Most people think of a yellow ballroom dress and a singing teapot when they hear this title. But if you grew up in the late eighties, or if you’ve spent any time digging through the archives of cult television, you know that Beauty and the Beast 1987 wasn't a cartoon. It was something much weirder. It was dark. It was gritty. It was a procedural crime drama set in the tunnels of New York City, and honestly, it’s one of the most romantic things ever put on screen.
Ron Perlman wore a face full of latex as Vincent. Linda Hamilton, fresh off The Terminator, played Catherine Chandler.
It shouldn't have worked. A lion-man living in a secret underground society rescuing a corporate lawyer from the brutal streets of Manhattan sounds like a fever dream or a bad pitch in a smoke-filled writers' room. Yet, it became a massive hit for CBS. It tapped into a specific kind of urban loneliness that resonated with millions of viewers.
The Underground World Most People Forget
The heart of Beauty and the Beast 1987 wasn't actually the romance, even though that’s what the posters sold. It was the world-building. Long before Game of Thrones or the Marvel Cinematic Universe made complex lore a requirement for TV, this show gave us "The World Below."
This wasn't just a sewer. It was a literal society of outcasts, led by a man simply known as Father (played by Roy Dotrice). They lived by a code. They had their own history. They communicated through "the pipes," a rhythmic tapping system that sent messages throughout the city.
Vincent was the soul of that world.
He didn't look like a prince who had been cursed. He looked like a creature of nature. Rick Baker, the legendary makeup artist who did An American Werewolf in London, designed the look. It wasn't "pretty-boy" beast. It was heavy, feline, and genuinely intimidating. Yet, Perlman gave Vincent this soft, poetic voice—he spent half the episodes reading sonnets or classic literature.
That contrast is what made the show. You had this guy who could tear a door off its hinges with his bare hands, but he spent his Friday nights reading Rilke to a woman who lived in a penthouse.
Why Catherine Chandler Was a Different Kind of Heroine
Linda Hamilton’s Catherine wasn't a damsel. Not really.
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The pilot episode is actually quite violent. She’s abducted, beaten, and left for dead in Central Park because of a case of mistaken identity involving her father’s law firm. Vincent finds her. He heals her. But when she leaves the tunnels, she doesn't just go back to her old life. She changes. She joins the District Attorney’s office. She learns to fight.
She becomes a bridge between the grit of the surface and the idealism of the underground.
The chemistry between Hamilton and Perlman was electric, which is wild considering one of them was buried under four hours of prosthetics. They had this "empathic bond." Vincent could feel when Catherine was in trouble. It was a literal physical sensation.
Critics at the time were confused. Was it a soap opera? A detective show? A fantasy? It was all of it.
The Writers Who Made It Smart
If you look at the credits of Beauty and the Beast 1987, you’ll see a name that explains why the writing felt so much more "literary" than other 80s shows: George R.R. Martin.
Yes, that George R.R. Martin.
Before he wrote A Song of Ice and Fire, he was a writer and producer on this show. You can see his fingerprints all over the darker episodes. He loved the idea of a secret world hiding in plain sight. He pushed the boundaries of what the network would allow in terms of tragedy and complex character arcs.
He once famously said that the show was "too expensive for its ratings and too good for its time slot." He wasn't wrong.
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The Downfall and the Fan Outrage
We have to talk about Season 3.
It’s the elephant in the room for any fan of the 1987 series. Linda Hamilton wanted to leave the show. She was pregnant, and she wanted to move on to other projects (like Terminator 2). The writers decided to kill her off.
It was a disaster.
They introduced a new character, Diana Bennett (Jo Anderson), to help Vincent track down Catherine’s killers and find their baby. But the "bond" was gone. The magic was broken. Fans were so upset that they formed one of the earliest "save our show" campaigns in TV history, but the damage was done. CBS canceled it in 1990.
The legacy, however, survived.
Without the 1987 series, we probably wouldn't have the CW reboot from 2012, though that version leaned much harder into the "hot guy with a scar" trope and lost the poetic soul of the original. The Perlman version remains the definitive take for anyone who wants their fairy tales with a side of 80s noir.
Technical Mastery and Production Realities
The show was filmed on the old Warner Bros. lot, but they did extensive location shooting in New York. That’s why it feels so authentic.
- The Cinematography: It won Emmys for a reason. Steadicam shots in the tunnels were revolutionary for the time.
- The Music: Lee Holdridge’s score was orchestral and sweeping. It didn't sound like the synth-heavy pop of Miami Vice. It sounded like a movie.
- The Cost: At roughly $1.5 million per episode, it was one of the most expensive shows on television.
Because of that budget, the production was always under pressure. They couldn't afford to have Vincent on screen for too long because of the makeup costs and the lighting requirements needed to hide the seams of the prosthetics. This actually helped the show. It made Vincent’s appearances feel special. It maintained the mystery.
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Modern Viewing: Does it Hold Up?
If you go back and watch Beauty and the Beast 1987 today, some of the 80s fashion is... a lot. Catherine’s shoulder pads could double as defensive weaponry.
But the themes? They’re more relevant than ever.
It’s a story about the "others." It’s about people who don't fit into the polished, consumerist world of the surface. It’s about finding community in the cracks of a broken city.
Most "Beast" stories focus on the transformation. They want the Beast to become a handsome prince so the girl can marry him and live in a castle. This show rejected that. Vincent stayed Vincent. Catherine loved him not for who he might become, but for the soul he already had.
That’s a much more powerful message than any Disney movie.
Where to Find the Lore
If you're looking to dive back in, there are several things you should check out to get the full experience:
- The Original Soundtrack: Specifically the "Of Love and Hope" album. It features Perlman reciting poetry over the score. It’s incredibly atmospheric.
- The Scripts: You can still find George R.R. Martin’s original scripts online. They read like novellas.
- The Fan Fiction: This show essentially birthed the modern fan fiction community. The "Beastie" fandom was one of the first to use the early internet to keep a show alive.
Practical Steps for New Viewers
If you're coming to this show for the first time, don't just jump into a random episode. You need to see the progression of Catherine and Vincent's relationship to understand why it mattered so much to people.
- Start with the Pilot: It sets the stakes. It shows you exactly how brutal the world is.
- Watch "Terrible Savior": This episode explores the darker side of Vincent’s nature. It’s the "Hulk" moment of the series.
- Skip Most of Season 3: If you want to keep the magic alive, watch the first couple of episodes to see how Catherine’s story ends, then maybe call it a day.
- Check Out "The Orphan": A great look at the "World Below" and where the residents come from.
The show isn't always easy to find on the major streaming platforms due to licensing issues between Republic Pictures and CBS, but the DVD sets are widely available and often include great behind-the-scenes features on Rick Baker’s makeup process.
Beauty and the Beast 1987 was a rare moment in television where poetry, horror, and romance collided. It wasn't meant to last forever, and maybe that’s why it’s so memorable. It was a brief, beautiful glimmer of something different in a landscape of sitcoms and cop shows.
If you want a story that acknowledges the darkness of the world but chooses to find beauty in the shadows anyway, this is the one to watch. Go find it. Put on some headphones. Let the sound of the pipes take you down into the tunnels.