MuggleCast 128 Transcript
Show Intro
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[Music ends]
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 audiobook download of your choice when you sign up today. Log onto www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast today for details.
[Show music starts]
Micah: Because we have lots of unanswered questions, this is MuggleCast Episode 128 for January 19th, 2008.
[Music continues to play]
Andrew: Have you guys seen our brand new Wizard Rock section on MuggleNet?
Laura: I have.
Eric: I’m going right now, Andrew.
Laura: I must say, it’s very impressive.
Andrew: MuggleNet.com/app/rockband/home is the Universal Resource Locator. It’s our brand new section with a over 160 rock bands!
Laura: Yay!
Matt: Really?
Eric: And…
Andrew: Yeah. You guys like it?
Matt: Geez, that’s a lot.
Laura: Yeah, it…
Andrew: I made it all by myself.
Laura: It’s really, really cool, but…
Andrew: Thanks.
Laura: From what I can tell there is something missing, isn’t there?
Matt: There is one group that is not listed on that site.
Andrew: There is one band missing and it’s my Wizard Rock band, but…
Laura: Oh, well that’s probably for the best…
Andrew: I’ve decided that it’s…
[Andrew, Matt, and Micah laugh]
Andrew: I decided that the Wizard Rock section on MuggleNet was actually going to have the worst rock bands, or Wizard Rock bands, and mine’s good for it, so…
Laura: Oh, okay.
Andrew: I don’t want to blow everyone away. I don’t want to steal the limelight from great bands such as The Remus Lupins, The Moaning Myrtles, Harry and the Potters…
Laura: Well, you know I was just thinking about that one time at Prophecy when you were supposed to perform and you never did. And we had…
Andrew: I did. Yes, I did.
Laura: We had to peer pressure you into doing a chorus at the live Leaky Mug.
Andrew: Because I think it’s hard to do a rap acapello.
Laura: Yeah, whatever.
Andrew: There was a lot of pressure. There was a big audience. Anyway, we have a good show for you today including Chapter-by-Chapter, and we’re going to bring Favorites back, and we also have a couple little announcements. I’m Andrew Sims.
Eric: I’m Eric Scull.
Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.
[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. Four months in development, on Wednesday nightMuggleNet released its latest project: MuggleNet’s Wizard Rock section. With over 160 bands in our database fans can read interviews, listen to samples, write reviews, and more. It’s the perfect place for fans to discover the fandom phenomenon that is the music genre of Wizard Rock.
It was announced on Thursday that J.K. Rowling will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Harvard University commencement ceremony on June 5th. University President Drew G. Faust was quoted as saying:
“Perhaps no one in our time has done more than J. K. Rowling to inspire young people to experience the excitement and the sheer joy of reading. Her tales of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and their Hogwarts adventures have cast a spell on millions of readers around the world. Harvard isn’t exactly Hogwarts, but I’m sure that her visit with us this June will be a moment of magic for J.K. Rowling’s many admirers across the University.”
Finally, Timothy Spall, who played Peter Pettigrew in Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, has said he will reprise that role for the final two films. Spall was quoted by saying:
“I’m in the next one. And I’m also in the one at the end. I have a very big scene in that. I think they might be shooting two of them back-to-back. Hard to know though, what with this writer’s strike and all. They’re shooting the penultimate one at the moment; which I have a brief appearance in it. I should be doing that soon.”
That’s all the news for this January 19th, 2008 edition of MuggleCast. Back to the show.
Andrew: All right, thank you Micah.
Micah: You’re welcome.
News Discussion: Deathly Hallows Split?
Andrew: You know, I’ve described the news, in the past, like a roller coaster. And I’m sticking with it. Because this week we only really have – actually, we have two things to discuss. One news story just came out today. Very briefly, though. One big story we want to talk about that’s been getting a lot of press, at least on the fan sites and even some British tabloids. Apparently there are rumors circulating around now saying that the final Harry Potter book is going to be split into two films.
Eric: Yes.
Matt: Yes.
Andrew: And this was originally reported by the Daily Mail. And it says here in the article:
“For film-makers Warner Bros, whose first five ‘Potter’ films have made £2.5 billion in box office receipts…it could mean a £500 million bonus in ticket sales.”
Because people are essentially paying for the same movie twice.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: They’ll easily double their profits for the final film. Do you guys think this could come true?
Eric: Well gee, why didn’t they think about doubling their ticket revenue when they decided not to make any of the other movies into two parts?
Laura: Yeah. I mean, we’ve heard this same rumor a lot before. Didn’t it come around…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: …with Goblet of Fire, too?
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: It’s true.
Andrew: It did.
Eric: It’s true. And nothing came of that. Book 7’s not even the longest book. It’s shorter than – well, depending on what version you read, it’s actually the third longest, I think it was.
Laura: I think the difference with the seventh book is that there’s a lot more information in it that has to be covered. And…
Eric: Like what?
Laura: I think the difference with the seventh book is that there’s a lot of information that they’re going to be relying on that they haven’t used in previous movies. So on top of the information that we got in Deathly Hallows, they’re going to have to include a whole bunch of backstory that they never gave us in the other films to make it make sense.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Yep.
Laura: So that would be the only reason I would see for them doing that. But honestly, I think we’re just going to have a regular length movie like we always have.
Matt: It would be nice to have a two-part.
Laura: It would. I would love it.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: But why? Why would they have not have done it for – I mean, there were so many other book I would rather be two-part movies than Book 7
Andrew: See, I’d rather it be the final film, because…
Laura: Yeah, it makes more sense. [laughs]
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: Why does it make more sense? They should have made the…
Laura: Because it’s like the grand finale, you know. It’s the end.
Andrew: Right.
Eric: Well…
Matt: And there’s not much you can cut out in this book.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Without it being really just crumbling.
Eric: Except the months and months they’re in the forest doing nothing.
[Matt and Micah laugh]
Andrew: Well, according to this article, it says:
A film source said: “There’s so much to fit that the view is the last movie should be in two halves. There is a huge battle when Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, takes on Voldemort that needs to be done really well.”
Eric: And this quote intrigued me, as well. Because I was thinking, well, yeah. I mean, the Battle of Hogwarts. God, they can make that so good, you know?
Andrew: Mhm.
Eric: They can make that – but, I mean they’ve got a battle at Hogwarts to do in Movie 6, as well.
Andrew: Mhm.
Eric: That they should probably turn into some kind of fruitfulness. But, I was thinking about that quote because I had read it too. And I was thinking, well then again, and I’m sure I’ve said this before. But when I first read the fifth Harry Potter book, which was after it came out June 20, 2003. When I first read it I was thinking at the end scene, you know the whole Department of Mysteries, etc. I said, “Wow, they could really make this alone an hour or two hour movie.” I mean, if you read that scene in the book, it’s just – the whole time, once they get to the Department of Mysteries, all the rooms they explore, up until the end of the book. You know, they could turn that into a really long period of time in the movie. And as we know now, they made it pretty short in the movie. They actually did, successfully or unsuccessfully, they made it into a short clip, a sort part of the movie and fit it into one film. So, no matter how long you think – no matter how long its appeared to be written in the books, they can always condense it and kind of get away with it.
Andrew: Yeah. [grumbles]
Eric: I just don’t think that – I think it’s not that cool that they should make the seventh book into a two-part movie if they didn’t make any of the other first six.
Andrew: The other thing to note here is that a script hasn’t even been written.
Eric: It’s true.
Andrew: Because Steve Kloves, he’s part of the Writer’s Guild, so he can’t start writing anything, which isn’t too much of a worry now because, you know, Half-Blood Prince still doesn’t come out until November. I would think he would, hopefully, if the strike ends soon. He would normally be writing the script, what, maybe starting in a few months from now. What’s the time frame for that, Matt?
Eric: Because pre-production happens quite soon.
Matt: Yeah, no, no, it does. Most of the entire production is pre-production. In-production of films actually are the shortest out of all the stages. They last for probably a month at the most. That’s it.
Andrew: Okay.
Matt: Like, they film the movie in almost a month or two month’s time.
Andrew: Oh, no, no, no, it takes a lot longer with Harry Potter
Laura: I thought with Harry Potter it took a lot longer.
Matt: Well, no, I’m talking about filming. It takes hours and hours of pre-production before they film, I’m saying.
Eric: Okay, and the actual filming…
Matt: But I mean, on the actual filming.
Eric: Interesting. So when do you think, like, would you think that they would already have a script for Movie 7? I mean, the trio is only going to get older the longer they wait to…
Matt: No, I don’t think they have anything written for Movie 7.
Eric: Well, they don’t, but would they? Should they, if it weren’t for the writer’s strike?
Andrew: No. I still think it’s too early.
Matt: For Movie 7, I don’t think so.
Eric: Okay.
Matt: Because they still have Movie 6.
Andrew: Yeah. I don’t think – how do I phrase this? I do think it is early enough for them to be considering putting the movie into two parts, because that is a big decision that I’m sure isn’t just made by the writer or producer. I mean, that goes way up to the top of Warner Brothers because it’s an essentially an eighth Harry Potter film.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric; Yeah.
Andrew: So, I think that’s an important discussion that if they are discussing, and I think it’s worth discussing, then yeah, it will take a lot of time to decide that. And I would imagine – don’t you think they would have to decide whether it’s going to be one or two parts before he starts writing, anyway? Because he has to plan how long the script is going to be.
Micah: Yeah, absolutely.
Eric: Well, usually they come up with drafts.
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: They do several drafts of the film, and if they think it won’t all fit into a movie condensed version, then they would say – they would explore the possibility of two – I think, anyway. Do you guys think that if they split it into two movies they’d be called anything different?
