MuggleCast 140 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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[Show music begins]
Andrew: This week’s podcast is also brought to you by Audible.com, the Internet’s leading provider of spoken word entertainment. Get a free audio book download of your choice when you sign up today. Log onto AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast today for details.
[Harry Potter theme plays]
Jim Dale: [As Professor McGonagall] This is Professor McGonagall welcoming you all to MuggleCast hoping you all 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]
Micah: Because you have to admit last week some of you got punk’d, this is MuggleCast Episode 140 for April 5th, 2008.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: All right, well I think we fooled a lot of people last week with the April Fool’s joke. April Fool’s, everyone.
[Matt and Andrew laugh]
Andrew: You see, here’s the other thing. Then once I leave the show, which is very tragic for some people – they can’t stand not having The Andrew Sims on the show…
Jamie: I thought it was fun, Matt, didn’t you?
Matt: Yeah, I had a blast. I thought it was perfect.
Jamie: Me too. I thought it was an amazing show.
Micah: Yeah, Jamie. I agree. Yeah.
Andrew: All you guys do is you make fun of me. Why do I get made fun of every time I leave?
Jamie: Because you’re our glorious leader.
Andrew: It turns into a mock Andrew fest.
Matt: That’s what everyone does when the boss is out of the office. Everyone makes fun of him.
Jamie: Yeah. See? Imitation is the highest form of flattery, Andrew. Don’t you know that?
Matt: Yeah, and dang man, if that wasn’t a huge flattering compliment, too.
Jamie: It was.
Andrew: Yeah. Right, but our April Fool’s joke scared a lot of people. We got a lot of e-mails from people saying, “Oh, my gosh. No, no you can’t do this! You can’t do this! Stop!” And then some people really enjoyed – really welcomed the idea. They said, “You know what? This could work.”
Matt: A lot of people prided themselves for calling on it, too, which I thought was pretty funny. Well, I mean everyone knew it was a joke and so they kept e-mailing, “Haha! You guys didn’t fool me. I knew.”
Andrew: Right, right.
Matt: I thought that was… [laughs]
Andrew: What annoyed me was some people were like, “I’m 100% sure this is a joke.” You’re not a 100% sure.
Eric: Then why would they be e-mailing us?
Andrew: Right. I didn’t understand that.
Eric: To tell us that, you know…
Andrew: Anyway, we have a big show to get to. We’re going to hit up a couple of chapters in Chapter-by-Chapter and things. I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Jamie: I’m Jamie Lawrence.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matthew Britton.
[Show music continues to play]
News
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum’s in the MuggleCast News Center with the past week’s top Harry Potter news stories. Hey, Micah.
Micah: All right. Thanks, Andrew. The London Times reported earlier this week that “writing by Anthony Horowitz, Philip Pullman and J. K. Rowling will appear in The Birthday Book to be published by The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts to mark the Prince of Wales’ 60th birthday.” We’ll let you know as soon as we have more information.
The Ministry of Magic released a statement earlier this week condemning the acts of ex-Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. Mr. Fudge initially had a tracker placed on him after it was found he was moving massive amounts of galleons from a high-security vault in Gringotts to a private account in the Cayman Islands. It has been discovered that Mr. Fudge used the money to pay for “special services” he received in both the Leaky Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks from a wild band of Veelas. While the representatives from Azkaban did not allow comment from the ex-politician, former aide to the Minister Percival Weasley had this to say: “Oh, I thought he just liked getting out of the Ministry from time to time.” Fudge is best known for his stupidity in not believing in the return of Lord Voldemort.
Earlier this year, J.K. Rowling was awarded by University College Dublin with the James Joyce award. On accepting the award, Jo spoke to hundreds of fans and a full transcript is available on Mugglenet.com. In it she talks about how Snape and Dumbledore were the two most important characters in the series aside from the trio.
And after years of tending to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, everyone’s favorite half-giant is making a name for himself on television. Are You Smarter Than Rubeus Hagrid? airs every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. eastern on FOX. Host Jeff Foxworthy said the show is a great success and is nearing the viewership of hit reality TV show American Idol. While the contestants tend to outwit Hagrid on the Question and Answer section, the hands-on portion of the show, where they are asked to tame a Blast-Ended Skrewt, usually show that Rubeus ain’t as dumb as he looks.
And finally, the younger brother of world-renowned wizard Albus Dumbledore was arrested earlier this week outside the Hog’s Head for his involvement in an underground illegal goat trafficking ring. Madam Rosmerta noticed an alarming number of goats walking limply around Hogsmeade one afternoon and decided to alert the Ministry. It was later discovered that the goats who failed to show Aberforth considerable attention were fated to enter an outside pen, which served as a holding area until they were taken underground at night and had various charms performed on them. The Ministry seized what looked to be plans for an underground goat fighting league. A rather irritated Aberforth said it was his way of showing them “tough love,” and the animals spoke to him in a way humans never could.
That’s all the news for this April 5th, 2008 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Andrew: All right, thanks, Micah.
Micah: All right. You’re welcome, man.
Andrew: So, besides the, like, ten April Fool’s posts, dude, that you came up with – you came up with most of those. A round of applause for Micah Tannenbaum.
[Everyone claps and whistles]
Eric: Micah Tan. Micah Tan the Anchorman.
Micah: What were you going to say, Jamie?
Jamie: I was going to say you have a fascination with goats that comes over and above the normal…
[Micah laughs]
Jamie: …fascination with goats that most people have.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: Is there a reason for this? A small something that happened as a child, perhaps?
Micah: No comment.
Jamie: Okay.
Eric: Micah was raised by goats.
News Discussion: Intercollegiate Quidditch
Andrew: All right, so one of the stories to talk about tonight. MTVU did a story on intercollegiate Quidditch, and what it is, is these colleges versus each other playing Quidditch on the ground. They all have a broom, they’re all holding onto the broom. They have to pretend like they’re sitting on it, and they’re running around the field, and it’s been getting a lot of press lately. It was on CBS Morning News, of course MTVU had a really good spot on it. What do you guys think of this? Did you see the reports on this, and do you think it could be like a growing trend? Because like MTVU did a story of Princeton versus – what was the other school?
Micah: I know Middlebury started it all.
Andrew: Yeah, that was it. Princeton versus Middlebury.
Eric: That’s really cool.
Jamie: It’s not going to take off, though.
Andrew: Is this a growing trend? Is this going to going to be the next… [laughs]
Jamie: It’s not going to take off, though.
Eric: No, it’s not…
Andrew: You don’t think so?
Eric: …going to take off unless they get jet-propelled brooms.
Micah: Awww….
Jamie: Well, yeah, I was going to say, when – surely levitation is going to happen in the future. It’s just going to be a technology that we haven’t discovered yet, and when it does, there’s going to be some Harry Potter fan who’s a professor of aviation or something at some leading university…
Eric: Developing the anti-gravitational broom.
Jamie: …and he’s going to put it into broomsticks and stuff, yeah. And then we’ll see it, but it just seems like a fake rip-off at the moment, doing it on the ground.
Eric: Oh, no, no, no, no. Not at all. Have you ever played land Quidditch?
Jamie: No.
Eric: It’s fun.
Jamie: I’m not likely to, either.
Eric: It’s – you know, Jamie, I mean, I was – we met up when I was on Harry Potter Fan Trips, but the very next day I think we went to Royal Navy College in Greenwich, and Beyond Boundaries Travel running the trip had gotten the USA Team Handball Association to literally write rules for ground Quidditch.
Jamie: That is pretty cool. That is pretty cool.
Eric: Yeah, and so they had guys who actually, you know, who actually run these sports come up with the size-distance of the hoops, all sorts of things, and we developed land Quidditch for Harry Potter fan trips. And, you know, we played water Quidditch at Lumos. You guys remember that?
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: That was pretty fun, wasn’t it?
Andrew: But the question is – yeah, it was fun.
Eric: So, I mean, I don’t know if it’s catching, but land Quidditch happens to be a very fun sport to play.
Andrew: But – so the thing is, could this be – I just want to know if this is going to be a growing thing.
Micah: Yes. I think it will.
Andrew: Because all of a sudden there’s all this press for it. Yes, Micah? Talk, Micah. Tell me, Micah.
Micah: Here’s the reason why: you already have at least eight schools that have picked this thing up, because it said that Middlebury was traveling to eight different schools during their spring break. So one would assume that more than eight schools are doing it, and I think it will probably become, at least at first, more of a club sport. A lot of schools will start to gather the funds necessary to have these teams travel. I mean I don’t know kind of behind the scenes how they raised money to go from one place to the other, but one would think that over time it’s going to grow, it’s going to catch on if people continue to do it. And…
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: So people will be fundraising to get their team to go to – and there will be like the – well, Micah, you work for arena football, don’t you? I mean, will there be like, arena Quidditch? Do you think?
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Oh, come on. No. [laughs]
Eric: I mean this is – it’s a fair question.
Andrew: I – okay, I think WB would have something to say about that.
Eric: Arena land Quidditch. I think seriously – I think Jo should secure the rights to USA team handball, or whoever wants to run an arena Quidditch.
Jamie: [laughs] There’s no way that’s going to take off in a million years!
Eric: Well, you know it’s going to happen because all the school children – what do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be an athlete.
Jamie: I want to be an astronaut! I want to be an astronaut! I want to be a firefighter! I want to be all the things that my grandfather wanted to be.
Andrew: I want to be a policeman.
Eric: Be a land Quidditch player! Because they’re – that’s the only – it’ll be the only sport without drugs involved.
Micah: ESPN, though, did an article, I think we posted on MuggleNet maybe about a year or so ago, on Quidditch, so I don’t see why. I mean, look, I can list a number of things on ESPN that you could say, “why do they have this on their programming?” I mean, darts, bowling, you know. You were talking about a handball league, Eric, earlier, there’s like a world kickball association, a world dodge ball association.
Eric: Oh, lacrosse.
Micah: Well, lacrosse is a little bit higher up, I think. But, you know…
Andrew: It is.
Micah: You just think about all these things that nobody would actually consider to be sports twenty years ago, and now they’ve just come on strong, and it’s…
Eric: Like Olympic level crunching.
Andrew: I think that’s – you know, you have a good point.
Micah: If you take the game and change it to be a little bit more…
Jamie: T.V. worthy.
Micah: Yeah, in the sense that you don’t have some guy running around the field with, you know, a snitch attached to him.
Andrew: A snitch hanging off his butt.
Micah: Or whatever the case may be.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: If you just make it a little bit more engaging for people and, you know, kind of change the rules around a little bit, it won’t be classical Quidditch as we know it from the Harry Potter series, but it’ll be a form of it. I mean, I’m sure that eventually, you know, it’ll take off.
