Beauty & The Beast – The Final Season/Season 3 (CBS DVD)

 

Picture: C     Sound: C     Extras: D     Episodes: B-

 

 

At long last finishing out the anxiously awaited final part of its triumphant saga is Beauty and the Beast: The Final Season (Season 3).  A series that died before its time, Beauty and the Beast is a 1980’s series that won’t soon be forgotten.  For a series that made housewives weep and trade their love tales all round the world, it is impossible to doubt the shows deep, yet weird impact (at least for a little while).  This Final Season was cut short and only contains 12 great episodes.

 

In the Final Season Assistant New York DA Catherine (Linda Hamilton) and her now love interest Vincent (Ron Perlman), who share an amazing bond in which Vincent can sense whenever Catherine is in trouble, take their relationship to the next level.  The season starts with Vincent on the brink of insanity, but Catherine brings him back just in time; but at what cost?  It is quickly revealed that Catherine is carrying Vincent’s baby, but before the two even have the time to rejoice in the presence of new life, Catherine and her unborn child are kidnapped by the worst drug lord in New York.  Catherine apparently got a little too close for her own good.  It is suddenly Vincent’s mission to track down Catherine and his unborn child (cub?), before it is too late.

 

This reviewer would like to say it was time for the series to go by the time it was canceled, but in reality the series could have still done so much more.  The Beauty and the Beast series set up wide story arches that could have went in many different directions.  If it wasn’t for some major plot changes in Season 3 even more could have been done (I will not give a spoiler here).  In the end, however, Beauty and the Beast was inevitably doomed and before long stripped from television all together.  At least we get to relive its final moments here on DVD.

 

Beauty and the Beast- The Final Season (Season 3) is a 3 disc 12 Episode set that contains the final moments of an intriguing saga, but the technical features continue to dissatisfy throughout in the areas of picture, sound, and extras.  The picture again is presented as a 1.33 X 1 full screen that once again disappoints fans with its almost analog VHS appearance.  The picture quality again is highly distorted, with off balance colors that have an odd orange twinge throughout.  The picture quality on these sets has sadly been disappointing without exception and for such a great series the viewers ask why?  The sound this time around is presented in an inadequate Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, instead of a disappointing Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.  The sound is highly compressed AGAIN; 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, each season set 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 put on at least ONE of these sets.

 

This reviewer has commented twice now on the poor condition these sets are in and until the studio fixes them up and includes some extras they will always be disappointing.  Just goes to show no matter how beautiful the show is, it is still a beast without the proper care.

 

 

-   Michael P Dougherty II