Micah: No.
Eric: I mean, would they be Deathly Hallows, Part One and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two?
Laura: No. Yeah, it would just be part one and part two.
Micah: I think part of the problem, though, is that you have to take into consideration when these two would be released. Would they be released close to each other, or would they be separated out by a couple months? A year? Because that can cause some problems, I think.
Eric: It can.
Micah: Especially because of the flow of the movie, in the sense that, Eric, you brought up before how you really don’t think why this movie is special enough to warrant being split into two when there are other books that have come before it that could definitely have been split up as well. I know that might be prejudiced on the fact that you didn’t really like Deathly Hallows maybe as much as some of the books that came before, but I still think there’s a lot of consideration that has to go into this, and coming from the Daily Mail, I know it’s not a very reliable source. And even the comment that they had about being able to double their revenues. I don’t really think Warner Brothers is very concerned with its revenues from the Harry Potter series that they’re going to need to really consider making up for anything by doubling the revenues. I really just think that that’s an idiotic statement.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: Well said.
Eric: Have they – I mean, have they successfully done movies in continuum? I mean, I know Lord of the Rings was actually, you know, it was all filmed at once, it was, and then they broke it up and did different production sort of years and years and years. I was thinking of The Matrix trilogy though, with what you said that they would possibly separate them by a few months. I think it was in 2002, in February and November were the second and third Matrix released, the films were released then. And that was kind of…
Micah: I just think you run a risk because where do you leave off in Deathly Hallows, you know? People are going to want more right away.
Andrew: It would have to be a huge cliffhanger.
Micah: Exactly.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: You have to find the cliffhanger factor, because if non-Potter fans go and see the movie and they don’t like where it ends, they’re not going to see the second part. Unless a trailer or some other promotional device intrigues them, but I mean…
Eric: Cliffhanger part.
Andrew: …I’m just thinking what kind of publicity nightmare it would be for Warner Brothers. You’re releasing a two part book, everyone knows it’s one part but they’re splitting it into two. I just see that as like, are there two premieres? Are there multiple trailers?
Laura: Yeah, it’s so much extra work, basically.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, and has it ever even been done before? This would be the first time or something it would happen.
Hallows Intermission?
Laura: Well actually movies used to be made quite successfully, especially movies made out of books, they were about four hours long. I’m thinking specifically of Gone With the Wind. But the way they were constructed was they actually had an intermission.
Matt: Right.
Laura: They would show both parts and you would leave the theater for 15-20 minutes, come back and see the second part. So when I think of a film like this, that’s the only way I can think of it being truly successful is just running it all at once.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: But I don’t really see why they’d do that anymore. It’s really not that common.
Eric: Here’s an interesting story.
Matt: Well, they don’t do that very much anymore because there’s so many movies in production.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, which is true, but you know what else is interesting? They turned – when I went and saw Chamber of Secrets in the theaters, they gave it an intermission, because of the young children in the audience, the movie theater that I ended up working for after that put a little 10, 15 minute sort of intermission in between the movie, in the middle of the movie. They put a stop break for all the kids to go to the bathroom or whatever and not miss the movie. So, they actually took Chamber of Secrets, which is only two-and-a-half hours long and they put an intermission in between. So they did that for the Harry Potter film when it was only one film, which was interesting.
Micah: Well, I also think they might have to bite the bullet and realize, “Hey, we need to make this movie longer than the six that have come before it.”
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: And not go to a two-hour-fifteen-minute…
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: …two-hour-and-a-half movie, we’re looking at something that needs to be over three hours long.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: If you got to give it that treatment, just yeah, make it one movie, but make it a longer movie.
Laura: Yeah I don’t see why not.
Andrew: Maybe we’re all blowing this out of proportion, maybe they will do it like Gone With the Wind style, and just give us an intermission. I mean, it doesn’t happen anymore but why not?
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: Becaue how long have we been trying to convince them or trying to say that a four-hour movie, we couldn’t mind the four-hour movie.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, I can’t think of anyone who would care to be honest.
Matt: Right.
Andrew: Yeah, and plus movie theaters would eat that up. If there was an intermission, that’s extra food sales for them.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I mean, everyone is going to run out a buy new soda and stuff.
Matt: Yeah, definitely.
Eric: It’s true. And food is what people depend on. What movie theaters depend on. The concession sales.
Andrew: Yeah. Yup, yup.
Matt: I don’t think movies or movie theaters will really object to it because you know, they know that they’re going to make money off of Harry Potter films.
Eric: Yeah, it’s just less show times then…
Andrew: Yeah that’s one thing, but….
Eric: But, it’s interesting news.
Andrew: Yeah, so we’ll wait to hear more confirmation. I mean, WB hasn’t said much. The one thing that – WB did go to Empire Online and told them that nothing is official yet. That’s not a “no,” that’s what gets me. I mean.
Eric: It’s not a “no,” that’s a – yeah.
Andrew: I mean, normally, though, they would say “no” to stupid rumors.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: But saying nothing is official, nothing, you know, I think they actually told Empire Online or Empire Online just brought up the point that Steve Clovis can’t write right now and he hasn’t started.
Eric: Yeah.
Andrew: But like I said earlier, they might need to decide whether to make it one or two movies before they starts writing, at least for the very final draft.
Eric: That’s news to us though. Writer’s strike affects Harry Potter fans, here’s how.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: I’m really tired of the writer’s strike. I don’t know about you guys.
Andrew: Well, the late night shows are back, so that’s all I care about.
Matt: Of course.
Laura: What about The Office?
Andrew: That’s a shame, but I was watching a re-run the other day, and it was nice.
[Eric and Matt laugh]
Who Will Direct Hallows?
Micah: What about the director talk? This seems like a lot of the same that we hear when every movie is considered.
Andrew: Mhm.
Micah: Who’s going to be directing it?
Eric: Spielberg said he was?
Andrew: No, it said in this article that Spielberg is one person being considered.
Eric: But I’m saying for the original film didn’t he – wasn’t there an interview we posted on MuggleNet recently that said Spielberg was in fact considered for the first film.
Andrew: I think we’ve known that for a while.
Laura: Yeah, he was.
Matt: Yeah, he was.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: But he was given his opinion on it or whatever. That was cool.
Andrew: He wanted to put American actors in it. I believe that was the problem.
Laura: Yeah, that’s right.
Eric: Well, it was an idea of his. It was an idea.
Andrew: We’ll move onto some other news, but I’m sure we’ll be talking about it more unless it gets completely thrown out by Warner Brothers.
Eric: Which it should.
News Discussion: Rowling to Make Keynote at Harvard
Andrew: Yeah, story that came out on Thursday. J.K. Rowling is going to speak at the Harvard commencement ceremony. She’s going to be delivering the main keynote address. How cool is that?
Laura: That’s really cool. Can you imagine havening J.K. Rowling speak at… Oh my gosh.
Eric: Your graduation?
Andrew: How amazing would that be?
Laura: That would be amazing. Jo.
Eric: Why is she doing it?
Laura: I don’t know.
Andrew: I don’t know – Yeah.
Matt: They’re giving her something aren’t they?
Andrew: Yeah, they’re giving her one of those doctor degrees, I think, that they give all the famous people just for being famous.
Matt: Mhm.
Eric: [laughs] J.K. Rowling should speak at my graduation, you know.
Andrew: Oh yeah, it says… It says, “the University will also grant Rowling an honorary degree at the June 5th ceremony.”
Micah: Am I the only one here who’s had a commencement address?
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Yes, you have.
Laura: None of us have graduated yet.
Matt: Yeah, I’m sorry.
Eric: So far. We’re all in college, so that’s good.
Laura: I think Jo should come to McDaniel College. We would happily welcome her there.
Matt: I would just love to see Laura. I would just love to see you.
Laura: [laughs] I would probably just burst into tears. I’d be so happy.
Andrew: You’d be crying.
Eric: I’ll speak at your commencement, Laura. I’ll speak at your commencement.
Laura: Okay, Eric. You do that.
Andrew: [laughs] You know, what’s really special about this is think about how many times J.K. Rowling acts as a public speaker. I mean, besides her book readings, how many other times has she stood at a podium and made a speech?
Eric: Well, she’s spreading out, man. She’s totally spreading out. Now that she’s done writing…
Matt: She’s got more free time.
Eric: …she’s got much more free time.
Andrew: Well, obviously. No, but what I’m saying is that this isn’t her kind of thing.
Matt: No, well she also mentioned that in the documentary as well.
Andrew: Exactly, that’s where I was going.
Matt: Oh.
Andrew: She doesn’t even like doing this much, and now she’s doing it, so it’ll be really interesting to see what she says. I’m sure she’ll touch on her past life as living in a flat and being broke and all that. In other news, J.K. Rowling will be on MuggleCast next week.
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: So be sure you tune in for that. Not!
[Matt laughs]
Andrew: Yeah, so that’s cool.
Eric: You’re kidding right?
Andrew: Yeah, I’m kidding. No, I’m not. Yes, I am.
Eric: We’re pathetic.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: We’re pathetic, Andrew. We’re pathetic.
Announcements
Andrew: All right, so moving onto announcements now. It is a new month, and we’re reminding you kind of late, but we are in the top ten and we thank everyone, but vote for us on Podcast Alley so we can get as high up as possible. Because we like being high up on that list.
Micah: Yeah, not number nine.
Andrew: Also, thanks to everyone who…
Eric: We like being high…on the list.
Andrew: On the list, yeah. Thanks to everyone who sent us links to the online copies of the J.K. Rowling documentary. A lot of people sent these in. Someone did send me in a really good bit torrent though, and it downloaded nice and fast, and now I have it on my computer. So if any of you guys want it, I’ll forward it to you. So you can watch the documentary over and over again, but thanks everyone who emailed that in, a lot of you did.