Andrew: This is bringing out audiences. If you look on the MTV report, there were big crowds coming out. I mean, it’s a good sell, you know. “Oh, come watch us play Quidditch, it’s in Harry Potter, guys!”
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: “Come watch us play!” So.
Eric: It’s definitely got the press.
News Discussion: J.K. Rowling Receives James Joyce Award
Andrew: Moving on to some other news, J.K. Rowling won a James Joyce award back, I guess, what was this Micah, like last week or something? Or last month?
Micah: Well, now it would be last month, yeah.
Matt: Recently.
Andrew: Yeah. Recently. [laughs] Fair point. The transcript from her acceptance was released, and she had a couple of interesting things to say about the books. A couple of them I thought we could talk about. For one, she said she’d like to go back and tighten up Order of the Phoenix. Tighten that big thing up. I don’t know.
Jamie: It ceases to be Order of the Phoenix when she changes it, like – do you know what I mean? It’d have to be Order of the Phoenix Part II.
Eric: Yeah, it really does.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: You can’t just – I mean, obviously, it’s up to her, but I just don’t think that you can go back and add to it or take stuff away, because then it’s just version two, version 2.1, you know, it’s not how she originally wrote Harry Potter.
Andrew: Right, right.
Eric: I’m with you there, Jamie.
Andrew: Yeah, I don’t understand that because I thought the thing used to be that she didn’t like Goblet of Fire, she always wishes she went back to re-write Goblet of Fire.
Eric: Yeah, because she was rushed. She felt rushed on that.
Jamie: She said that about all of them, though. Or like, most of them.
Andrew: Right, yeah. And then she said she felt rushed for Order of the Phoenix, too. So…
Eric: Oh, no she didn’t, she took her time on Order of the Phoenix. Oh, but do you mean now she said that she felt rushed?
Andrew: No, but she did. She just said, in this interview, she said that she felt pressure and a bit rushed. So she wants to go back and edit and tighten it up.
Eric: That’s sort of strange, really. But…
Andrew: It is surprising. It goes back on what she’s said in the past.
Eric: All I know is that the first three books had all come out, you know, a year apart or whatever, and then Book 4 did the same except, you know, after that she said never again, and they made the first two movies before another book came out, ’cause Book 4 was significantly longer and she had to do it in the same amount of time. So…
Andrew: Micah, you’ll appreciate this, one other thing she said was one of the big challenges was not being able to apparate in and out of Hogwarts, and she said, “I was quite proud of Aberforth, again the tunnel. I like Aberforth and his goat.”
Eric: I was…
Andrew: Do you like Aberforth and his goat, Micah?
Micah: [laughs] You know, I think this is just further proof of the connection that exists between me and J.K. Rowling.
Jamie: It’s true.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: [laughs] Why? ‘Cause you bug her, and then she makes updates, and you also like jokes?
Jamie: That’s pretty much it, yeah.
Micah: Yeah.
Eric: And she goes out of her way to, you know, support goats and the goat cause, and Micah’s sort of…yeah.
Jamie: On the subject of – sorry.
Micah: Goats?
Jamie: No, no. Well, no, I was going to say on James Joyce, have any of you tried to read his second book, Finnegan’s Wake? Well, not – it’s counted as a huge and important piece of English literature, but if you read the first page – I can link you guys to it – it’s insane. It’s absolutely insane. It’s impossible to read. So, yeah…
[Eric laughs]
Jamie: …try and read it, it’s just – I don’t know how it can be classed as great English literature. Perhaps I’m just not up to scratch on this, but I don’t know.
Eric: Well, you know the Britons did a lot with time period. A lot of the dialect, and uh…
Matt: Will you stop saying [pronounces “Bri-tawns”], Eric? You’re making…
Jamie: You sound like you’re talking about Matt’s family.
Matt: Yeah. [laughs]
[Micah laughs]
Eric: No. Dude, I’m talking about…
Jamie: [pronounces correctly “Bri-tins”] Britons.
Eric: …the British people of yesteryear.
Matt: [pronounces correctly] Britons.
Eric: Oh, the Britons, but then it sounds like…
Jamie: British people.
Eric: …that I’m saying A-I-N-S, but okay. The British people. All I’m saying is that literature that was written four hundred years ago is significantly different. I mean, if you look at, even – even more recently, even Charles Dickens would write with the language of the day, right?
Jamie: No, no…
Eric: Is that correct?
Jamie: …but, seriously, read this page. It’s insane.
Eric: [laughs] It’s exceptionally.
Jamie: It is very difficult.
Andrew: Yeah, lastly, she also mentioned – she talked more about Dumbledore being gay, but really it was more of the same. You know, just that, “it doesn’t matter that he’s gay, it’s just, you know,” so it was nothing new, really.
[Jamie laughs]
Matt: He’s not a gay character. He’s a character that happens to be gay.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Who happens to be gay. No, that’s exactly right. I mean that’s what everyone says…
Jamie: It’s a great way of putting it.
Andrew: …including Jo. Yeah.
Eric: So, why are you guys laughing? Seriously?
Matt: Because I’m just so awesome in that way, Eric. I make everyone laugh.
Andrew: But that’s really all that happened in the news this week besides all of our awesome April’s Fools stories. New pictures of Emma Watson, too. You boys likey?
Jamie: Where, where, where, where?
[Andrew and Matt laugh]
Andrew: [imitates Jamie] “Where, where, where, where?”
Eric: I wonder if Ben’s seen this. This is a nice new picture.
Andrew: New press pictures. Yeah, it seems kind of random, and Emma even said it was a Warner Brothers shoot, so everyone was like “Oh, new photos of Hermione,” but it’s Emma.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: She looks great.
Jamie: Does she?
Eric: Well, when does her film come out? Ballet Shoes? When does that…
Andrew: That’s been out.
Eric: Is that out?
Andrew: Hasn’t that been out, Eric or Matt?
Matt: Yeah, it’s been out.
Andrew: Yeah. Thought so. Yeah, so uh…
Eric: God, I missed…
Andrew: …some stunning new pictures of Miss Watson.
[Jamie laughs]
Micah: Only wearing ballet shoes?
Andrew: Whoa!
Eric: No.
[Eric and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: This is – see, we get e-mails. This is why we get e-mails. [in a high pitched voice] “You guys are so immature…
[Eric and Micah laugh]
Andrew: …why don’t you guys grow up and be like Pottercast?”
Micah: No, dude, I’m just perverted. That’s the bottom line, you know? There’s no which way about it.
Eric: Yeah, I saw that picture of you and the goats in only ballet shoes, Micah. [laughs]
Jamie: What? Micah or the goats wearing…
Andrew: Guys, you’re being immature, guys. Come on. You’re not allowed to have fun.
Matt: Well, these photo shoots from Warner Brothers have to be something besides Harry Potter, because they only shot Emma Watson.
Jamie: It’s true. It’s true.
Andrew: That is true. That is true.
Announcement: Vote for MuggleCast
Andrew: That’s it for news this week. Let’s move onto some announcements. Hey, it’s a new month, so vote for us at Podcast Alley. Just go to PodcastAlley.com, click on MuggleCast, and place your vote for us. We reigned supreme last month, and this month we’re not doing so good. We’re at the number five spot right now, so…
Matt: Oh, shoot. I haven’t voted yet.
Micah: I’ll go vote right now.
Andrew: Oh, well get voting.
Jamie: Oh well, that’s going to make all the difference, Matthew. [laughs]
Andrew: Hey, every vote counts!
Matt: Thanks for your sarcasm, Jamie.
Andrew: So vote for us this month. It is MuggleCast Mapril, which means you do have to vote for us. Any month beginning with an M we have to win, so of course we won March. Thank you, seriously, thank you, everyone, who did vote for us last month, put us in the number one spot.
Eric: Thank you.
Andrew: It’s just a fun little thing to do on the side.
Matt: Yeah. No, it was really nice. I liked it.
Announcement: Amazon Unspun
Andrew: Thanks. Yeah, me too. Thanks for your support, and vote for us this week, or this month, because it is MuggleCast Mapril. Also, I’m sort of experimenting with this new thing on MuggleCast.com right now. I posted about it on April 2. Amazon does this thing called Amazon Unspun, and, basically, you make a poll topic and then people submit their answers, and then people can either vote for answers from fellow listeners or they can make their own answer. So I did one called Discussion for MuggleCast, and people are currently adding ideas for segments or discussion topics for the show. I thought it’d be a good way to get the listeners involved, so if you guys just check that out over at MuggleCast.com. There’s a link to the Unspun page. Right now the number one thing being voted on is for us to finish Chapter-by-Chapter. Of course we are going to finish that.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: And then number two is to go back to old shows and see what predictions were correct and what were way off.
Eric: Oh.
Andrew: It’s a good idea, but…
Jamie: [laughs] That won’t be fun.
Andrew: Yeah, but it would take a lot of work going back.
Eric: “Last year on MuggleCast.”
Andrew: Number three is movie commentary, which we would love to do eventually.
Matt: I’m really, really excited to do that. I really – that would…
Jamie: That would be fun. That would be fun.
Andrew: We just need to get everyone together, I think. I don’t know. And so there are some other ideas there. There’s 56 items now and over 1200 votes, and 109 people participating, so definitely check that out if you want to help contribute and give us some ideas for the show.
Matt: Yeah.
Announcement: Hiring Transcribers
Micah: I have just one announcement this week concerning the transcripts. I know some of you have noticed that I have been getting a little bit behind,because I have been having a lot of work to do, and part of the way that we’re going to try and fix that is by hiring some more people, so we want to give everybody out there, the listeners, the opportunity to send their applications in, and you can do that by sending an e-mail over to mugglecastnews at gmail dot com. And one thing that we’re going to stipulate this time is that you have some sort of English studies background, that you are familiar with grammar and spelling and all that fun stuff, because that plays a huge role in doing the transcripts every week. And the other thing that’s important to remember is that you have the time, commitment to be able to do this. It’s probably going to take a couple hours out of your schedule each week to do a couple minutes of the show, so it’s really important that people have the time and dedication to put in as well as have a good understanding of the show itself, who the hosts are, as well as the series, considering that a lot of the terms and phrases that get used are directly from the books. So that’s really all I have to say about that. We will get back to people as quickly as possible, probably within a week and have people starting as soon as Episode 141 or 142. So the people that we’ve had so far have been doing a great job, it’s just I’ve taken a while because of work to get around to editing and to posting the final transcript up online, but we do need some more people, probably about between five and ten, and we do look forward to all the applications that do get sent in. And again those can go to mugglecastnews at gmail dot com.
