Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast is an American fantasy-drama television series that first aired on CBS from September 25, 1987 to August 4, 1990. Creator Ron Koslow's updated version of the fairy tale has a double focus: the relationship between Vincent (Ron Perlman), a mythic, noble man-beast, and Catherine (Linda Hamilton), a savvy Assistant District Attorney in New York City, and a secret utopian community of social outcasts living in a subterranean sanctuary. Through an empathetic bond, Vincent senses Catherine's emotions, and becomes her guardian. Premise The series follows the developing relationship between the characters and the division between New York and the hidden world beneath it. In a twist from the original tale, however, this "beast" does not transform into society's idea of beauty after gaining the love of Catherine. Rather, Vincent's inner beauty is allowed to remain the focus of who he is, and it is Catherine's life that transforms from her relationship to Vincent. In the third season, after the death of the character Catherine, Jo Anderson became the new female lead playing Diana Bennett, a criminal profiler investigating Catherine's murder. Production As the title indicates, the premise of the series is inspired by the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast"; in particular, there is some connection to the Jean Cocteau's 1946 French film, La Belle et la Bête.