Spring Break East Coast Road Tour
Andrew: Also, everyone here except Matt…
Matt: What?
Andrew: In other words…
Laura: Awww.
Andrew: In other words Eric, Laura, Micah and I are sort of kicking around the idea of doing a mini-spring break East Coast tour…
Eric: Of MuggleCast.
Andrew: ..come mid-March. Now, we need to remind everyone that this is only – this is very early on in the planning stages and is only a possibility. We want to know how many people would actually show up. So visit MuggleCast.com and we have five tour stops there. If you live on the New England, then visit MuggleCast.com – or even towards down in Virginia which isn’t really New England or Baltimore for that matter.
Eric: North of the line people.
Andrew: Yes.
Eric: North of the line.
Andrew: Visit MuggleCast.com and vote for the location that you could attend, or vote and say that you can’t attend. Take the poll seriously. Don’t just vote for Philly because you used to live there and it’s your home town and you are representing the area. No, vote honestly. So we will look into this more.
Eric: We need to liven this up.
Andrew: If we do it, it will be between March 15th and March 20th, and it would be a lot of fun and it would be a nice tour. Laura and I were just talking the other day about how bad we want to go to Boston.
Laura: Yes. So all you Bostonians go out and vote please.
[Andrew and Laura laugh]
Laura: Because I really want to go to Boston.
Andrew: Yeah.
[Eric laughs]
Andrew: We’d like to do four or five stops and we’d be driving and it will be interesting to plan, because of where we are all living and how we are all going to get there, but it we wil figure it out. It will be good.
Then we are doing a podcast in Dallas, Texas because of Portus 2008, as we told everyone HP2008 dot org, so visit that site to sign up, register and come to Portus and we’ll be there for Potter Podcast Polooza Pickles.
Audible.com Ad
Andrew: We’d like to remind everyone again that today’s podcast is also brought to you by Audible.com, the leading provider of spoken word entertainment. Audibles has over 35,000 titles to choose from to be downloaded and played anywhere. Just like MuggleCast. If you’re into Harry Potter as much as we are, we recommedn checkng out Twilight, a book we’ve discussed on MuggleCast a few times. You’ve from our listeners about it, now you can give it a try free on Audible. Just visit www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast today to get your free audio book. Once again, it’s www.audiblepodcast.com/mugglecast for your free audio book.
Muggle Mail: Why Did Moody’s Curse Not Lift?
Andrew: Okay. Let’s move on to Muggle Mail now.
Eric: [sings] Muggle Mail!
Andrew: Who wants take the first e-mail. Who wants to read it?
Eric: Can I? Can I? Can I?
Andrew: Mhm.
[Laura laughs]
Muggle Mail: Why Did Moody’s Curse Not Lift?
Eric: First one is from Nathan Gard, 14, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Subject is “Chapter 9.” He says:
“Okay, this was just something I noticed while listening to Chapter-by-Chapter last week and wanted to see what you guys thought about it. If spells are supposed to lift if their caster dies, like when Dumbledore’s spell lifted off of Harry in Half-Blood Prince when Snape killed him, then why does Moody’s tongue-tying curse remain on Grimmauld Place after Moody dies? Just wondering what you thought. Thanks, love the show, bye!”
What do you guys think?
Laura: Ooo.
Andrew: I don’t know. I am still confused by this whole tongue situation.
Laura: Yeah. That whole concept throws me off.
Matt: Is it technically Mad Eye Moody’s? When they say Mad-Eye Moody’s tongue-tying curse, do they mean it’s the one that he made or the one that he did? Did he invent that curse?
Laura: No. He didn’t invent it.
Eric: But he put the booby trap on Grimmauld Place to attack if anybody should come in, should it be Snape or whatever. They are wondering why it is still there once Moody died, because when you put a spell on something, it’s removed. And I really don’t have that good of an answer.
Laura: Yeah, I don’t either.
Micah: Yeah.
Eric: Myself, because of the way that the Fidelius Charm was broken on Grimmauld Place itself. I was going to initially argue that something would be different if you put a spell on a place, such as all of Dumbledore’s defenses on Hogwarts, etc., would still remain up because they’re sort of on Hogwarts as opposed to being on Harry. Like, he was holding Harry still and when he died, that spell went off, but that is flawed.
Micah: Right.
Eric: Because of…
Micah: Because the same thing happens.
Eric: …the way the Fidelius Charm…
Micah: …with the tongue-tying curse.
Eric: Right.
Micah: It’s essentially a spell that has been cast on a place, so…
Andrew: Mhm.
Eric: Right. And it’s still there.
Micah: Yeah, I mean, it’s a good question. I don’t know if we have an answer for it except maybe it is a little bit of a mistake.
Eric: Oooh.
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: Because it would make perfect sense that the spell would not have any after-effect.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, it’s true.
Eric: Yeah. So either it does, or it doesn’t, sort of – either spells put on places do or don’t get removed when they die. And it’s – there’s some contradictions in the books.
Andrew: Right.
Eric: Even the same book. Even the same book because of the way – the Grimmauld Place things – and I think we have a question later on in the show about that as well, the Fidelius Charm and how it actually works.
Muggle Mail: The True Killer of Dumbledore
Andrew: Yeah. Well, let’s move on. Next e-mail comes from Val, 17, of West Covina, California. She writes:
“As soon as you guys mentioned the possibilities, a thought popped into my head. The curse was to be used against the person that killed Dumbledore, right? Maybe it only took into account the true killer of Dumbledore. Snape killed Dumbledore, but not directly. What I mean by this is that he didn’t kill him for his own purposes, he was helping out Dumbledore, so the true killer of Dumbledore is the curse from the Horcrux that would have killed him if it wasn’t for Snape.”
So, she’s saying – she’s saying that’s how Snape got by, I guess.
Eric: So, what is the curse supposed to do? Tie it to the Horcrux?
Micah: I just think Snape is smart enough to get by. I don’t think it has anything to do with…
Laura: Yeah, I think that’s – I think Micah’s right.
Micah: …some other explanation, I mean, give the guy some credit. I mean, he’s a pretty…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …smart wizard.
Eric: He’s smart enough to say, “I didn’t kill you.” or “Why’d you make me kill you?” He’s smart enough to say the word “kill,” which disables the whole thing.
Andrew: Yeah.
Muggle Mail: Snape and Homenum Revelio
Eric: This one comes from Javed Mohammed, age 21 of Trinidad and Tobago. Oooh, nice place.
“Greetings from Trinidad again, I have a few comments about the chapter by chapter segment. You all said that Snape broke into Grimmauld Place yet remained unscathed, this may be probably so since he is an accomplished Occlumens and would be able to lie about who killed Moody and block his thoughts if the spell detected untruths. Also about Hermione’s Homenum Revelio curse. Hominoids and Hominids are direct ancestors of the primate family into which Humans (Homo Sapiens) also falls into. This may explain the use of the word Homenum in the curse. Still loving the show and all the best for the new year, Javed Mohammed.”
Oh, and it’s pronounced JAAH-ved. So, Javed Mohammed. Awesome, Javed, thanks for that. That’s what we said, we just came to that conclusion, then, about Snape being that good a wizard, but then he reveals something very cool about “Homenum,” which we talked about last week.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: Cool.
MuggleCast 128 Transcript (continued)
Muggle Mail: Rowling’s Documentary
Laura: All right, the next one comes from Kim, 19, of Houston, Texas. She says:
“Hey guys! I really enjoyed your discussion of JKR’s documentary in Episode 127. Actually, I thought the episode as a whole was brilliant! But, in regard to the documentary, I just wanted to add that I wish they had filmed Jo signing the bust inside the hotel upon finishing Book 7. It would have been interesting to witness or at least hear from Jo herself why she did it. I imagine it was rather spontaneous. Also, I’d like to comment on something y’all mentioned in the Chapter 9 discussion. I think Micah was right in saying Snape got in before Moody set the spell in Grimmauld Place. I’m not sure where I read or heard it, but I’m pretty sure that’s how it happened. You might want to check me on that! Thanks for reading, I love the show and I’m looking forward to anything y’all do in the future, HP-related or not! Pickles, Kim.”
Eric: Awww, pickles.
Andrew: It would’ve been nice to see her do this.
Laura: Yeah, I agree.
Matt: Yeah.
Andrew: Maybe there were some concerns with showing vandalism on T.V.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: It raises some ethical concerns. It really truly does.
[Andrew, Laura and Micah laugh]
Eric: I remember the additional shock…
[Matt laughs]
Eric: …you know, when we all found out that our favorite J.K. – our favorite author, J.K. Rowling, was a vandalist, or a graffiti-er.
Laura: [laughs] I’m sure the hotel does not view it that way.
Eric: Well…
Andrew: No, that’s just extra money for them now.
Eric: That’s only because of how much more their hotel is worth…
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: …now that J.K. Rowling signed the bust there.
Laura: Because, you know, if we went there and signed a bust we’d probably…
Eric: I’m pretty sure they’d kick us out.
Andrew: We’d get fined.
[Andrew, Laura and Matt laugh]
Eric: Yeah, with a fine, with a fine, but since J.K. Rowling did it – I mean, it raises some questions, you’re right, if this documentary did follow J.K.R. as she was writing the book as it should have, pretty much, included that.
Laura: Maybe she did that by herself. Maybe she wanted her own private thing to do when the cameras weren’t rolling, you know?
Andrew: Maybe, yeah. Yeah.
Eric: I think it was because it was illegal, and they couldn’t legally tape it.
