MuggleCast 123 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
Andrew: Hey, Mason, I really need a good gift for my generic loved one. Any ideas?
Mason: Oh, yeah Andrew, I have the gift they need. If you sign up for GoDaddy’s economy blogcast package you’ll receive 1 gig of disk space, 100 gigs bandwidth, recording tools and much more!
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Mason: Oh, yeah! That is a deal! Plus enter code MUGGLE when you check out. Save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.
[Music changes]
Andrew: Today’s podcast is also brought to you by Audible.com. The internets leading provider of spoken word entertainment. What are you listening to after today’s episode? How about a free audio book download of your choice when you sign up? Log onto www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast today for details.
[Show music begins]
Micah: Because Andrew’s anger is about to go through the roof, this is MuggleCast Episode 123 for December 9th, 2007.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Good December, ladies and gentlemen. We’re back for another week on the show and Matt and Micah are here.
Matt: Hi.
Micah: Hey.
Andrew: We are down to the bottom of the barrels, so to speak, when it comes to MuggleCast ho-hosts. [laughs]
Matt: Awww.
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: You’re sweet.
Andrew: Ho! Ho! Ho! I’m in the merry mood. Everyone has given up on the show at this point. Laura is studying for finals. Eric is touring New Zealand for the eighteenth billionth time before he leaves. Jamie is finishing up school. Ben is busy. Kevin is nowhere to be found, and it’s just a mess. And I have to wonder when people like Laura skip out on the show for one week, just because of finals. Matt has finals next week, but is he dropping out? No! I have finals in two weeks! Am I dropping out? No! We don’t turn off our MuggleCast recording boxes just because of finals, like Laura does. What is wrong? [sighs]
Matt: Well, I don’t really care about my finals because I’m failing my class anyways, so…
Andrew: Exactly. Me, too. But we have a great show for everyone today. I’m Andrew Sims.
Matt: Mhm. I’m…
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: Dammit!
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Were you cutting me off like the one time I go second in 123 episodes?
Matt: You went before me last time. I always thought you liked going last.
Micah: Oh, so you want to go first this time? Go ahead.
Matt: You want sloppy-seconds? Fine.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
[Show music continues to play]
News
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum is in the MuggleCast News Center with the past week’s top Harry Potter news stories. Hey Micah!
Micah: All right, thanks Andrew. Actor Alan Rickman, who plays Severus Snape in the
Harry Potter films, has recently donated two of his autographed scripts from Goblet of Fire, a signed headshot, and a Hogwarts Quidditch shirt to an online charity auction. This auction is to support Artists for a New South Africa, which mainly strives to advance human and civil rights in South Africa, among other many objectives. Bidding ends on December 14th.
Jim Hill Media, a new website blog that we should be getting used to hearing from for theme park updates, has a new entry which reveals construction is now underway to prepare the area. It says:
Well, once it’s been determined that the Universal Orlando Resort has a level working surface which will actually be to support the weight of this several-hundred-ton structure (Which is quite a concern in sinkhole-prone Central Florida), then construction can then begin in earnest on Hogwarts Castle. With first the footings & foundation work getting underway in January, which will then be followed by vertical construction on this enormous show building in the late winter or early spring of next year.
Additional updates and construction photos can be found on Jim Hill Media. As construction moves along, you can be sure to find the latest updates and complete information in the Theme Park section of MuggleNet.com.
Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint were all named some of the top earning “20 under 25” stars according to Forbes magazine. Dan took the top honors for the male actors, landing the countdown at number six, racking in $15 million. Emma came in 15th with $4 million along with co-star Rupert, closely following at number 16. E! Entertainment will have a one-hour special on this countdown on Saturday, December 22nd, at 6 PM Eastern.
And having shot a special piece on Wizard Rock back in June, MTV has now released a Top 10 list of their favorite Wizard Rock bands.
Finally, on Barbara Walters’ 10 Most Fascinating People of 2007 special, J.K. Rowling was named the number one most fascinating and “magical” person of the year.
The Harry Potter author also recently updated her site to recap the four months since the release of Deathly Hallows, answer questions surrounding “Chapter 35, King’s Cross”, and provide information on Harry and Dudley’s relationship as well as the elder wand.
That’s all the news for this December 9th, 2007 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Andrew: All right, thank you, Micah.
Micah: You’re welcome, Andrew.
Andrew: I’m going to yell this entire show because I’m really frustrated at the lack of co-hosts. Ah! [Takes deep breaths]
Micah: I think you need to calm down a little bit.
Matt: Just a little bit, dude.
News Discussion: Wizard Rock
Andrew: I’m really worked up. MTV published a list of the “Top Ten Wizard Rock Bands” this week, and it sort of sent the wizard rock community into a frenzy because the wizard rock community does not like picking favorites, so to speak, and then MTV comes out with this list, and you know MTV is sort of seen as the face of the teenage music generation, so to speak, and not many people were too happy about it. I guess the ten bands that did get featured were happy about it, but do you think this was a good idea for MTV?
Matt: I don’t think MTV really cares.
Andrew: [laughs] Probably not. They’re all corporate. And the list showed some wizard rock bands that we’re friends with, notably the Remus Lupins, Alex Carpenter and the gang. Who else do we got? Harry and the Potters, the Moaning Myrtles, the Owl Post, the Whomping Willows, you know, all good bands.
Matt: Yeah. Who got number one?
Andrew: Oh, well yeah, that’s the one thing. The band who got number one isn’t even – I’m pretty sure it’s not even officially a wizard rock band. Switchblade Kittens?
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: They didn’t start as a – don’t laugh, come on.
Matt: Sorry.
Andrew: Come on, shhh. [laughs] Switchblade Kittens. They started as a band that has nothing to do with Harry Potter, then when their second album was released, it was about Harry Potter. So they got in this top ten list – I guess they got number one just because of how professional their albums are. It is a very professional studio feel if you give them a listen. However, they’re not a real wizard rock band, and I seriously doubt they’re the most popular. So, whatever. I don’t think MTV did all their research on that one.
News Discussion: The Trio’s Earnings
Andrew: But, in other news, the Trio were three people out of a long list of people who were named the Top Young Entertaining Earners, if I sentenced that right. Dan Radcliffe was, of course, number one. He has earned 15 million, and the article says that that’s more than performers twice his age like Jennifer Aniston and Sandra Bullock. And Emma Watson and Rupert Grint both earned four million apiece.
Matt: So Dan earned 15 million, and Emma and Rupert just got four?
Andrew: Yeah, four apiece, despite the fact that in my opinion, they’re just as important…
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: …as Dan.
Matt: The three are irreplaceable at this point. They were pretty much irreplaceable after the first movie.
Andrew: Right. Yeah. Then a few weeks ago, or a few months ago I should say, there was even some controversy that Emma Watson was holding out for more money.
Matt: [laughs] Oh.
Andrew: I mean, WB would never ever let her go! [laughs] That would shake up – if you’re going to let her go, heck, let Dan Radcliffe and Rupert Grint go. You’re already screwing up the trio; it just would not be complete.
