It's a Wonderful Cuppa With Cupps

Today's cuppa: Stash Christmas Morning tea (a gift from my brother!)

On Wednesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, NBC airs the perennial holiday classic, "It's a Wonderful Life," with Jimmy Stewart as the despondent George Bailey, who gets an angelic intervention.

During its years in the public doman, this movie was aired to death on innumerable channels, until NBC took it in, remastered it and began presenting it as a holiday-season event. Not everybody loves it -- such as the writer of this New York Times article -- and those who do love it sometimes have a far rosier memory of it than the movie's rather dark theme merits.

At least, that's what I and my mentor in all things tea, the estimable Tia Cupps, think. In the second installment of "Cuppa With Cupps," we dissect the themes of the movie, explore how George Bailey relates to Jack Bauer of "24" and Ebenezer Scrooge of "A Christmas Carol."

We also discuss our favorite Christmas movies, whether "It's a Wonderful Life" could be remade successfully, and share our mutual obsession with the televised Yule Log.

Don't be scared by the number of parts; the whole thing's a little under 30 minutes.

Part one:

Part two:

Part three:

Part four:

Part five:

Part six: