Beauty and the Beast: Season 3

Note: This review contains SPOILERS.

This is an issue that has divided Beauty & The Beast fans for almost twenty years, and reading the reviews here, I can see a lot of people are still bitter. While the show certainly suffered the loss of Linda Hamilton, I personally found there was still plenty to enjoy in this abbreviated season.

For one thing, the season-long story arc served the show quite well. The second season's cliffhanger ending left a lot for the writers to explore. So much fuss was made way back in 1989 about the show being "retooled" to attract more male viewers. And I'll admit, there's probably a sizable portion of the potential male viewing audience that is attracted to the increased action and violence. But was the show really THAT different? We still have Ron Perlman and all the others giving it their all (and it was quite an emotional and yes, violent arc for Vincent). The late, talented Edward Albert got moved into a series regular slot. And I can't think of another series villain as vile as Stephen McHattie's Gabriel. And for you action fans, there's Lance Henriksen's appearance as the vicious assassin, Snow.

Even amid all the death and sorrow, there are moments of beauty. "Walk Slowly," the follow-up to the 2-hour season premiere, is one of the best-written episodes of the entire series. Jo Anderson is no Linda Hamilton, but she evidences real concern and determination to help Vincent. And the return of Rolley (from season two's "Chamber Music") evokes sympathy, as well as reminds us that there was always more to this fictional universe than just Vincent and Catherine.

To the uninitiated who may not have seen this season: It's really not as bad as many people would have you believe. If you accept that Linda Hamilton only appears in 2 episodes, maybe that will lessen your potential disappointment. And if you've followed the story this far, it just makes sense to see it through to the end. No, it's NOT as good as the first two years. But it's still a great show, and I hope you will give it a chance.

The only other concern I have, as others have pointed out, is that the asking price for a shortened (12 episodes) season is the same as for a full season. But as any true fan will tell you, it's something of a minor miracle that we're finally getting season 3 on home video in ANY format. I'm grateful for that, and I have no hesitation in shelling out the $$ to complete my set.

When the second season of Beauty and the Beast ended, I was one of the many people who wrote to get the show renewed. I had never done anything like that before, but Beauty and the Beast was a show to be passionate about.

I don't remember disliking Diana. As an audience, we weren't given much to work with where she was concerned. And it didn't help that she wasn't "Catherine."

What I do remember, vividly, is the relationship that developed between Vincent and Elliot Burch. For me, the third season was wonderful and wonderous because it showed love enduring. Both men loved Catherine and Catherine loved both of them -- though Burch's feet of clay prevented her from having a deeper relationship with him. (The first season episode where he's introduced even has Vincent acknowledging that Catherine is falling in love with Burch, so please don't think I'm being heretical.)

Seeing how loving Catherine changed Burch and made it possible for Vincent, and, to a lesser extent Joe Malone, to work with him was for me the ultimate affirmation of the value and purpose of love.

All the men who loved Catherine, forged a bond through her. It was lovely to watch, and I can't wait to own the third season.

The 3rd season of Beauty and the Beast definitely takes the series in a very different direction. As the new opening reveals, once Vincent gets past Catherine's murder he will dedicate his life to avenging injustice - in other words, he has been recast here as a sort of beastly Batman, searching the skies for the Beast Signal which will let him know that his services are needed. Much of the first five or six episodes are focused more on the gritty world Above than on Vincent's world in the tunnels - the photography is very different, with a sharper, darker overcast (much of the warmth associated with the tunnel worlds is lost). Additionally, character inconsistencies (especially with Roy Dotrice's "Father") undermine the overall fabric of the story for those of us who followed it closely the first two seasons. This is a much more violent show now, and it's much more "black and white." The new villain, Gabriel, who dominates many of the episodes, is simply evil personified - there is no development of his character, no understanding of his motivations. He is simply evil, and Vincent becomes the force of good which will win in the end. Gabriel is Paracelsus without the poetry, without the history that made his demonic persona work. There was always a hint with Paracelsus that what he really wanted was to be part of the tunnel community again, but he just couldn't figure out a way to do it. The only thing we know about Gabriel is that he's a monster.

Catherine's death itself is not what changed this series - actually, Diana's character could very easily have become a new "Beauty" for Vincent, had the relationship been given a chance to develop. The problem is the new tone, the darker perspective, the shift away from the tunnel community that had dominated the second season, and the fans' resistance to anything that even suggested that Vincent could move beyond his bond with Catherine and love another woman. The message of the first two seasons is clearly the power of love to conquer hate and fear; this would imply that Catherine's love for Vincent SHOULD enable him to love again - after all, that's what he always told her about the nature of love. Here, in Season Three, Vincent's grief is palpable, and Ron Perlman does an amazing job demonstrating what it is to feel loss. But there are subtle moments between him and Diana that are hopeful and beautiful - and I, as a fan of the series, find solace in such hope.

While watching the first episode (Though Lovers be Lost) is not easy, know that there are things beyond it of great value. Elliot Burch's character, especially, is given both a chance to redeem himself and chance to give Catherine a beautiful gift. Diana becomes a fascinating and original character whose own connection to Vincent is believable and real - she is not Catherine, but rather an independent and introspective woman who may have much more in common with Vincent spiritually than Catherine ever did. It would be so easy to see Diana becoming a part of Vincent's world. So, suffer through the difficult death and grieving scenes, be prepared for the shift in focus, but enjoy the new stories being told here about Vincent and the two worlds in which he lives. Yes, it's flawed - but there is still enough beauty to justify a return visit.