Micah: Well you know what it was really, is that Ben – Ben wouldn’t allow that to happen. So…
Andrew: [laughs] Ben would not let that happen, that’s right.
Micah: He has so much pull too. I mean, come on guys.
Andrew: Yeah. Speaking of pull, Andy McCray had just joined us.
Andy: Good morning, slash afternoon.
Andrew: Good morning, Andy. What time is it over there in Australia?
Andy: It’s 1 p.m., Friday.
Andrew: Ah nice. Wow, you are – God.
Matt: You are God.
Andrew: Are you guys just like living in one big time machine or something? How do you possibly live in the future?
Andy: It’s pretty good; I actually know what happens to you tomorrow. So, it’s good.
Andrew: Really? Wow.
Andy: Yep.
Andrew: What happens to me?
Andy: You put this show out, and everyone downloads it.
Andrew: Oh, wow. That’s weird, because I usually don’t put the show out until Sunday.
Andy: Hmmm.
Andrew: What is my future self thinking!
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
News Discussion: The Golden Compass
Andrew: Anyway. There wasn’t really any much other news this week. However, we did want to mention that The Golden Compass was released on Friday. And there has been a little controversy following this book, just like Harry Potter. Right, Matt?
Matt: Yeah. Well, not only Harry Potter but like, The Da Vinci Code, and any other movies?
Andrew: No. Well.
Matt: I would say maybe – well yeah. Whenever there’s religion even plugged into a movie, there’s going to be some kind of boycott.
Andrew: Now, has anyone here read The Golden Compass?
Micah: No.
Matt: No.
Andy: No, sorry.
Micah: I was thinking about it.
Andrew: Well apparently it hits religion more than Harry Potter does, and apparently in the book, the plot involves trying to kill God, or trying to kill a god in the books.
Matt: Right.
Andrew: So that’s of course stirred a lot of controversy. Much more than Harry Potter should be getting.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean, if you know, Harry was trying to kill God, if Jo called Lord Voldemort, “God” and Harry was trying to kill God, then yeah there would be a problem. But heck The Golden Compass is even worse. We have an article here that covers the controversy over the movie release. And, in the movie, I quote the article, “in the movie, the organization is tearing away people’s…” is that demons? What is that word?
Matt: Yeah, it’s daemons.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Matt: It’s pronounced daemons.
Andrew: “In the movie the organization is tearing away people’s daemons, or souls, to see what happens. Several groups are in opposition to the mysterious organization and many detractors think that the story is an allegory of the Catholic Church. So, obviously it is still going to be released in theaters it is still going to be big. It looks good though.
Matt: Yeah, it looks – yeah.
Andrew: I mean, look at the cast. James Bond is in it, that is an automatic win.
Matt: Yeah, that’s good.
Micah: Which James Bond?
Andrew: The guy who plays – I forgetting his name right now.
Andy: Daniel Craig?
Andrew: Daniel Craig, yeah.
Micah: The more recent one, then.
Andrew: Yeah, well you know. The current Bond, Daniel Craig, is in it. And who is the actress co-starring with him?
Matt: Nicole Kidman.
Andrew: Yes, Nicole Kidman. Yes. So it looks like a good movie. Who here is going to go see it? Who here wants to see it?
Andy: Why not? Sounds good.
Matt: Well, I am fairly curious. Yeah, looks good. New Line Cinema, from Lord of the Rings.
Andrew: Yeah. I don’t know…
Micah: On all the previews I see fighting polar bears, so you know, that has to equate to good movie time.
Matt: Oh, yeah man.
Andrew: Not only a fighting polar bear, a talking polar bear.
Micah: Oh wow!
Matt: With armor!
Andrew: I think it is the same one from LOST.
[Andy, Matt and Micah laugh]
Andy: Is there a big black cloud in it as well?
Andrew: Yeah, it’s like all this random stuff.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I hear the polar bear actually looks real in The Golden Compass compared to LOST, though. So, that should be something to see.
Matt: Did you guys go on The Golden Compass website to find your Daemon?
Andrew: No.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: What happens?
Matt: Anybody else?
Micah: Not yet.
Matt: Am I the only dork who did it?
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: Clearly.
Andrew: Yes.
Matt: Well, mine is…
Andrew: So did you find your daemon?
Matt: I did, it is a jackal.
Andrew: Oooh. Is your daemon the equivalent of your Patronus?
Matt: It is supposed to be your soul on the outside, I think. I am not going to be sure because I don’t want everyone e-mailing and yelling at me for getting it wrong, but I know that your daemon is usually of the opposite sex.
Andrew: Oh.
Matt: I guess maybe it is like your other half or something, maybe? I don’t know.
Andrew: But, what if you are gay?
[Andy laughs]
Matt: Well…
Andrew: No seriously.
Matt: …it is probably a phoenix. Just like Dumbledore.
[Everyone laughs]
Happy Birthday Jamie
Andrew: Well said. Well said. Anyway, moving on to some announcements now. Hey, guess whose birthday it is?
Matt: [in a British accent] Hello, mate.
Andrew: [laughs] Yes. Jamie Lawrence turns 21. The big 21 turning on Friday. Happy Birthday, Jamie. Too bad he cannot be here. Guess what he is doing on his birthday?
Micah: I don’t think that is allowed to be said.
Matt: Yeah, I don’t…
Andrew: Why not? It’s legal in England.
Micah: Oh. [laughs]
Matt: Well, it is legal here. [whispers] But we do not talk about it.
Andrew: Oh true. It is, yeah. He is legal in the U.S. now. Although technically he has been legal in the U.S. since July 12th.
Micah: Yeah, that’s true.
Matt: What?
Andrew: Because on English driver’s licenses the date format is backwards.
[Andy laughs]
Andrew: It’s day, month, year rather than month, day, year.
Matt: Oh, that’s right.
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: So, not that I am going to suggest anything about posing as a 21-year old in the United States if your birthday is July 12th. However, if someone where to look at his ID in the United States, they would think he was born July 12th, 1986? 87?
Andrew: 86, yeah.
Matt: 86.
Micah: So, basically the Americans are…
Matt: Stupid.
Micah: …stupid.
Andrew: Stupid, yeah.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Exactly.
Portus
Andrew: Now, don’t forget that we don’t have any updates, but we want to remind everyone that Mugglecast will be at Port – Portus…
Matt: [laughs] Yeah, pork.
Andrew: At the Potter Podcast Polusa, at Portus, Peter Picked a Peck of Peppers Pickle! Uh, what was so funny Matt?
Matt: Uh, I thought you said “pork.”
Andrew: Pork! We’ll be at Pokus 2010! No, we will be at Portus 2008. There will be a great time podcasting. There is going to be a whole night of podcasting at Portus. Visit hp2008.org for more details. Register today so we can see you there. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It is going to be in Dallas, Texas.
