Outré Intro: Beauty and the Beast (1987 - 1990)

The romantic Beauty and the Beast (1987 - 1990) ran on CBS for three years, and drew a strong fan following. The series starred Ron Perlman as Vincent, the titular "beast" and Linda Hamilton as Catherine, the "Beauty."  I have always enjoyed the series tremendously as a modern day fairy tale and romance, a kind of spiritual predecessor to such programming as Grimm or Once Upon a Time.

The series' introductory montage captures beautifully the fairy tale aspects of the series. The montage is separated into two parts, essentially.  

Vincent (Perlman) narrates "The World Above," the first part which concerns Catherine's life in NYC, a place where "the beautiful rule."  

The second part of the montage is narrated by Catherine (Hamilton) and involved "The World Below," Vincent's "secret place...far below the city streets" where tunnel folk like Vincent are "safe from hate."

What I enjoy especially about this set-up is that each character discusses the world that he/she is separated from, not his or her own.

We begin with the Big Apple, an urban wonderland (as opposed to The Equalizer's urban jungle...).  

As night falls, we see the lights of the city twinkling like stars, and get the series title card: Beauty and the Beast.

Then, Vincent's narration tells us that his urban wonderland is a place where the "powerful rule," and as if for evidence, we see images of rich people -- in tuxedos, no less -- getting into a limo. 

The visual implication is that this is a place not merely for the powerful, but for the ultra-wealthy.  It is their immoral playground.  They exist in ignorance of the other world (The World Below) but also in ignorance that there is any place where people are poor, or starving, or suffering.  Instead, they are shuttled from one party to the next.

Coming up next in the montage, we get a Juliet on her balcony moment, so-to-speak.  Vincent speaks on the soundtrack about the first time he saw Catherine.  "From the moment I saw her, she captured my heart," he reveals, and the images depict beautiful Catherine stepping out onto the balcony, looking down below (by inference, at Vincent's world.).

Notice that in virtually all these shots, including the ones that introduce series star Linda Hamilton, there seems to be a sadness or wistfulness about Catherine.  It is as if something is missing from her life, and again, by inference that seems to be the friendship and kinship she feels towards Vincent.

In the next sequence of the series' introductory montage, Catherine crosses a busy metropolitan street, and the camera pans down to a vent or grate on the ground.  We go down through it, and get our first look at the World Below.

Notice the color-shift as we move to the World Below. The stairwell is lit by a warm, apricot light, a golden hue that strongly contrasts with the harsh silver of the grate/vent in the previous image.

As Catherine discusses Vincent's world, we get several views of its landscape.  As opposed to rich people partying and celebrating in decadence, we see stacks of books, suggesting learning, and views of humble living quarters.

Then -- again in stark opposition to the leisure of the rich we witnessed earlier -- we see Vincent offering a helping hand to Catherine, pulling her toward him.  The visual suggestion is thus that this is a world where people help one another, touch one another, and connect with one another.  

Finally, a few shadowy views of Vincent himself.  

At this juncture, he appears more a Shakespearean hero than a "beast."   This appearance suggest Vincent's heart.  He is a scholar and a gentle-creature, but one who can -- as his face suggests -- be roused to righteous anger.

Finally, the last shots of the montage reveal Catherine walking into the world of Vincent, the World Below, and appearing within a beam of light, almost a Heavenly light.  

Is is as though she finds salvation here, in this more meaningful, less-materialistic World Below.  And in a time when Yuppie values dominated the culture, such pointed imagery was meaningful.  A woman who moves in the "beautiful" world finds meaning not with the wealthy or powerful, but with the disenfranchised who read books, take care of one another, and form a genuine community.

Below, you can see the lovely montage in action.  The romantic theme music is by Mark Isham.