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

Episode 4 (Season 1, Episode 4)

No Way Down

No Way Down (airdate: Oct. 16 1987). A taxi drops Catherine off onto a deserted part of the slums in New York City.  She is there to talk with some men at a club.  SOmething in the shadows frightens her, but it turns out to be Vincent, who, feeling her fear, has come to check on her.  She tells him that she will be ok and enters the club. Once inside she calls out for a man named Shake.  Several young men appear and begin to harrass Catherine but she warns them that she is with the D.A.'s office.  The leader calls the men off, then begins informing Catherine about the "Silks", a gang that dress up in silk suits whenever they do a job.  Outside a car has pulled up and out step many men attired in silk suits and packing automatic weapons.  They cover the building with rapid shots of fire.  Catherine, hearing the bullets begin to strike, crawls under a pool table.  Meanwhile, Vincent, who has been hiding in the rafters just in case Catherine may have needed him, takes her out of the building and begins to go after her informant.  Someone throws a pipe bomb into the building, and the explosion destroys the structure.  Catherine is unable to make it back inside because of the fire and a few wounds.  Two thugs begin to beat her, accusing her of setting them up.  In the struggle, she is knocked out.  In a nearby decrepit building, we find Vincent, who in heavy chains, begins to come around.  He was badly injured in the explosion and his vision is slightly blurred.  The Silks found him in the building and brought him there.  They try to get him to speak, but his injuries are too sever and the pain knocks him out again.  Back at the club, the rescue crew has found only one body, the informant.  Catherine clings to the hope that Vincent made it out alive, but where can he be?  Catherine decides to find Father and tell him what happened.  At the tunnel entrance, she talks with one of the children and convinces them to take her to Father.  She tells Father of the incidents to which he responds with anger at her having let Vincent's life be jeopardized.  Catherine tells Father that she knows she was irresponsible but all she can think of now is finding Vincent and bringing him back.  She finally convinces Father to help her find Vincent and they look at some old maps of the tunnels beneath that part of the city where the explosion occurred. Back above ground, Isaac Stubbs meets Catherine on a corner and agrees to help her find her lost friend with no questions asked.  Vincent in the meantime is slowly beginning to come around and finds a man named Howie watching over him.  This member of the gang is a little different from the others, with a slower speech and more compassion.  Vincent pleads with Howie and convinces him to remove the chains.  But before Howie can begin, the other members return and use a tire iron and a butane torch on Vincent.  Vincent's rage overcomes his weariness and pain until he breaks the chains.  He kills two of the gang and runs into the safety of night.  But how will he find his way home without enough sight and  strength to carry him there?  Vincent stumbles around the city for hours even refusing help when an old security guard offers it.  He finally find a tunnel entrance and Vincent is resting there when Catherine and Isaac pass by in the cab.  Vincent senses Catherine and begins to weep as she passes by without knowing he is there.

    The Silks have recovered from Vincent's burst of rage and vow to find him to get even for killing two of their gang.  Cruising for him in a car, they find him on a busy street.  Vincent, sensing danger, tries to take the cover off a manhole in which to escape, but the car hits him before he can.  The blow throws him aside and the car crashes into a building.  Vincent manages to stagger away before the gang returns.  Vincent runs to an apartment building where he hides in the shadows of the doorway.  A young woman begins to enter her apartment when she hears a noise.  It is Vincent and she threatens to call the cops if he hurts her, but he finally communicates that he is unable to harm her even if he wanted to.  She says she will help him and takes him to her apartment.  Once on her sofa, she offers Vincent some painkillers that she has when she worked as a nurse in the hospital.  He declines her offer and asks her not to turn on the lamp for he will frighten her.  She tells him he has to trust sometime and turns on the light.  She screams an d Vincent staggers back to his feet and leaves.  She rushes after him and apologizes for her behaviour. Vincent asks her where the old Beaumont building is and she agrees to take him there.  Vincent asks her name and she tells him it is Lucy.  Lucy and Vincent begin to approach the building when a Silks' member spies them.  Lucy gives Vincent more directions and tries to waylay the gang members enough for him to reach the safety of the building.  The gang forces her to lead them to Vincent and once there Vincent hits one with the iron door.  He runs inside, but the armed gang starts to follow.  At the same time, Catherine and Isaac spot the door and try to enter the building where the gang members are, only to be held back while Vincent is being pursued. A gunshot diverts the gang's attention and Catherine and Isaac join in the chase.  Vincent subdues one of the men and finds a hidden doorway that he cannot open alone.  A voice offers to help him but Vincent snarls at him until he realizes it is Howie.  They open the door as one of the thugs approaches with a gun.  Vincent tells Howie to get out of the way, but Howie refuses.  The thug fires at Howie but Howie manages to cling to life long enough to turn the gun on the thug and shoot him.  The two men are entangled together, and both are dead before they fall to the floor Vincent staggers into the light with a sense of sadness around him.  Catherine is shocked at how badly hurt Vincent is.  Vincent and she embrace as Father nears.  Vincent tells Catherine that he knew she was near.  Catherine says she would never have given up.

Guest Cast: Chris Nash as Chris, Merritt Rutrick [Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan] as Shake, Jeffrey Combs as Python, Elizabeth Gorcey as Silk's Bimbo, Gela Nash as Silk's Bimbo, Nancy Lenehan as Lucy, Delroy Lindo as Isaac Stubbs, Tony Longo as Howie, Rus Martin as the night watchman, Al Mancini as the cab driver, Fran Montano as Grimes, Paul T. Murray as Tony, Mayim Bialik as Ellie, James Cavan as the wino, Allen Michael Lerner as Cheech, Charles Picerni Jr. as the second savage, Jimmy Ortega as Dice.

Writer: James Crocker

Director: Thomas J. Weight