And a reminder, today’s podcast is brought to you by Audible.com, the leading provider in spoken word entertainment. Audible has over 35,000 titles to choose from to be downloaded and played back anywhere, just like Mugglecast. On the summer road tour the co-hosts and I listened to a few titles from Audible to pass the time. It was a fantastic listening experience, and it is a great way to do some reading. Log onto www.audiblepodcasts.com/mugglecast to get a free audio book of your choice when you sign up. Again, it’s audiblepodcasts.com/mugglecast for your free audio book.
Muggle Mail: Dudley and The Tea Cup
Andrew: All right, now it is time to move on to Mugglemail.
Micah: The first e-mail comes from Clint, age 11 from North California.
“Dear MuggleCasters: Hey, guys. I’m somewhat of a new listener to the show, and I really like Chapter-By-Chapter. It’s a great way to find out the little things that you’ve missed in the books. However, in the latest MuggleCast, #122, which I thought was a very good one, I thought you left out one important part in Chapter Two, In Memoriam. It was the part when Harry steps on the tea cup that Dudley left for him. Since Harry saved Dudley from the dementors and Dudley saw what he really was, Dudley started being nicer to Harry. He didn’t taunt him at all through Book 6. This just shows that Dudley really does have a kind heart deep down. The tea wasn’t much, but it’s the thought that counts. This is just another little fact, and I know it’s hard to fit everything in. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Love the show, Clint.”
Andrew: We actually, Micah I think that you and Laura both thought about this, but then we just didn’t get to it.
Matt: Well, is it really even relevant in that chapter yet?
Andrew: No, it isn’t relevant…
Matt: In the next chapter…
Andrew: It’s…
Matt: In that chapter you believe that it’s a booby trap or something. You don’t think that he’s doing it to be nice.
Micah: Right.
Andy: Right.
Andrew: Yeah, that is true. Yeah, so I guess we will discuss that in a little bit once we get to Chapter-by-Chapter today. Can I just say, Clint is 11 years old if he’s not lying about his age, and he’s a pretty good writer for an 11-year-old.
Matt: He’s the best writer.
Micah: Yeah, I was going to say that.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Most people leave out words, create sentences that don’t make a whole lot of sense, but his was pretty well written.
Andrew: Right. Actually, he spelled “heart” wrong. He spelled it h-a-e-r-t.
Micah: Well, we’ll give him a break.
Matt: But he spelled “memoriam.”
Andrew: Well, yes.
[Matt laughs]
Muggle Mail: Twilight Series
Andrew: The next e-mail comes from Meghan, 20, of Stillwater, Oklahoma. She writes in response to our discussion on Twilight last week.
“I’m listening to episode 122 right now and I thought I would comment about the Twilight series. This series is very popular, and I heard about it from the former MuggleCast Fan Forums. I do not think that Twilight will ever take the place of Harry Potter because many people have never even heard of this series, I know I hadn’t until I joined the forums, and many stores did not have the huge release parties for the third book in the series like the stores have done for Harry Potter releases. However, I do think it is interesting to note that often times on the forums we would have random discussions about the Twilight series way more often than we would about Harry Potter. I even pointed that out once on the forums. When I pointed it out most people told me that while it is true that we are slowly gravitating towards the Twilight series, Harry Potter will always have a special place in their hearts. Anyways, I just thought I would offer the perspective of a deeply loyal Harry Potter and Twilight fan. I love the show. Meghan.”
Matt: Hmmm.
Andrew: So, I wouldn’t – I mean, if they’re starting to gravitate to Twilight, great, but I don’t think that the fandom as a whole is gravitating towards any other series.
Matt: A lot of – I think it’s mostly just the girls, will go to the Twilight. I mean, I read a little bit about what Twilight the series is about. It’s about a relationship between this – between a teenage girl and this boy who I guess is a vampire. Or something.
Andrew: Okay.
Matt: And there must be this endangerment to her now because I guess there’s something that’s against the – I don’t know what after that, but it seems like it’s kind of a romantic novel but with magic.
Andrew: Mhm.
Andy: Do they have mutual attraction?
Matt: Well, it’s not the mutual attraction that you think of when you first hear about it.
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: It’s – I think the mutual attraction is more like they’re outsiders.
Andrew: Oh, okay.
Andy: They’re daemons?
Matt: Yes.
Muggle Mail: More on Twilight Series
Andrew: However, Matt, Saul, 16, of Mason, Arizona would beg to differ about the whole only girls read Twilight, because he writes:
“I was listening to Episode 122 when you brought up the book Twilight. To quickly clear up any confusion, Twilight is a vampire romance novel.”
As Matt said.
“Following the story of Bella Swan and the troubles that have aroused between her and her love, Edward.”
Just like in Enchanted!
“Anyway, you guys said ‘not too many guys read Twilight. WRONG!”
In all caps.
Micah: Okay, one guy reads Twilight.
Matt: I know. It’s just one guy, okay.
[Andrew laughs]
Matt: Wrong! One guy, at least.
Andrew: “I was reading these books before they got quote unquote big. The author happens to be the sister-in-law of one of my teachers, so she had the chance to visit our school. I threw this off and said, ‘So what?’ I regret this, because shortly after I began to read these books, and now love them. I soon found out that I wasn’t close to being the only guy. Many, many, many guys actually read these books. I personally don’t read them for the romance, but for the adventure and suspense. So, sorry, but you’re wrong here. While most of the guys don’t read them, many still do. Will it take away from Harry Potter? I won’t lie when I say it can come extremely close to it. Twilight is quickly becoming the number one fan fiction, and even threw Harry Potter off of the number one bestseller list. I doubt that it will amount to the size of our fandom, which I will forever be loyal to, but this is certainly becoming something huge. Conclusion, yes, guys like this book, and it’s not just that Dumbledore liked guys, either.”
[Andrew and Andy laugh]
Andrew: Good point, good point. Okay. I don’t know if I can still agree with that whole Twilight is becoming big because I hadn’t heard of it before last week’s show.
Micah: Well, it’s interesting – last week all four of us were pretty sure we hadn’t heard of it before. I think Laura was the only one who had. So…
Matt: And she had only heard of it because of her friend.
Micah: Yeah.
Matt: A friend of a friend’s cousin’s sister’s hairdresser’s…
Micah: And this kid is only promoting it because his friend’s sister-in-law is the one who wrote the book.
[Andrew and Andy laugh]
Andrew: On Amazon.com it has an average customer rating of four-and-a-half stars, so it’s definitely not a terrible book.
MuggleCast 123 Transcript (continued)
Muggle Mail: Elphias Doge
Matt: John, 15, from Oshawa, Ontario- what am I supposed to say?
Andrew: John, 15, from Oshawa, Ontario writes…
[Matt laughs]
Matt: Oh, okay. Sorry. John, 15, of Oshawa, Ontario writes:
“During the Chapter-by-Chapter segment you discussed (page 21, U.K./Canadian, page 15, American?) Elphias Doge’s article. When you discussed ‘our mutual attraction was undoubtedly due to the fact that we both felt ourselves to be outsiders,’ I noticed that no one mentioned that the attraction could have been to the school, and not each other. Everyone seemed to go straight to the relationship thing because Dumbledore is gay, which I’m fine with, he is, before any assumptions come into play. Anyway, I just wanted to know what you guys thought about my point of view. Keep on the great casting.”
