Cool News
Herc Says Poor Writing Menaces CW’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!!
A sci-fi take on CBS’ old Linda Hamilton-Ron Perlman saga, “Beauty and the Beast” comes to us from writer-producers Sherri Cooper and Jennifer Levin (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Unforgettable”) and this time stars Kristin Kruek (“Smallville”) as Catherine (this time a cop instead of a lawyer) and Jay Ryan (“Terra Nova”) as Vincent (this time a super-handsome doctor instead of a sewer-dwelling freak).
This time around Vincent sometimes turns into a bloodthirsty hulk thanks to some experimental supersoldier serum to which the U.S. military subjected him.
So it’s actually a lot more like “Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde” than “Beauty and the Beast.” But whatever.
Even Kruek’s stunning Canadian looks cannot stem the tedium generated by the predictable “Law & Order-y” procedural at this “Beast’s” core.
... Mr. Ryan is not going to make anyone forget the haunting voice of Ron Perlman, who played the beast on the CBS show. And Ms. Kreuk and Nina Lisandrello, as her police force partner, are unconvincing as detectives. But the pilot’s hint of a connection between the beast’s condition and the murder of Catherine’s mother offers the promise of future depth …
... It is all so dreadfully familiar …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... One of the new season's worst shows … overheated, badly written, wretchedly acted and unconvincing …
... forgettable … Be still my heart, but not this still. Grade: C-
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... laughably bad in myriad ways. There’s no sense of star-crossed lovers, just a plasticized romance between a Cover Girl and a glum, anger-prone male model. …
... The script plays like something a cat clawed to shreds and then some poor production assistant tried to piece together. … The true horror here is the utter lack of imagination.
... I have to mock “Beauty and the Beast” as an indicator of the CW’s standards of beauty, where even the “ugly” ones aren’t exactly unattractive. Because otherwise, there’s nothing entertaining about this new show …
... a miscast, misbegotten reboot … Kristin Kreuk has all the authority of a Hooters trainee as the new Cat Chandler, a preposterously unconvincing metropolitan police detective … The original Beast was a beauty. This one's a bust.
... Odds are you'll spend more energy trying to decide whether Kreuk and Ryan are more sinning than sinned against: They're terrible, but the material may have left them with no other option. …
... hilariously bad …
... it will take more than love's true kiss to cure what creatively ails this "Beast." …
9 p.m. Thursday. The CW.
Readers Talkback
comments powered by Disqus-
+ Expand All
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 3:59 p.m. CST
But the pilot’s hint of a connection between the beast’s condition and the murder of Catherine’s mother offers the promise of future depth
by spacehog
FUCK you, New York Times reviewer. FUCK you.
-
seems this would be right in his/her wheelhouse.
-
The Hollywood Reporter says: ... hilariously bad … Worth one look, for that alone.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 5:02 p.m. CST
Doe that guy change into the Beast? Like changing into a werewolf?
by F-18
Because he doesn't have any facial deformity or anything that I can tell from the video. But since it's on the CW, I think it sucks by default.
-
That looks awful! Could there be a less convincing NYC detective? And where's the Beast? Oh, you mean that male model guy who hangs around looking sullen and who growls every once in a while when he gets angry (like a kid playing Hulk in the backyard.) I don't know what that mess is, but it sure isn't Beauty and the Beast by any stretch of the imagination. Sadly, this is the kind of dreck that is being produced for broadcast television on a regular basis these days. What a waste.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 5:52 p.m. CST
Sadly, this is the kind of dreck that is being produced for broadcast television on a regular basis these days. What a waste.
by ROBRAM89
Boo fucking hoo. Television is 90% shit because every medium is and always has been. Watch Breaking Bad and shut your mouth.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 5:54 p.m. CST
Good god this looks awful. Kreuk's voice over on that video is even worse than her acting
by Detective_Fingerling
This needs to flop so she can get that topless direct to dvd career started.
