The Beauty of the Beast: Beauty and the Beast, Television Scenography, Special Effects Labour Hierarchies and Affective Spectacle

On the 25 September 1987, CBS aired the first episode of Beauty and the Beast. This television fantasy romance centred on the chaste relationship between Catherine Chandler (Linda Hamilton), a New York socialite turned District Attorney investigator, and the beastly Vincent, a man with leonine features who lives in a secret commune of outcasts beneath the city, played by Ron Perlman, but designed by Rick Baker. This article examines Vincent as a core part of Beauty and the Beast’s appeal and as a sight for affective spectacle. It will argue that due to television’s ability to provide audiences with intimacy and proximity, as well as Alexia Smit’s theories of tele-affectivity, Vincent, as a character and as part of the scenography of the television show, allows for “a multisensory, situated experience”. Taking a historical materialist approach, this article will examine the initial reaction to Vincent as a character in the prerelease material and the critical reception upon the release of the first season. It will also explore ideas of responsibility in the creation of Vincent and the tension and collaboration that take place between Perlman and Baker.