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: I think Matt should just start reading email now because he adds character to it.
[Matt laughs]
Matt: I started trailing on…
[Andrew laughs]
Andrew: I know.
Matt: Because my computer started dimming for a second.
Andrew: Oh.
Matt: I got a little disoriented.
Andrew: And you were like, “it could have been to the school and not each other.”
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s a good point. That’s a good point. I think that definitely could have been true.
Micah: I think we did discuss other things, didn’t we? I mean, it was kind of overridden by the other mutual attraction that we spoke about, but…
Andrew: By the way, I’m sorry about being immature last week. That was inappropriate of me.
Micah: That’s okay.
Matt: Yeah, that was pretty – that really hurt my feelings, Andrew.
Andrew: I don’t do it again. No, I hurt some listeners’ feelings. I feel bad now.
Matt: Awww.
Andrew: I need to grow up.
Micah: Because I think…
Andrew: Because I’m doing a Harry Potter show.
Micah: Yeah, really…
Andrew: Why should I be fun?
Micah: Come on. Last week, I remember Laura talking about how Dodge had Dragon Pox and so I thought mutual attraction had more to do with the fact that he was an outsider because he was diseased, at least in the beginning, and then Dumbledore was sort of his own person and probably didn’t fit in much with anybody. So, I think – we did kind of explore that side of it. So, that was all.
Chapter-by-Chapter: The Dursley’s Departing
Andrew: Okay. Let’s move on to Chapter-by-Chapter now. This week we’ll be talking about Chapter 3 in Deathly Hallows. It is The Dursleys Departing. Everyone open up their books.
Micah: Oh, man.
Andrew: And basically what happens in this chapter, to summarize real quick – Harry leaves the Dursleys’ house and the Dursleys feel a little emotional about leaving Harry. I mean, this is a big – this is another one of those – the big endings and…
Matt: This is one of the highly – highest anticipated chapters of the series.
Andrew: You think so?
Matt: Well, up until Book 7 – I mean, when everyone was waiting for Book 7 to come out. I think so.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah.
Matt: Everyone wanting to see what Aunt Petunia would do…
Andrew: Yeah. That’s true.
Micah: Yeah. I’ll agree with that.
Andrew: There was still a big question about Aunt Petunia.
Micah: And it couldn’t be a bigger let down.
Andrew: Right.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah, we didn’t find out, though. But J.K. Rowling…
Matt: That happened later in the book.
Andrew: Actually, wait, now I’m remembering. She did address later in the web chat…
Micah: Right.
Andrew: That she had different plans for Petunia, but then she changed her mind.
Matt: Hmmm.
Andrew: So, anyway, we’ll go through our top five moments of the book this week that we do want to discuss.
Harry’s Treatment
Micah: The first thing that we can take a look at is, you know, Harry’s treatment, in this chapter in particular, is kind of reflective of the way he’s treated throughout the entire course of the series, whenever we see the Dursleys. And, you know, the main thing that takes place that kind of shows this is the conversation that he has with Vernon and sort of the exchange that they have with each other.
Andrew: Right. It’s very…
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: You get – you get a sense of the – the feeling that Vernon’s feeling, that this is the last time. It’s a sad goodbye and he’s feeling a little emotional.
Micah: You think he is? I don’t know.
Andrew: I think so.
Micah: I think he’s full of it, to be honest with you.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: I think he wants to get away from him as – as quickly as he possible can.
Andy: I think he’s more worried about his – oh, sorry. I was just going to say, I think he’s more worried about his and his family’s safety, rather than anything else.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: I think he’s just really, really, just uneased because he pretty much – he really has no control of the situation pretty much. And he’s trying his best to kind of grasp a little firm hand on something but he just – Harry keeps taking him down.
Andrew: Yeah, but I mean, the reason I say that it might have been a little emotional for him is because he did give Harry a handshake and it was sort of – Jo wrote it as if there was a little bit of an awkward moment there.
Micah: Well, didn’t he attempt to give him a handshake? I don’t think he actually did. I think he extended his hand…
Andrew: Yeah, I am trying to find it.
Matt: No, no. He just brought it – he lifted up his hand as if he was going to shake it…
Andrew: Alright, and then he swung it like a pendulum, I think Jo wrote.
Matt: Sort of like he backed down and swung it like a pendulum.
Andrew: So, I don’t know. I sort of just got the sense that he was feeling a little – it’s a big change. Obviously, at least Dudley was feeling something, so I would think that Vernon was too if – I don’t know.
Matt: Maybe he was just doing – you know, doing the formalities.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s true.
Andy: That’s possible.
Matt: It’s like saying goodbye to a family member even if you don’t…
Micah: Yeah. But I thought it was interesting that – he doesn’t even seem to believe anything that Harry says and that’s consistent, again, throughout the entire series. He’s going back and forth in this chapter with Harry about, “Oh, well, do we really have to leave? I don’t really think we have to leave. Why can’t somebody else protect us? Why can’t the ministry step in and…” I think it’s just more of his character than anything else that, you know, he’s hesitant whenever this topic is brought up as far as the magical world is concerned and he just doesn’t seem to put any trust in Harry whatsoever – that this is the right thing to do.
Andrew: But now’s the time – this final explanation that Harry gives him where he lays out all he details about how Voldemort will probably come and torture them and try and get information about Harry’s whereabouts. It’s finally like the nail in the coffin for Vernon to decide, “Okay, time to really get out of here. This is serious.”
Andy: It’s sort of like the two worlds coming together, really.
Andrew: Yeah. And it runs parallel even to Book 1. I mean, we talked about parallels and how it’s all symmetrical, how 1 can relate to 7, 2 to 6, 3 to 4, and 5 sort of parallel somewhere in there. You know, the Dursleys had to leave early on in the Sorcerer’s Stone. Now, in the final book, they have to leave again, but this time we don’t follow them and we don’t see them again, so it’s just another example of parallel in the series. Anyway, moving along.
Would Harry Save The Dursleys?
Micah: I guess we could – oh, well, we’ll just jump down and then we’ll go back. But during the conversation with Vernon, there’s a point where, you know, like you said they were talking about Voldemort and possibly him coming and torturing them to get Harry’s whereabouts. And there’s that moment in between the two of them where Vernon and Harry are wondering the same thing: would Harry actually come back to save the Dursleys if for any reason they got in danger?
Andrew: Right.
Micah: And I’ve always wondered that. And I think it would make a really interesting movie scene because you kind of have that interaction between – and I hope they keep it in because it’s kind of important, you know? It’s…
Andrew: Is it though? I mean – they always go for things that advance the plot, and that’s not really going to advance the plot.