Announcement: Create Your Own MuggleCast Segment Returns
Matt: And actually also I have an announcement as well. Mugglecast is bringing back an old segment, guys, back from way back, from 2006 actually called Create Your Own MuggleCast Segment. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it’s a contest where you will be able to make your very own MuggleCast segment, and it will be aired on, where else, but MuggleCast. So here’s what you do: you plan your segment, you gather your content, you assign your hosts – you know, you get your friends together and all that – and you record the show, and you then edit it all together. So pretty much you do everything, and then you send it to us. The segment can be no longer than seven minutes, and the topic must relate to Harry Potter books, movies, fan culture or anything else related to Harry Potter. So, you know, sorry, guys, but no Twilight stuff. The segments will be judged on creativity of the topic, the presentation and host personalities. The deadline for your segment must be turned in no later than April 20 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. The winners will be announced on April 22 or whenever the show will be up on that weekend. So here is what you win: the third place winners receive a fifteen dollar gift certificate courtesy of Alivan’s. The second place winner, you get a twenty-five dollar gift certificate. And the big prize, first place, you get a fifty dollar gift certificate. Each gift certificate can be used for anything Alivan’s has to offer including hand-made magic wands, robes, house sweaters, ties, etc., etc. And of course the top three winners will also have their segments aired on an episode of the show. Oh, one more thing to add: please, guys, compress it to an mp3 format of high quality. You can either e-mail your file as an attachment or send a link to mcsegment at gmail dot com. All of this will be posted on the website as well, so if you didn’t get everything I just said, don’t worry about it, and if you have any questions, please e-mail them to me at
matt at staff dot mugglenet dot com! So, yeah, good luck to all of you that enter.
Announcement: Twilight Set Report
Andrew: Moving along, one thing that was not an April Fools’ joke last week was that I went to the set of Twilight, and my set report is now online on garth…[laughs]…on GarthHorizons.com.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: DarkHorizons.com! I’ll put a link on MuggleCast.com because I know we’ve been converting a lot of you guys – I mean not converting – but we’ve been getting a lot of you guys into the Twilight books.
Jamie: Oh, I love Twilight.
Andrew: Jamie, you are not getting into it?
Jamie: I haven’t read it, so I am prejudging it completely.
Matt: No, he’s still a hater, man. Last week he was hating on me for doing it. “Oh no, Matt! Why would you do Twilight?”
Andrew: I know.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I think you would like it, Jamie. I really think you would like it.
Jamie: But – but, it’s – but isn’t it just the same thing being done again?
Andrew: No, it’s different! It’s different and if you read my report, you’d see that Robert Pattinson even thinks it’s different.
Eric: Because the vampires have Porsches.
Jamie: They’ve got Porsches? Yeah, but isn’t that like Blade, when the like…
Eric: [laughs] It’s like Blade…
Jamie: Well, it is like Blade.
Eric: Except he had weird things going on with his mom.
Jamie: He did have weird things going on with her, but, Matt, do the thing. Do the annoying thing about it.
Matt: What? Oh! [fangirl voice] “Oh my god, Edward Cullen is my ‘shipper for life. I have such a crush on fictional characters. Edward Cullen is my lover.”
Jamie: Sirius is fine, Sirius is fine. Edward Cullen, though?
Matt: Well, yeah, I guess. [laughs] You haven’t read the books, Jamie, so you can’t have a good opinion on this.
Jamie: No, it’s true, it’s true. I will read them, actually. It’s bad to prejudge. It’s bad to prejudge.
Eric: Okay, okay, so, Andrew, we know Robert Pattinson. Who else is in the movie that we might know? Do you know?
Andrew: No one really. It’s really, like, a cheap film. No, I’m kidding. [laughs]
Eric: Oh, okay. That’s cool though. Lots of fresh faces.
Andrew: Yeah, there’s a lot of fresh faces. And I have to say it really is a good portrayal of the books, and they’re really serious about making sure that it reflects the books well.
Eric: Yeah, like Eragon. I heard that about Eragon.
Andrew: Unlike Harry Potter and Eragon. No, but they are really careful and when I was there, even the author Stephenie Meyers was there on set, and she’s been there the whole week just observing. She’s really into the idea of her book being converted into a movie. Kristen Stewart is playing the main character, Bella Swan. Then, of course, Robert Pattinson, that hottie in Goblet of Fire.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: He’s playing Edward Cullen.
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: And Order of the Phoenix, Andrew. You know he was in Order of the Phoenix, right?
Andrew: Yeah, but, you know, those were those recycled scenes. It really is a great cast. I mean they’re not well-known actors, but…
Matt: I love Kristen Stewart. She’s a really good actress.
Andrew: What else has she been in, Matt, for anyone who doesn’t know?
Matt: She was in the Panic Room with Jodie Foster.
Eric: Oh my god, she was the daughter!
Matt: Yeah.
Jamie: She was!
Matt: [mocking Eric] You’re so right!
Eric: I am so seeing this movie now. Now that I’ve made that connection.
Matt: She was in Jumper, she was in The Messengers, she was…
Andrew: Into the Wild.
Matt: Catch That Kid, I think it was.
Andrew: I’m not going to draw on this because this is obviously a Harry Potter podcast, but I want to find a way to – ’cause I know there’s – I’m going to start my own Twilight podcast. That’s what I’m going to do.
Jamie: Andrew, it’s not difficult. Just talk about it. Stop making it a big deal.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: Yeah, yeah, exactly, I mean…
Andrew: All right, fine, fine, if you guys will give me permission. Twilight is going to be a really good film and I had a lot of fun on set. They were actually – they were in Portland, Oregon – actually, Oregon, where the film actually takes place. They actually are even going to Forks, Washington, where it actually takes place.
Eric: That’s pretty crazy.
Andrew: I mean, you know, you look at Harry Potter, they don’t actually go to Hogwarts. But this film…
Jamie: Well, that would be a bit hard.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Actually goes – what? What? I don’t see the problem. This film goes to where the book actually takes place, which is really cool. Jamie, let me ask you something.
Jamie: Yup. [laughs]
Andrew: You’re going to run off and you’re probably going to go spend money on Twilight, right?
Jamie: [laughs] No, I’m going to steal it.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: No, no, no. Come on.
Matt: Just go with it, Jamie.
Andrew: Just go with it.
Jamie: Okay, yes. I am going to buy it.
Andrew: What if I told you you could get it for free on Audible.com? What if I told you that?
Jamie: That is an offer.
Andrew: You can’t refuse! Because 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, just as easily. Log on to AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast to get a free audiobook download of your choice when you sign up today. Again, go to AudiblePodcast.com/MuggleCast for your free Audible book. Free audiobook – sorry! [laughs] Not Audible book.
Jamie: But then I won’t be able to think how dreamy Edward Cullen’s voice is in my head. I have to hear someone else saying it and that just spoils the magic.
Matt: No, it’s really great because I’ve actually listened to it and it’s actually a woman who does the audiobook, and so it’s pretty much like Bella talking inside her head…
Jamie: Oh.
Matt: Because it’s from Bella’s point of view, so you’re like hearing Bella’s reasons why she loves Edward Cullen so much.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: So you’re like inside Bella’s head, Jamie.
Andrew: Actually, I do have to say the free deal from MuggleCast gets you a credit towards Twilight because the Twilight book is actually two credits. You get one with this deal through MuggleCast. So you’re halfway there. Over 35,000 other titles to choose from for free.
Matt: Hey!
MuggleCast 140 Transcript (continued)
Muggle Mail: Pettigrew’s Hand and the Elder Wand
Andrew: Anyway, let’s move on to Muggle Mail now. Who wants to take the first Muggle Mail for today?
Matt: Our first Muggle Mail comes from Wendy Henequin, 40, of Nashville, TN and she writes: “I found your discussion of the sudden suicidal attack of Peter Pettrigrew’s hand very interesting. And I agree with the idea that Voldemort had programmed the hand to attack Pettigrew should he prove disloyal. No one, however, mentioned the vital piece of information that confirms this theory. At the end of “Goblet of Fire,” when Voldemort creates the hand, he says, ‘Pettrigrew, may your loyalty never waver again.'”
Eric: Ooooh….
Matt: Yeah. This is serious stuff!
“Strangely enough, the disloyalty is only slight. Pettigrew’s hand only loosens a little, just enough for Harry to jerk away and this action may not be a disloyalty at all. Since Voldemort had specifically ordered that no one must kill Harry but Voldemort himself, Pettigrew must be thinking something disloyal. Also, about Draco Malfoy’s wand, someone, not sure who, said that Draco had the Elder Wand, which Harry takes from him, but in the next chapter Ollivander identifies the wand in question as Draco Malfoy’s hawthorn, not Elder Wand, and Voldemort takes the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb later. Love the show! Keep it up, and when you finish Chapter-by-Chapter for “Deathly Hallows” go back to Book 1 and start from there. Chapter-by-Chapter’s my favorite segment!”
Eric: Okay. We already did Chapter-by-Chapter for Book 1.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Didn’t we?
Andrew: Yes, we did!
Micah: Well, I wanted to clarify something I guess that – sorry – Wendy brought up, and you guys can correct me if I’m wrong on this, but I was pretty sure that the Elder Wand is not a wand. It’s more of a concept, or it’s more of an intangible thing so the power itself is transferred from one wand to the other.
Eric: No. No, no, no. I’m pretty sure it’s actually a wand.
Andrew: Yeah, because…
Matt: I think it’s more of a position…
Andrew: …Voldemort actually pulls it out of Dumbledore’s…
Eric: It’s a wand, but it’s kind of like an – it’s kind of like an unfaithful lover. You can have the wand, but is it really yours?
Micah: Because I was under the impression, okay, that the power of the Elder Wand transferred from Dumbledore to Draco the night that Draco disarmed him on the tower.
Andrew: No.
Eric: We’re talking about ownership, though. We’re talking about two separate things…
Micah: No, but that’s not what we were talking about on the last show.
Matt: No. The Elder Wand does not belong to any specific person.
Micah: Right.
Matt: It’s when it’s – it’s kind of like a link to an all-power or something. It’s like a…
Micah: It transfers power…
Jamie: It’s like the one ring! Who’s in control of it?
Matt: Yeah! Whoever has – it can be transferred whoever wins it.
Jamie: It bends its will to the master.
Matt: Yeah. No – the master holds it, but he doesn’t own the power. It’s the wand that holds the power.
Jamie: Yeah, but the wand chooses who it works for, though.
Matt: Well, yeah, that also. Well, what Wendy says is Ollivander identifies the wand in question as Draco’s wand, not the Elder Wand, but didn’t Ollivander say there’s really no real way you can tell if it’s an Elder Wand or not?
