EPI-LOG ARTICLE on Beauty
and the Beast
review by Nina Johnson. Click
here for contents.
Episode 6 (Season 1, Episode 6)
Beast Within
Beast Within (airdate: Nov. 6, 1987). A group of longshoremen are busy unloading a freighter when a sports car arrives and a wealthy man steps out. He talks for a moment with the foreman about a new union employee, Charlie Flynn. Charlie is a bit too verbal about the management and the foreman says that everything is being taken care of. Tile crane operator sees the foreman nod his head and begins to swing a storage bin towards the dock. Charlie and the foreman are to help position the bin, so they walk over to the area. Jack Sweeney also walks behind the bins to assist and is unfortunate enough to see the foreman knock Charlie down. The crane operator releases the bin that falls and kills Charlie. The foreman and the operator flee from the murder scene.
Elsewhere. Vincent is sitting with a old man named Sam Denton, who has helped the tunnel world many times. Sam opens his eyes and is glad to see Vincent, who has brought him some medicine. Sam tells Vinecnt that his son, Mitch, is out of prison. He then warns Vincent that Mitch must be kept away from the tunnels. The D.A.’s office is assigned to investigate the dock murder and Catherine and Frank De Corsia. who is a special investigator of labor crime, are put on the case.
Both of them know the dangers that can happen on the docks, especially if one asks the wrong questions, but both are determined to track down the killer. Catherine and Frank talk with the witness Jack Sweeney who, terrified of his bosses, refuses to say that any thing other than an accident took place. Leaving the union office, they see two workers being harassed by another dock worker. Frank chases off the worker. As they flee, they hear Sweeney tell them to keep away from the men. Sam is alone in his room eating some soup when two thugs knock on the door, then break into the room. They are attempting to rob him when a wealthily dressed man runs them off. But the old man is not happy about his “savior”. It seems that he would have rather been beaten and robbed than helped by his own son, Mitch. Mitch is the same man who was at the docks the day before. Sam begs Mitch to go straight but Mitch says that that side of the law never got him anywhere. He leaves and goes to a concealed tunnel entrance and walks through. A lookout warns Vincent that an intruder is in the tunnels, and he rushes off to confront whoever it is. Vincent meets with Mitch and asks him what he is doing there.
Mitch’s excuse is that he is reliving some childhood memories. But Vincent tells him that he is not wanted or welcomed in the tunnels anymore. But if he will redeem himself he will be welcome back. Mitch refuses and Vincent escorts him out of the tunnels. Frank and Catherine are at a bar where they see Jack with a drink. They go over to talk with him but he still won’t testify out of fear for his family. Catherine and Frank stay a little while longer discussing the case and she learns that Frank has devoted his life to the fight of corruption. He offers her a ride home, but she has her car and starts off to it only to be stopped by an explosion nearby. It is Frank’s car, blown up with him in it, Catherine returns home and Vincent comes to comfort her knowing about her near brush with death. He also tells her whom she is fighting against and asks her to stop her investigation. But she feels she must avenge Frank’s death. Catherine talks with Jack Sweeney and his family the next day and with the help of them, she convinces Jack to testify. She arranges for them to he enrolled in the Witness Protection Program and leaves. Mitch and two thugs are approaching the house hoping to use Sweeney and his family as a lesson to the other dockworkers. They reach Jack’s house just as the police van arrives with Catherine. The thugs follow Catherine and kidnap her at her apartment. They put her in the car to take her to a deserted warehouse. Denton begins threatening her but she tries to talk her way out of the situation. At the same time, Vincent is aware of the danger and goes to her aid. While Catherine is talking, Denton is distracted and she is able to grab his gun and escape from the car. A gun battle occurs, and she manages to kill a thug but Denton shoots her in the back. Vincent has arrived and he grabs her to rush her to the nearest emergency room where he leaves her. He then decides to pay a visit with Mitch at his hideout. Denton has three armed guards outside but Vincent eludes them. He ends up killing two, then maiming a third. Vincent breaks through a wall, grabs Denton, then prepares to kill him. Suddenly. Catherine regains consciousness and calls out for Vincent. His whole face changes as he realizes that she is alive. Vincent leaves Mitch in his hideout and rushes back to Catherine. Catherine, still groggy from the anesthesia, is surprised to see Vincent in her room. She tells them of a dream she had about the two of them together eating ice cream on Fifth Avenue. But the best part was that no one gave a second thought to the couple. She falls back asleep with Vincent in her room. secure in the knowledge that she is safe and loved.
Guest Cast: Asher Brauner as Mitch Denton, John McLiam as Sam Denton, Michael Pniewski as Frank De Corsia, Michael Allredge as Jack Sweeney, Stan Kamber as Ned, Michael J. London as Shanks, Gisela Caldwell as Mrs. Sweeney, Monty Bane as Rado, Jack McGee as McQuade, Robert Factor as Garzo, Glen Fagin as Tom, Lindsay Fisher as Laura, J. Bill Jones as Frazer, Tom Flynn.
Writer: Andrew Laskos
Director: Paul Lynch