Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!
Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
It’s only rarely that we get to show off the fact that one of our baristas is a Doctor Who fan of many, and I mean many, years. This week offered one such opportunity, as Alan got to talk about season 23 of the original run of Doctor Who, also known as “The Trial of a Time Lord”.
Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!
Back in 1985, Doctor Who was not in good health. The show had been struggling in the ratings for a few years, and the planned relaunch of the show in spring of that year – with a new Doctor, a new format and a Saturday teatime timeslot – failed to find an audience. A show that for several decades had been demonstrating how to create imaginative stories on limited budgets seemed out of place against the slick action dramas of the Eighties. Rumours flew that the show was getting axed, but when it finally got recommissioned for its 1986 season, there were a few changes.
Continue readingJoin us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
In this week’s Six Damn Fine Degrees, Sam stopped by to check out the storied, colourful career of Roger Corman: producer, director, writer, actor, and the man who boosted the careers of the likes of Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante and James Cameron.
Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
In this week’s Six Damn Fine Degrees, Melanie found joy in introducing a group of teens to the Frank Oz-directed musical Little Shop of Horrors for Halloween. Definitely one to revisit as well!
Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
Submitted for your approval: this week’s Six Damn Fine Degrees post saw the return of Mege, with a post on The Twilight Zone – or, more accurately, the Mystery of the Vanishing Box Set. Which calls not for a trailer but for this.
Welcome to Six Damn Fine Degrees. These instalments will be inspired by the idea of six degrees of separation in the loosest sense. The only rule: it connects – in some way – to the previous instalment. So come join us on our weekly foray into interconnectedness!
I moved twice in the last few years, and somehow, my complete Twilight Zone BluRay collection got lost. I suspect, quite fittingly, that it may still exist somewhere at my new place, but in another dimension. I locked myself in the basement for half a day and tried to find it, but still nothing. I miss it more than I expected. Somehow, I am still in mourning, if you can believe that.
Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
In the blink of an eye, Halloween has been and gone… leaving behind a bunch of carved pumpkins that will look more and more ghoulish over time, and so many blog posts, including this week’s Six Damn Fine Degrees post, written by Alan, Julie and Sam, which focused on all things scary from a range of different perspectives.
When Alien came out in cinemas back in 1979, did anyone think at the time that this would turn into a franchise that is alive and kicking 46 years later, much like that Chestburster in Spaceballs? Last year brought us Alien: Romulus, arguably too much of a retread of the film that originally made us scream silently in space – but 2025 saw the release of Alien: Earth, a nine-part series created by Noah Hawley of Legion and Fargo fame. How does the xenomorph survive its transfer onto a new host: the streaming services? What do Hawley’s sensitivities and quirks as a storyteller bring to the table? Is this a necessary shot in the franchise’s arm, or is it more like a spurt of acid eating its way through the audience’s goodwill? Join Matt and Alan as they discuss these questions, provided that they’re not distracted by some leathery, slimy egg that just begs to be looked at up close.
P.S.: If this episode has whetted your appetite for all things xenomorph, make sure to also check out these episodes:
Join us every week for a trip into the weird and wonderful world of trailers. Whether it’s the first teaser for the latest instalment in your favourite franchise, an obscure preview for a strange indie darling, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or just plain weird – your favourite pop culture baristas are there to tell you what they think.
… pation. Made you wait, huh?
Anyway, what’s been going on chez A Damn Fine Cup of Culture this week? Our schedule was a bit wobbly, due to a post that wasn’t scheduled properly, which means we had two posts going up on Saturday, starting with Matt’s Six Damn Fine Degrees about adaptations into different media, and the ways that film and TV adaptations don’t necessarily restrict our imagination. Case in point: the BBC’s Wolf Hall.
A Damn Fine Cup of Culture 