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Eric: You know?
Andrew: It’s weird, because when she always wrote that – when she wrote that story about how she finished the book, and then how she wrote in the Balmoral on the bust, I always picture it as being a dark night, and you know, it was…
Matt: Alone?
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: She was alone, and it was dark. It was a small, little room. It was candlelight…
[Laura laughs]
Andrew: But now that we’ve seen the documentary, it’s broad daylight, there’s a crow in the air. Jo’s listening to – what’s the song she’s listening to when she finished?
Matt: Something by an artist?
Eric: No, really?
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: I really need to see this documentary.
Laura: I can’t remember who it was.
Andrew: Yeah, but I can’t remember the song right now, but you know, that’s cool that she listened to music afterwards. But, yeah, whatever. I think there were just some concerns. Maybe Jo was doing that when she had some private time.
Eric: Oh! Can I read the next mail, can I read the next mail?
Andrew: Yeah.
Muggle Mail: Voldemort Name Taboo
Eric: This one’s from Ruth H., age 27, of Rapid City, South Dakota. She says:
“Dear MuggleCasters, love the show. I’m a stay at home mom to a one year old and every time I put on MuggleCast as an alternative to Dora, or The Wiggles, my daughter dances to your opening music.”
Laura: Awww.
Eric: [laughs] Anyway.
Andrew: That’s so cute. Get a video.
Eric: It is cute.
Andrew: Take a video and put it on YouTube.
Eric: Take a video. Yes, please, and MuggleCast is a good alternative to Dora, or the Wiggles.
“Anyway my comment is regarding your discussion last week of the Voldemort name taboo, and maybe this should wait till your Chapter-by-Chapter for 20, but whatever.”
Oh, maybe it should.
“The trio does say the V word pretty quickly upon arriving at Grimmauld Place (Pg. 173) but nothing seems to happen and Ron does tell Harry later that the name ‘breaks protective enchantments, causes some kind of magical disturbance.'(Pg. 389) Doesn’t it seem like even if the Death Eaters in the square couldn’t see Number 12, they would still sense the magical disturbance. Do you think this is just a Jo boo-boo? Thanks a lot, keep up the good work, and Laura, you keep those boys in line!”
Laura: I’ll do that. For sure.
Andrew: Oooh.
Micah: [laughs] It seems like a lot of boo-boos are surfacing.
Laura: Yeah, I know. The only thing I can think of, and, I mean, we obviously all just read this chapter, so it’s all pretty fresh in our minds, but Remus says that the Death Eaters are all stationed outside of anywhere associated with Harry.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: But I was also thinking, maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe there’s some reason they can’t get in, but they can still sense it, so that’s why they’re there.
Eric: Yeah, because they’re confused. They’re like, well…
Matt: I still think – I still recall that there was a scene where, didn’t, like, either Harry or Ron went outside to get the paper, or something and they saw that there were Death Eaters outside the place, but they couldn’t see them?
Laura: I don’t remember. I don’t think it was in this chapter.
Eric: It’s definitely to come, though. It’s definitely to come when they see somebody in the square.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: Mhm.
Laura: And then Remus even said that he has to Apparate to the very first step so they couldn’t see him.
Eric: Which is what they tried to do, unsuccessfully, when they’re escaping the Ministry, yeah. Which is cool, kind of.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: It would be really interesting to ask, you know, some more specific questions about how these couple of subjects we’re kind of confused about work.
Eric: Yeah. J.K.R….
Laura: And they all center on Grimauld Place.
Eric: J.K.R. we’re not done with you, Jo. We’re not done. We have questions. We need answers. We’re Harry Potter fans. Come on. Yeah.
Andrew: Okay!
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Chapter-by-Chapter: Kreacher’s Tale
Andrew: So, let’s jump right into Chapter-by-Chapter. This week we’re just going to cover Chapter 10 – doing this one a week thing, the show is slowly living longer and longer. [laughs]
Eric: Hooray!
Andrew: Chapter 10, Kreacher’s Tale. So, short summary: In this chapter, Kreacher tells a tale.
Laura: [laughs] That was very enlightening!
Andrew: So…
Eric: That was a very brief summary.
Andrew: Well, it’s very emotional…
Laura: I can totally tell you read it.
Andrew: It’s a very emotional chapter, especially towards the end, focusing around House-Elves. I mean, you really – you really see the other side of House-Elves, the side that you just actually feel kind of bad for. So the first point that we wanted to bring up – and somebody put this in here, but I actually had it as my favorite quote, but I guess if it’s a discussion point, we could just talk about it first. Right there on the first page.
Harry Feels Lonely
Eric: Harry wakes up.
Andrew: It says, “Harry wondered if they had fallen asleep holding hands,” speaking about Ron and Hermione, “The idea made him feel strangely lonely.”
Eric: Yes.
Andrew: Now, this was nice because, sort of, you know, Harry feels a bit alone if Ron and Hermione are together. You sort of – he’s sort of the odd ball out in terms of relationships, love life in this situation. Obviously, he’s…
Matt: He does feel like the third wheel.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah, he’s the go-to-guy, but on the other hand, he doesn’t have his life partner with him.
Matt: No.
Eric: He…
Andrew: So, I thought that was kind of sweet.
Eric: Had to leave her behind.
Laura: Yeah, I think it kind of highlights that separation, too. You know how Dumbledore told him…
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: He could really only trust Ron and Hermione with this and so it’s like he leaves behind Ginny, who he loves so much, you know, but he can’t tell her anything.
Eric: Yeah, it’s kind of interesting that for there to be a trio, Harry has – Ron and Hermione are both his friends, but yet they’re also sort of becoming boyfriend and girlfriend right in front of him. And the fact…
Andrew: Right.
Eric: That he wakes up, looks over, and sees that they could’ve been holding hands is a – is a really good, sort of, portrait of Harry and his feeling.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: This opens up, gives you some really good insight on to sort of how Harry views everything and same with later on. This whole chapter, I think, is very keen on Harry and describing sort of how he feels about things.
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: Well, I have a question for Laura regarding this. Do you think that the holding hands was a result of Ron’s book or do you think it was a genuine holding hands thing?
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: [sighs] Okay, thank you for bringing this up, Matt. Because I’ve actually gotten a lot of emails from people who are, like, “You don’t know what you’re talking about. At least he’s trying…” And, you know, I’m not refuting that point. Yes, I acknowledge that he was trying. But I also…
Micah: Well, first of all, he’s a fictional character so people should calm down just a little bit and back off Laura.
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: Thank you! Thank you for that. And also, yeah, he was trying, but as a girl who has – hmmmm, what’s the best way to put this?
Eric: Just think about how you would say this before.
Laura: As a girl who has known men like this and you’re just, like, “Don’t – don’t do that.” Because you look at it and it gets very frustrating because you realize that they don’t completely get it even though they’re trying to, you know? And it’s kind of frustrating as a reader. It’s not like I’m saying that Jo shouldn’t have written it that way or that I didn’t enjoy it. I quite did. And frankly, there was really nothing to say that they had fallen asleep holding hands. Harry just thought it looked like they might have. And I think that’s what was really interesting about the quote because that type – romance seems to be really high on his mind at that moment because that’s the first thing he thinks when he looks over. He doesn’t think about anything else about the journeys they have ahead, even the fact that they could all die. He looks over and thinks, “Oh, I wonder if they could have fallen asleep holding hands.” And I think it shows that he’s kind of – I mean, it shows that loneliness and it shows that he’s kind of depressed about leaving Ginny behind. So…
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Eric: Well, it said earlier Ron had a fit of gallantry and insisted that Hermione get the cushions or whatever.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: What was that about? Did it say that Ron was just asserting that Hermione be the most comfortable or?
Laura: Well, yeah! It’s kind of like the whole – it’s kind of like a lot of the old fashioned beliefs like guys are supposed to hold open doors for girls – just, you know, those kind of things.
Eric: Are they? I mean, am I a loser for not doing that?
Laura: No, no, no, no.
Micah: Have you ever commuted in New York City?
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Eric: Yeah.
Laura: No, I’m just saying, like, it tends to be that when a guy is trying to impress a girl, he likes her to be the most comfortable, he doesn’t like her to have to do things for herself.
Eric: But after a year or two of marriage or a few months of dating, whatever the case is…
Laura: Yeah. It’s like, “You can sleep on the floor!”
[Eric laughs]
Laura: “You cow!”
Eric: Yeah, anyway. So, sorry to hear about your relationships, Laura. [laughs]
Laura: [laughs] Yeah. Me too.
[Everyone laughs]
Snape Parallels
Andrew: Who put the next point in there?
Laura: Oh, I did. I was kind of bringing that up because I thought it was an interesting parallel and you guys have heard me harp on and on about parallels…
Eric: I’m tired of it. I’m sick of it, actually. You discuss parallel once more…
Laura: Shut up, Eric.
Eric: I’m going to hit you.
Laura: I don’t care.
Eric: I’m gonna mail a thing that hits you to the P.O. Box.
Andrew: I like parallels. I think they’re good.
Laura: Yeah, I think parallels are awesome.
Eric: I know, I know. They’re cool. I agree.
Laura: See, you fail, Eric.
Matt: They never meet.
Laura: [laughs] Thank you, Matt.
Micah: Ohhh. So funny.
Laura: Yeah. So, what I thought was really interesting about Harry wondering, you know, if Snape has searched the house, and he thinks about him with scorn. You know, anytime Snape is mentioned throughout this book, no one likes him. They all think he’s bad. And I just thought it was a really interesting parallel to the first book where throughout the whole thing we think he’s this bad guy and then in the end we find out he’s good.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: So that’s all I really had to say about that.
