La bella y la bestia

There's a reason why "Beauty and the Beast" still holds a place in its legions of fans' hearts after all these years: it's a tender, earnest, lovely little series that celebrates a love that goes beyond shallow expectations. This isn't "The O.C.", where it's only a matter of time before the bland, attractive leads jump in the sack. "Beauty and the Beast" chronicles the unique, powerful love between plucky assistant attorney Catherine (Linda Hamilton) and Vincent (spellbinding Ron Perlman), a courageous, compassionate man-beast. Because they live in two different worlds (she in the bustling world "Above", he in the secret utopia of "Below"), they cannot have a real life together, but, as Catherine assures us in the opening credits, they "will never, ever be apart". Today's jaded viewers might scoff at the fact that Catherine and Vincent never go further than hugs and hand-holding in their relationship, but you know what? Catherine and Vincent express more joy, passion, respect and love in their very first embrace in the pilot episode than all the bed-hopping in the six seasons of "Dawson's Creek". Hamilton is appealing as Catherine, making her strong and vulnerable at the same time. Perlman is unforgettable as Vincent. Unhindered by the prosthetic make-up on his face, he expresses layers of complex emotions with just his eyes. He brings warmth, integrity, and, yes, beauty to a role that even Perlman himself has said is "too good to be real". He deservedly won and Emmy and a Golden Globe. "Beauty and the Beast" is now on DVD for all to discover or re-discover the most innocent, sincere love story ever on TV.

The brilliance of this series was its romance and its excellent early stories. We could entirely believe that this could happen in New York -- except that any New Yorker would tell you that there are people far stranger than Vincent walking the streets. We were never told how he came to be as he is, but it almost didn't matter. I don't think it was any accident that he had such a feline appearance.

This series was so badly misunderstood and mishandled by its parent network that I am not surprised it lasted only two seasons. Season 3 wasn't even the same program in my book. CBS seemed terribly upset with the fact that its audience was almost entirely female. Was that why the body count of season 3 was higher than in a Bruce Willis movie?

The worst mistake CBS ever made was to let Linda Hamilton leave after two seasons. Had the network been intelligent enough, they could have talked her into a third season, ending it with the fairytale ending -- she kisses Vincent for real (something CBS was VERY afraid of, but the fans would have loved) and have him turn into a human prince. That would have given it the magical ending it deserved.

I found this show by accident one Friday night and became hooked immediately. Here was an intelligent, well-acted program for adults. It was not sexually explicit, nor gratuitously violent. It had something most TV shows do not have: Romance.

Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman were absolutely perfect together as the beautiful lawyer who lives above and Ron Perlman as the "hideous" beast whose curse is that he is ugly on the outside and who never gets a chance to reveal his inner beauty until he saves Catherine. Knowing how tormented he was because of his deformities was heart-breaking and yet he blossomed as he and Catherine found real love.

Normally, I would be pleased when an actress leaves a show to spend time with her son, as Miss Hamilton did. I'm all for women staying home to be with their children over spending time at a carer; at risk of being hopelessly old-fashioned, I believe women with children should stay home to care for them. However, in this case, it was one of her worst decisions because her marriage to the father of this child fizzled. She later had a child and then married James Cameron of "Titanic" fame, only to lose him to a star of that overblown ocean-going vehicle. She did have success with the Terminator movies but those were nothing but Schwarzenegger fests. Meanwhile B&B also suffered because they just couldn't find a woman to replace Catherine. Diana just didn't have it.

The fact that the show lasted 3 seasons (2 with Miss Hamilton) is a testament to its quality. Of course, we can't have quality on TV - there's not enough T&A, violence, or out and out stupidity (think Jessica Simpson here). But for the 3 years this show was on, it was a real Friday night Feast. And I do thank Mr. Perlman and Miss Hamilton for the years they gave us and I thank Mr. Perlman for the CD of music and poetry from the show. It's still heart-wrenchingly beautiful to listen to Vincent as he narrates works by Matthew Arnold, e.e. cummings and, of course, the King of all poetry, plays and prose, Mr. William Shakespeare.

It would be a miracle if CBS were to air a "reunion" movie but I think there will be a tropical heat wave in the South Pole before that happens. Too bad - it sure beats the stupidity of such shows as The Newlyweds, starring the aforementioned Jessica Simpson, or Reality TV, American Idol and the other slime that passes for decent television. Meanwhile, I'll be content with VHS copies of B&B or I'll wait patiently until the DVDs come out.

Can't tell you exactly why this series caught the imaginations of so many; it probably differs for each person. But this was a winner of a show in a style I've not seen since. It was fantasy, true enough, but it addressed many contemporary issues with a skill seldom seen in TV. The love story was believable, the acting was outstanding, and the minor characters were generally engaging. This was a show for romantics, and for those who believe in the power of love--not just between lovers, but between family and friends, and those whose love spills over into actions. Good fought evil in the grimy real world as well as in fantastic battles against shadowy adversaries. And for those of us who like to pretend that the unknown really is just around the corner--this was our show. Requiescat in pace.

Ah Beauty and the Beast - just stringing those two beautiful words together is all I need to recall tunnels to mind. Tunnels and that other world, the world apart from Catherine's, and a world apart from mine. An Elysium where all fans of Beauty and the Beast would simply choose to reside if it actually existed. Truly we would all opt to be helpers and especially so if it meant that anything we could advise would see that Vincent and Catherine have their happy life.

Beauty and the Beast was for me the beginning of all my own dreams, as joining one of the British fan clubs associated with the show I began writing fan fiction and now after having written over 100 stories about my favourite characters I have gained the confidence and the experience to submit other work for publication and have also produced some children's books that are published in the USA.

I know my life has been enriched by Beauty and the Beast, the storylines and the whole concept of life beneath the New York City streets where love prevails is so beautiful and enchanting that I simply want to be there among the characters that I now view as among the very best friends that I have ever had. And it doesn't rest there, as the very directors and actors and actresses themselves that played the parts within Beauty and the Beast have also become good friends to all that have met them at B&B conventions and reunions not to mention the whole new family that has sprung up among the fans where just like the show we endeavour to be family - as one.

In short this show is everything that is good about human kind and it is desperately needed more now than ever before so that it might shape the future of the younger generation today just as it shaped the lives of the fans it has now - fourteen years after it went off air. So bring back Beauty and the Beast - nothing will ever come close.