Micah: You don’t think so? Well, I mean, you’re right. It’s not going to do anything to the plot because they don’t come back later in the movie. But I don’t know, I think it would be kind of interesting to see the interaction between…
Andrew: Yeah, probably. Vernon would probably give him like the big eye and the long stare that we’ve seen in Chamber of Secrets when he’s sort of looking upstairs all angry, trying to wonder what the hell is going on up there with Dobby.
Micah: Right.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: I think he would though. I mean what do you guys think?
Andrew: Oh, Absolutely. Yeah, yeah – they’re family. I mean that’s his mother’s sister, and his cousin, and especially after this departure. Harry left the Dursleys on an okay note. I mean it wasn’t a rude departure like some of the past books have been, so I think that would be even another reason for Harry to come back and be like, “Okay, I got to save these guys. They’re my family.”
Matt: It’s probably just not the closure that everyone was intending for.
Andrew: What do you think everyone was intending?
Matt: That’s why.
Matt: Oh, probably like Petunia would fire her arms around Harry and say goodbye or something.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Or tell him something about his mother like she actually did love her sister. Which we kind of figured out at the end of Book 7 when we did the flash back.
Andrew: Right. Yeah, and we’ll talk about that at the end of this Top Five because we want to touch on where in this chapter where Petunia wants to say something to Harry, but she leaves. Go ahead.
Hestia and Dedalus
Micah: No, I was just going to continue on talking about when Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones show up to escort the Dursleys. It’s a lot of the same. It’s a lot of what we’ve seen before. Typical, you know, Dursley fashion of Vernon referring to both of them as “Harry’s lot” and that kind of thing. Just him being ignorant. Even though, Andrew, you were talking about before how this was supposed to be more of an emotional chapter. And he’s supposed to maybe be showing a little bit more compassion and really there are a lot of things that take place when those two were there that kind of show that in fact, Vernon’s the same old person after all.
Andrew: Oh yeah, and I think with tempers running high, especially in Vernon’s case, I think Vernon was looking for any excuse to get angry with these two random wizards suddenly coming into his house. Even though he knew they were going to arrive.
Micah: Right, and I think they were kind of taken a little aback when – I forget who it was that said it, but they refer to the Dursleys as “Harry Potter’s relatives,” as opposed to Harry sort of being a possession of the Dursleys, which he has been for so long. I guess they were almost insulted that they were referred to as something like that. Did you guys get the same thing?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Vernon’s Attempted Handshake
Micah: And we talked about Vernon’s attempted handshake, how he kind of went for it but then backed off. I thought that was a little bit messed up.
Matt: That’s pretty… But I thought that was pretty much as good as you were going to get from him.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s just like – I don’t know, you’re letting go of your nephew for the last time don’t – can’t – why not? Why not? And it seemed like nothing was going wrong as of late. Vernon has always been a little angry at him. I just don’t understand why…
Matt: Mhm. Maybe when he reached out his hand to start giving him a handshake, and all of the sudden he just started feeling really weird about it and just stopped.
Andrew: Yeah, because there’s always that awkward feeling you have with – maybe a family member you’ve been angry with or a friend and you don’t want to be nice to them to give them the wrong impression. [laughs]
[Pause]
Andrew: I speak from experience.
Micah: I was going to just ask that.
[Andy laughs]
Andrew: Not really, actually.
Matt: Or a high-five.
Andrew: Or a high-five.
The Dursleys Don’t Appreciate Harry
Micah: I mean, more of the same. Hestia Jones was shocked that the Dursleys don’t appreciate who Harry is.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: She seems taken aback by the whole fact. I think we’ve seen that happen at other points in the course of the series, where wizards who have come to the Dursley home, or even Hagrid in Sorcerer’s Stone when he finds out that Harry doesn’t know anything about his parents. It’s more of the same I guess. And then…
Andrew: That’s just an example of how these two wizards are coming in from the wizarding world and just walk into this muggle house, and they have no idea how the Dursleys act towards each other or towards Harry. So, I think there’s a reasonable excuse for them flipping out like they did. Just over Petunia when she consoled Dudley and not Harry.
Matt: I thought that was hilarious, I hope they put that in the movie. Because that’s going to be a funny scene.
Will This Make The Movie?
Andrew: Yeah, I wonder if this whole scene – maybe at the end of each chapter we should discuss if it’s all going to be kept in or not. That could be interesting to talk about too.
Micah: Right.
Matt: I’m afraid this may be cut really short if kept in at all.
Andy: Yeah, I reckon this is cuttable.
Andrew: Oh, I thought…
Matt: Technically it’s not really connected to the main plot of the story.
Andrew: Right. They cut it down so much; I mean the whole ending battle is going to have to take up half an hour alone!
Matt: Yeah, I’m afraid this chapter might be cut.
Andrew: Yeah, I mean they got cut from Order of the Phoenix and probably from Half-Blood Prince I don’t know, I know they haven’t been officially confirmed for being on board with the movie.
Matt: I think they may have put that in Half-Blood Prince just because it’s a weird place to start right after that scene in the movie.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah.
Andy: If you think back to the fourth movie there’s that sort of comical scene with the fireplace and they just got rid of that completely.
Andrew: Right. Oh, I loved that scene. I loved that scene, that scene was so good.
Matt: Mhm. Yeah, it was. Just wait another 80 years for the re-make.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] Yeah, anyway, moving onto point three now?
Dudley’s Reaction to Leaving Harry
Micah: Sure, I mean we’ve basically spent the first half talking about Uncle Vernon and we haven’t focused on anybody else. So I guess let’s talk about Dudley in this chapter because he’s really the one that shows the compassion. Nobody else does, so – I mean what do you guys think? He is the one who ultimately makes the decision to go with the Order. And Harry knows that since it’s him that’s making the decision, they’re going to be safe and they’re going to go because whatever Dudley says goes.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: And…
Andrew: You know, first I was really surprised by this scene and now thinking back on it – I think I even talked about it on our initial reaction show – I was just like, “What is this? This came out of nowhere. Why is Dudley suddenly like this?” But now realize in the grand scheme of things and the whole theme of this book, it’s just a big,nice good-bye from everyone. I think it was nice that it ended on this note.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: With Dudley finally realizing, finally being the person he should be, finally respecting Harry for who he is. Like we said – the tea cup. Dudley, maybe… Did it say in the book if he left it every morning? Or was it just that morning?
Matt: I don’t think so.
Andrew: Maybe it was just that morning because Dudley knew they were coming close to the end. But Dudley’s reaction is just amazing! He says, “Where’s he going to go? Why isn’t he coming with us?” And those were obvious questions, but it made me think that Dudley just wanted to stall, to sort of, maybe not to spend more time with Harry, but maybe try to convince or try to talk him into coming with him or something. Maybe it was just that Dudley felt safer with Harry by their side.
Micah: It’s possible.
Matt: Maybe, yeah. I mean you don’t really know much about him in Book 6. This could have been two years of soul searching or he may have realized that Harry is pretty good and he is a pretty good guy to be around or something.
Andrew: Yeah. Respect him, Dudley!
Matt: I know! The dude saved his life.
Micah: True.