Eric: Well, it’s a valid point too. It’s interesting that you say Harry wonders correctly if Snape has searched the house. It’s interesting that Snape has been there and Harry can kinda detect that. I think that’s pretty cool. But clearly, clearly, you know, with books being overturned and shelves and everything being searched through, you know, someone has been there in the house.
Laura: Right.
Sirius’ Bedroom
Eric: So, what, Harry wakes up and he goes up a few steps and finds himself inside Sirius’s bedroom? Or what was formerly Sirius’s bedroom?
Laura: Yeah.
Matt: Mhm.
Andrew: Yes.
Eric: And inside Sirius’s bedroom – there’s a contrast in this chapter that exists between Sirius’s bedroom and Regulus’s bedroom. And, as J.K. Rowling says, they couldn’t sort have been further apart. They’re quit the opposite of each other as far as – Sirius has all these Gryffindor banners, there are pictures of Muggle motorcycles, and even bikini-clad Muggle girls. [chuckles] Which I thought was funny.
The Letter
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: In Sirius’s room, so he wanted to emphasize his difference from his parents, etc. etc. and when they go into Regulus’s room, there’s all sorts of Slytherin pride, and obviously a bunch of old newspaper clippings about the Dark Lord. So, I thought that was cool, and I wanted to bring that up. But, what do you think about the letter that Harry reads?
Micah: It’s depressing, I think.
Laura: It was.
Andrew: The letter was sweet, it was a little…
Micah: Not the letter itself, just the scene, I think, it was pretty depressing when you have him just sitting there reading it and it seems like, you know, you kind of get a feeling of everything that he’s gone through over the past sixteen or seventeen years of his life and how lonely its really been. It goes back to what Laura was saying, you know, at the beginning of the chapter, you know, with Harry looking over at Ron and Hermione. It’s just reemphasizing how lonely he has been, not just in recent years, but pretty much his whole life.
Matt: Well, this is the first time really Harry notices that his mother really lived.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: She really wrote – that her hand really wrote these words.
Matt: Yeah. This is the first time Harry actually touches something that his mother touched or created or something besides himself.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: Yeah, and also… Go ahead.
Laura: Sorry, I was going to say, and also, that was a first for readers too. I mean, I don’t know about you guys, but when I was first reading this book and we had the letter from Lily, I was like, “Whoa, it’s really weird to see something from her perspective.”
Eric: Yeah.
Laura: Because this whole time we’ve just known her as someone’s who’s just dead. And then suddenly we have this letter from her. Whicah was weird.
Eric: She’s his mum.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: You know. She died saving Harry etc, etc. We’ve heard all this stuff about her, but actually hear – reading her writing, it’s actually quite cool. And I mean, couldn’t you guys just see the baby Harry on the broom? On the toy broom? [laughs]
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: Speeding around on everything, that was so cool.
Andrew: I really hope that that’s one of the things that makes the movie.
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: I would love to see that picture and I think Dan Radcliffe could pull that off really well, making the realization that…
Matt: What, being a one-year-old baby?
Andrew: Huh?
[Micah laughs]
Eric: Yeah! They’d cast Dan Radcliffe as his toddler self.
Andrew: Being a one-year old… No, no, no. Just looking at the picture, looking at the letter.
Micah: Talk about pre-production.
Eric: Yeah. No, I agree.
Andrew: I agree. That was a very special momemnt.
Eric: Dan Radcliffe is really striking me as a really good actor. I’ve just liked him recently. I’ve just really noticed how intense he can be. It’s really cool.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s all he can be.
Micah: Talking about the letter, I think probably my best quote for this chapter is when they were talking about the G’s that she made.
Laura: Awww, yeah.
Micah: It said, “Each felt like a friendly little wave glimpsed from behind a veil.” I thought that was Jo just at her best, referencing the veil.
Andrew: I love when Jo writes…
Eric: Mym mom wrote here G’s…
Andrew: I love when Jo describes that kind of thing and makes things really – personify things, like even the letter “G.” [laughs]
Laura: Well, and also the reference to the veil too. I thought that was really great.
Micah: Right.
Eric: Yeah.
Laura: And she used the veil several times throughout the book. I remember reading and she would describe something as it was beyond some kind of veil, or something along those lines.
Eric: And yet we didn’t hear from Sirius in this book.
Laura: It’s because he’s dead!
Eric: I know, I know, I know. I accept that. I do.
Matt: He’s DEAD!
Eric: But yeah, you’re right, there was a lot of veil references, and I was like, “We’re totally going to see that room again aren’t we?” And then we didn’t. But that’s okay.
Laura: I know! And I really wanted to, and I was so upset. But anyway…
Eric: Next time, next time. In Book 8. Book 8, Laura.
Laura: Yeah, sure. [laughs]
Micah: And what about Dumbledore in this letter? I mean, it just kind of reinforces Harry’s…
Eric: See, this is one of those…
Micah: …mistrust in him.
Eric: This is one of those letters that really make the plot, you know? It’s these letters Harry happens to find in this book – not any previous book – but this book. And it’s so important and amazing and lovely. Just one of those things that spurs the plot into action. And you’re right, it totally reaffirms that there are some questionable things about Dumbledore.
Matt: Yeah. But she said it lightly like it’s not something very, I wouldn’t say, negative.
Laura: No.
Matt: It’s probably one of those secrets.
Eric: Just questionable, like, “Huh. What’s Dumbledore up to?”
Matt: Just like, “Dumbledore did this?!?”
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah, but Harry’s reaction was more anger, I think, than we’ve seen him previously. I think it’s slowly building up.
Andrew: I think it’s partially because Harry doesn’t know what exactly Lily was talking about. “Could you believe Dumbledore donated so much to charity?” We don’t know what it actually was.
Eric: Yeah, the second page is missing.
Andrew: Right.
Eric: Harry finds it later after the fact, doesn’t he?
Andrew: Yeah, we don’t know what it actually is about, which is a shame.
Eric: Yeah. So Harry is determined now to find Bathilda Bagshot.
Andrew: Wait, hold up real quick. Do you think Snape took it?
Laura: He did.
Eric: He did.
Micah: He did.
Andrew: I was being sarcastic.
[Everyone laughs]
Laura: He took – oh, okay.
Andrew: Come on you guys!
Laura: I thought – well, you didn’t sound very sarcastic, Andrew.
Andrew: Never mind, never mind, nevermind.
[Eric and Andrew laugh]
Andrew: Never mind.
Bathilda and Horcruxes
Eric: At one point in this chapter, they mention the tedious task of the Horcruxes – the difficult task Dumbledore had laid out for them. I guess it’s when Harry has just woken up. I’m thinking in retrospect – was it really terribly difficult to locate the Horcruxes? I think they were very successful in doing so once they did and I thought it was all right, I felt it wasn’t that big of a deal, necessarily. Hermione asks him if going to see Bathilda would really help search for the Horcruxes and I think it did.
Micah: I think it’s ironic how it almost gets them killed when they go visit with her.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: That part is just weird. That part is just weird. I’m sorry, it’s just weird.
Laura: No, that part is awesome and they better do it justice in the movie or I’ll be so mad.
Eric: I sure they will. I’m sure they will though.
The Fidelius Charm
Micah: Well who brought up this point about the Secret-Keeper and Fidelius Charm though?
Laura: That was me.
Micah: Okay.
Laura: What kind of throws me off is Lily in her letter talks about how Bathilda Bagshot is dropping by their house every day and I’m thinking they’re under the Fidelius charm right now, Peter Pettigrew is their Secret-Keeper, isn’t it kind of weird that people can just drop by their house even if it’s people they trust? Isn’t the whole point that it’s only one person that knows where they are?
Eric: Hmmm.
Matt: Hmmm.
Micah: These questions just keep coming up. I don’t know…
[Eric laughs]
Micah: It’s kind of hard to answer all of them.
Eric: It’s draining.
Laura: And then later on she’s like, “Oh Sirius, if you could just drop by, I’m sure it would make James so much happier!”
Eric: Yeah, because James is freaking out. Jame is like Sirius in Book 5. He’s feeling lonely and secluded.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: He wants to go out.
Micah: Cabin fever.
Andrew: They didn’t leave the house, right?
Laura: No.
Eric: Yeah, it’s cabin fever. You’re right, Micah.
Laura: She even says in the letter that Dumbledore has James’s cloak so it’s not like he can even sneak out. So you know they’re under the charm at that point.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: That’s true. And Harry also says – when she mentions Pettigrew being down – Harry says, “Did Pettigrew know that would be the last time he would be seeing them alive?” It’s really intense, you know they’re under the charm and hiding, why is Bathilda dropping by every second and why couldn’t they just torture Bathilda and find out the whereabouts of Jamess and Lily since she had been there?
Matt: Well, maybe…
Andrew: The only thing I could think of is that they could be meeting somewhere in the house that Bathilda could get to. I mean, because realistically, they couldn’t possibly – it couldn’t just be them three the whole time they’re in hiding. Realistically, they would have to be meeting with other people.
Laura: How so?
Andrew: I don’t know. To stay sane? I don’t know.
Eric: Well, they have a family to raise plenty of people raise families without any friends nearby.
Andrew: I’m trying to think. If there was a logical answer to this, what would it be?
Eric: Well, the question is would Pettigrew have to tell Bathilda where the Potters were for her to go visit them? Or what?
Matt: Well, she’s a neighbor so she already knows where they are.
Laura: And what else I don’t get – we know they were located in their home and Sirius clearly knew that’s where they were so why would it be any less safe to have Sirius not to be their Secret-Keeper if he knew where they were anyway?
