Shark Bytes

Avril,

I am sorry you were offended by my comments. I don't think you are stupid or thick. In fact, all this talk about poetry and T.S. Smeliot's wonderful ode to this show has inspired me to write my own verse:

I haven't been to a BB convention
I've seen this show maybe twice
Whenever I gaze on a beast in the sewer
I ask--is he covered in lice?

Lions overacting like they think they are Shatner
Women with hair in their face mumbling lines

You wanna go see something good about monsters?
How 'bout "Godzilla" or "Young Frankenstein?"


Not bad, eh? And I didn't even have to go to a convention!

Beauty and the Beast was a wonderful, quality drama series that divided its fans with the 3rd season. True we were very passionate about the show and had very differing opinions about whether it should have continued without Linda Hamilton or not. I personally would have watched Vincent read the telephone directory but we all have differing viewpoints. Having attended many conventions over the years, both in the US and the UK (and even one in Germany in 1992), it did, however, amaze me that some of the US fans boycotted talks by 3rd season actors (come on guys, they were ACTORS for God's sake!) but there you go. Fans in the UK were a wee bit more realistic but even so, there were some who refused to watch 3rd season. I do find "Uncle Wally's" comments very offensive; you have absolutely NO idea how intelligent B&tB fans are. Many of us have discovered talents we never even knew we had; for writing, drawing, poetry, making music videos, web designing etc. etc. Additionally, some fans were drawn to the show because they identified with some of Vincent's problems; they lacked confidence sometimes because they were'nt completely happy with their own appearance, but this doesn't make them stupid, thick or moronic. It makes them sensitive, hopeful, romantic and very often they're well-read and with a love of literature and poetry. I wonder if "Uncle Wally" has as many friends as I've made on both sides of the Atlantic over the last 20 years...somehow I doubt it!

There had been a lot of talk lately about poetry on this show, so I've decided to weigh in--how's this:

Twinkle, twinkle Catherine
Rich from old James Cameron

Into sewers you would sneak
Whispering to a lion freak

They say your words were poetry
Just like Byron and Shelley

I think that’s a load of bunk
The writers gave you lots of junk

How's that for poetry?

I never watched the show when it was on originally, but am enjoying it hugely now. I generally go for programs like CSI and Law and Order, but something about Beauty and the Beast draws me in and i gladly suspend disbelief, to get carried away in the drama and romance. What a shame that poor Vincent had to have his big heart broken by losing his Catherine though! I adore Ron Perlman's voice, so rich and dark, I could listen to him recite names from the phone book!!

Lynncan,

My bad--I should have been more specific regarding my point--the Romantics (Wordsworth, Shelley, Byron), great. The Moderns (I don't remember T.S. & e.e. being in there, but I'll take your word), perfect. However, I thought the show's original dialogue trivialized all that wonderful poetry. Lines from the Greats were merely thrown in to sound artsy & highbrow. Too much lipstick to put on that pig.

Actually, Shark, Beauty and the Beast was filled with poetry--maybe not to your taste but poetry nonetheless: Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Shelley, Bryon, Eliot, Thomas, Yeats, Cummings. All of these are generally considered "greats."

Hey Newgrange,

I'm not quite sure how to approach this--the show really wasn't poetry, beyond the crap that one sees on a Hallmark card.

I am astounded that there were conventions on Beauty and the Beast. You are very invested with this, to the extent that you allow it to decide how you approach life. I would implore you: this is a TV show; it is NOT real life.

Please, there are people who could use your talents. Consider volunteering, consider anything beyond being so into a dumb TV show that folks wrote to make money. The writers & producers could care less about the characters they create...

The third season broke my heart and taught me a sad lesson of mistrust that is nevertheless very valuable and has served me well since.
Howard Gordon stood on a stage at a Beauty and The Beast convention and looked right into the silly faces of all of us devoted little morons and said with the utmost sincerity "Don't worry.. all of the rumors are not true. You are going to love what we do now."
I have to laugh at this memory now. Did he actually believe that? Or was he the best liar I ever saw in my life and hope I will never see again?

Guess what? I didn't love it. The rumors were not only true but.. they didn't even come close to describing what a nightmare it was going to be.

Linda Hamilton killed this show. No question. Don't blame her really. Life does happen. Can't even say she had any choice but I'm glad that I will never be in the unenviable position of ending up causing pain to so many people and destroying something that really was so worthwhile. It wasn't perfect at all.. but at times it bordered on true poetry and it deserved to go on longer.. at the very least it should have been put to a more humane end.

I thought Catherine was the most annoying character imaginable--she didn't talk, she whispered and she always had this horrible expression on her face, like her favorite kitten had just died or she had to fart really badly & couldn't quite get it out. And why couldn't she keep her stupid hair out of her face??

JTS the second season. Writer's strike that year really shows in the stories of that season. I personally really think it picked up in the 3rd season, but sadly i think the 2nd season lost alot of viewers for the show, and the effects were irreversible. Too bad, apart from season 2, a good show!

Let's see--some rich hottie spends all her time whispering to a lion in the sewer? This makes "Gomes Pyle" look like Sophocles....

Without Catherine there was nothing ....3rd Season doesn´t exist for me . For 20 years , I´m a classic B&B fan ( strictly season 1 & 2 ) .

The fans that actually understood the show and its characters would have realized that the 3rd season had some of THE best writing the series ever had. The formula was gone, sure, but shows need to change or they become flat and dull. B&TB's female lead wanted out, and they had to make a choice, kill the show completely, or continue onwards with the rest of the cast? I'm glad they continued on, the mystery umbrella in Season 3 is effective. The showed ended up very different than when it began, but better to have grown then sank to stagnation over time.
Did it JTS? No, not at all. The over-obsessed fans, yes, the show, nope.

No doubt about it - the show died when Catherine did. The death of the romance was part of that, but it went further. Catherine had throughout been portrayed as equal to Vincent and a woman who refused to be a victim. The whole basis of its magic was not just the soulmates' bond, but the fact that Catherine was written as a strong woman who sometimes got to save Vincent as well as being saved herself. No wonder women loved it. Linda Hamilton carried the part off perfectly and no way could they have replaced her. Her part was as central as Vincent's. The sordid mess of the JTS episode itself felt like a slap in the face of the fans, both arbitrary and cruel. It also indicated that the makers of the show really hadn't understood, or deliberately strove to reject, its appeal. Replacing Catherine with another woman trashed the romance. Substituting for the theme of the Catherine/Vincent bond yet another boring "Silent John" style father/son sobstory designed to stress the primacy of male relationships over female was stupid. Both errors of judgment reduced Catherine to just another passive female victim whose only purpose was to produce the son and heir and motivate the male One Hero in his manly quest. This completely reversed the empowering nature of her portrayal up till that point, at the same time as it destroyed the enchantment of the romance.

I just bought all 3 seasons on Dvd (via the internet---poor quality). However, I just love the show. Haven't seen it in years so it was like watching it for the first time. It jumped when they killed off Catherine. Who wouldn't want to be loved like that. Or have the capacity to love someone like that. To expect Vincent to love another was insain. I love Linda Hamilton. I think she was perfect for the part and is beautiful. There was no one else that could have replaced her. And to expect the show to continue without her was an insult to everyone who was devoted to the show. My step daughter thought I was crazy when I told her I thought Vincent was beautiful as well. Then she started to watch and saw what I did. Beauty is truly only skin deep. Plus I love that the powers that be could only see him as half beast (lion). He was also half human.