46 Things I Want from the Harry Potter TV Series

Happy Harry Potter Day! Today Harry turns 46-years-old so I asked Russell to help me brainstorm something appropriate for this birthday. He suggested a lot of random and humorous ideas, but we landed on things we want from the upcoming series (coming to HBO Max this Christmas). Kenton and I podcasted this concept a while back, but today I just want to go rapid-fire through some plot points. Particularly ones that were glossed over or missed in the movies.

1. Wizards Celebrating
   The books' first chapter includes Vernon encountering wizards everywhere, celebrating Voldemort's downfall. I want to see it.
2. Harry's Childhood
   The trailer looks like the show will portray some of the Dursley's abusive nature, but still. There are things I want to see on screen.
3. Peeves the Poltergeist
   I don't know why they neglected to include Peeves in the movies, but we need the mischief maker to make some sporadic appearances. Like the Cabbage Man in Avatar.
4. Quidditch
   They skipped over so many Quidditch games in the movies. I get it. They take a lot of time. But that doesn't mean I like it.
5. Snape's Logic Trial
   This task was completely skipped over in the movie (although it appeared in the DVD bonus features). It didn't take anything away from the story, but I'd love to see it portrayed.
   
   
6. Nick's Deathday Party
   Great world building and better introduction to Myrtle than the movie provided.
7. Percy's Girlfriend
   Penelope got petrified in the book but completely forgotten in the movies. She deserves more respect. She became head girl after all.
   
   
8. Inter-House Quidditch Cup
   Quidditch in general would be great, but Gryffindor's triumph in the Inter-House Cup was impactful, especially as the books started to get darker.
9. The Marauders' Backstory
   In the movie, we only got bits and pieces of Lupin's story with his friends. In the book, we got explanation of the animagi, the Shrieking Shack, and Snape's near-death experience. I don't think we even learned the connection between the Marauder's Map and the four boys in the film.
   
   
10. Pig the Owl
    After Ron lost Scabbers, it was touching for Ron to get a new pet. Especially one as cute and spastic as Pigwidgeon.
11. Ludo Bagman
    The subplot of the twins vs. Bagman was fun and it set the stage for Harry to fund the joke shop. Bring back Bagman!
12. Charlie Weasley
    He was the only Weasley family member to be excluded from the movies (except for one photo). Not fair. Not fair.
13. Quidditch World Cup
    I want to see at least a chunk of the match. Not just glossing over the beginning.
14. Winky
    House-elves in general would be great, but especially the clues along the way from Barty Crouch's personal assistant.
15. Weasley Wizard Wheezes
    Specifically I want to see the twins testing and development of the products from the fourth and fifth books. Both on themselves and others.
16. Sirius's Return
    The movie only had him appear in the fireplace. But I want to see him back at his hiding place and at the Triwizard aftermath.
17. Rita Skeeter
    Let's see the whole Rita Skeeter story arc. Not just Hermione getting frustrated by her in the movie (and it never going anywhere from that).
18. Dobby's Return
    His sacrifice in the last book was more impactful because he returned in Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix. Let's not have him replaced by Neville again.
19. SPEW
    In addition to the house-elves, I want to see Hermione fired up at the injustices faced.
20. Madame Maxine's Shame
    We got Hagrid telling Maxine about his mother, but never got the heartbreak when Madame Maxine refused to reciprocate.
21. Triwizard Maze
    Yes, the maze appeared in the movie. But all the monsters and trials were taken out of it. All we got was the maze changing and adapting to trick the champions.
22. Barty Crouch Jr's Backstory
    I love David Tennant and he did a great job playing a menacing Crouch Jr. However, we missed out on a lot of his backstory, verbally at the end and in the Pensieve. 
23. Rallying the Troops
    In the aftermath of the Third Task, Dumbledore went straight to work, giving jobs to Sirirus, Snape, and Hagrid. It added more to seeing the Order in the next book.
24. Beetle Rita
    If we're going to include the Rita Skeeter story arc, it has to conclude (for this book) with the reveal of her as an animagus.
    