Micah: See, here’s my thing, though. If you go back to when Voldemort kills Snape, he kills Snape because he thinks that Snape is in possession of the Elder Wand.
Jamie: No. He thinks he’s in possession of its allegiance. He thinks he…
Matt: Yeah, exactly!
Micah: Yeah, right. Sorry. That’s what I meant.
Eric: This is how a wand and a wizard connect. An initial attraction – this is according to Ollivander, okay? There’s an initial attraction and then a mutual quest for experience – the wand learning from the wizard and the wizard from the wand. It isn’t necessary to kill the previous owner, Harry checked, for a wand to change allegiance, but Ollivander suspects that the desire for the Elder Wand naturally causes its former owners to be killed in the process. So, once again, I mean, it’s not that you have to kill an owner to win the wand’s allegiance. That’s typically what kind of happens, but the wand’s allegiance and actually having the wand in your position are two completely different things.
Micah: Okay. Yeah. And I think that that’s where the confusion came in, because last show I was talking and I should have used the word “allegiance.” You’re right, Jamie. The allegiance was with Harry in the end. That’s why when he disarms…
Eric: It was with Draco.
Micah: Well, no. It goes from Dumbledore to Draco to Harry, and that’s what happened in this past chapter that we discussed. At Malfoy Manor, when Harry gets that wand in his possession, or disarms Draco and gets his wand, that’s – he’s now in possession of the Elder Wand’s allegiance, correct?
Eric: No, no, no, of Draco’s wand.
Micah: Right, who took the allegiance from Dumbledore the night he disarmed him on the tower.
Matt: Yes.
Eric: Right, but isn’t – isn’t – right, exactly, but by the end of the book when Harry and Voldemort are dueling on the table in the Great Hall, isn’t the Elder Wand still Draco Malfoy’s servant?
Matt: No.
Eric: Isn’t it still alleged to Draco Malfoy?
Matt: It is not.
Andrew: No.
Matt: Because the wand – the wand is now…
Micah: The wand’s in Harry’s possession.
Matt: Yeah. The wand succumbed to Harry. The wand chose Harry as its master.
Eric: Okay, well it’s still flawed, and we’ll talk about that in Chapter-by-Chapter, but I feel that that is a little bit flawed because, well, we’ll explain, but I think that it’s still flawed.
Muggle Mail: Voldemort’s Name
Andrew: Next e-mail from Daniel, 16, of Scotland:
“I was just listening to Episode 139 where you briefly discuss the taboo on Voldemort’s name. I believe that this taboo was already in use before the Ministry was taken over in the Deathly Hallows. The Ministry itself. Number 1: the Ministry itself could’ve been using the taboo previously, not to locate opposition to Voldemort, such as the Order of the Phoenix, but to uncover possible Death Eaters and allies of Voldemort that would be using his name for a more sinister purpose. Number 2: maybe the Ministry encouraged people to say “You-Know-Who” or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” rather than “Voldemort” in order to find people abusing the taboo, and not just because people were afraid just to say his name. Number 3: I think that if it was an idea created by the Ministry it is extremely ironic that Voldemort uses it more effectively when he’s in control of the Ministry if they were using it against him. I may be talking total skeptical crap but I just wanted to hear what you guys thought about this theory. It might goes on the verge of saying what I was thinking, but I don’t think that it was mentioned, that it may well have been an idea created by the Ministry in order to keep tabs on Death Eaters and not just used by Voldemort to track down his enemies in Book 7.” I think that’s a good idea.
Micah: I disagree.
Matt: I disagree.
Andrew: Oh. Jamie?
Jamie: What I was going to say, his first point – I think if Death Eaters and Voldemort’s allies use his name, especially in front of him, they’re going to get killed by him for disrespecting him. And if they use it away from him, I don’t think they’d do that because they’re probably more scared of him then everyone else is because they have to prove themselves to him on a regular basis, whereas everyone else is just scared of him.
Eric: Exactly.
Matt: Well, Voldemort…
Eric: Well, the thing about the books, I mean, the Death Eaters are all scared of him. They call him the Dark Lord, they won’t use his name.
Micah: Exactly.
Eric: In fact Bellatrix thinks Harry’s a nutjob when he uses his name.
Matt: Well, also Tom Riddle also said, you know, that he wanted to create a name that even the most bravest wizard would fear to say it or something like that.
Jamie: Yeah.
Matt: Like he wanted his name to be feared; it’s not that the name was tabooed, it’s just everyone was too afraid to say it.
Eric: Exactly, and if you translate it, it means “Flight From Death,” which is pretty creepy.
Jamie: Yep.
Micah: Yep.
Matt: Yep.
Jamie: Yep.
Matt: Sorry, Andrew.
Andrew: No, I don’t know, I just…
Eric: Last Muggle Mail?
Andrew: No, nevermind.
Psychologist Stereotypes
Eric: Sweet, I’ll get the last one. This is from Megan age 19 of Parkland, Washington. She says:
“Hey there, MuggleCasters. I just wanted to make a couple of comments on the most recent show. As I was listening and you began to talk about psychologists, I started to giggle, but then I started to frown. I am going to be graduating with a Psychology degree and I am saddened by the stereotypes that are placed on psychologists. They are not all like the typical Freudian image with the therapists sitting there while the patient lies on the couch while they blab about their whole life. Just thought I should say something. Also, I really like the idea of making the show a more diverse genre. I love all four series you picked and I look forward to hearing what you come up with. I applaud Laura for being a strong feminist, as I am one myself, and I think Jamie has a sexy voice.”
Andrew: Oh!
Jamie: That’s nice. I think that stereotype’s awesome.
Andrew: It is. You see it all the time in TV and stuff.
Eric: You really do.
Jamie: But I’m sure it’s not true though.
Eric: I’ve heard about another stereotype about psychologists, that they all kind of have issues and that’s why they become psychologists.
Andrew: I’m sure Megan really appreciates that.
Jamie: [laughs] That’s not true, Eric.
Matt: That’s so not true, Eric.
Eric: No, no. I’m just joking. My girlfriend studied adolescent psychopathology and I like to tease her, so it’s really nothing to do with anybody.
Matt: Well, the whole – well, the conversation – well, I think it was Jamie, Micah, and I had about psychologists was basically – we basically just said that psychologists, you know, control the world.
Eric: Hmmm.
Jamie: It’s a compliment.
Andrew: They make a lot of money.
Matt: It’s kind of a stereotype, but it’s kind of not.
Jamie: No, no it’s so true.
Matt: You can’t generalize with all psychologists because a lot of psychologists like to help you, but there’s like so many different kinds of different psychologists. There are.
Jamie: No, but, Matt, I didn’t mean it as a bad thing that they take over the world, I just mean that they’re brilliant because they know how to – like, for example, I saw a TV show advertise it’s name on the TV guide on the TV was breaking into Tesco. Now Tesco is this huge superstore here and, as for being a superstore, it has a huge security system and everything like that. It’s a huge, huge – has huge security budgets and stuff like that, and the actual program was about people cooking for them and bringing products onto their shelves, which apparently is really, really hard to do. But I clicked on it immediately because I thought it was going to be people armed with knives and balaclavas trying to break into it, passed their security systems, and I think that was created by a psychologist, since I think everyone else is going to do exactly the same.
Matt: Well, I definitely love psychologists when they’re involved with big things, because they always see things that a lot of people cannot see, because they think about – because they know about the human brain and how humans think.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: So you definitely need one on your side.
Eric: Yeah.
Jamie: You do definitely, but it’s a great profession.
Micah: I always thought it was psychiatrists that sit on the couch not psychologists. Am I wrong?
Jamie: Well, it’s all – well, I think…
Andrew: Yeah, you’re right.
Jamie: I don’t know.
Matt: Psychiatrists study psychology.
Jamie: No, they don’t, Matt.
Matt: Yeah, they do.
Eric: They study psychiatry.
Jamie: No, they don’t, Matt. Psychiatry’s a…
Matt: Fine.
Jamie: You need a medical degree.
Chapter-by-Chapter
Andrew: All right, well that does it for Muggle Mail this week. We’re going to get into Chapter-by-Chapter now. Chapters 24 and 25. Eric, you want to kick it off? Oh gosh. Oh. I think I’m going to have to leave. I can’t – I don’t want to.
Eric: What?
Andrew: The beginning off this chapter is too sad.
Eric and
Matt: Oh.
Eric: Gosh. You know, actually I…
Matt: You’re such a drama queen.
Eric: I think -I think Micah should read the first point because Micah used to have something with Dobby before he left him for the goat. There was a – there was an old avatar I made for Micah based on something he told, I believe it was, Andrew on one of the earlier episodes that “Andrew was not ready for the Dobster.” That…
Micah: Oh, yeah.
Eric: …Andrew got “pwned by Dobby” in one of the earlier…
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: …book discussions.
Micah: Wow. How long ago was that?
Eric: Thirty-four.
Andrew: That’s old school MuggleCast.
Eric: So – yeah, man. So, Micah, why don’t you read the sad news? This is news, guys. This is news. So, Micah.
Chapter 24, “The Wandmaker”
Micah: Well, we all know how the chapter ended from last week, and how it starts off this week. Dobby obviously dies and Harry buries him without using any magic, which, you know, I guess is more of a sign of respect than anything else, and that’s kind of where I’ll leave it. I didn’t actually listen to last week’s show, Andrew. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet. Did you put any music in there for him?
Andrew: Sorry, for which character? Dobby?
Micah: Dobby. Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, yeah. He did.
Andrew: He suggested a song. Yeah. Right I did. Yeah.
Jamie: Oh yeah.
Matt: [singing] “I want to…
Andrew: Whatever song you said. What song was it?
Matt: …break free!”
Andrew: Yeah, “I Want to Break Free.” Yeah.
Eric: Love that.
Andrew: Jamie is like, “Oh please. God yes, please.”
Jamie: Yeah, that was exactly what I was like.
Andrew: You know you were.
Jamie: No, I know I was.
[Everyone laughs]
Dobby’s Death
Andrew: So yeah. So Dobby dies. I loved how Harry didn’t use magic to bury him.
Matt: I – yeah. It was almost like he forced to do it. Like he was so angry at the thought of using magic for him that – either because it wasn’t really, you know, deserving. Someone needed to get on their hands and just…
Eric: He deserved someone to really dig the grave. And the thing about it is that – the first point here about Harry burying Dobby is that it makes such a big impact on Griphook. And really does work to serve for Harry’s benefit because Griphook is really – Griphook calls Harry a strange wizard when they talk to him for having that sort of profound respect for Dobby. But Harry is there…
Andrew: Right.