Andrew: R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
Matt: Or, his soul. Sorry. His soul.
Micah: And plus, he’s lived with them for 17 years, or about that. I mean when you live with somebody for that long a period of time – plus they’re family, regardless – there’s still going to be some sort of connection between the two of them.
Matt: And that’s really nice to know that Harry has an actual relative that he’s friends with.
Andrew: Yeah, he could be friends with, exactly.
Matt: Or, at least be acquainted with.
Andrew: Right. That’s his only relative who is a friend, if you think about it.
Matt: On good terms with.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. I would consider them friends.
Matt: I don’t know. They’re family. You can’t be friends with your family.
Andrew: Yeah… Well, you can not like your cousins. Or you can like your cousins. Or be good friends with them.
Matt: Let’s just say they have a mutual attraction.
Andrew: Okay.
[Andy laughs]
Andrew: That’s a good way to put it. In a mature way. In a mature way.
Matt: Oh, yes.
Andrew: Let’s see – what else? Oh, Dudley said – this was my favorite line in the chapter. Dudley does not think Harry is “a waste of space.” That was the most surprising thing to me when he first said it. I was like, “What? Do you really believe that?” Then Dudley explains. I think Dudley was feeling all of this – is it fair to say that Dudley was feeling emotion in this chapter? Maybe Vernon wasn’t but Dudley was?
Andy: I guess so, yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Because Dudley was sort of, like I said – I sort of felt he was stalling or he was trying to get something more out of Harry, but you could tell Dudley was sad to see him go. He wanted Harry to come with. And he’s a friend of Harry’s and he loves him for saving his life.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: If you absolutely hate someone and then they save your life out of the kindness of their heart, even if they were the only one who knew how to or even if they were just there, you still love the person. You still have to give them a lot of respect.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: And I think at that point in time, Dudley realized that wizards can do cool things – powerful things that can change lives.
Matt: Mhm. Well not only that but – I mean – Dudley and Harry have lived in the same house their entire lives, and probably Dudley was afraid that this will be the last time he’ll ever see him.
Andrew: Right. Yeah.
Matt: And he’s – I mean – no matter how many times he kicked him or made fun of him or treated him poorly.
Andrew: Well, it’s all water under the bridge. Water under the bridge.
Matt: Yeah! And, you know, the fact that he probably will never see him again is probably not something that he likes to face.
Andrew: Right. You would get that feeling with any family member, I think. That’s a hard thing to comprehend.
Matt: Yeah. Because he’s his cousin.
Andrew: Yeah. I mean, any friend or family member, as long as you have some sort of connection to them. And when you realize you’re never going to see them? That’s sad!
Matt: Well, aren’t they the only relatives of their generation in their family? Does Dudley have any other cousins?
Andrew: I don’t think, not that we know of. You know, they’re not blessed like us. We have the wonders of iChat and Macs! What do they have? They can’t video chat with each other.
Matt: They have iChat?
Andrew: No, they don’t.
Matt: Oh, they don’t? I’m talking about Macs.
Andrew: Macs have iChat but wizards don’t have Macs, so they don’t have iChat.
Matt: Oh. Yeah, but they have Floo powder!
Andrew: A can’t equal B and B can’t equal C. A can’t equal C.
Matt: They can Apparate.
Andrew: This has been the “Matt and Andrew” show. Woah! Back to you Micah and Andy!
[Micah and Andy laugh]
[Awkward silence]
[Everybody bursts out laughing]
Micah: We don’t even know what to say anymore.
Andrew: I know.
Micah: We’re just so floored by that discussion.
Andrew: Well it started good. [laughs]
Matt: It was pretty sweet.
MuggleCast 123 Transcript (continued)
The Dementor Attack
Andrew: Was it the dementor attack that caused Dudley to act this way? Yes, right?
Micah: Yeah, sure. I think it would cause him to act that way. I mean, what else would? In all actuality, and I know we’ll talk about it in a minute with what J.K. Rowling said Dudley saw when he was attacked by the Dementors, but I think that that probably had the biggest effect on him and that probably caused his change. I mean Matt said before that we really didn’t see much of Dudley interacting with Harry in Book 6. So, he had a lot of time to think about what happened. I think in that time he probably realized the past treatment of him – of how he treated Harry was wrong. And it’s probably why we saw a different thing in this chapter in Book 7.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Andy: Well, like…
Andrew: But I mean – go ahead!
Andy: No, you go ahead.
Andrew: No, no, you! I insist.
Andy: All right. I was just going to say that I guess the dementor attack is the thing that made the whole thing really real. It was the first interaction that Dudley had between Harry’s world.
Andrew: That’s a good point.
Andy: It was real fear, not just talk. If that makes sense.
Do The Dursleys Know The Risk?
Andrew: Yeah, I think so. And I mean – but it’s so like – you know, you’re still losing your family member. As much as you may have despised them. And, you know, Petunia, as we’re going to get to in a minute, and Vernon, they’re all sort of weary about it. They weren’t too sure what to think, I think.
Andy: Do you…
Andrew: But…
Andy: Do you think they know there’s a possibility Harry’s going to die? Like a real possibility?
Micah: I think…
Andrew: Ummm…
Micah: …they might.
Andy: I wonder if that dawns on them.
Micah: I think Petunia does. Yeah. Maybe not the other two…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …as much.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: And I don’t think – quite honestly, I don’t think that Vernon would care. I really don’t.
Andy: True.
Micah: I don’t really think he would. You know, he’s more concerned – like, even the stuff that he talks about in this chapter, you know, “Oh what is he going to do as far as a job? What is Dudley going to do as far as school is concerned when they go to another place?” I don’t think – despite this argument that it’s still family, I don’t think Vernon really gives a rat’s you-know-what about…
Andrew: Behind!
Micah: …Harry. Yeah. Exactly. I don’t think he cares about Harry. Maybe a little bit, but not enough to care where he’s going, or what he’s going to be doing.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: So, you don’t think he genuinely just deep down loves him, like you would a family member? Because like, everyone loves their family. You may not like a member of your family but you still might love them.
Andrew: Right. Especially one that you live with.
Matt: Who saved your life.
Andrew: Who is close to you.
Micah: Well, no, I’m talking about Vernon.
Matt: Who…
Andrew: Oh.
Micah: I mean, technically…
Matt: Oh.
Micah: …he is saving his life.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] Nevermind.
Andy: Does Vernon really ever see Harry as family?
Micah: No.
Andy: When it boils down to it?
Micah: Yeah, I don’t think so.
Andrew: Hmmmm.
Matt: Oh, I don’t think so.
Andrew: Yeah. He – yeah – he doesn’t give a rat’s behind and he’s just a pain in the butt. I mean think of all this – like when I was reading this chapter and, you know, they were telling Vernon what was going to happen, you know, how they were going to transport them, does Vernon really want to deal with that? I mean, I would be so ticked. I would be like, “Why did I take this guy in? Why didn’t I just leave him on a doorstep? Why did I bring him in? And now I had to deal with all this for so many years now.”