    
25. Ministry's Visitor Entrance
    Seeing Arthur Weasley travel like a muggle was endearing and the appearance of the visitor entrance gave Harry and friends a way in at the climax of the book.
26. Cleaning the House of Black
    I mention this for one reason: the appearance of Slytherin's Locket. It would appear two years later, so it was cool to see things come full circle.
27. "Have a Biscuit"
    How many of us absolutely loved this scene in the book? The abrupt change from Harry being scolded to Harry being fed was funny and perfectly written.
28. Weasley is Our King
    Ron's Quidditch story arc was a fun (and sad) part of their fifth year. Dude deserved more of a story arc.
29. Harry's Quidditch Ban
    It was just another way to show how heartless and prejudice Umbridge was, as she banned Harry and the Weasley twins from playing Quidditch. Not cool, Dolores.
30. Lockhart at St. Mungo's
    Just a comedic cameo from the ex-professor. That's all I want.
31. Longbottoms at St. Mungo's
    This added many layers to Neville's story and insecurities. The movies kind of glossed over it.
32. Harry and Cho's Date
    A minor plot for sure in the grand scheme of things, but a little teen drama couldn't hurt.
33. Rita's Quibbler Interview
    This was a game-changer in the fifth book. And it was a better conclusion to Rita's story than in the Deathly Hallows.
34. Umbridge's Interrogation
    After Dumbledore fled from Hogwarts, Dolores tried to forcefully get information from Harry. Thankfully the boy remembered counsel from Mad-Eye and narrowly avoided the Veritaserum.
35. Career Counseling 
    Seeing McGonagall stand up for Harry against Umbridge was crazy. And I would've loved to see Maggie Smith deliver these lines. I can only hope the new McGonagall will get a chance.
36. Marietta's Betrayal
    Cho's best friend turned in the DA. It adds another layer to the Harry/Cho drama, but it also showcased Hermione's talent, hexing the sign up sheet.
37. OWLs
    The exams were a major part of their fifth year, but they're barely portrayed in the movies. 
38. The Attack on Hagrid and McGonagall
    During the Astronomy OWL, the students witnessed Hagrid and McGonagall being attacked at the hands of Umbridge's men. Nothing ever made Hagrid so angry and nothing made us worry more for McGonagall.
39. Breaking into Umbridge's Office
    Both times. Neither one was featured. Even if we skip the first one, when Harry wanted to talk about Snape's memory, I'd be content.
40. Harry's Ghost Question
    It was part of the grieving process for Harry to ask Nick about Sirius becoming a ghost. Heartbreaking, but necessary.
    
    
41. Sirius's Will
    I loved this chapter of Half-Blood Prince, so I want to see it played out. Even if it's mostly to establish Kreacher as Harry's house-elf.
42. Voldemort's Full Backstory
    I want to see his grandfather and uncle. I want to see the significance of the ring. I want to see him apply to teach at Hogwarts. All of it.
43. The First Battle of Hogwarts
    I want the DA rallying together with the Order. I want to see Bill (his fight with Greyback and his fiancee calling out his mother). I want to see the chase. All of it.
    
    
44. Ravenclaw Common Room
    Not featuring the common room was bad enough when the movie came out. But now I'm married to a Ravenclaw, so I take this more personally.
45. Harry vs. Carrows
    In conjunction with the Ravenclaw Common Room, I want to see Harry go head-to-head with the Death Eaters, especially after one spits on McGonagall. 
46. Snape's Full Backstory
    Let's not have a simple montage of memories. I want to see why Snape was in love obsessed with Lily Evans. I want to see why Petunia had such jealousy and animosity towards her sister.

Riordanverse Reading Schedule

As we got near the end of reading Animorphs together, it didn't take long for Russell and I to decide on another franchise to read and discuss. If you're a fan of the books by Rick Riordan, that's where we're headed next. We didn’t get any followers chiming in for Animorphs, but if the world of Percy Jackson intrigues you, we’d love to have you reading along with us. 