Eric: …digging the grave, and he’s out there so long eventually, I guess, he gets joined by Dean and someone else with a shovel, too.
Matt: Isn’t – is it Ron?
Eric: I think it’s Ron. And then after all of it Harry puts that little stone there and “Here lies Dobby, a free elf.” It’s just – It’s really emotional, and…
Andrew: But this is also a big turning point for Harry because this is when he’s just fed up with it and he realizes that something – something’s got to give.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Basically.
Matt: Well…
Andrew: What were you going to say, Matt?
Matt: Well, what did you guys think about the speech they gave for Dobby for his funeral? Like what Luna said?
Eric: Oh, all Harry could say was, “Good-bye, Dobby.” That was horrible. That was – that was heart wrenching.
Matt: That was really sad. That’s going to be a really hard scene.
Eric: You know what was the saddest thing? I don’t even know of – talking about translation to movie, Matt, they put socks on him. They put socks and shoes on Dobby and Dean conjured him a hat. And they…
Jamie: Awww….
Eric: So Harry closed his eyes and everyone else conjured clothing for him. And gave him clothes and buried him with…
Matt: Well, was it Harry that closed his eyes? I thought it was Luna.
Eric: Oh, maybe it was Luna. One of them gave shoes, though. And socks. And Dean conjured the hat.
Matt: Well, I’m sure they’re going to do that in the film. It’s just it won’t be very relevant to the people who…
Eric: Considering…
Matt: …haven’t read the books.
Eric: Well, considering…
Jamie: Yeah, that’s true.
Eric: …he’s been gone from all the movies, you know, since…
Matt: Uh-huh. Well, he – well, Harry also wraps him in his jacket as a blanket, too, which I thought was really sad.
Eric: So cute.
Jamie: Have you guys…
Matt: It’s kind of like a little baby.
Jamie: Have you guys seen why people put coins over there eyes?
Eric: Well, yeah, that’s to – that’s to give them…
Matt: Yes.
Eric: …money to pass in to the – to give the two cents to the boatman that was Chiron.
Jamie: No, I mean, yeah, Chrion.
Eric: I don’t mean Sharon. [laughs] Chiron. Maybe on the weekend…
Jamie: [laughs] She’s a bit more exciting.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Sharon Chostlemore.
[Everyone laughs]
Grief and Love
Eric: If you want Sharon to take you across the lake. Anyway, Griphook thinks that Harry is very strange. And Griphook – we’ll actually come back to that, what Griphook says. But Harry concludes that he has finally succeeded in shutting Voldemort out of his head, and that it’s actually grief that is his tool for doing so. So Harry kind of figures out ’cause he’s really sad for Dobby, and, currently, Voldemort is at the Malfoy Manor presumably flipping a bitch on all his Death Eaters. And because, I mean, if you think about it, this is probably the angriest that we’ve ever – I mean, not seen Voldemort, obviously, but Harry Potter was there and in serious condition. They had him, and once again they let him go. And Voldemort was so far away, and it’s just one of those things. You expect to see Voldemort the angriest he’s ever been, but you don’t, because Harry’s finally learn to shut him out and he says it’s grief. Dumbledore would’ve said it was love, but it was actually grief. And J.K.R. even confirms here while writing that it was grief for Sirius, not necessarily how much love there was in Harry, but the grief side of love that prevented Voldemort from possessing him at the end of Book/Movie 5.
Andrew: Is it grief or is it just like an extreme distraction? If you have so much grief your mind is completely on something else, like Dobby. So is it that your mind’s just completely distracted? Like, I don’t understand. Is it just something that’s on your mind that’s closing out Voldemort or is it actually grief? Like, I don’t understand how grief would close your mind.
Matt: There has – I think it has to be a sort of emotion or something that’s locked in your head and that creates a block from anyone that tries to go through and open your mind.
Eric: It’s not just a kind of fatigue sort of grief, because if you’re tired, you know, then your defenses are weaker, then Voldemort can penetrate your mind like Harry, you know…
Matt: Well, also, he says, when he’s digging the spade into making the hole, he keeps going – saying the two words over in his mind, “Horcrux” – what was the other word?
Andrew: “Hallows”? So that’s what it is, it’s just something distracting Harry so much that that’s all he can think about.
Eric: Well, no, it’s also the compassion side of it, Andrew. I mean it’s love and grief. When I asked what’s the difference, I mean, because the grief for Dobby is that, you know, it’s a creature that he loved so much in a way. To have him dead and have to be burying him and to be fighting this war, it’s just – it’s very – obviously, it’s very depressing, but I still think compassion still has to do something with it, it’s just not specifically that Harry has a bunch of love in him. It’s the ability to feel for others.
Jamie: And also if you go on the grief article on Wikipeida it gives the processes of grief, the stages of it…
Eric: Oh, I love those things.
Jamie: …and the first one is shock and denial; disbelief. And it says feelings of unreality, depersonalization, withdrawal, and an anesthetizing effect. So I guess his mind wasn’t working like a mind and it has to be working like a mind for Voldemort to come into him, perhaps.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Nice research, Jamie.
Eric: So you guys are saying he’s actually less human in order to block out Voldemort?
Jamie: Oh, no, no, no. That isn’t…
Eric: Well, it’s a dysfunction in his mind. You’re saying it’s more of a…
Matt: Well, he’s not as open. He’s not as open, also. That’s the whole point of penetrating your mind.
Jamie: Yes.
Matt: His mind is set on one thing right now.
Jamie: Exactly.
Eric: So if he were extremely focused on something else, then…
Jamie: Well, no, no. With – this is a complete conjecture, but it’s just perhaps, you know. It’s just a perhaps.
Andrew: So, Matt, like you were saying, Harry’s in there digging that hole saying “Horcruxes” or “Hallows,” and this is why, because he’s trying to – he’s deciding which one to go with and he then decides that – to go with the Horcruxes because that’s the plan that Dumbledore left him with and it must have been for a good reason.
Jamie: Yeah.
Eric: Exactly. He’s choosing whether or not he should talk to Griphook first or Olivander first, because, to be perfectly honest, either one of them could die. They’re kind of weak. They’ve been in a cellar for – well, I mean, Olivander’s been in a cellar for really long. I was worried – when I was reading this chapter the first time – I was worried that in choosing to talk to Griphook first, Olivander would die and we’d not get the satisfaction of all these answers regarding the wand. So I kind of treated it like it was a really sensitive choice. I mean Harry said the time is now. Do I choose to find out more about the Horcruxes or do I learn all I want about, you know, the Elder Wand, one of the Hallows.
Matt: Well this was – because this was definitely a fork in the road for Harry’s journey because he had the two – he had both Olivander and Griphook that could lead him to different roads in this journey. And he chose the one that he initially went on, that Dumbledore gave him to do, which was get the Horcruxes, which means that he had to go to Griphook.
Tangent: Casting
Andrew: Yeah. Just really quick movie mention: I really hope John Hurt comes back to play Olivander.
Matt: I do, too. I was thinking the same thing.
Andrew: And I’m looking at his IMDB, and he’s been in a lot of projects, so I mean he’s still pretty active. And…
Matt: He’s a great actor.
Eric: He has to come back. I mean if they don’t get John Hurt to come back, I mean…seriously.
Andrew: Yeah. It’s just the whole it’s been ten years, or whatever, so…
Eric: Well, that’s the other thing…
Matt: I hope they get Verne Troyer too to play Griphook.
Eric: Well, yeah, exactly. Exactly. They need Vern Troyer to play Griphook and they need John Hurt to play – sorry – Ollivander.
Andrew: And Dan Radcliffe to play Harry Potter.
Jamie: No!
Eric: No, no, no, no! I am just talking about continuity between the films.
[Jamie laughs]
Eric: Yeah, Dan’s too expensive. They’re going to decide to go with lower budget goods.
Matt: Well, since we’re on this chapter, can I just say that – was it hard for you to actually vision Bill Weasley?
Andrew: Yeah. I never really picture him.
Matt: Because you see all the other characters from the movie have already been introduced, so you see kind of the actors in your mind also when you read the books, but…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: …Bill is the only one of this whole group that you haven’t seen yet. So it’s almost hard to vision him talking to them.
Eric: Well, the thing of it is, is that his face has been torn off, and it’s got so heavy scarring, and he like only eats blood red meat now. That’s what’s difficult for me. I always had a picture of Bill in my mind ever since Book 4, you know, so it never really interferes not having an actor to go with in the movies, but at the end of Book 6 when he gets, you know, attacked by Fenrir Grayback I just can’t picture that. Same thing with Moody. He was described as having like a wooden, you know, face almost, with the way it was. And it’s just some of the ways J.K.R. describes it is, I just think, difficult for me to really, really picture. Like when she will talk about the scarring extensively I start wondering whether or not my image of Bill is correct.
Matt: Right, right, right. Okay. All right, so where are we now in this chapter? [laughs]
Harry Talks to Griphook
Andrew: Well, he decided to go with the Horcruxes, so he’s going to talk to Griphook.
Eric: Yeah. And…
Andrew: And – Go ahead, Eric.
Eric: So he chooses to talk to Griphook and Griphook calls him a really strange wizard. Apparently, Griphook was watching Harry bury Dobby, so…
Andrew: I thought that was really – I just want to – when he called him a really strange wizard I think that was really interesting. It just really shows you how different Harry is.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: ‘Cause here’s a goblin telling him he’s really strange. I just – that was such a really – honestly, that was a really moving scene when I first read it.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: I don’t know. It meant something.
Eric: ‘Cause it’s almost like respect, but, I mean, Griphook’s a little, you know – Griphook’s not very pleasant, you know, and by the next chapter they’re all really kind of tired of him. But the whole thing is that, you know, he calls him a strange wizard and he kind of goes into this rant or a tangent about how wizards and – or what does he call them? Wand holders? Wand carriers?
Jamie: Wand carriers, yeah.
Eric: Wand carriers, yeah, don’t allow goblins and other magical creatures, non wand carriers, to actually have wands, which could potentially, if they were allowed to have wands, extend their powers that way. They’re kind of debating, and Ron, of course, says a bunch of dumb things about, “Well, you guys can do magic without wands!” and stuff. There’s this whole kind of argument, just racial undertones, and Hermione finally says, “Stop, guys, you know, we don’t want to talk about whose race is more underhanded and violent” and all that stuff. And then, you know, they obviously have to kind of try and get the discussion going.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: So I don’t know. Any thoughts on that racial overtone and stuff? ‘Cause we’ve seen it before in the books, but now it’s kind of getting down to the point where if it weren’t for Harry’s being special that, you know, he wouldn’t have had any help and success breaking into Gringotts.
