Beauty And The Beast – The First Season
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Episodes: B-
FINALLY! The
Complete First Season of Beauty and
the Beast has arrived on DVD from Paramount Video. This 1987 fantasy/action/romance/drama series
has been one of the most anticipated TV on DVD releases for many fans. The story takes place in current day (1980’s)
New York City, where attorney Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) lives a life
that has become shallow and meaningless; but her life is about to change. On a dark and dreary night Catherine leaves
her New York High Rise Office, only to be kidnapped, beaten, and left for dead
in Central Park (oddly enough they did not seem to want anything from her?). Suddenly, Catherine is rescued by a
mysterious stranger and taken below New York City to a hidden, elaborate,
tunnel system below the City.
Under the
City, Catherine is nursed back to health by this mysterious savior. The mysterious man turns out to hold many
secrets, having an extremely abnormal, lion-like appearance but a heart of a
lion to match. This beast of a man is
named Vincent (Ron Pearlman of Hellboy
and Alien Resurrection) and quickly
develops an emotional bond to the beautiful woman he rescued. Vincent’s adoptive father worries that Catherine
may reveal the secrets of the tunnel that the underworld people have worked so
hard to hide; but with a strong promise and deep emotion Catherine is allowed
to go back to the surface. Once back on
the surface Catherine turns her life around, and becomes a member of the New
York D.A. Office as a trial lawyer and investigator.
Throughout
the First Season, a deeper
connection develops between Catherine and Vincent that is emotional, as well as
having an odd sexual tension. Vincent is
often saving Catherine from danger and spending the nights with her on her
apartment’s terrace. This action coupled
with romantic tension is what gave the series such an epic appeal for
audiences, and has not lost its luster. Season 1 of Beauty and the Beast is wonderful, and will hold the audiences
interest until the end. This reviewer
can not wait for Season 2, which is
even better than Season 1.
The
episodes of the 1987-1988 Season 1 include:
- Once Upon a Time in New York
- Terrible Savior
- Siege
- No Way Down
- Masques
- Beast Within
- Nor Iron Bars a Cage
- Song of Orpheus
- Dark Spirit
- A Children's
Story
- An Impossible
Silence
- Shades of Grey
- China Moon
- The Alchemist
- Temptation
- Promises of
Someday
- Down to a
Sunless Sea
- Fever
- Everything Is
Everything
- To Reign in
Hell
- Ozymandias
- A Happy Life
Beauty and the Beast- The First
Season is a 6
disc 22 Episode set with amazing episodes, but whose features dissatisfy
throughout in the areas of picture, sound, and extras. The 1.33 X 1 picture is presented in an
unsettlingly bad Dolby Digital Full Screen that views like an analog VHS. The picture quality is highly distorted, with
the colors also being badly off set having an orange twinge throughout. In the end, the picture is sadly
disappointing for such a great series.
The sound is presented in an inadequate Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. The sound is highly compressed; giving it a
stuffy quality as if a pillow is resting on the speakers, making it difficult
to achieve the full experience. Beauty and the Beast is a wonderfully
written series with great visuals that even remain strong after 20 years. Disappointingly, this Season One release holds no extras for fans to enjoy. With Ron Pearlman (Beast/Vincent) and Linda
Hamilton (Beauty/Catherine) still doing work in the business, it would not have
been hard to gain commentaries and interviews to raise this set to the next
level.
For fans
that have been waiting years for this Season
One release, don’t hesitate to buy.
For newcomers to the series, this is a great time to jump on into the
fantastic world of Beauty and the Beast. Where the technicals of this DVD set may
dishearten many (including this reviewer), the greatness that each episode
brings makes up for the less than adequate nature of the picture and sound.
- Michael P Dougherty II