I wasn’t going to post this list until September, but Russell and I are well under way with our reading (I finished “Sea of Monsters” this week). Send any comments to our email, social media accounts, or Discord. Check back here for any changes to the reading schedule, especially since the new Camp Half-Blood books will released in the middle of this series  

Part 1 - Release in October 2026

The Diary of Luke Castellan (The Demigod Diaries)

The Lightning Thief

The Sea of Monsters

The Stolen Chariot (The Demigod Files)

Part 2 - Release in November 2026

The Titan's Curse

The Battle of the Labyrinth 

The Sword of Hades (The Demigod Files)

Part 3 - Release in December 2026

The Red Pyramid

The Throne of Fire

Part 4 - Release in January 2027

The Bronze Dragon (The Demigod Files)

The Last Olympian

Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Part 5 - Release in February 2027

The Staff of Hermes (The Demigod Diaries)

The Singer of Apollo (Short Story)

The Lost Hero

The Quest for Buford (The Demigod Diaries)

The Son of Magic (The Demigod Diaries)

Part 6 - Release in March 2027

The Serpent's Shadow

The Son of Neptune

Part 7 - Release in April 2027

The Mark of Athena

The House of Hades

Part 8 - Release in May 2027

The Blood of Olympus 

Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes

Part 9 - Release in June 2027

Demigods and Magicians

The Chalice of the Gods

Wrath of the Triple Goddess
Brooklyn House Magician's Manual

Part 10 - Release in July 2027

The Sword of Summer

The Hidden Oracle

Part 11 - Release August 2027

Camp Jupiter Classified

Camp Half-Blood Confidential

Hotel Valhalla: Guide to the Norse Worlds

The Hammer of Thor 

The Dark Prophecy             

Part 12 - Release September 2027

The Burning Maze

The Tyrant's Tomb

Part 13 - Release October 2027

The Ship of the Dead

9 From the Nine Worlds

The Tower of Nero

Part 14 - Release November 2027

The Sun and the Star

The Court of the Dead

LDS Geeks Podcast #70: Fourth Doctor Adventures (2)

We were fresh out of jelly babies for this recording, but it had to be done. We're working our way to the Fifth Doctor but we still have a couple pit stops to make along the way. So buckle up (I don't think the TARDIS has seat belts) for another round of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor stories.

--Spencer

A Case of Mistaken Identity: Moana

The live-action Moana is currently in theaters. I'll reserve judgment until I see it myself--We all know that live-action adaptations are hit and miss. In this stage of life (two little kids and a pregnant wife) there's virtually no chance of me seeing this movie until it's on Disney Plus. So instead of writing about the new Moana, I have some thoughts about her journey in the animated feature film.

As I began re-watching Moana in preparation for this blog post, I commented to Russell that this movie could easily be a case study about mistaken identity: Moana, Maui, Te Ka. The theme of identity is strong throughout Moana’s journey (and to a lesser extent in its sequel). While I could write about Maui or Te Ka (which I may yet do) I wanted to start with Moana. 

This daughter of the chief spends the whole movie trying to figure out who she is and what her purpose is. She feels compelled to venture into the ocean, but also loves her island and wants to be a good chief someday.

At first, these two things are contradictory in her mind. Her heart calls her to the ocean but her father wants her to focus on Motonui. There’s nothing wrong with her father’s counsel to find her purpose “where you are”. In fact, it’s not unlike President Uchtdorf’s counsel to “lift where you stand”. There’s something powerful in being able to “find happiness right where you are.” Moana felt the call to do more, but also served where she was until a formal call came. (PS: I think it’s notable that the call came after she learned about her ancestors—perhaps a tie in to family history there)

In the meantime, she struggled to wait for the call (which eventually came from her Gramma Tala). She knew she felt the call to see “how far [she’d] go” but also recognized her weakness. Her weakness was further pointed out and ridiculed when Maui joined her. 

