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A mixture of fantasy, adventure and romance "Beauty
and the Beast" was never a top ten show but had a devoted
cult following that kept the show from completely sinking
from view during its three year run on CBS. When Catherine
Chandler (Linda Hamilton) is kidnapped, disfigured and left
for dead in New York's Central Park, Vincent (Ron Perlman)
a beast-like figure with a face that resembles a "Cats"
make up job gone awry rescues and cares for Catherine who
initially can't see his face because her eyes are bandaged.
He cares for her underneath the city an alternate world
where those that don't fit in either because are physically
different or psychologically scarred live. ***
Played out like a modern-day soap opera version of Cocteau's
classic film (or even the classic fairy tale that provided
inspiration for Cocteau), the show immediately felt different
from other series at the time. I have to admit I was never
a big fan of the show when it played on TV (I went for the
harder edged, less romantic stuff) I have to admit that
the show has its charms primarily in the performances of
the leads. I've always been a big fan of Ron Perlman. He's
one of our finest character actors currently working and
has always brought wit, intelligence and pathos to every
role he has played. As Vincent he makes a character that
might otherwise be seen as someone who forgot to take off
his make up after a Broadway show as believable and, in
the process, allows audiences to suspect its disbelief with
the flights of fancy that dominate this series. Keeping
Vincent and Catherine's romantic relationship in the dark
worked to the show's advantage-the producers recognized
(unlike, say the producers of "The X-Files") that when romantic
chemistry is easily spoiled when the audience can examine
it too closely. Although the show might play as a bit goofy
for fans of more realistic shows, the audience for this
DVD the original fans will enjoy its presentation here.
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Image & Sound:
We get what appears to be all 22 original first season
episodes uncut. Colors are as bold as the premise of the
show itself. The pilot episode appeared a tad bit darker
and with more noticeable film grain than later episodes
but overall the transfer looks quite good. Audio is representative
of 80's TV-it is presented with a crisp clean mono soundtrack.
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