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: You know…
Petunia
Matt: I think – I think Harry’s situation was mainly die to Petunia. Because, I’m thinking that the night that they took him in, there was probably a quarrel between Petunia and Vernon. And she probably won that saying “he stays.”
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah.
Andy: If you remember…
Matt: Because she’s the one who said he stays in Book 5.
Andrew: Right.
Andy: Yea,h that’s what I was just going to say. If you remember in Book 5, Vernon told Harry to get out. So…
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, good point.
Matt: She may be the one who has the upper hand in the family, probably, you know?
Andrew: Oh, she’s definitely the dominant person…
Matt: Yeah, she’s…
Andrew: …in the relationship.
Matt: …the alpha…
Andrew: Female.
Matt: …lady. Yeah. Thingy.
Andrew: [laughs] Chick, gal.
Micah: She uses the whip.
J.K. Rowling on the Dementor Attack
Andrew: Now back to something that Micah did bring up earlier, what did Dudley see when he was attacked, and J.K. Rowling addressed this, she said: “I think that when Dudley was attacked by the dementors he saw himself for the first time as he really was. This was an extremely painful but ultimately salutatory lesson, and began the transformation in him.”
Matt: There you go.
Andrew: You know, whenever people have a – have a near death experience, it seems like that’s when they realize, you know, their place in the world. And that’s exactly what it was for Dudley. That was a near, near-death experience. I mean, you always hear those stories about people who are this close to death and then they, you know, survive and then they see the light.
Andy: You value your life more once you know it’s nearly taken away from you.
Andrew: Right, yeah, and especially the people who save you.
Micah: This, and I know Andy kind of touched on it before, but I think this made also everything real for Dudley. You know, the magical world up until this point, you know, the people he encountered weren’t necessarily negative people. But I think this kind of put everything into perspective for him.
Andy: Right.
Matt: Yeah.
Andy: Yeah.
J.K. Rowling on Petunia’s Parting Words
Andrew: And lastly, the final point we wanted to bring up today. Petunia wanted to say something to Harry before she left. She paused as she was walking out, she turned around, and she opened her mouth a couple of times, but then decided not to say something. And J.K. Rowling is quoted as saying: “I think that for one moment, she trembled on the verge of wishing Harry luck; that she almost acknowledged that her loathing of this, of his world, and of him, was born out of jealousy.”
Andy: Yeah.
Andrew: Since Jo didn’t realize they said earlier that Petunia wanted to go to Wizarding School.
Andy: Because we find that out later in the novel.
Andrew: Right. And… [sighs] You know, from Petunia I could’ve expected maybe a hug, because that’s the last part of…
Matt: Or just a pat on the back, even.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, or a wink.
Matt: A wink and a smile.
Andrew: Yeah, it was the last part of her family, of Lily. That was the last part of Lily, and then she just lets him go without saying a thing.
Andy: It’s a bit harsh.
Andrew: It is.
Andy: Doesn’t she have any sort of motherly feeling?
Andrew: Exactly, yeah. We did get a few listener e-mails this week, but now that we look back on it we actually did cover them all in all of this discussion. One came from Brittney, 13 of Las Vegas, one came from Robert Andereg, 17 of Odessa, Texas, and the last one came from Emily and Ashley, 16 of Missouri. So, thanks to them for e-mailing in, but we answered your question today. And thanks to everyone who’s been e-mailing in. Lots of feedback about this segment, and about future chapters, you know, so we have some extra things to talk about.
Quote Quiz
Andrew: Let’s get now to Quote Quiz [echoes “quiz”], or quote quote quiz quiz [echoes]. Do you guys get it? It’s like an echo, like we’re in a tunnel or something.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Oooh!
Andrew: I just cup my mouth when I go, “quote quiz quiz quiz.” I’m actually going to go into a tunnel and record that someday, it’ll be – it’ll sound pretty cool. This quote comes from Chapter 4, The Seven Potters. The quote is is is [echoes]: “Hold on, Harry, this’ll do for ’em.” “Hold on, Harry, this’ll do for ’em.” Who said that quote? And who was he talking to? [laughs]
Micah: What do you mean who was he talking to? [laughs]
Andrew: [laughs] I know, it’s a joke, Micah, thank you. Anyway, next week we will be discussing The Seven Potters. It’s the chapter where Harry takes his big journey to safety. I think that was such a clever plan, I just loved reading that because it was so clever. It was so Jo.
Matt: It was fun. I’m really scared for that scene in the movie, though. They’re going to butcher it.
Andrew: Oh, oh! Heck yeah. Hedwig’s not even going to die.
Matt: [laughs] Just going to reprieve her character.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: In the distance, you’re just going to see like a cloud of feathers, just like burst in the air.
Andrew: Right.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, very small special effects in the background, just so they can keep it in. It’s going to be like five frames long. Nobody will notice, but then when everyone complains, WB will be like, “It was there. It was short but it was there.”
Matt: Just like – what was that character? Dobby? in Book 4, Movie 4.
Andrew: Yeah.
Andy: The camel-elf, or whatever it was.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul: Foreign Edition
Andrew: It’s time now for Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul: Foreign Edition!
Micah: Chicken Soup comes from Javed Mohammed, 21, of Trinidad and Tobago. He says:
“Hey, MuggleCasters, I’m probably the only Trinidadian listener you have, but then again I may be wrong. Anyway, I’d like to thank you all for the great job that you all are doing. The MuggleCast podcast has really opened up my eyes to the finer details of the Harry Potter series that I would have just skimmed across even if I had read them multiple times. The podcast has really made me appreciate the Harry Potter series much more, and I find myself telling others who read the books to listen to you guys (and gal) to get a deeper understanding of the books. Again, I would like to thank you all for the stupendous effort you place into this podcast, and keep up the good work, for it’s well appreciated worldwide.”
Andrew: I hate to burst your bubble, but you are not the only listener from Trinidad. I’m just searching my e-mail right now and it looks like there are maybe four other people.
Matt: It was still a heartwarming message, Andrew.
Andrew: Yeah, no, no, no, no! It was a very nice message, yeah, thank you for sending that in. I’m just saying there are a few listeners – we have listeners everywhere, it’s awesome! Can you guys believe you’re talking to people in Trinidad right now?
Andy: And Tobago.
Matt: Actually, yeah.
Andrew: And Tobago, and Germany, and Sweden, and Portugal, and Hawaii, and Pennsylvania.
Matt: [sarcastically] No!
Micah: Brazil.
Andrew: It’s amazing.
Micah: Don’t we have a lot of people from Brazil?
Andrew: Uh.. yeah.
Micah: I remember that for some reason. I don’t really know where I heard that from.
Andrew: Brazil, Australia. We got a big audience in, ummm – yeah, Germany.
Micah: Do we still get numbers and stuff from different countries, or no?
Top Countries That Listen to MuggleCast
Andrew: Yeah, we have statistics. Let’s see, I’m looking up the top
countries right now. We’ll go through them real quick for kicks.