Eric: Yeah, yeah, that’s awkward because the way this letter is written – you’re right, because of the way this letter is written. Anyone who intercepted this letter could figure out where they were. And was the charm destroyed once Pettigrew told Bathilda where they were or what? What happens when somebody – when somebody you confide in – when the Secret-Keeper tells where something is? Does that make it still closed off to the outside world or what? Or does it break the charm?
Matt: Well, it’s not a though secret anymore.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: It’s no a secret. So does the charm break or what?
Laura: I don’t know. There are too many questions.
Matt: Was it already – do you think when Peter Pettigrew told Voldemort do you think Voldemort automatically left as soon as he knew or do you think he waited a few days?
Micah: Oh this is interesting. I’m just kind of reading this on the Harry Potter Lexicon. It says, “Even if one of the Potters had been captured, force fed Veritaserum, or placed under the Imperius Curse, they would not have been able to give away the whereabouts of the other two. The only people who ever knew their precise location were those who Wormtail had told directly but none of them would have been able to pass on the information.”
Laura: Huh.
Micah: So, it’s possible that Sirius and Bathilda knew where they were but they would never be able to divulge the information if they were captured.
Eric: Interesting.
Laura: That is interesting.
Eric: Though, didn’t Jo also change the outcome of how the – on her website there was an old question, one of the original FAQs, regarding the Fidelius Charm and she later, you know, midway into Book 7, said, “Okay, I’ve changed my mind. This is what’s happening.”
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: This was from her official site though because the Lexicon has a note as to where the quote came from. So…
Eric: Okay. Because I…
Micah: …that was from Jo, herself.
Eric: Yeah. Because I think how it happens with everyone – because what happened with Grimmauld Place was, everyone who knew was then, in turn, a Secret-Keeper.
Micah: Right.
Eric: Isn’t that what she said? But that seems in contradiction with what she had previously said. So, I think she changed her mind, didn’t she? She told everyone about it. I recall that happening. I don’t know.
Andrew: Yeah. I don’t know.
Matt: Hmmm.
R.A.B. Revealed
Micah: Well, this is a big chapter and kind of how I wanted to start talking about this is – I mentioned this to Andrew, I think – is how predictable was this? When you guys were reading this, and I know…
Laura: Yeah.
Micah: …there’s so much theory that was out there about it.
Eric: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: Were you kind of disappointed a little bit that it – and I mean, everything was not as I thought it was as far as how it all played out – but the general things. Who R.A.B. was, who, you know, went with him to cross the lake, you know?
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: Was it all a little bit too, you know, easily figured out?
Eric: Well, see everyone knew because of how, you know, we had harped on it for so long, you know, and when Lexicon came out with their Arcturus, I think it was. Wasn’t it Lexicon who spoiled that, basically?
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: That Regulus had a… Everybody pretty much knew.
Laura: Even before that, a lot of people thought it was going to be Regulus Black.
Eric: Regulus Black.
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: Right. But the thing was, the Lexicon got some sort of confirmation by somebody and then at that point they posted it on their site. They posted the whole name.
Micah: Right.
Andrew: And we even talked about this on the podcast and then it was knocked down and apparently Bloomsbury or whoever said, “Okay, take it off.”
Eric: But Micah’s right. There were – and it struck me as well, reading this, that there were actually two moments in this chapter that we already pretty much could have predicted long before Book 7. And so, are you asking basically what do we think about how Jo handled the fact that we all knew? So kind of, coming out to telling us wasn’t really that revolutionary, but yet she still kind of had to right it through so that it made sense?
Micah: Well, I think that there’s a couple of things here. The first being that with this story coming to an end, there had to be certain things that people could guess and guess right.
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: I mean, you know. Jo is very good at what she does in terms of hiding little clues along the way. But I think that there are certain things that, you know, you just get to that point and what you guess is going to be right. And this just happened to be one of those things. I know – I’m not saying that I was disappointed in the chapter, but I just thought maybe it was a little bit too predictable.
Eric: Well, I kind of like how she gives Regulus quite a bit of humanity. He is not the coward that Sirius kind of portrayed him to be. You know, Sirius didn’t like his brother. But you see that human flaw in Sirius then of disliking pretty much anything that has to do with his family. Because that’s the sort of character Sirius was. For him to underestimate that his brother actually penetrated Voldemort’s defenses so much so and the reasoning why – I mean, I don’t think it discredits anything because when Kreacher tells the story of what exactly happened, I was so enthralled by it that I – to be honest, I thought it was really cool. And I thought it was fine that Sirius had already made a point to tell Harry that his brother was crap or a coward.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah. I mean, I don’t really – I know that a lot of people – I think this was before, when the whole thing with the Lexicon came out. But at one point, Jo said on her website, “I’m sure that a few of you will figure out what one of them is if you’ve read closely enough.” Then everybody, of course, gravitated to that locket which was a lot like the locket in Half-blood Prince.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Oh, right!
Laura: And of course the initials are “R” and “B.” So everyone thinks Regulus Black, regardless of the middle initial.
Eric: Of course, because people had already caught that little mid-sentence reference to a locket because she does mention a locket in book five. Then Harry, Ron, and Hermione in this book, in this chapter, say, “Wait, there was a locket!” “What?” “Remember, we saw a locket!” And everybody is like, “Oh my god, yeah!” And J.K. Rowling had referenced that like, in the middle of a sentence once before. So, I thought that…
Laura: Well, and also, everybody pretty much predicted that Mundungus took it and he ended up being the one who took it, which I just find funny. Just bringing up Micah saying that a lot of this was somewhat predictable.
Eric: Yeah, you’re right. Mundungus having it.
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: But it’s almost predictable in a sense that you’re just waiting for them to find out, to put the pieces together.
Laura: It was more like vindication, you know, for us. We were like, “Yes! We knew it all along!”
[Eric sings]
Micah: But I will give Jo the credit for completely taking it in different direction at the end of the chapter because I did not see that coming at all. And I guess we’ll talk about it in a little bit.
Eric: Didn’t see come what come along?
Micah: Where the locket went.
Eric: Well, we don’t know that yet at the end of the chapter.
Laura: Oh!
Eric: We don’t who it went to.
Micah: Oh, that’s the end of next chapter. Forget it.
Laura: Yeah. That’s the end of next chapter. [laughs]
Eric: Yeah, we don’t know who it went to yet.
Micah: See, this is what happens when you prepare with two chapters and you only go over one.
Eric: Oh, see, I didn’t know you did that, man. Sorry about that.
Laura: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: I’m sorry.
Andrew: I started reading the next one but then I was like, “Better not, I’m just going to get confused with everything.”
Micah: All right, my fault. Anyway.
Eric: But you’re right, you’re right, Micah. When we find out who actually has it, that’s – that’s messed up. That’s really messed up.
Matt: Mhm.
Eric: There’s an interesting point here I wanted to bring up where it says even though Regulus changed his mind about Voldemort, he didn’t satisfactorily attempt to explain that to Kreacher or his family before he died. Because it says they were safer sticking to the pure-blood line anyway, because there was a prejudice and discrimination against pure-bloods – or non-pure-bloods. So basically J.K. Rowling’s created this situation where Regulus Black disenchanted from Voldemort, didn’t really tell anybody, except set out to destroy it and ends up sacrificing himself so that he could destroy the locket. And he didn’t tell his family that Voldemort didn’t have the right idea because presumably – I mean, that’s what Hermione suggests – that it was just safer to be a pure-blood, and not sort of change your ideas if you were a Muggle-hater at that time. Because, for the reasons that we see later on in Book 7, which is all the – even the Ministry officials who are getting taken to court and put on trial for having Muggle husbands or wives or whatever.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: So, I thought that was a really interesting sort of no-win situation of war and hard times.
Laura: Yeah. I wonder what it was that made Regulus change his mind.
Eric: Well, wasn’t it when he suggested about the elf? Wasn’t it when he said, “I need an elf,” and he was horrified after Kreacher told him what he made Kreacher do.
Laura: Yeah, I mean I thought that was kind of – well, yeah.
Eric: Oh you’re right though.
Laura: I guess that’s right.
Eric: Because it said – because Kreacher says Regulus came to him a few months later then, after he had…
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: And I guess that’s sort of after he had figured a little bit more out about what the cave was all about to begin with.
Micah: Right. Maybe he just got a better understanding of what was going on and realized, you know what…
Matt: Yeah.
Micah: …maybe this isn’t the right…
Eric: Thing.
Micah: …thing for me to be doing, and maybe…
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: …in the end, it’s not the best thing for the wizarding community as a whole. But I wanted to talk…
Matt: I mean he obviously shows compassion.
Eric: He does.
Micah: Yeah.
MuggleCast 128 Transcript (continued)
Kreacher
Eric: And so does Kreacher.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: What did you guys think? Because this whole chapter is like, pity for Kreacher at the end.
Laura: I felt so bad for him.
Eric: You really feel horrible.
Laura: It’s so sad. I did.
Eric: It’s like, “Wow, why do I feel this bad for that stupid elf?”
Andrew: See, he’s not stupid though.
Eric: Beacause he’s not stupid. He’s totally not, he’s totally not. But even the moment when Harry wants to be angry at Kreacher for selling out Sirius, there’s this total reversal where everything everybody else is saying makes perfect sense, and Sirius was just that flawed that he did not [stumbles] treat Kreacher with respect like everyone else did and that was his own problem. And Hermione and Dumbledore had always said human beings will always pay for their actions.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: And now they did.
Micah: Right.
Laura: Yeah.
Eric: And there’s just that…
Laura: I thought it was – I thought it was very important that Hermione said that. Like you were saying, Eric, you know, wizards will pay for the way they treated House-Elves, and so did Sirius.