Matt: Well, I also just want to point out that one of the things that he said about Harry was actually pretty sincere. When he talked how – when Harry asked that he needed to get into the vault, and he said that he knows what that poem was. Let me see if I can find it. Yeah. “If you seek beneath our floors, a treasure that was never yours, thief you have been warned. Beware.” And something like that.
Jamie: Finding more than treasure.
Matt: Right, and Harry tells Griphook that he is not trying to steal this for his own personal gain and then Griphook says “If there’s any wizard that would not” – “If he could believe” – Dang it. I can’t do this without reading it so…oh, here it is: “If there was a wizard of whom I would believe that they did not seek personal gain, it would be you, Harry Potter.”
Andrew: Yeah. That’s true.
Matt: Yeah! I just thought that, despite all his – all the past prejudgments on wizards he knows, that Harry Potter is a genuinely good person.
Andrew: Well, I think it’s moving to see a wizard bury a house elf.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew I mean I’m sure he’s never seen that before.
Jamie: Yeah, and…
Micah: You mean instead of cut off their heads and put them on the wall?
Andrew: Right, exactly, yeah.
Jamie: And then there’s like – and there’s obviously the political stuff here that Jo loves so much, you know, about people treating people properly regardless of who they are.
Andrew: No matter who they are!
Matt: Yeah.
Jamie: And also, didn’t Sirius tell Harry that it’s you judge a man on how he treats his inferiors, not his…
Eric: Not his equals.
Jamie: Was it Dumbledore?
Eric: No, no, it was Sirius in Book 4.
Jamie: So he obviously learned something from…
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: …Sirius. A lot from him, which is nice.
Eric: Yeah. That was…
Matt: A person’s a person, no matter how small.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: No matter how small. Horton Hears a Who, Dr. Seuss.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: I didn’t even think of that.
Micah: Which was very hypocritical, though, when you look at the way he treated Kreacher.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yes.
Eric: Well, yeah, yeah, you’re right. But he had a lot of family resentment because his parents were – yeah. But…
Andrew: Anyway…
Ollivander
Eric: Anyway, okay, so what? Harry goes into Ollivander’s and immediately takes out his wand and he says, “Can you fix this? Can it be fixed? Is there anyway you can fix the wand?” And Ollivander looks at it and he’s like, “Yeah, sorry, dude. No. Not going to work. I don’t really…” And Harry’s like, “Aw.” You know, it’s a blow. He kind of figured that his wand could be repaired but now it’s official. His wand is broken. That…
Matt: That he knows of. He doesn’t – He just says out of his knowledge of wandlore it cannot be repaired with that much damage.
Andrew: Yeah, but if Harry goes to Ollivander…
Eric: Well, I mean Ollivander made the wand in the first place.
Matt: Well, no, I’m just saying, you know, there’s hope. The book’s not over yet.
Micah: Yeah.
Eric: There’s not hope.
Andrew: No, there’s not hope. It’s all over.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: Ollivander or bust.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Fine, I just hope you’re right at the end of this book.
Eric: He’d better. He’d better. Okay, so, yeah, it’s a little bit weird. Okay, so Ollivander – I mean, he has the discussion with Harry and Harry asks him a bunch of questions and Harry, of course, knows exactly what happened between Ollivander and Voldemort having seen it through Voldemort’s eyes, and that kind of creeps Ollivander out but in the end of it all, Harry isn’t sure whether or not he likes Ollivander. He has the same issue he had with him the first time, which is that when they’re talking about Voldemort getting the Elder Wand, which is now confirmed to exist – Ollivander believes it exists, and that kind of convinces Hermione as well. But, at the end of it all, it seems that Ollivander is as sort of enthralled about Voldemort having the Elder Wand. Such a dark, powerful wizard having such a powerful wand as he is appalled by it, and Harry isn’t sure whether or not he likes him.
Jamie: That just pinpoints the whole Harry being the only person who can vanquish the Dark Lord because he’s the only one who doesn’t think, “Wow, you know, you have to be impressed with this person even if you’re completely repulsed by him.”
Matt: Yeah. Well, like he just said, like, “He Who Must Not Be Named did great things. Terrible things but still great.”
Jamie: Yeah. It, like – yeah, exactly. Harry is the only person who doesn’t…
Matt: Yeah, you may not like the wizard but you respect the things that he did.
Eric: [laughs] But he’s got syle.
Matt: Yes.
Eric: You can’t deny, Voldemort’s got style.
Jamie: Yeah.
Matt: So Harry and Ollivander also have like a little conversation about how, you know, wands get taken by or passed over to others by, you know, being defeated or technically – sorry, am I going to far ahead?
Eric: No, no, no. No, it’s good. It’s just – and then he tells Harry that he can use Draco’s wand, but, yeah, you’re doing fine.
Matt: Okay, so – yeah, so basically all they did was just talk about how wands have been passed over and what kind of criteria is there that has to be passed over to each person, and Harry finds out from Ollivander that not – technically, you don’t need to kill anybody to pass over a wand to each person.
Voldemort and the Elder Wand
Eric: Probably the biggest change in Harry is at the end of the chapter. Do you guys know what I’m talking about here? Because it’s a pretty big deal. Harry decides not to act because he sees Voldemort heading to Hogwarts to get the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s tomb because, lo and behold, Dumbledore had the Elder Wand, and he doesn’t tell anyone, but Voldemort goes and gets the Elder Wand, and Hermione and Ron are all like, “We have to go to Hogwarts, we have to get the Elder Wand.” Blah, blah, blah, and Harry’s like, “Yeah, it’s too late.”
Matt: Yeah. Harry knew in the back of his mind that Dumbledore probably took the Elder Wand, had it. He just wanted to know what the connection was between Grindlewald and how he got it, because I think he knew that Grindlewald had the Elder Wand and Dumbledore took it from him. But he just – I think he wanted it confirmed on how Grindlewald got it, and…
Jamie: And also, it’s the kind of thing that Dumbledore would’ve accounted for before he died and Harry knew that Dumbledore sort of, you know…
Jamie: Power was his weakness, or did he know that by then? He didn’t, did he?
Matt: That power was Dumbledore’s weakness?
Jamie: Yeah, he did – he didn’t…
Matt: Um, no. No, I don’t think he did.
Eric: He hadn’t read that one part of that letter, which had said that he was really power-hungry. That appears later, I believe.
Matt: Yeah, and also…
Jamie: Well, I just think…
Matt: …Dumbledore…
Jamie: Sorry, go.
Matt: Dumbledore confesses it to Harry later on in the book.
Jamie: Yeah. Okay, yeah. But also, even at this stage, Harry wouldn’t think that Dumbledore would just be buried along with this hugely important wand if Voldemort wasn’t supposed to get it somehow.
Matt: Yes, and also if Dumbledore knew that he had the Elder Wand and he was going to get killed, I think – and he knew that Voldemort would have a chance to take it from him…
Jamie: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, he would’ve hid it better or given it to somebody else.
Andrew: Yeah, hid it better.
Micah: Well, that’s why it all goes back to the tower.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: I mean, everything goes back to that night on the tower. That’s why he let Draco disarm him. Do you really think if he was going to prevent what was about to happen that he wouldn’t have used something more powerful? I mean he could’ve easily gotten out of that situation without any trouble.
Jamie: Easily, easily.
Eric: Especially with the Elder Wand. Yeah.
Micah: And that’s why – he knew Snape was going to kill him, and he knew that Snape would be at risk regardless, because if Snape had – If
Dumbledore was still in possession of, say, the Elder Wand’s allegiance at the time, it most likely would’ve transferred over to Snape. Snape would’ve been a liability in the sense that…
Jamie: Yeah.
Micah: …he could’ve been killed by Voldemort, which he was at the end for that very reason. So that’s why I believe that Dumbledore allowed Draco to disarm him.
Matt: Yeah.
Jamie: Yeah, it’s true.
Matt: Yeah, because he was, you know – no one would’ve guessed that Draco would’ve got the Elder Wand.
Jamie: No, exactly.
Micah: Right, and that’s why in that final scene when Harry reveals a fact that Draco’s wand was, in fact, the one who had the allegiance to
the Elder Wand Voldemort kind of just shrugged it off. He didn’t really believe it.
Eric: Yeah. But that’s what happened, isn’t it? We’re meant to believe by the end of the book that when Draco disarmed Dumbledore, the allegiance of the Elder Wand was Draco’s. Is that correct?
Micah: Correct.
Eric: Okay, okay.
Micah: And then when Harry became in possession of Draco’s wand, that allegiance was transferred.
Eric: Anyway, I guess that wraps up Chapter 24, and Chapter 25 is half as long discussion-wise?
Andrew: Yeah. Well, I think so.
Matt: Basically, these two chapters pretty much are the same.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: I honestly think that the only reason why there was a separation between the two chapters was because of that last scene with
Voldemort.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: But I think one thing that totally creeped me out at the end of the Chapter 24 was when Voldemort just pulls the wand right out of Dumbledore’s hands.
MuggleCast 140 Transcript (continued)
Tangent: Splitting Movie 7
Matt: Oh, hey! Guys, I’m sorry to say this, but since we’re at the end of this chapter, wouldn’t this be the best part to split the movies?
Andrew: No!
Eric: No!
Matt: Right after Voldemort says…
Eric: It’s late. It’s way too late.
Andrew: It is too late.
Matt: No, but it’s – Argh!
Eric: They can’t show the whole Malfoy Manor scene as part one in the movie.
Andrew: And how is this climactic? This isn’t really, like…
Matt: How? Well, because, you know, Voldemort has a big – Dumbledore’s wand in his hand.
Eric: A big wand or something. [laughs]
Andrew: Well, I guess I could see it ending on Voldemort going into Dumbledore’s grave and picking up the wand. But how gruesome would that – I think getting Michael Gambon…
Eric: Well, yeah, Michael Gambon would have to be in Movie 7 for, you know,
Kings Cross chapter.
Matt: Michael Gambon can play a really good dead guy.
Eric: [laughs] No, that was…
Andrew: I don’t know.
Eric: [laughs] No, that was Richard Harris.
Andrew: Have we ever seen like a dead – Eric, that’s terrible!
Matt: That’s horrible!
Eric: No, I love Richard Harris and I prefer him as the Dumbledore to this date.
Chapter 25, “Shell Cottage”
Andrew: That’s still terrible. Okay, so Chapter 25, “Shell Cottage” – Yeah, okay, like we were saying, it’s basically continuing on from the
previous chapter. Griphook agrees to help them brake into Bellatrix’s vault, which is really kind of a big surprise.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: At least I thought so. It’s a real change for someone who works in Gringotts.