-
I prefer Kreuk's partner as a more believeable hot-girl-as-cop. I'd prefer that the arcs follow the Beast and show his interactions with a cop, instead of focusing on her. Honestly it wasn't that bad but I'm a sucker for police procedurals
-
TV is littered with bad actors/actresses, but she gets so much more venom in the diatribes directed against her. Someone who used to work on Smallville (moved on to Vampire Diaries) told me she was an extremely nice person (as was Welling) and very normal, not into partying at all.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 6:46 p.m. CST
I ask this as a heterosexual man with perfect eyesight...
by Metroid_Fetish
Kristin Kruek is the 'beast' of this title, correct?
-
Well.. I will say this.. the show, Smallville, really didn't KNOW what to do with Lana after.. well after she got with Clark more or less.. yet she HUNG AROUND.. and around (for YEARS after) the expiration date. I can't fault her for that though.. but what we got definitely wasn't good either. Unfortunately she was also on "Chuck", although I thought she worked as a ONE shot guest ("vs. First Class") but yet again just an uninteresting. and honestly so unbelievable it was beyond ridiculous. Honestly though.. I think Chun Li is ALL on her.. I mean with a show.. you don't know how the writing will go.. or the arc of the character will take.. with that she was handed a pile of GOOEY steamy *%#$ and said, "where's my paycheck?!" This just sounds BAD.. I might give it the benefit of the doubt though, as "Arrow" was nowhere the trainwreck I was expecting..
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 8:15 p.m. CST
Kristin Kruek... Decent looking chick, nice ass, acting needs work.
by Norman Colson
I said it...
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 8:50 p.m. CST
Beauty & The Extremely Handsome Guy With A Tiny Scar
by Nasty In The Pasty
Scars don't make a guy ugly...look at Harrison Ford.
-
Oooooooh, it's all so precious.
-
Sounds like CW wanted to cash in on Once Upon A Time & Grimm's success, and threw this shit together in a rush. Fucking hell, what a horrible show. I like Kreuk, she's a sweet kid with a good attitude -- she's better off quitting acting and doing something worthwhile with her time, like health or social services.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 11:13 p.m. CST
And please writers, come up with a name that doesn't have Kat/Cat/Katniss, etc.
by Hardboiled Wonderland
Mary Sue writers can fuck off.
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 11:14 p.m. CST
And yes, even George RR Martin's guilty of the "cat" female name Mary Sue bullshit.
by Hardboiled Wonderland
How about call her Dog instead? Dogginess perhaps?
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 11:14 p.m. CST
In fact, Chris Carter's X-Files character Doggett was a stroke of genius
by Hardboiled Wonderland
-
Oct. 11, 2012, 11:15 p.m. CST
Reminds me of all the 80s action movies, with men named Quaid, Sloane, McQuaid, McSloane...
by Hardboiled Wonderland
-
I would have watched The X-Files another 10 years with Doggett in the lead! Robert Patrick FTW!
-
cause he did last time.
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 3:19 a.m. CST
Watch HBO's Nightbreed tv series coming soon, you'll be even happier
by Hardboiled Wonderland
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 3:20 a.m. CST
But yeah, the 1980s Beauty Beast was pretty good. It hasn't aged too badly either.
by Hardboiled Wonderland
And damn Linda Hamilton was hot before she hit the 'roids for T2.
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 8:41 a.m. CST
You people are much too impatient. I enjoyed Beauty and the Beast.
by I_Love_LanaLang
Is it the greatest show in the history of television right now? No, but c'mon, only 1 episode has been broadcast. You need to give it a chance and allow it to find its footing. It has a few minor flaws that need to be fixed. The editing and camera work were a bit too frantic and herky-jerky. The audio wasn't clear in some parts while sounding like they were filming inside a tin can in others. The lighting was too dark in some scenes. The writing can be tightened up a bit. Catherine's female police partner is rather rough and unpleasant looking. All of these things can be fixed as the series matures and everyone involved with the show hones their craft for this specific property. BUT, Beauty and the Beast has one thing going for it that any other show would love to have - the incomparable Kristen Kreuk. That woman can really carry a scene! She is a phenomenal actress who has an amazing talent that allows her to turn mediocre material into unforgettable performances. Don't give up. Never EVER give up!