Eric: Yeah.
Micah: Yep.
Matt: Yeah.
Laura: And I remember at that point – I remember reading it originally and I thought, oh man, Harry’s going to deck her one.
[Everyone laughs]
Eric: He’s just going to be like, “Hermione, come here a moment.”
Laura: He’s going to just kill her! [laughs]
Eric: Yeah. “Hermione, can I see you?”
Laura: But… And I thought it was important that Harry kind of remarked that he wanted – he felt like he should object or something along those lines…
Eric: But he had nothing to say.
Laura: But, yeah, when he thought about it there was really nothing to say because it was true.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, I like that moment a lot. So I like Kreacher, I think Jo did the right thing with this whole chapter. I thought it was really cool.
Micah: I like that line in particular where Harry was thinking to himself, how could Voldemort have made such a mistake. And that it goes back to what Laura was saying…
Eric: Of leaving Kreacher there to die, when House-Elves have a different magic that would have allowed him to escape.
Micah: Right.
Matt: This scene in the movie would’ve been butchered if they continued with the cutting of Kreacher.
Eric: I cannot wait to see the cave scene.
Laura: I’m so glad she told them not to cut it.
Eric: I cannot wait to see it.
Laura: Oh, so excited.
Eric: Sorry, but yeah, they’re going to have to sort of – now in Movie 7 they’re going to have to have Kreacher back at that cave. I think they should, I think they should cast Regulus Black. I think they should. It’ll be cool.
Andrew: It was very uplifting though, to see Kreacher side with Harry and Ron and Hermione. I mean, you know, he had to, but at the same time, I sort of got a sense like he was on their team, he was on their side. Like, he wanted to work with them.
Eric: He just appreciated being appreciated.
Andrew: Yeah, and it was nice reading that. It felt uplifting.
Eric: Yeah. And – well, at the very end when Kreacher sets off, he gives a low bow to Harry and Ron…
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: …the other wizard, and kind of does a little nudge or something in the direction of Hermione.
Matt: It’s a little jerk or something, yeah.
Eric: To Hermione, which is like, you know, so funny. You really love that guy, you love the elf. He just wants to be appreciated, so that was all cool.
Andrew: And to mention the movies real quick, this chapter really is the reason why he was in Order of the Phoenix. Because remember there was that whole debate over – Kreacher was left in there.
Matt: Yes.
Andrew: I think it was Heyman who revealed that he was left in there just because Jo said so. Jo said, “He plays an important role in 7 so…”
Eric: Precisely.
Andrew: “I would recommend that he be in 5.”
Eric: And it’s because he knows the whereabouts of one of the seven Horcruxes.
Andrew: Great.
Eric: Yes, indeed.
Quote Quiz
Andrew: Well, it’s time for “Quote Quiz!! Ummm, hold on.
Eric: Andrew, that was horrible!
Andrew: There wasn’t enough echo.
Matt: Oh my god, where was the echo?
Andrew: It’s time for Quote, quote! Quiz, quiz, quiz, quiz, quiz. So the quote today is, of course, from Chapter 11, The Bribe: “It doesn’t seem likely that they were just strolling down Tottenham Court Road at the time does it? said”
Eric: Wait, that’s not a quote if you include, “said.” [laughs]
Andrew: Well, it’s a quote from the book. So all right, so that’s “Quote Quiz.” We’re going to do a segment now we haven’t done in a while, and the reason we’re bringing it back today, other than the demand for some older segments. By the way, “Make The Connection” would’ve been on here today but Jamie wasn’t here, so we’ll try to do them whether Jamie’s on or not, because Jamie’s back at school now, so it’s a little harder for him to record.
Micah: He comes out with the most outrageous connections you could possibly think of.
Andrew: That’s the beauty of it all. That’s why it’s “Make The Connection.”
Eric: That’s the beauty.
Matt: It’s funny to think, too – to think that he’s just sitting there making them up too.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah.
Eric: It is.
Favorites: Soundtracks
Andrew: So, this “Favorite’s” back when Matt Briton was just a mere fanboy of the show. He told me the other day he actually e-mailed in…
[Matt fake laughs]
Andrew: …a “Favorites” submission. He said it was his one e-mail to the show but then I searched his name and there were a few. But anyway…
[Eric laughs]
Matt: It’s a lie! You are such a liar!
Eric: It’s just all the Matt Briton posers out there.
Andrew: Yeah, I guess.
Laura: Awww, it’s okay, Matt.
Micah: No, it was all of his transcript submissions.
Matt: Yeah. [laughs] Because you guys talk over each other. I couldn’t hear a word you’re saying.
Andrew: Matt, what was your “Favorites” submission back way long ago?
Matt: Oh, okay, yeah. Well, that was when you guys just started “Favorites” and I thought it was an awesome thing. So, I’m a huge soundtrack fan, so I was wondering – I was curious what you guys’ opinions were for your favorite song off the Potter series soundtracks?
Andrew: Now, Matt’s a big…
Matt: What’s your favorite theme song?
Andrew: Matt’s a big soundtrack fan, so he holds this segment very near and dear to his heart. I would have to say my favorite – and I’ve always stuck with this one just because it would always run through my head, it was a perfect fit in the trailer – from Chamber of Secrets, “The Dueling Club.”
Eric: Ahhh, that was mine. [laughs]
Andrew: And that’s in the scene where Harry and Draco are dueling in the Dueling Club. And it was just – the movements on screen went along with the music. It was like… [hums to the tune of “The Dueling Club”] And if I remember correctly, it wasn’t exactly to the music but they moved to the music a little bit, it seemed. At least with their steps and everything. So…
Eric: Well, what it was to was, too, the snare drum was just awesome.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Eric: It was just absolutely awesome.
Andrew: So, Eric, what was your favorite?
Eric: Yeah, “The Dueling Club.”
Andrew: Oh, same.
Eric: Well, see what I did is I went through my memory of the first movie and, obviously, the rest when I tried to pick my favorite one from each. And then, I figured, well, out of those five, which is my favorite and I said, “The Dueling Club.” And you’re right, it’s basically very similar to the “Gilderoy Lockhart Theme,” except with the drums and the sort of militaristic tone to it. So, yep, “The Dueling Club” is my favorite. But since you have already said that I’ll just have to go with “Hedwig’s Theme.”
Andrew: You’re so predictable.
Matt: It’s like a cop-out.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, it is.
Eric: A Cop-out? Okay, well, I have two. I can’t decide between “Professor Umbridge” and “The Room of Requirements” for 5. Movie 4 is “Neville’s Waltz.” Movie 3 is “The Night Bus.” You know, what else you’re going to do?
Andrew: That’s good, though, I thought.
Matt: Yeah!
Andrew: Good choice, I guess. I mean, it’s everyone’s favorite. Laura?
Laura: Well, I have to say, I enjoyed – if I had to pick a soundtrack, I enjoyed The Prisoner of Azkaban one the most. But there is one song that sticks out in my mind in particular. And I have to just say that I’ve always hated this song. I thought it was the dumbest song that I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s “Can You Dance Like a Hippogriff?” But…
Andrew: [to the tune of “Can you Dance Like a Hippogriff?”] Ba ba baa, ba ba baa, ba ba baaaa!
Laura: But there’s a very good memory that goes with this. I don’t know, Andrew, Matt, if you guys remember. [laughs]
Andrew: Yes.
Matt: Yes, I was going to say.
Laura: You, me, Emerson…
Andrew: Now, I remember.
[Matt laughs]
Laura: …Elysa, like a whole group of us at the ball at Prophecy all stood in a circle and danced to that freaking song.
Eric: Is it “Do the Hippogriff” by the Weird Sisters?
Laura: Yes. [laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Matt: I remember, too, Laura at that whole convention at Prophecy, you kept mentioning, “If they play ‘Dance like a Hippogriff,’ or ‘Do the Hippogriff’…”
Laura: [laughs] Play that freakin’ song.
Matt: “…I will shank somebody.”
[Andrew laughs]
Laura: [laughs] I did, and they played it at the end. I knew they would.
Andrew: Wait, wait, you shanked someone?
Matt: No, no.
Andrew: Oh.
Matt: No, but you were so excited, though. I was so surprised. I was waiting for like this violent reaction from you, but all you did was freak out and start dancing.
Andrew: Yeah.
Laura: Yeah, well I was very excited that night.
Matt: Yeeeaaah.
[Andrew, Laura, and Matt laugh]
Matt: It was fun.
Laura: It was very fun. Good times.
Andrew: Micah, how about you?
Micah: I was a big fan of the music in Order of the Pheonix, and I liked the – I think it was called “Fireworks”?
Matt: The first song?
Micah: When the Weasley twins were exiting.
Andrew: Oh, in Order of the Pheonix? [sings tune]
Micah: You know, and they basically smashed all those proclamations and Umbridge is running around like a nutcase.
Eric: Yeah, it’s a great scene.
Matt: I can see why you like it.
Andrew: I actually used the…
Matt: I thought the guitar solo too was really awesome in that song.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Eric: Actually, you’re right.
Andrew: I actually used that music in the beginning of the show a couple months back underneath one of the ads.
Micah: For an ad or something?
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah. I remember that. It was – yeah, “Fireworks” is a great… I just really like Nicholas Hooper’s score for the fifth movie. If I had to say favorite soundtrack, it might be “5.” It actually might be, which is next to – closely followed by Chamber of Secrets, though, because Chamber of Secrets was just really good. Because coming with – I mean, I don’t own the first movie soundtrack. Do any of you guys?
Matt: Yes.
Eric: Really?
Laura: I don’t. Yeah.
