Friday, June 27, 2008

More photos of my Beauty and the Beast Collection






Okay, I am a little bit obsessed. I have been listening to the music and poetry being read by Ron Perlman in his Vincent voice from Beauty and the Beast, for the last couple of weeks (it is so beautiful it makes my heart ache) in my car, and rewatching episodes on the DVDs, whenever I get a chance.
I have four video tapes that have extra material I have not found on my DVDs. Vincent reads the most poetic and passionate love letters to Catherine after the credits. Only four of my video tapes have the letters and they are all different and related to the episode on the tape, as if he wrote them in his journal before going to bed after the final scene of that episode. Here are titles of the four episodes with the extra material:
  • Nor Iron Bars a Cage

  • Song of Orpheus

  • Masques

  • The Beast Within

Here are a few of the photos I'm going to post in the next week of my newest Beauty and the Beast finds, adding more diversity to my Beauty and the Beast TV series private collection. I am still looking for the Beauty and the Beast calendars (except 3rd season) and the novels I mentioned yesterday.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

I discovered some treasures I had forgotten I had-Beauty and the Beast fans must see these photos!!!








Well, my romantic obsession with Beauty and the Beast has been rekindled and as I hunted for new finds on the internet I came across photos of several books that looked familiar. This may sound odd but I have so many books I forgot these burried treasures. I dug them out and opened their covers and remembered years ago that two of them were signed. I got "Pascal's" (Armin Shimerman is one of the nicest people I have ever met!) signiture at a Star Trek convention. I got Ru Emerson's autograph at Westercon I think.




For those who love the story as much as I do I'm creating a fabric book (personal treasure) to honor the series and will be posting photos in the near future.

I am searching for two novels I don't have in my collection:


  • Beauty and the Beast Beyond Words Beyond silence by Nan Dribble

  • Beauty and the Beast Bright Spirit Descending by Nan Dribble

They are rare and out of print and I can't afford to pay the incredible prices I've seen on the internet: $75-$300 for a used paperback. I'm on a budget. Sales in my ebay store and my three Etsy stores have been very low. I've been collecting a few new affordable pieces to add to my collection.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Beauty and the Beast, Season 2 of the TV series




I finished watching season 2 of Beauty and the beast yesterday. It left me enthralled all day. I wish there had been more with the same writers behind it. I wish Linda Hamilton had waited a bit longer to have a child so that she could have continued in the role. It is so beautiful and tragic and ends with her screaming "Vincent!!" I dreamed about them last night. The writer left us one allusion, delivered twice so we wouldn't miss it. A little girl in Vincent's literary group asks him to finish reading the last chapter of Jane Eyre to them. She remindsh im again later and tries to give him the book to take with him when he leaves them to isolate himself. I think the hope lies in readin Jane Eyre's last chapter. For those who have never read Jane Eyre it is classic Gothic romance by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is my favorite book. If you have never read it please do. I'm not going to spoil it here for you.
I posted pictures above of the DVD, season 2, the CD (it includes musical themes so romantic you want to kiss someone and Ron Pearlman's readings of classic poetry is so beautiful it makes me ache), and the graphic novel with an image of the painting done of Catherine and Vincent by the dead artist in season 2 on the cover. These are treasured possessions in my collection. I also have a t-shirt and a poster of Vincent.
I may post more about the series again.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Remember the TV series BEAUTY and The BEAST with Ron Pearlman?


My best friend gave me a DVD of Season 1 of Beauty and the Beast and while I have been working on Fimo roses lately I have watched the episodes. I ordered season 2 from Amazon.com and have watched the first 4 episodes. For the first time I see the visual archetypal symbolism that resonates with me and it makes me think about how those symbols show up in my art or in collections, dreams, etc. Vincent and Catherine are yin and yang--opposites that complete each other. She comes from the world above and lives high in a sky scraper in an apartment that is surprisongly uncluttered. She has a collection of crystal eggs and balls. Outside, on her balcony is a large round relief of a winged goddess or angel. "With love's light wings did I o'er perch these walls..." and Vincent climbs the skyscraper to meet her on the balcony. But hesitates to enter her apartment. He lives deep beneath the earth, a world cluttered with books, art, stained glass, bronze statues, etc. The underworld is a place full of dream symbols and a spiral staircases leading down to echoing chambers and crystal caves. It is a place where someone like Mouse, who clearly has classic ADHD, is a valued inventor and problem solver, there is a blind "witch," and an old eccentric woman who paints murals. Children come here to escape from abuse above and are taught to appreciate classical music, Shakespeare, chess, etc. with no radio or television. Helpers above provide medicine and food. The clothing is amazing in its shabby beauty, layers of cloth, leather, fringes, etc. Catherine's clothes are so beautiful it makes you want to see a revival of some 1980s fashion designs.

Since that show was aired in the 1980s I have never looked at storm drains and workers going down into a hole in the street the same way again. I used to remark to them. "say 'Hello!' to Vincent for me." Now I realize that his underworld lies in each of us, in our subconscious. Jung would have been fascinated with that series. I would love to read what he would have written about the meaning of each archetypal symbol and light/dark image.

It was my favorite TV series and I'm sad to say that the third season destroyed it and will never be in my collection. The people behind creating the series left and Linda Hamilton was pregnant and wanted out so the new writer had her character murdered after giving birth. Don't watch the 3rd season. Pretend the series ended with the second season cliff-hanger.

There is so much more I want to say. Perhaps I'll write another post to say more about the symbols in Beauty and the Beast. For my readers who are too young to remember it I say see it if you can. The poetry Ron Perlman reads as a backdrop in some episodes is achingly beautiful and the images of New York at night and the waterfall in the underworld are lovely. The use of light and dark is an art in itself.