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Beauty and the Beast – the Final Season. |
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Written by Valarie Beadle
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As a success model for a series finale, I would never recommend killing off your leading lady. In “Beauty and the Beast” the Final Season, the writers did just that; inciting a riotous debate among avid fans that; nearly twenty years after the show ended, still continues.
The first two seasons of “Beauty” entranced viewers; mostly women; with the unusual love story of Vincent and Catherine; the incredible photography, classic literature and poetry and the melodic cadences and chemistry between Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton. With the risk of cancellation, viewers inundated the studio with a mass letter writing campaign to save the show and cbs complied; unfortunately without the participation of Ms. Hamilton. The third season's first two episodes set up Vincent's salvation, Catherine's subsequent pregnancy and corruption in her office that leads to her kidnapping and ultimate murder. The remaining episodes deal with Vincent's grief at her loss; the coming together of Vincent and Elliott Burch, played to perfection by the late, great Edward Albert Jr., to find her killer and her missing child. Diana enters the picture, as a dedicated police detective, dealing with the hardest of cases; Joe brings her aboard to solve Catherine's murder.
The photography is brilliant, but darker than preceding seasons, the writing rich, in depth and detailed; although at times almost too detailed; the plot bogs down at times. The acting is superb and brings to a satisfactory conclusion Vincent and Catherine's story, though not in the classical “happy ending” that most fans clamored for. The side stories detract at times from the main story, but the conclusion; where Diana pulls out Catherine Chandler's gun and ends the evil of Stephen McHattie's “Gabriel” is chilling, yet satisfying in it's justice.
“Beauty and the Beast” never garnered the ratings or the respect it deserved during its first run. Shifting time slots and show days didn't help and the show was cancelled well before it should have been. Fans of the show who wished to see the series continue, would do well to watch this third and final season in its entirety. Without the constant disruptions of the network, they might find it was an appropriate ending, given the inability of Ms. Hamilton to participate in this final season. |