-
Oh my sensationally sassy and spiritual savior. If there is one thing true around here is that you are the beauty among the beasts. Your powerful poise is an art by itself. I adore how you instruct the ignorami. They are much better off for it. Beauty comes alive and interesting when it's inhabited. And make no mistake, it's really inhabited in your case. Welcome back, my sorely missed muse of magnificent mores.
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 10:01 a.m. CST
Wait, HBO has a "Nightbreed" series coming out?! Is it based off of Barker's 80s movie?!
by Chris
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 10:23 a.m. CST
Bopnrumble, I have been away for too long, but I never forgot about your magnificent talent and delicious turns of phrase!
by I_Love_LanaLang
I had been gone for so long, I had been working so hard, I had been in many foreign lands, yet nothing I encountered could match the sheer brilliance of your poetic prose! I allowed your silken words to flow over me as if they were massaging my body in a most luxurious bath of golden honey. Your mellifluous balladry is without equal. There can be only One, and you will occupy that lofty station evermore. How I have missed you!
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 10:49 a.m. CST
Well the Supernatural/Twilight loser chicks will eat this crap up
by Ricardo
So who cares
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 12:44 p.m. CST
The fatal flaw.. we know he's the Beast BECAUSE HE HAS A SCAR ON HIS CHEEK
by tailhook
Nevermind that the rest of him looks like he just stepped out of a GQ catalog. And do they honestly go the full monte and kidnap Kruek and have some thugs fuck up her face with a razor blade? Cause if so, i'll stream the pilot right now. If not, they miss the entire launching point of the original series. That of a woman who loses her looks for a time and ends up seeing herself for what she really is and changing with the help of Vincent. The love grows out of that. Anything less is just watering shit down.
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 12:47 p.m. CST
Oh.. and FYI Kristen Kreuk isn't in the same zip code looks-wise as Linda Hamilton.
by tailhook
She just isnt.
-
THE DARK KNIGHT rises
-
What's up with that "A League of Their Own" cover? Or should I say "A LEAGUE of their own"? Can't wait for the covers for THE DARK KNIGHT rises WRATH of the titans the BOURNE legacy proMEtheus TITanic
-
Oct. 12, 2012, 4:26 p.m. CST
Television is 90% shit because every medium is and always has been.
by Keith Small
Dumbest comment I've seen in a very long time. But I do enjoy Breaking Bad.
-
a true beauty!
-
Donny's little fuck-buddy in EURO TRIP. *Scotty Doesn't Know!*
Top Talkbacks
- Mary Jane Watson is NOT going to be a part of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2! -- 257 total posts 257 posts
- Ages And Genders!! Casting Breakdown For Seven Characters Headed For J.J. Abrams’ STAR WARS: EPISODE VII?? -- 253 total posts 253 posts
- AICN COMICS PODCAST: The @$$Holes take stabs at MAN OF STEEL, plus a review of Scott Snyder’s SUPERMAN UNCHAINED! -- 147 total posts 140 posts
- JAMES GANDOLFINI 1961-2013 -- 135 total posts 135 posts
- Sweet knights of Colombus!! A new trailer for ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES has been unleashed!! -- 135 total posts 135 posts
- Harry's 25th Picks & Peeks of 2013!!! With THINGS TO COME, OCTAMAN, Bette Davis, STOKER, HOWLING, LIFEFORCE & more! -- 352 total posts 132 posts
- A Few Nice "Making Of' Pics From THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2!! -- 117 total posts 117 posts
-
Jonathan Demme To Direct
AMC’s First Sci-Fi Pilot!! -- 99 total posts 99 posts - PROMETHEUS 2 now has a writer!!! -- 728 total posts 89 posts
- WWZ blah-ditty, blah, blah, blah! AICN HORROR’s got a truly unique zombie film you should check out instead called THE BATTERY! -- 94 total posts 89 posts