A Bela e a Fera

Corporate lawyer Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) works for her father's big law firm. She's mistakenly kidnapped and brutally slashed in the face. She's dumped in the park left for dead. Vincent (Ron Perlman) rescues her and treats her in the underground world. His 'father' Jacob Wells (Roy Dotrice) objects. She returns to the above world and joins the NYDA office. She becomes a trusted helper to the residents of the underground world and feels connected to Vincent. Joe Maxwell (Jay Acovone) is a deputy D.A.

It's a new take on the old classic. Hamilton is a compelling heroine. She has enough femininity to be romantic but also enough power to fight. The show is a bit restricted in its structure. The central relationship has one mode and cannot be changed easily. I like in particular the Gothic nature of the show. It is melodramatic at times and the romanticism gets heavy. The balance between romanticism and action is not always easy. By the second season, the balance is off. Hamilton leaves after two seasons and the show loses its raison d'être.

I thought this television series was well done and family oriented. Yes, it was overly romantic and may have been "sappy" to some viewers; but that was a large part of its appeal then and still is today. I was very surprised that this series was not on DVD.

It is probably better for family viewing than half the material that is out on DVD from a television series. If there are plans to release "Beauty and The Beast" on DVD, it should be released immediately and is long over due. I'm sure that there are many people out there who have forgotten about this series like myself, due to it not being shown on cable or satellite television in many viewing areas. Yet, we have not forgotten the wonderful exchanges between two (2) character's who had a romantic chemistry and truly grew to love each other; a love that our current society needs to find a lot more of.

If you here anything regarding the DVD collection please post info or drop me a line. Thank you.

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.

I remember watching this show when I was 13 with my mother. This show was a great display that two people who love each other can be together no matter what their circumstances are or what there backgrounds are. Further, although Vincent was did not look like the average man, but he was smart, strong, loving and had a wonderful spirit. Most women are looking for a man like him. What he looked like did not bother me at all. Vincent was always their to protect and defend Catherine in any way he could. Their bond was so strong that they knew when each other was in distress. This show was realistic and did focus on many issues that exist today. For example, both Vincent and Catherine had past relationships, but they unlike many people in the real world were honest with each other even if what they said may have hurt them. I watched every episode that was on Netflix, and I was hooked. I only wish they could have ended the show in a better way then they did. The acting was excellent and I wish their were more shows like this. This show was a great adventure.