Beauty and the Beast (1987 TV Show) – Gone But Not Forgotten

The Beauty and the Beast fable ranks as one of the most filmed fairy tales ever written. There have been so many different versions, with arguably the animated Disney version from 1991 (and its remake) being the one that’s endured the most. But, many other versions exist, including the landmark Jean Cocteau version and this week’s subject of Gone But Not Forgotten, the 1987 TV version, starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman as the titular pair.

Boasting a writing staff that included none other than Game of Thrones writer George R.R. Martin, the TV version of Beauty and the Beast reimagined the fable as a contemporary fantasy show. Hamilton’s Beauty, aka Catherine, was no longer a peasant farm girl but a high-powered New York attorney. After a brutal attack, she’s nursed back to health by Ron Perlman’s Vincent, a kind of man/lion hybrid living in an underground society of outcasts. Physically massive, he has a kindly demeanour, which draws Catherine to him. In a departure from the original story, the Beast remains in his beastly form even after gaining true love, with the show aiming to explore the BeautyBeauty within.

While it only lasted three seasons, Beauty and the Beast has a strong following, thanks to the fantastic cast and Rick Baker’s incredible make-up. Its run was abbreviated because Hamilton left the show in season three to have a baby, and given that both she and Perlman went on to larger fame after the show ended, a reunion was never in the cards. Nonetheless, it remains an interesting curiosity, as we explain in this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten, written by Jessica Dwyer, narrated by Travis Hopson and edited by Cesar Gabriel.