When Maui left, Moana felt the weight of her call and her inadequacies even stronger. She couldn’t fathom why the ocean would choose her to pursue this mission. For a moment she gave it because it was too heavy for her to bear. As Gramma Tala’s spirit came to her, Moana strength through her grandmother’s validation and her influence helped Moana to integrate all she had learned about herself from the journey. The Holy Spirit can do the same for us and not just in our low moments. 

“Who am I?

“I’m a fur who loves my island.

“I’m a girl who loves the sea; it calls me.

“I am the daughter of the village chief.

“We are descended from voyagers who found their way across the world; they call me!

“I’ve delivered us to where we are.

“I have journeyed farther.

“I am everything I’ve learned and more, still it calls me.

“And the call isn’t out there at all; it’s inside me.

“It’s like the tide, always falling and rising.

“I will carry you here in my heart.

“You’ll remind me, that come what may I know the way.

“I am Moana!”

I love this scene because Moana learned how her experiences and everything she’s discovered has shaped who she is. She doesn’t have to simply be the chief’s daughter. She’s that but she’s also a wayfinder. She’s brave, loyal, insightful, and adventurous. All of these things shape who she has become. And, like her grandmother said in the sequel, “we never stop choose who we are.”

We are our heritage, as children of God. 

We are our experiences in mortality (for better or worse). 

We are the things we’ve learned. 

And we choose who we want to be. 

Gettysburg Repentance

    Before deciding on becoming a Physical Therapist, I was seriously considering studying history and becoming a history teacher or professor or something like that. Then I realized I just like historical fiction as genre when it comes to reading and movies, so I moved away from history as a course of study, but I still enjoy historical fiction. The movie “Gettysburg” was released in 1993 and is based on the historical novel, The Killer Angels, which was published in 1974 and written by Michael Shaara. It won the pulitzer prize in 1975 and rose to #1 on the New York Times best sellers list in 1993. Given that we just passed the 163rd anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, I thought it appropriate to re-read (listen) the book and found that the days of the week coincided this year with when they occurred originally.

    I have found both the book and the movie to be excellent in their portrayal of historical figures on both sides of the American Civil War conflict. I particularly love the portrayal of Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain by Jeff Daniels in the movie. He gives 2 stirring speeches, one to a group of dissenters about the decimation of his unit during a prior battle and another to the men under his command about being the “end of the line” of the union army and stating that retreat is not an option. I recognize and acknowledge that both the book and movie are pieces of historical fiction and not actual historical documents so some creative liberties have been taken.  I still want to use one scene from the book and movie to share a message about not giving up and repentance.

    From the Confederate side, General Robert E. Lee, played by Martin Sheen, has trouble knowing what the Union army is doing because his Calvary, led by J.E.B. Stuart is nowhere to be found and therefore unable to provide valuable information to the General. This sets up a tense meeting between General Lee and General Stuart wherein General Lee expresses his displeasure with General Stuart because of the latter’s absence and for not performing his responsibilities. After being chided by General Lee, General Stuart begins to take out his sword to surrender his commission as he has failed in his duties as a commander. General Lee hurriedly and emotionally tells General Stuart, “there is no time!” General Lee is not asking for the surrender of General Stuart’s command, but rather wants to reiterate how important he is to the Confederate army and then invites him to return to his duties and prepare for the final day of battle. This is the only significant screen or book time that General Stuart is given but I think there’s a lesson to be learned.

    Often, I feel like General Stuart when I make a mistake. I think to myself, “well, that’s it. I’ve messed up too badly. I need to turn over my command and give up.” I don’t think that is the purpose of repentance but rather, we need to repent, learn from the mistake, and get back to our figurative commands. In an April 2019 General Conference address, President Nelson said:

"Too many people consider repentance as punishment—something to be avoided except in the most serious circumstances. But this feeling of being penalized is engendered by Satan. He tries to block us from looking to Jesus Christ, who stands with open arms, hoping and willing to heal, forgive, cleanse, strengthen, purify, and sanctify us."

