Beauty & the Beast: The Third Season

When I first saw the series premier promo I instantly said I couldn't wait for it to air because I love reading books and watching shows that deal with the parallel paranormal universe that's hidden within the human world; shows like The Vampire Diaries, The Tomorrow People, Moonlight, and of course MTV's Teen Wolf.I fell in love with this show after the first episode.I love everything about it: the storyline, the setting, the characters, and the actors who portray them. I think Catherine and Vincent's story is one the greatest love stories ever told. It's the kind of love that I think everyone wants..a love that genuinely real and from the heart and for the person that lies beneath skin. Which is probably why Disney's version is my favorite princess movie; because an ordinary woman, Belle, was able to see past the dark exterior of a man that is literally inhuman and see and love him for the man that he is all the while helping him regain his humanity. Catherine does the same for Vincent.It hurts me to hear that the show is in trouble and may be on the verge of being cancelled because of low ratings. For all those die hard Beastie fans who still have live for the show, thanks for keeping the live. And to those Beastie fans who we've lost, let me ask you a question: what relationship do you know (whether real or fictional) doesn't come to that point in which it has its up s and downs? Every relationship has to go through a rough patch,; otherwise it won't be a healthy one down the road. Look at the relationship between Twilight's Bella and Edward; is that not the same ind of love that Cat and Vincent have? Did they not go through the same thing Cat and Vince are going through now? Remember Cat and Vincent instantly fell in love with each other after they officially met. The producers and writers of the show moved them pretty fast in the first season so they didn't exactly have a chance to work out those what ifs and other dark differences that we are seeing in season 2. But in my opinion that's what makes the show better this season. It allows the destined love between these two characters to build themselves individually and together as one; a lot like the Disney version.I hope the fans that are still watching the show continue to do so and I hope the former Beasties return to help save the show.

As someone who loves Beauty & the Beast in its many forms, I was very surprised by this version. It was far darker than I expected. Not dark in the way of the 1946 French film version, but still, it has a decided bite to it. As a romance fan, normally I would shy away from such things. I suppose I must confess that I was looking for it to have more of the beautifully literate, cozy warmth of the CBS version - an all-time favorite of mine among shows I've watched consistently. But that is not this, and after watching the pilot, I decided that it's OK that it's not, because the first peek at the characters make them seem so interesting that they adequately compensated for the chilly shadows and blood splatter that might normally irritate fans of CBS version.The CW's version of B&tB stars Kristen Kreuk (Smallville) as Catherine Chandler, and unlike her role as Lana Lang, Kreuk is New York slick in the reinvented role. Like Linda Hamilton's Catherine, this Catherine is definitely street smart and hard-hitting when she's on the job. However, Kreuk's Catherine is also doggedly strong in other situations, such as when she has to deal with an overly-observant partner, a plethora of attackers, and a miscreant pseudo-boyfriend. And yet, when it comes to her quest on behalf of her mother, Kreuk shows us that Catherine can be vulnerable as well. I liked this contrast. I also really liked that she keeps pushing her luck with, and the boundaries of the Beast, Vince Keller (played by Jay Ryan), despite the fact that Ryan's Vincent is quite believable as a military-trained, animalistic killer, and has only begun to show Catherine the tiniest glimmer of tenderness in the first episode. This gives me hope that we can expect not only devotion and yearning, but perhaps a bit more heat than we've seen before with Beauty and Beast.Other character highlights include the ne'er-do-well medical examiner, Evan (played by Max Brown); Vince's nerdy, overly protective roommate, JT Forbes (Austin Basis); and most of all, Catherine's spirited and devoted police partner, Detective Tess Vargas (Nina Lisandrello) Love her!If you're a romance fan on the fence, imho, you should try this show. If you've watched the pilot and are still not sure about it, I say, 'hang in there'. Given a little time and opportunity for the passion to heighten and the relationships to develop, I truly believe that this show will make for a provocative and engaging addition to your Thursday night routine.

I had never heard of this series until I came across it on Netflix. Like a lot of others, I was a fan of the Linda Hamilton/Ron Perelman series some years back, but this one is different. For one thing, the beast, Vincent, doesn't look like a lion. He looks like a regular guy (well, a very ripped regular guy) until he gets upset about something. Then he turns into a half-human, half-animal with claws, yellow eyes and big teeth. And he doesn't hesitate to kill the bad guys and, in some cases, save the good ones.Catherine, a pretty police detective, saw her mother shot to death by two unidentified men when she was in college a decade ago. She ran into the woods to hide. The men came after her but were stopped by a creature she couldn't see very well in the dark. But she certainly heard him growling, and saw what was left of those men when he finished with them. Twenty years later, she encounters the creature again, in the form of Vincent, a former soldier in Afghanistan who was the subject of some pretty ghastly experiments.All of this supernatural stuff might not work were it not for the undeniable chemistry between the two leads. Despite circumstances that would send most women screaming into the night, Catherine tries to protect Vincent from those who would kill him. And Vincent struggles to overcome his beastly nature so he can be with her.This is a fun series. I'm most of the way through Season 2 now. Season 3 has aired, and Season 4 is coming up. It will be the final season, so it'll be interesting to see how the writers wrap everything up. If you like your romance spiced with danger -- or vice versa -- I recommend this series.