Eric: Could you burn it and send it to me because I don’t remember there being – I forget all the names. I never learned them of the first Harry Potter movie soundtrack.
Matt: Well, the first soundtrack has a lot of horns. French horns and…
Eric: A lot of French horns?
Matt: Yeah, but you’ll just have to listen to it.
Eric: Because that’s what I really like about John Williams is his ability to build on what he’s already done, and sort of create different themes and different moods. It’s just all good, it’s all good. So, I owned the Chamber of Secrets one with Harry on the front, and I owned the other one with Dumbledore. I think I got a Dumbledore one too, with Richard Harris as Dumbledore, so that was cool. Because you know they made the five different covers for it?
Matt: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah, that was cool.
Andrew: So, Matt, what is your favorite?
Matt: Well, my favorite theme comes from the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack, which is definitely my favorite soundtrack of the five so far, because John Williams pretty much changed all the theme songs from the Harry Potters.
Andrew: Mhm.
Matt: He just came up with a whole new score for the series so my favorite would be entitled, “A Window to the Past.”
Laura: Yeah, that was a really good one.
Matt: It’s just – because every time they played it in the film it just fit whatever the dialogue was so beautifully.
Andrew: Yeah.
Eric: I remember this. This is nice flute.
Andrew: It’s very…
Matt: It just makes me think of Harry and Sirius and Harry and Remus. It just fits, you know, the whole part of them connecting to Harry’s parents.
Andrew: Yeah, it was very calming.
Matt: And it has a little clip of “Hedwig’s” Theme around the middle of the song. It’s kind of like a bittersweet song, that’s why I like it.
Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul: Exam Week
Andrew: Well, we’re just about finished today, but before we wrap up, we have a Chicken Soup. Matt, you want to read it?
Matt: Sure. This Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul comes from Melani, 16, from San Antonio, Texas. And she writes:
“Hey, guys! Since it’s a new year and the holidays are over, I felt it necessary to take some time to let you guys know just how wonderful you are. Each week I hear all the different people who tell you how you’ve helped them through difficult times and each week I am thankful for what I like to call my weekly hour and a half of pure joy. This week it is first semester finals week at my school and so far is a more intense form of stress than I have ever been under before. In fact, most of my friends actually call it “dead week.”
[Everyone laughs]
“I am in a bunch of advanced classes and have killer exams and I have practice for the school musical until around six every night.”
Wow!
“The past few nights, I have found myself studying until around three or four in the morning. I can’t remember a time in my life when I have ever been this stressed. But through all these crazy, Dr. Pepper-filled nights, I have found joy (as usual) and relaxation in listening to past and current episodes of MuggleCast. Your witty comments and funny jokes make me laugh and keep me awake and entertained while I study into the wee hours of the morning. So, I would just like to thank you all for helping me survive exam week, and also for giving me my weekly hour-and-a-half of pure joy. Thanks again for all you have done for me, Melani.
Eric: That’s awesome.
Andrew: Awww, that’s sweet.
Laura: Awww.
Eric: All those crazy Dr. Pepper-filled nights.
Andrew: If she’s looking for a more pure joy, I would recommend Hairspray.
Eric: Hairspray. [laughs]
Matt: No, Sweeney Todd!
[Eric laughs]
Laura: Yeah, that’s pure joy!
Eric: That’s pure blood, and a little bit of…
Laura: Well, actually…
Andrew: You enjoy watching it. I don’t know what’s happening is enjoyable.
Matt: It depends on what kind of a person you are.
Announcement: Freddie Highmore Interview
Andrew: I think that does it for this weeks episode of MuggleCast. Next week, I just want to give everyone a little teaser, I did an interview today with Freddie Highmore who is starring in Spiderwick Chronicles. He’s the guy who played the kid in the chocolate movie.
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Charlie Bucket.
Laura: Wow, that’s very specific. How about he played Charlie?
Eric: And also that movie with the little people, and…
Andrew: Yeah. He played Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The remake, with Johnny Depp, and he also was recently in August Rush and I interviewed him earlier today. It was a good interview, and he talks a little bit about Harry Potter and all that, so he’ll be on the show next week, and then two weeks from that show, he’ll be on again for an interview that we’re going to split in two.
Contact Information
So, let’s remind everyone about our contact information before we wrap up today. Laura, if I want to send a pickle object to the pickle object box, where do I deliver it?
Laura: Don’t send pickles.
Andrew: That’s what P.O. stands for. Pickle Object.
[Laura and Matt laugh]
Andrew: Remember last week?
Matt: She’s warning you right now.
Laura: Please send all of your parcel mail that does not include anything pickle-related to:
P.O. Box 3151
Cumming, Georgia
30028
Andrew: Keep in mind our new catchphrase is “gold box.”
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Andrew: You can also call in a MuggleCast voicemail. We’re going to get back to them soon, I promise. I’m sorry I keep saying that and then we don’t. We are going to get back to it soon. 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. Just remember to keep your question under 60 seconds and eliminate as much background noise as possible before you call. You can also call us via Skype – our Skype name, which is MuggleCast and just leave a voicemail.
You can also visit MuggleCast.com for a handy feedback form to contact any one of us. You can also use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com, except for Matt, who is matthewb at staff dot mugglenet dot com.
And also, do not forget our community outlets. You know, I always say it week to week, you know, just – I just, you know, roll through it, you know, it’s no big deal. But seriously, check out our MySpace at myspace dot com slash mugglecastfans. You can also check out our Facebook, we have a YouTube group, a Frappr group, Last.FM group, and the fan listing and the forums are exploding right now with new members everyday. There’s been lots of good discussions on there. I know Eric, Laura, Matt, and I have all been answering questions on the forums, so if you want to get some more MuggleCast, sort of. At least more of the hosts…
Micah: Are you saying that I don’t answer questions on the forum?
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: Are you even a member, Micah?
Eric: It was really a way of saying, “Yeah, pretty much.”
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah, so…
Micah: No, I’ve made some posts in there a few times.
Andrew: Oh, okay, yeah.
Eric: I have like – guys, I am so backlogged. I have like 33 questions to answer, so it’s pretty intense.
Andrew: Well, the forums are thriving, so check them out today to discuss MuggleCast and everything with…
Eric: It’s MuggleCastFan.net/Forums.
Andrew: MuggleCastFan.net/Forums, yeah. Cool. Also, Digg the show at Digg.com like we said at the beginning, vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley, and then don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes and Yahoo! Podcasts.
And lastly, do not forget that we have a listener poll on MuggleCast.com to see if we can do this tour or not. We would love to have, you know, a few hundred come out to each tour stop. Realistically, we’ll probably have between 100 or 200 at each stop. Please go and vote so we know where to go this tour. We do want to keep it within those five locations, though.
[Show music plays]
Andrew: I don’t think we’ll be going any further north or south.
Eric: Is Richmond on that poll?
Andrew: Yes…
Laura: Yeah.
Andrew: …Richmond’s on that poll.
Eric: Cool. Awesome.
Andrew: So…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: And one more thing. For next week, Chapter 11, make sure to send in e-mails or voicemails regarding Chapter 11. We obviously want your feedback from Chapter 10, but it’s also good to have some of your ideas…
Eric: And your questions.
Micah: …as we are going through the chapter. So, send in stuff for both Chapter 10 and 11 for next week.
Andrew: Okay, cool.
Eric: And Chapter 11 is called The Bribe.
Matt: Yes.
Andrew: Yeah. All right, that does it for this week’s episode of MuggleCast. Once again, I am Andrew Sims.
Eric: I am Eric Skull.
Laura: I am Laura Thomspon.
Micah: I am Micah Tannenbaum.
Matt: And I am Matt Britton?
Andrew: [laughs] What was…
Laura: [laughs] You sounded so uncertain. “I am Matt Britton?”
Matt: “I am Ron Burgandy?”
Laura: “Is that my name?”
[Everyone laughs]
Andrew: We will see everyone next week for Episode 129. Buh-bye!
Laura: Buh-bye!
Eric: Buh-bye.
Micah: Bye.
Matt: Buh-bye! [pause] Okay. Are we pressing stop now?
Blooper 1
Andrew: Chapter 10, Kreacher’s Chit.
Eric: “Tale.”
[Everyone laughs]
Micah: Kreacher’s what?
Laura: Is that what is says, “Kreacher’s sh*t?”
[Eric and Laura laugh]
Andrew: Okay.
[Matt laughs]
Blooper 2
[Dogs barking]
[Matt laughs]
Eric: Laura, is that your dog?
Laura: No, that wasn’t mine.
Matt: No, that was mine.
Laura: Mine was barking earlier.
Eric: Matt, you better watch out because there is a Terminator nearby, because dogs don’t like Terminators. That’s when they bark…
Laura: Oh, have you been watching that? Is that not…
Eric: Yes, I have!
Laura: …the best show ever?
Eric: Yes. It’s pretty good. I’m impressed.
Laura: Ah, it is so good.
Eric: Yeah, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles Mondays nights on nine.
Laura: I thought it was going to suck. But it was actually quite good.
Matt: [mocking Laura] Oh, but it was so good.
Laura: Shut up, Matt. [laughs]
Matt: [still mocking Laura] Oh, my god.
[Micah laughs]
Eric: Ummm…
Laura: I hate you.
Blooper 3
[Dogs barking]
Matt: Okay, I’ll be right back.
Eric: Dude, you really have a Terminator. Seriously, man.
[Dogs continue with barking]
Matt: It’s probably my brother.
Eric: [laughs] Your brother?
Laura: Your brother is a Terminator?
[Everyone laughs]
Matt: One second. [in the background] What is going on?!
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