EPI-LOG ARTICLE on Beauty and the Beast
review by Nina Johnson. Click here for contents.

Introduction

Production Credits:-

Regular Cast:-

Premise: "Once Upon a Time" a young socialite lawyer is saved by a man-beast, Vincent, and their lives become intertwined as they fall in love.

Editor's comments: Someone once called Beauty and the Beast a series "written for romantically frustrated females". I wouldn't go that far, but it is certainly true that Beauty and the Beast attracted an almost-entirely female audience, one of the reasons it was cancelled by CBS. I have never been able to sit through an entire episode, partly because the show is so mushy; but mostly because of Linda Hamilton. Certainly between the producers and CBS a better co-star could have been found for Perlman - perhaps one who would not abandon the show after two seasons. But, whatever my feelings about Beauty and the Beast, I would have to admit that it was both beautifully photographed and features an intriguing premise. If only Linda Hamilton hadn't appeared in it and the stories have been angled towards action instead of mush, the series might have found the male audience it needed to remain on the air.

For those fans who only saw the show on The Family Channel, I highly recommend purchasing the episodes released on video tape, as the "Christianized" versions aired on the Family Channel were butchered beyond belief. The network, in an attempt to bring the show within the guidelines of right-wing fundamentalists, cut out some of the most dramatic parts of the how that conflicted with the morals of those who finance and operate this religiously-owned cable channel, previously (and more accurately) known as the Christian Broadcasting Network.