Micah: Yeah. It’s a real shock considering Bellatrix held him hostage for…
Andrew: Okay, well, no. But just the…
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: Just the…
Micah: I’m just being…
Eric: Exactly, he has every reason to give it over though.
Micah: …really sarcastic
Eric: He really does have every reason to break in. I mean, that whole “You’re a strange wizard, Harry,” was all leading up to it. You could
tell that he was going to say yes.
Gryffindor’s Sword
Eric: Okay, so, according to Griphook, the sword of Godric Gryffindor was actually Ragnuk the First’s. It was taken by Godric. Was taken by Godric. Hermione doesn’t see a point in arguing whose race is more underhanded and violent, and Bill specifically warns Harry that Goblins see things differently. In fact, the maker, not the purchaser, are, in Goblins’ eyes, rightfully the owners. It says, “If the items were bought from the goblins who made them, they would consider it to be rented. Goblin-made objects passing from wizard to wizard confuses them, and I believe,” says Bill, “that Griphook thinks that the sword ought to have been returned to the goblins once the original purchaser died. They consider our…” – meaning the wizard’s – “…habit from passing objects to wizard to wizard without producing further payment for the goblins little more than theft”. Now, that’s really good characterization of the goblins there. I applaud J.K.R. for that.
Andrew: I thought this was really like – I thought this was really like, “Righteous, man!” Because this is so old school, it feels like. It’s so out-of-date with today’s current society, I guess you could say.
Eric: Yeah, well it’s just the kind of thing. I mean, you know, different cultures and stuff can see things totally differently. And, I mean, this is a whole different race.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s what I mean. So, righteous…
Jamie: Well, it’s pre-money, isn’t it?
Andrew: It is pre-money, yeah.
Jamie: It’s – I mean, it’s – it couldn’t work, I guess, in today’s world. You’d have a lot of trouble trying to fit in with society upholding these views.
Eric: Yeah.
Jamie: But I guess being goblins they can engineer their own society and stuff.
Matt: Well, because they’re different species. I mean, they have their own culture also.
Jamie: Yeah.
Matt: So I think they just like to keep their own things to themselves and the fact that they need – you know, they need maybe money for certain kind of things – they would rather rent things because they really do not like the fact of giving their, you know, treasures off to other people.
Goblin Culture
Eric: They’ve got like a tremendous amount of pride. Or not even pride but self-entitlement, I think. And, I mean, they’ve had to fight for it and all that from the wizarding world, but they’ve really got this sort of thing on their own-made objects, you know, the really crafty sort of armor and stuff that they like, they admire. They kind of sort of get off on their own stuff. They get off on their own objects and stuff. Now talking about culture shock, though, Jamie, have you ever had any kind of culture shock? Have you ever offended anybody you didn’t mean to offend by just traveling?
Jamie: I don’t think so.
Andrew: We do it on the show all the time accidentally.
Jamie: Like what, Andrew?
Andrew: I mocked an Indian once, and that wasn’t appreciated.
Matt: It’s actually – the political term is Native American.
Andrew: Native American, sorry.
Eric: Dude, you mocked a Native American? That’s not cool.
Andrew: Well, I did their…never mind.
Eric: Oh you did, right.
Matt: Just don’t even go there.
Andrew: I’m not going to go there.
Eric: So, this whole goblin thing is a bit – you know, but I really like, you know – I didn’t care for the whole Professor Binns lessons about the rebellions and stuff. Not that she got into them, because she didn’t, but, you know, I find this really interesting, I found that very interesting about goblins.
Matt: This is a really good insight on the culture of the goblins without really going too big into detail about it.
Andrew and Eric: Exactly.
Eric: That’s perfect. It’s exactly what you need to sort of advance the plot, or understand them for understanding sake.
Andrew: But then later on we learn even more that Bill goes on to tell – I mean, I’m jumping ahead, but…
Matt: No, it’s good. There’s not really much in-between this.
Andrew: Yeah. Bill does tell Harry that – to be really careful. And that – he says that goblins are – they don’t trust wizards, and they don’t believe that wizards have any respect for goblins, so to be very cautious.
Jamie: But it comes full circle though…
Matt: If definitely does.
Jamie: Harry tried to rip Griphook off, and Griphook rips them off. It’s exactly the same. And also, everyone’s self-interested. Because Griphook, you know, for all his principles about him being loyal to Gringotts and stuff, he still says he’ll break into something – to something that furthers his own ends. And then rips them off. So, it’s – everyone’s self-interested.
Eric: Yeah, you’re completely right, Jamie.
Matt: What I really love about what Bill talks to Harry about, is it’s almost like Bill knows what Harry’s doing.
Eric: Oh he does, he pretty much – he pretty much guesses it exactly. He’s like…
Matt: He know – he knows goblins too well and he knows that there has been a sort of agreement between Harry and Griphook, and he’s telling him, you know, “don’t think – don’t put too much past the goblins, they’re very clever, and if you’re going to – if you think about, you know, betraying them, just think he’s probably thinking the same exact think to you. So, be on your guard.”
Jamie: Well, he worked at Gringotts, didn’t he?
Eric: And that’s why it’s so perfect! That’s why it’s exactly so perfect that they’re in this situation. It’s one of those literary “Ha-Ha!”s that are just so cool. Because…
Matt: Even though there’s a truce… Oh, sorry.
Eric: Yeah, well, I mean, just when Bill was walking up to Harry and, you know, I knew that he was going to say, you know – because I’m like, “didn’t Bill work at Gringotts?” It’s like, yeah. And so he’s been around Goblins, you know, ever since – he said ever since he left Hogwarts. So – and you’re right, he totally knows what Harry’s up to. He’s like, “if you want to, you know – don’t make a deal with goblins, especially if it has treasure involved, because you could get screwed.” So, that was really…
Andrew: Yeah, and then Harry’s… Sorry, go ahead.
Eric: That was really cool. Well, okay, so Harry has to give the – Harry -yeah. I mean, we’re talking about Harry and Griphook and the sword. And their sword is their single weapon against the Horcruxes. ‘Cause they don’t know they’re going to be going down to the Chamber of Secrets and whispering, you know…[laughs]…whispering off handedly something snake-like and actually getting it to open to run in and grab Basilisk fangs. So, they’re really concerned about losing the sword and they got to break in to one of these most ancient chambers and Hermione is – Hermione tries to persuade Harry against it. She doesn’t want him to make the deal. She says, “It could take years to find all the Horcruxes and destroy them.” That’s just an awkward comment ’cause we as the readers know that like, one book, one year. You know? [laughs]
Andrew: That’s not going to happen.
Eric: It’s not going to happen. It’s all going to be conveniently tied up. They’re all going to be in the same place, Hogwarts, in the end. You know, so it’s kind of – it’s kind of an awkward comment. At least you know that J.K.R. tries. And it’s kind of like…yeah.
Matt: Harry just came up with the idea that he was going to tell him that Griphook can get the sword but after he’s finished with it. And Hermione doesn’t like idea because, like you said, “It’s going to take years,” but Harry also tells her that he doesn’t like the idea either, but there’s no other alternative, really, that they can have.
Eric: There really isn’t. It’s a tight situation.
Matt: And Bill just comes across and just tells him, you know, “There’s also a lot more to this then you think, Harry.” So… [sighs]
Harry the Godfather
Andrew: And, of course, also in this chapter, Lupin spreads the news that Tonks had her baby. Awww!
Eric: Tonks had her baby.
Matt: Not only that…
Jamie: Awww…
Matt: …but what does Lupin come across to Harry and ask him to be?
Andrew: [in bad British accent] “Will you be my godfather?”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: [in same bad accent] “Will you be his godfather?” Well, to late to be…
Jamie: That’s exactly how it is.
Andrew: Lupin’s…
Matt: It’s a really awkward…
[Eric laughs]
Matt: …situation, too, because the last time they saw each other, you know, Lupin slapped him in the face. And Harry…
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: …was really angry at him
Eric: And Harry was like…
Andrew: Talk about a change of heart.
Eric: …”Bitch!” Seriously.
Matt: “Hey!” “Hey, will you be my godfather?”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: I guess that’s Lupin’s way of making it up to Harry.
Eric: Yeah. Well, maybe.
Andrew: I don’t know.
Eric: Well – oh, I wrote grandfather here. Sorry, no. [laughs] Harry’s not Teddy’s grandfather. [laughs] He’s…
Andrew: All right, well, I think that does it for Chapter-by-Chapter this week.
Eric: Yeah, well, he just makes this comment that he just wants to be as ragged a godfather to Teddy as Sirius was for him.
Jamie: Doesn’t he say reckless?
Eric: Reckless?
Jamie: Doesn’t he say reckless?
Eric: Yeah. Sorry, reckless and ragged. Are they two different things?
Andrew: Well, it’s a different word.
Jamie: I think they’re pretty different.
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Jamie: I don’t know.
Eric: I’ll be ragged and you be reckless. How about that, Jamie?
Jamie: That is a – that’s fine. I’ll take that. I think it’s a nice comment, it’s a good comment, because he’s obviously learned from Sirius. He thinks he’s a good person, and he thinks he’s acting well according to Sirius’s wishes. And he doesn’t automatically accept authority. Like Sirius doesn’t either, and it’s, you know, helped Harry. So, I guess it is a good thing over all.
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah, I agree. I think it was reckless in the sense of just kind of the easy going way that Sirius was. Not reckless in the sense of not having responsibility.
Jamie: No. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.
Eric: That’s a fun thought. It is a fun thought to see Harry behaving.
Micah: Well, he ends up raising him, so – doesn’t he?
Jamie: Yeah.
Micah: I thought he did.
Matt: Right. Well…
Micah: Oh, that’s right, yeah. Tonks is a…
Jamie: We can’t not know this.
Matt: Okay, Andrew, let’s move on. We’re getting kind of long in this conversation.
Andrew: We are, yeah. Let’s do it!
Quote Quiz
[Audio for Quote Quiz plays]
Eric: Now, Jamie, isn’t it…
Andrew: Jamie, do you like the intro?
[Jamie laughs]
Eric: Isn’t that crap? Isn’t that crap?
Matt: I love it.
Jamie: I do prefer a live rendition, but it’s cool. Live is always better, though.
Andrew: No it’s not. It’s Garage Band. It’s awesome! Whatever. Mikey hated it too.
Jamie: No, just kidding.
Andrew: Anyway, the quote is, “It’s not that, it gets in the way! But I liked my nose a bit shorter. Try and do it the way you did last time.” That’s quote quiz this week.
