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Beauty and the Beast: The Final Season
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Pat Pilon (1st April 2008). |
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The Show
 As the season starts, Catherine is walking through some caves, trying, I gather, to find Vincent, who wants to attack her but restrains himself and falls unconscious. The makers must have known the series was up, considering the end of the first episode. Though a 2-parter, they made the most of it. For some, it may seem like a great way to start the season, I feel it's a slight to the fans of the show. There's no real point in having the rest of the season given the way the season-opening story finishes. Starring Ron Pearlman (and, for one episode, Linda Hamilton), the now-forgotten 'Beauty and the Beast' television show ran for only three seasons, which, I suppose, is enough for such a story, considering what happens at the beginning. How long can a love story go on with only one person? By and large, the first two seasons were a love story between beauty Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton) and beast Vincent (Ron Pearlman). Mrs. Hamilton left the third season after the first episode because, well, her contract was up and left to do 'Terminator 2: Judgement Day'. This season, then, concentrates on Vincent's search for the man who has his child (don't ask). Unrequited love and impossible odds are strong themes throughout the season (and probably the series). By necessity, the makers created many new characters to populate this world. Joe Maxwell (Jay Acovone) and Elliot Birch (Edward Albert) are both Catherine's good friends, and they try to figure out who is behind everything. Gabriel (Steven Mchattie), as it turns out, is behind everything. On the lower levels of the city, Vincent is helped out by Jacob (Roy Dotrice) and, occasionally, Mary (Fionula Flanigan). Joe Maxwell enlists the help of Diana Bennett (Jo Anderson), a specialist in these kinds of cases. The season has tremendous continuity. The season is essentially one long story divided into chapaters. 'In the Forests of the Night' is the closest thing that the show has to a stand-alone episode, though it does have connections to the season outside itself. This is both a blessing and a curse. Fans follow the show with great anticipation, wanting to know what would happen in the next episode. This is especially true of the first episode and, for example, 'Chimes at Midnight'. On the bad side, if you're not following the season, you might lose the emotional connection with the characters pretty quickly. Not helping with emotional connections is, at times, the silly dialogue. My favorite back and forth happens in the first episode, with Catherine talking to Vincent: 'I need to talk to you.' To which Vincent replies: 'I can see that you do.' Sometimes the tone is too serious for the subject matter. The décor can seem a bit cheap, and the music is quite dramatic at times, but in the end, this is still a guy in some make-up, trying to be deep and meaningful. Dialogue like this doesn't help. Likewise, some of the episodes, like 'A Time to Heal' and 'Chimes at Midnight', have long stretches without dialogue. While this is very gutsy, and I like the idea, it does slow down the episode and flow of the series, as well. Composer Don Davis provides the music, and I only mention this because the score is constant, with very few scenes not having music. (Mr. Davis is more popular for having done the score for 'The Matrix' movies.) The music is grand and operatic, helping a little to try to expand the scope of the show past the three streets on the backlot set. One question I want to ask is: between the first and second episodes six months goes by. Why does the landlord not find another tenant for the apartment Catherine lives in? Another problem happens near the ending of the series. A very dramatic arc finishes 2 episodes before the ending of the series. The series could have ended there and it would have been a very fitting ending. The season, however, dragged on for a couple of more shows, seeming to be outcasts compared to the rest of the season. It's a strange way to finish the show, almost starting another arc before being cut off. Here is a breakdown of the episodes by disc. disc 1: Tough Lovers Be Lost (Parts 1 and 2) (88:49) After a very tough opening, Vincent has to recover from, I gather, the second season's finale. Joe meets an old friend who's into something deep, and whose car blows up once he enters it. The quest is on to find out why this happened. Catherine learns something very surprising. The second part takes place six months later and has to do with Vincent rescuing Catherine from shady people. Richard Roundtree guest stars. Walk Slowly (46:32) After the strange ending to the season-opening two-parter, the characters try to understand what has happened. Joe gets involved with Unit 210 and Diana Bennett. Nevermore (45:52) Now that everybody has dealt with the events of the second episode, the search for the mysterious man starts. Business dealings are made, rumours are told. People team up. disc 2: Snow (45:49) There's trouble in the underground community. The bad guys are trying to find out more of Vincent, by hiring someone who takes cares of problems. Lance Henrikson guest stars. Beggar's Comet (45:22) Elliot gets a strange message from Vincent, asking to help find out who is responsible for the season opener. A murder complicates things. A Time to Heal (45:54) Diana deals with the surprise she found. Bad news reaches Jacob's ears. In the Forests of the Night (46:34) A badly-wounded thief stumbles into Vincent's lair. Diana welcomes a guest to her apartment. disc 3: Chimes at Midnight (43:58) Diana investigates the ring she acquired, and Vincent has visions of blood. Also, some people want to catch Diana. Invictus (46:05) Vincent now has to figure how to get out of trouble, while Gabriel keeps going with his plan. The Reckoning (44:09) After the events of the previous episode, Vincent finally shows Diana his world. Secrets, however, are still lurking. Legacies (44:35) How should this show finish? The title of the episode is apt, but the story is a bit strange for a series finisher.
Video
1.33:1 full screen. The video looks pretty horrendous at times, though this isn't surprising given the show and its age. Close-ups look very fuzzy and way too soft. Colours are slightly desaturated and contrast is a bit bland. By consequence, the level of detail is pretty bad in many shots. The print also shows general signs of age. There aren't too many specks or scratches, but the show just looks old. The compression is good, but the show was obviously shot on video, which makes the picture look a bit noisy. This is probably magnified on larger displays. The picture is passable for tube viewing, though, but overall it is a bit weak.
Audio
The show comes in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (in English), and it's a good enough track. The track never really strains in the face of the constant score or the other effects. When things get active, the sound gets louder without getting screechy. The track, though, is a bit thin, but this isn't too much of a problem, given most of the seasons consists of dialogue and Don Davis's score. There are no subtitles.
Extras
The only extras are a few Previews (2:29 total), which you can either watch or not watch, depending on your choice before the main menu. There are previews for 'Ghost Whisperer: Season Two', 'Charmed: The Final Season', 'Twin Peaks: The Definitive Gold Box Edition', 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'Melrose Place'.
Packaging
Paramount packaged this set in a standard-size amaray case, and holds all three discs.
Overall
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