Andy: Sweet!
Andrew: Number one, United States. Number two, Canada. Number three,
United Kingdom. Number four, Australia. Number five, Germany. Number six, Mexico. Number seven, Norway. Eight, India. Nine, [pronounces “swee-dee-an”] Sweden. [laughs] Sweden. Ten, China. Eleven, New Zealand. Netherlands. Ireland. Japan. Philippines. France. Singapore. Brazil. Denmark. And other countries. That’s the order.
Micah: That’s pretty cool.
Andy: Sweet.
Matt: Sweet.
Andrew: Yeah, people from everywhere! We should promote that – that survey link. Because that’s how we got those statistics and we haven’t had that link up for over a year. So, that’s probably very outdated. But it probably still follows the same pattern.
Contact Information
Andrew: Anyway, I think that just about does it for this week’s episode of MuggleCast, Episode 123. It’s time to remind everyone about our contact
information.
If you would like to send us some parcel mail, you can always mail it to:
MuggleCast
P.O. Box 3151
Cumming, Georgia 30028
If you would like to leave us a voicemail, comment, or question, you can call the MuggleCast hotline numbers. If you’re in the United States, you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you’re in the United Kingdom, you can dial 020-8144-0677. And if you’re in Australia, you can dial 02-8003-5668. You can also Skype the username MuggleCast. Just remember, no matter
how you call us, keep your message under a minute and eliminate as much background noise as possible. We’re still working on the – getting voicemails back. We will soon, I promise. You can also visit the MuggleCast website at MuggleCast.com for a handy feedback form to contact anyone of us. Well, and by us I mean myself and Micah.
If you’d like to contact Matt, it’s matthewb at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Andy can be reached at webmaster at harrypotterfanzone dot com.
We also have several community outlets over at MuggleCast website. We got MySpace, Facebook, YouTube,
Frappr,
Last.FM, and the MuggleCast Fanlisting
You can also Dig the show at Digg.com. Vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley. And rate and review us at Yahoo! Podcasts.
Again, all this information can be found at MuggleCast.com.
Show Close
Andrew: I want to say next week will be our DVD review show! [echoes] So, e-mail in your…
[Micah laughs]
Matt: Oh!
Andrew: What?
Matt: What DVD?
Andrew: The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix two-disc DVD is coming out next week! A month after Australia and England got it.
[Matt laughs]
Andy: Ridiculous!
Andrew: Matt, will you be getting it?
Andrew: I know. It is.
Matt: Huh?
Andrew: Matt, will you be purchasing it on Tuesday, December 11th?
Matt: I may be – no.
Andrew: Really?
Matt: I don’t know. Maybe. It’s worth a shot.
Andrew: Okay, well we have a review show and if you want to be on it you’ve got to watch the DVD! How about you, Micah?
Micah: Yeah. Hopefully I get the deluxe edition this time because last time for Goblet of Fire I got the wrong one. So…
Matt: Oooh!
Andrew: Yeah. Hopefully you don’t delay seeing it or buying it for two months.
Matt: I think doing that the thing they did with the Goblet of Fire DVD. Like they have the one disc that just has nothing.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Andy: Who buys that?
Andrew: I know. Who does buy that? And it’s like a five-dollar price difference, too, it’s amazing.
Matt: I know.
Andrew: I remember when I bought Sorcerer’s Stone, I bought it on VHS.
Andy: Oh, so did I.
Andrew: I was like, “Wow, check out my…”
Matt: Wow!
Andy: I had to go replace it the other day. It wrecked my collection.
Andrew: Really? Did you buy a DVD?
Andy: Like one fat one. Because I’ve got like four DVDs and then this one fat box thing. Doesn’t look good.
Andrew: Oh, yeah. I know. I remember the deleted scenes were at the end of it, too, so you had to fast forward past the credits.
[Andy laughs]
Andrew: Like, “Wow, this is cool!”
Andy: [imitating a commentator] Wait until the end of this feature
presentation for a bonus scene!
Andrew: Yeah, exactly. They said it in that voice, too.
Micah: Yeah, that was actually pretty good.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
[Andy laughs]
Andrew: So, anyway. We will be reviewing the DVD next week. We might take a break from Chapter-by-Chapter unless we just make it a really long show. I’d rather lean toward skipping Chapter-by-Chapter for one week.
Micah: And one more thing.
Andrew: But…
Micah: Can I just…
Andrew: Well, hold on, let me finish this thought.
Micah: Okay.
Andrew: Send in any feedback you have about the DVD to mugglecast at staff dot mugglenet dot com so we can read your feedback about it.
[Show music begins]
Andrew: You know, comment about the special features, all that. I’m sure most of you will be getting it Tuesday, as will we, then we’ll review it later in the week and put the show our over the weekend.
Matt: Yay!
Micah: All right, I just want to say that we get probably close to about 5 or 10 e-mails every single week asking about older episodes.
Andrew: Yes.
Micah: And how people are new to the show and they can’t find older episodes. There’s an Episodes Section on MuggleCast.com.
[Matt laughs]
Micah: You can directly download all of our older episodes, so please go there to find them. We know that they don’t show up in iTunes. That’s because our feed is not big enough to house all the episodes.
Andrew: Right.
Micah: So, if you want older episodes of MuggleCast, go to the Episodes Section on MuggleCast.com.
Andrew: Yeah, the thing with the feed is that if you put too many episodes on it, the file gets too big and when every single person using iTunes is
checking that feed – iTunes checks the feed like every hour or so, so when you have, like, 50,000 people checking that feed every hour, that can run up a lot of bandwidth. So, we keep the file size smaller so that way we don’t have to, you know, worry about a lot of bandwidth being taken up.
So that does it for this week’s show. Once again, I’m Andrew Sims.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: I am Matt Britton.
Andy: And I’m Andy McCray.
Andrew: Andy and Matt, thank you for joining us this week. We will see everyone next week for Episode 124. Bye bye!
Blooper 1
Andrew: Matt, I think Jonathan Malfoy, 12, of Nashville, would beg to differ, though.
Matt: Oh, really?
Andrew: Because he says in our next e-mail, “I would like to inform you that I will not be listening…” Oh, wait.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Did someone – wait…
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: I put an e-mail in here about – Micah, did you take it out?
Micah: No. I don’t even know where this e-mail came from.
Andrew: I am absolutely positive I put an e-mail in here from a guy listener that reads Twilight. Hold on one second. I starred it in my Gmail.
Blooper 2
Matt: I know.
Micah: Yeah, because I don’t act immature…
Matt: You’re an adult now.
Micah: …ever on the show. So, I’m – yeah. I can’t talk. But…
Matt: You’re not that 17-year-old kid whose voice breaks every two seconds now, Andrew. You’re now an 18-year-old man whose voice cracks.
[Phone rings]
Andrew: [gasps] Whose phone is that?
Matt: Cruz, your phone! Get it!
Micah: Oh.
Andrew: [laughs] We haven’t had a phone ring for like over one hundred episodes! We were on a roll! What happened?!
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