    The Lord does not ask us to give up or surrender, but rather invites us to get back up, change, and try to do a little better. I am seeking to do a little better each day. I have plenty to work on and change and feel immensely blessed to know that I am not alone. So if the next time you find yourself struggling and feeling like General Stuart, instead think of the Savior.

    I’ll conclude with these words from the same address from President Nelson I referenced earlier, fitting as he makes reference to a military term: “The Lord needs men eager to repent—men with a zeal to serve and be part of the Lord’s battalion of worthy priesthood bearers.”

    Perhaps instead of the Lord being like General Lee and saying, “there is no time,” He instead is inviting us to ensure that we take the time we have to repent, learn, and grow and He promises that He will be working with us throughout the process.

Fifth Doctor Revisited: The Mawdryn Undead

Speeding our way through the Fifth Doctor era, TJ and I had to slow down until we finish our Fourth Doctor podcast episodes. That being said, I have thought (ramblings random musings) about the Peter Davison stories I’ve watched so far.

I’ll start out my ramblings with the return of the Brigadier. He starts out with the mysterious lack of memories concerning the Doctor. When he finally remembers, naturally he gets caught up in some timey-wimey shenanigans that simultaneously save the Doctor and cause the amnesia. Wibbly-wobbly.

The idea of the Doctor giving up his regenerations isn’t a foreign concept to modern Doctor Who fans. After all, he used regeneration energy to heal River Song. The interesting part is that, if we assume the Doctor is the Timeless Child, the Doctor has had unlimited regeneration energy available to him. If the Brigadier hadn’t interfered, perhaps the infinite regenerations would have been catastrophic.

This episode also marks the return of the Black Guardian. He tricks Turlough into a deal with the devil to destroy the Doctor. Despite the all-powerful-seeming nature of the Black Guardian to manipulate events, he doesn’t seem to be any more successful in destroying the Doctor than Doofenschmirtz is at defeating Perry the Platypus. After a whole season manipulating the Doctor and Romana into assembling the Key to Time, you would think he’d be better at this game.

It's interesting to me that Mawdryn and his people attempted to regenerate. It's an interesting idea. Kind of reminded me of the Sisterhood of Karn. In fact with how they're dressed I thought Mawdryn might've been part of that clan. Their attempted regenerations gave me some insights about the spiritual implications of immortality. Perpetual living (or perpetual regeneration in Mawdryn's case) isn't worth living. Stories like Tuck Everlasting and The Good Place have addressed this idea and its pitfalls. From a gospel perspective, we believe in immortality. But we also believe that we can progress and develop to become like our Heavenly Father. In the grand scheme of things, we know very little about what that entails. But that purpose gives meaning to living forever. 

LDS Geeks Podcast #69: Animorphs Re-Read (13)

As Doctor Strange said, "We're in the endgame now." It's taking all our self control to slow down our readings long enough to record about them. Hard to believe this is our third to last Animorphs reading episode.

--Spencer

Listen to Episode 69 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Check out Spencer's recent blog posts: click here

Check out Russell's recent blog posts: click here

Show notes:

00:12 - Introductions
01:29 - Spencer's Recommendation: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
        "Why I Liked The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" by Spencer
04:23 - Russell's Recommendation: "Slow Down" by Sissel and the Tabernacle Choir
        Listen on YouTube
06:54 - #45 - The Revelation
16:41 - #46 - The Deception
24:48 - #47 - The Resistance
34:21 - #48 - The Return

Most Notable Canadian Super Heroes

Happy Canada Day! 

A little know fact about me is that I grew up in western Canada. This week was the first time since my mission in Toronto that I spent Canada Day (July 1) in Canada. And it was the first time my daughters visited Canada. In honor of this, I wanted to spotlight a few Canadian-born Marvel. Most are not well known, but they all have their reason to be iconic. 

Credit: UltimateSin78 (DevianArt)

Wolverine 

The most well known Canadian hero is probably Wolverine. Born in Alberta (about seven hours from where I grew up) as James Howlett, he’s the most prominent member of the X-Men. After all, he’s the only one who got multiple spin-off movies with Fox. Though part of the US military at times, he was a proud Canadian (at least before he lost his memories in Origins). I love his iconic response to Stryker calling James to do his patriotic duty: “I’m Canadian.”

