guys have conducted yourselves and the commitment that you’ve had and…
Andrew: Aw, thank you, Micah.
Micah: ..the effort that you put in…
Andrew: That’s very nice.
Micah: …over, you know, the past couple of years.
Andrew: Well, thank you, Micah. I mean, you’re a wonderful host too. I don’t know where – how we would do the show without you at this point, you – I mean – [laughs] – we’re starting to get, like sentimental now, but…
[Laura and Micah laugh]
Andrew: Everyone has played such a big role in this show through 150 episodes and, you know, I hope we always continue to keep the show rolling, because it’s been so great, and, you know, Micah, Laura, Matt, we’re basically – Matt, Laura, Micah, and I are basically the core hosts now. Of course Jamie will be back in a week or two, but, you know, as time goes on hosts change, and, you know, it happens. Especially when you have a group oh people like us where we basically started off with seven hosts. Seven hosts through three years, that’s a lot of people to stick around. You know, to stay on the show for several years.
Laura: Yeah, it really is.
Andrew: For three years, so at this point I’m very happy to push here that Laura and Micah have sticked on here for so long, and I’m so glad that Matt is part of this show now because he adds a lot to it. And yeah, it’s great. It’s definitely great.
Laura: And we’re glad for everybody who’s ever been a part of MuggleCast.
Andrew: Oh, of course.
Laura: Right?
Andrew: I said, “Yeah, of course.”
Laura: There was a little bit of silence there, and I’m like, “right?”
Andrew: No, it’s Skype. Skype’s bad today. But, yeah, we thank everyone, especially the listeners, for sticking with us. You know, we still have these people who have been listening from episode one, two or three. We get – lately, I’ve noticed a lot of e-mails from people saying, you know “I just started listening to the show,” and like, there seems to be a lot of new listeners lately and that’s great. Keep ’em coming!
Laura: Yeah, definitely.
Contact Information
Andrew: But at the same time we’re very appreciative of all the people that have stuck with us so long. So thank you, everyone, that’s what we’re saying. It’s time to remind everybody for not the 150th time, ’cause we haven’t been doing this for so long, but, Laura, what is the P.O. Box if someone wants to send us something?
Laura: P.O. Box 3151 Cumming Georgia, 30028.
Andrew: We skipped voicemails this week because we had a lot to get to. But we’ll probably get back to them next week. You can always call in your voicemail question or comment.
[Show music begins playing]
Andrew: If you are in the United States you can dial 121-820-MAGIC. If you are in the United Kingdom you can dial 020-8144-0677. And if you’re in Australia you can dial 028-0035-668. You can also Skype the username MuggleCast, but no matter how you call us just remember to keep your message under 60 seconds and get rid of the background noise please. Also on MuggleCast.com you can find a handy feedback form to contact anyone of us, or just use out first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. And of course we had the community outlets including the MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Frappr, Last.FM, and the fanlisting and the forums that are located at MuggleCastFan.net/Forums. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.com/MuggleCast. Digg the show at Digg.com, and vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley as always.
Show Close
Andrew: Thank you, everyone, for listening. Here’s to another 150 more episodes. Heyyyyyyyy!
Micah: [laughs] Wow.
Laura: Oooooh… [laughs]
Andrew: What?
Laura: I don’t know about that
Micah: I think you should play it out with the original intro. Or you should intro the show with the original intro that you used back…
Andrew: Okay. Okay, sure.
Laura: You mean back in the old days? The spoiler alert?
Micah: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, no, the original intro with…
Andrew: MuggleNet.com’s brand new podcasting feature. Episode 1.
Micah: Yeah, that.
Laura: Oh, I remember that.
Andrew: Feature. MuggleNet’s new podcasting feature.
Laura: You sounded so young then.
Micah: So when are you going to put this out?
Andrew: Yeah, I really have changed. My voice has evolved. Not tomorrow. Oh, we still got to wrap things up. So once again, I am Andrew Sims.
Laura: I am Laura Thompson.
Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.
Andrew: Thank you, everyone for listening. We’ll see you next week for Episode 151. Bye bye!
Laura and Micah: Bye bye!
[Music ends]
Blooper
Micah: 150 episodes and still the same [beep]-ing problems.