Jamie: Oh, I know where that is.
Andrew: Don’t spoil it for the people.
Jamie: I don’t. Oh, Oh. Aren’t we supposed to guess it?
Andrew: No.
Eric: It would be much more productive and sense making – it would be far too, you know, sense making, Jamie.
Andrew: It’s just – no. It’s just for people to play at home. But if you want to guess, fine.
Eric: People can play at home, but they don’t win anything.
Jamie: No, no, no. It’s a – okay. Well, can I?
Andrew: Sure, go for it.
Jamie: Okay, well, it’s Ron, but I can’t remember…is it in Book 6?
Andrew: No, no, no, no, no.
[Eric and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Quote Quiz is always…
Matt: It’s in the next chapter.
Andrew: …in the following chapter.
Eric: Oh, man.
Jamie: It’s what?
Andrew: It’s always in the following…
Jamie: Oh okay.
Andrew: …chapter.
Jamie: Oh, sorry. Sorry, I’m a bit rusty.
Andrew: So, Quote Quiz is basically just who says it. That’s the whole…
Jamie: Oh. Ron.
Eric: Is that correct, Andrew?
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, it was. [laughs] So, all right, we’re going to jump right in to everyone’s favorite segment…
Make the Music Connection
[Audio for Make the Music Connection plays]
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Jamie liked that one.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Jamie: That’s awesome!
Matt: That was the perfect transition, Andrew, really.
Andrew: Oh, thank you.
Matt: That was awesome.
Andrew: Oh, thanks. All right, Micah, we’ll start with you, since you were bugging for this so much.
[“Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi begins playing]
Andrew: “Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi.
Micah: Yep.
Andrew: Make the connection.
Jamie: What’s the song called?
Andrew: “Bad Medicine.”
Jamie: Oh. Polyjuice Potion.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Andrew: That’s a good idea.
Eric: That’s a great idea.
Jamie: When – when…
[Song ends]
Matt: Yeah. Wait, whose turn was it?
Andrew: [laughs] Well, it was Micah’s turn.
Jamie: Oh, sorry…
Andrew: That’s okay.
Micah: Oh, well, Jamie got it for me.
Jamie: Can I do this one?
Andrew: Yeah, you got it.
Micah: Yeah, sure, go ahead.
Jamie: Well, no. I was going to say, Polyjuice Potion, when Hermione used it and turned into a cat. That was bad medicine. Or when Lockhart tried to do the spell on Harry and it broke his arm, got his arm out of the – of his – sorry. Broke his bones. Took them out of his arm. That was bad medicine.
Eric: Skelegrow.
Jamie: Yeah, I think it’s Skelegrow.
Micah: So, Lockhart’s love was like bad medicine to Harry? Is that what you’re saying?
Eric: [laughs] Well, no, his spell making…
Jamie: Kind of!
Eric: His spell making.
Micah: Those are the lyrics.
Jamie: Oh, we’re supposed to do the lyrics?
Eric: The lyrics!
Jamie: Again, again…
Andrew: Well, no…
Jamie: …I’m rusty.
Micah: It says, “your love is like bad medicine.”
Andrew: But, honestly, the thing with Make the Music Connection is you can just think of a scene for it to go behind, or, you know, whatever. It’s really open, I think. I don’t know. That’s the way I kind of like having it.
Micah: No, that’s cool.
Andrew: Okay, well, we’re picking some stuff out of my library because we didn’t have time to prep some music, so…
Jamie: So, it’s going to be a Queen song.
Andrew: Well, no.
Jamie: Or a U2 song.
Andrew: Oh boy.
[Jamie and Eric laugh]
Matt: Or Bruce Springsteen.
[“Desire” by U2 begins playing]
Micah: Who’s this one for?
Jamie: No, no, he just says that, Matt.
Andrew: This is for Eric.
[Song plays for a little bit]
Andrew: “Desire” by U2, Eric Scull.
Eric: Ah. This is totally – I’ll tell you exactly when this is. It’s Ron when he accidently eats these sweets that are Romilda Vanes’ love potion.
[Everyone laughs]
Jamie: That’s very good.
Eric: He is flipping out! [sings with the song]
Jamie: Very good.
Eric: He is flipping out, and he’s like, “Harry, I love her!” And Harry’s like, “What?” And he’s like, “Romilda Vane!”
Matt: And then he does a strip tease for her.
Eric: And then it all ends in a bad poisonous bezoar fight. Or he ends up poisoned or something. So, it’s a really messed up sort of guitar riff there and that fits Ron. Who does that song, by the way?
Andrew: U2.
Eric: And it’s called “Desire”?
Andrew: U2, yeah.
Eric: Sweet. Got to download that. I mean buy it. Legally.
Andrew: Matt, this is your Make The Music Connection.
[“Pretty Women” from Sweeney Todd begins playing]
Jamie: Oh what a line!
[Some hosts sing along]
Jamie: Leave it on, Andrew. Leave it on.
Andrew: “Pretty Women”
Matt: “Pretty women.”
Andrew: From Sweeney Todd.
Matt: I got this. I got this one. All right. Ready?
Jamie: Go for it.
Andrew: Yeah.
[Eric sings along]
Jamie: Oh stop wasting time, Matt.
Matt: All right! Turn it down!
Andrew: It’s not that loud.
Jamie: You’re trying to get yourself to think of something.
Matt: All right, all right, all right. All right. It’s when Snape and Dumbledore talk about how much Snape loved Lily.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: That’s very good.
[Song ends]
Andrew: Awww!
Eric: “Pretty Women.”
Andrew: So fitting, because…
Eric: Alan Rickman.
Andrew: That was actually Alan Rickman for you…
Jamie: Extra points for that, Matt.
Andrew: For those of you who don’t know, Alan Rickman, he was singing!
[Matt and Jamie sing]
Andrew: I love when they go in harmony. Johnny Depp and Alan Rickman go in harmony.
Eric: And he gets so close to slitting his throat but he doesn’t.
Jamie: That is just a superbly filmed scene.
Matt: Well, it depends on which part of the song. I mean, they do sing it when he kills him. “Benjamin Barker! Benjamin Barker!”
Eric: That is such a good, good movie.
Jamie: Oh, it is so good! [laughs] It’s not even funny.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: All right, Micah, you ready?
Micah: Yep.
Andrew: All right, here’s your Make the Music Connection!
[“Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin begins playing]
Jamie: Oh, what a song, Andrew.
Andrew: [sings along] All right, come on, Micah, you got this. “Stairway to Heaven.” The greatest song of all time! Where can this fit in a Potter movie. Or a scene.
Micah: [laughs] I could actually see this playing during the Final Battle scene.
Andrew: Me too!
Jamie: That’s good. Yeah.
Micah: Ummm….
Eric: Yeah. Hell yeah.
Matt: Oooh. “Stairway to Heaven.”
[Song ends]
Eric: Final Battle scene.
[Show music starts]
Micah: That’s probably – yeah, that works.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: That’s where I could see it playing.
Andrew: Yeah, that’s actually what I was thinking.
Matt: Oh, that’d be so cool.
Andrew: God. Why can’t WB secure the rights to that? Oh my God. That’d be amazing.
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: Yeah. Well, I don’t know if it’s the perfect song.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, that’s true. [laughs] I would be bouncing up and down my seat. I’d be like, “Kick some ass!” [sighs] Okay, well.
Matt: I will slap you if you do that.
Andrew: That was something.
Contact Information
Andrew: All right, it’s been a long show. We are going to wrap it up for today. We want to remind everyone about our contact information before we let you go. Micah, what’s the P.O. Box? People want to send us some gold.
Micah:
P.O. Box 3151
Cumming, Georgia
30028
Andrew: Good. You can also call the MuggleCast hotline. Leave a voicemail question, which we will get back to you soon. 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. [imitating Matt badly] “Just remember, just to keep your question under sixty seconds and eliminate as much background noise as possible. You can also e-mail..” [returns to normal voice] Ah, excuse me – the MuggleCast feedback form. Matt, that was my little impression of you. You can also e-mail…
Matt: Oh, that was horrible!
Andrew: …us using the MuggleCast feedback form on MuggleCast.com Or you can contact anyone of us using our first names at staff dot mugglenet dot com.
Matt: [mocking Andrew] “Do I really talk like this?”
Andrew: [using same voice] “Yes.”
Matt: [same voice] “Do I really sound like this?”
Andrew: [laughs] Don’t forget, we also have a variety of community outlets. If you want to get more of MuggleCast, we have the MySpace, the Facebook, the YouTube, the Frappr, the Last.fm, and the fanlistings and forums. Explore them. Check them out on MuggleCast.com.
Show Close
Andrew: That does it for this week’s episode of MuggleCast. Apologies to J.K. Rowling, but we are out of time for this week. I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Jamie: I’m Jamie Lawrence.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I am Matthew Britton.
Andrew: Thank you, everyone, for listening. We’ll see you next week for Episode 141. Buh-bye!
[Show music ends]
Blooper 1
Micah: Well, I can think of a few drugs that can make you think you’re flying.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Whoa!
Jamie: Whoa. That’s brilliant.
Eric: Or maybe, as they accuse Emerson of snorting Floo Powder on the Wall of Shame. Yeah.
Micah: Oh.
Blooper 2
Jamie: Oh, well, that’s going to make all the difference, Matt. For you.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Hey, every vote counts!
Matt: Thanks for your sarcasm, Jamie.
Jamie: No. [laughs] That’s a bad argument, Andrew. Because everyone says it but it’s not true. Every vote does not count.
Matt: Yes, but no one – if everyone feels that way then there will be no votes.
Andrew: Way to promote our voting, Jamie.
Jamie: Again, Matt. That’s such a bad argument.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Matt…
Eric: Jamie, are you saying that the American triumph-ory in democracy, even capitalism, doesn’t work? Is that what you’re saying?
Jamie: No, no. What I’m pin-pointing is the problem with specific political voting systems that…
Eric: Ah.
Jamie: … over-count certain demographics and certain types of people’s votes. So that one vote from a specific place does not make any difference. For example, I could vote for the liberal democrats here. It would make no difference whatsoever. They will not get into power.
Matt: Your vote does count, Jamie.
Jamie: Or if there’s a huge majority for one.
Matt: Yeah, it does, Jamie!
Jamie: Stop being so optimistic.
Matt: No, stop being so pessimistic.
Eric: Guys, guys, guys. I didn’t say Florida. Did you say Florida? Did anybody say Florida?
Andrew: No. Nobody said Florida.
Matt: We’re talking about Podcast Alley.
Eric: Guys, move on.
Andrew: Okay, let’s move on.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Blooper. Hold for break.
———————–