Deadpool

Wade Wilson was born in Southern Saskatchewan. He has been known to make jokes and references to his Canadian heritage in comics and movies. Again, he’s well known because of his successful Fox (and now Marvel Studios) movies. Plenty of our readers probably haven’t watched his R-rated movies, but he still worth noting as a Canadian. 

Guardian

Though his powers are very different, Guardian is comparable in terms of a patriotic symbol to Captain America in the United States. He’s the leader of Alpha Flight (Canada’s main superhero team). Initially his “powers” were technology-based like Iron Man. Later alien technology fused with his body giving him cyborg-type superpowers. 

Major Mapleleaf

Louis Sadler is more of a one-to-one comparison with Captain America, when it comes to powers and backstory. In fact, he fought alongside Cap in World War II. He didn’t get the super soldier serum per se but he had super soldier powers from genetic experimentations. After decades of heroing, he retired to raise his family. 

Squirrel Girl’s appearance on Spidey and His Amazing Friends 

Squirrel Girl

While possibly one of the silliest super heroes, Doreen’s powers and squirrelly appearance came from a gene mutation different from the X-gene. She’s been known to use squirrel friends to defeat Doctor Doom. Her birthplace is unclear but maybe the Toronto metroplex (where I served my mission). Regardless, she has dual citizenship, American and Canadian (like me). 

If any Marvel fans in Canada can identify more heroes in the north, let me know. In the meantime, I’ll head to my first Canada Day parade in over fifteen years. 

Pokémon Head-Canon: Typing

Remember how back in the day, the dragon master Lance had three dragon-type Pokemon and two non-dragons? You know how people have always wondered how people have questioned how Goomy is a dragon-type but Charizard still isn’t? There are many examples throughout the 1000+ Pokemon roster whose thing doesn’t seem to make sense. Memes about them consistently spread across social media. 

I don’t remember when this head-canon started but a lightbulb went off when one of those Pokemon type memes came across my feed: Typing as little to do with appearance; it’s about the Pokemon’s characteristics and interactions with the elements. 

If that doesn’t make sense, let me break down what I mean. In the world of Pokemon, it’s not like each creature comes with a label of their type. And as we know, obviously not every Pokemon type is determined by appearance and/or real world animal comparisons. However, what we know objectively is that there have been many Pokemon researchers across various regions and over the course of AT LEAST 10-15 years (that’s just the main series games). We also know that old man Oak has been studying Pokemon his whole life. That’s decades of research. 

I’m postulating that before the first Pokédex was invented to assess Pokemon, researchers used a Pokémon’s environmental adaptations and reactions to categorize their types. If they discovered that a Pokemon was resistant to electricity but susceptible to water, ice, and grass moves, the Pokemon would be categorized as a ground-type.

Example A: Researchers observed that Charizard was weak to water and super weak against rock, that would indicate that it wasn’t a dragon-type but flying-type instead. 

Example B: Lucario is weak to psychic types, indicating fighting type characteristics. That much was obvious to researchers. However, it was not immediately clear why it was weak to fire-type moves and other fighting types. The conclusion: Steel type, even though there’s no prominent steel features on Lucario. 

Example C: Noctowl is known to have some extra sensory abilities. However, it’s not greatly affected by dark-type moves and it’s completely unaffected by ghost-types. Conclusion? Normal and flying. 

As technology improved and the first Pokedex was invented, I expect it was able to analyze new Pokemon and determine their type electronically. What do you think? Is this a plausible head-canon or can you disprove it? I doubt we’ll ever know for sure (which is what makes it head-canon instead of fan theory I suppose).

LDS Geeks Podcast #68: Fourth Doctor Companions (2)

This might be the shortest podcast episode that TJ and I have ever done. Most of the Fourth Doctor's companions in the second half of his tenure weren't in the TARDIS very long before his regeneration. It made for an easy podcast episode at least.

--Spencer