Product Description

The Beauty and the Beast TV show was a fantasy series about a man-beast (Vincent) and his love for a beautiful assistant district attorney (Catherine Chandler). Vincent lived in an underground world beneath New York City where his gruesome looks were less important to his peers than were his caring and benevolent personality. Together Vincent and Catherine had many adventures both above and below ground level and their love for each other continued to grow.Runtime: 1044 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097360382242 Manufacturer No: 038224

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6499 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2007-07-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 1043 minutes

Amazon.com
Though set in the late-1980s, Beauty and the Beast plays like something from another era. There's no irony, cynicism, or hip quips to break the spell of the fantasy (though a little humor would've been nice). Catherine (Linda Hamilton) loves the beastly, if beneficent Vincent (Ron Perlman) with all her heart--and vice versa. Together, they're TV's most soft-hearted crime fighters. To the show's credit, however, they aren't infallible, and there are a few problems they're unable to solve, whether the issue is drug addiction ("Chamber Music"), infectious disease ("Ashes, Ashes" with Highlander's Adrian Paul), or murder ("The Hollow Men").

In retrospect, it's clear that Beauty and the Beast was a reaction to the "greed is good" era. Vincent and his cave-dwelling compatriots represent a more compassionate alternative to "topsider" corruption. Yet all is not harmonious below either. Seriously injured the previous year, Paracelsus (Tony Jay) becomes a Phantom of the Opera-type figure, who aims to destroy Vincent's candle-lit utopia. In addition, a less civilized group of outcasts arrives in "The Outsiders." Fortunately, Vincent has Father (Roy Dotrice), Mary (Ellen Geer), Mouse (David Greenlee), and Pascal (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Armin Shimerman) on his side.

Unfortunately, they won't be able to prevent the tragedy that occurs in "The Rest Is Silence." Suffice to say, the season finale sets the scene for a new direction (more is revealed in the third-season opener). Consequently, Beauty and the Beast was canceled the following year, but still managed to rack up 18 Emmy nominations (winning six), spawning a soundtrack, and even inspiring some Saturday Night Live spoofing--a sure sign it had struck a chord. While the first season was devoid of extras, Perlman and Hamilton introduce six key episodes on this set. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews

Even better than the first season!
Beauty & The Beast's second season had a rough start, owing to the writer's guild strike in the fall of 1988. But out of adversity often come great things, and greatness is in abundance during this beloved series' sophomore year.

I don't want to give away too many plot points, for those who haven't seen (or maybe have forgotten) the events of the series. But to be fair to those who'd rather be surprised....MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. It's safe to say that the love between Catherine and Vincent grows stronger, even as they brave seemingly insurmountable obstacles to their relationship. Returning guest stars from season one include Linda Hamilton's then-husband Bruce Abbott as Devin; Edward Albert as the ambitious yet tragic Elliot Burch; Terrylene as the deaf-mute Laura; and the wonderful Tony Jay as Vincent's chief nemesis, Paracelsus. And the many returning Tunnel characters get a chance to shine in the impressive "Dead of Winter," and in "Labyrinths," in which we learn the reasons many of them now reside beneath the streets of New York City.

I will begrudgingly acknowledge there were a couple of sub-standard episodes. These include the somewhat Vincent-less "Trial," in which Catherine prosecutes a man accused of killing his son; and the excessively violent "The Hollow Men." But these are but two blemishes in an otherwise excellent season of television.

On the plus side, the aforementioned "Dead of Winter" is only one of three episodes that with a Christmas theme. "Remember Love" is the B & B version of "It's a Wonderful Life"; "God Bless the Child" offers a message of hope, even as an unforeseen obstacle threatens Vincent & Catherine's relastionship. And t.v. just doesn't get any better than the season closing trilogy, which elevate this gentle romantic fantasy to near-operatic proportions. And in the best tradition of cliffhanging season-enders, leave you dying to know what comes next.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Beauty & The Beast. I hope everyone who has enjoyed this unique show will continue to support its release on DVD. We still have one more season--albeit a shortened and somewhat controvesial one--to go!

A True Work of Art
Although long rumoured to have had only women devotees, in fact BEAUTY AND THE BEAST remains to this day my own favourite American television serial as well. It debuted in 1987, during perhaps the most EXTERNALLY oppressive period in my wife's and my entire marriage. Feeling alienated from so much around us, we drew deeper into our already close relationship and spent countless hours together reading aloud, listening to good music, and drinking MANY pots of tea. So this programme about a couple estranged from the 'normal' world -- whose love, nigh-mystical understanding of one another, and taste for simple joys were so like our own -- was deeply encouraging. Then too, its many literary allusions actually advanced our own interest in classic literature. I credit the scripts with our appreciation of everything from Shakespeare's 29th sonnet to Rilke's LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET to THE VELVETEEN RABBIT.

Of course, the show was not flawless. Its earliest episodes suffered from excessive Beast-to-the-rescue plotlines; and after Linda Hamilton's departure, the truncated third and final season was seriously marred by a misguided decision to escalate action and violence, presumably in hope of better ratings. The serial's middle run was by far its best, focusing on Vincent and Catherine's deeply-romantic yet functionally-platonic relationship, the intriguing history of the tunnel community, and the mysterious wonders and perils of the vast realms even further Below. Yet, whatever its strengths and weaknesses, that the programme came to be at all was a blessing beyond hope in a medium so often glutted with mere ugliness and inanity. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was that rarest of television phenomena: A true work of art.

Of romance, adventure and love eternal
This is one of the best TV series ever! It has all the ingredients that make a classic - well-plotted storylines, a cast of interesting characters, and above all, an otherworldly romance between the gentle, noble Vincent, and the luminously beautiful Catherine. In each scene where they come together, you cannot help but be mesmerised by the tremendous depth of emotion and feeling that is seen on their faces, their body language, and their dialogue. These two share an on-screen chemistry that is quite rare even till today. Linda Hamilton plays her role with a measure of beauty, courage and conviction that is utterly convincing. Ron Perlman's Vincent is the gentle beast, who is kind and loving to his friends and the needy and brutally vicious to the scum of society. His love for Catherine is so poetic, yet even when these two yearning souls are exchanging romantic dialogue or reading from books under the moonlight, they appear convincing and their love for each other rings true. I know I'm gushing here but it is this compelling love story that makes the show what it is, and although each episode has its share of thrills, it is Vincent's & Catherine's unerring love for each other that compels us to view the show. I can't wait for the DVD release.