Beauty and the Beast Literary Compendium (excerpt) - First Season - by (c) 1989 Kimberly Harman.

Episode 1 - Once Upon A Time In The City of New York - Pilot Episode

The atmosphere of this episode is strongly reminiscent of the Cocteau film, even to the contrasts of the Beast's quiet sanctuary to the noisy superficialities of Beauty's world. Even as the castle was filled with treasures and magical things, as well as an almost eerie sense of "otherness", so the tunnels seem to Catherine. Vincent's chamber has many physical resemblances to many chambers in the Beast's castle, especially Beauty's chamber. The magic mirror and Beauty's "feeling" that she should return are paralleled in the "empathic link" shared by Vincent and Catherine (although this link is felt more by Vincent than be Catherine until Episode 12, perhaps because Catherine's early ambivalence towards Vincent). Vincent's pacifism and shame at the necessary violence - even killing - that he must do are also seen in the Beast, who warned Beauty never to follow him at dusk for the same reason.