Beauty and the Beast (1987)

Creator Ron Koslow's updated version of the fairytale has a double focus: the relationship between Vincent,(a mythic, noble man-beast) and his Catherine (a savvy assistant DA in New York); and a secret Utopian community of social outcasts living in a wondrous world beneath the city a sanctuary where Vincent is protected and loved. Through an emotional bond connecting Vincent to Catherine, he is able to sense the dangers her job brings her, and he comes to be her protector as well as the man she loves beyond all measure. The series follows the developing relationship between these two and nicely fleshes out the underground world of labyrinth tunnels, mystical waterfalls, and people who have come together to form a loving and nurturing family. In a twist from the original tale, however, this "beast" does not transform into society's idea of beauty after gaining the love of Catherine. Rather, Vincent's inner beauty is allowed to remain the focus of who he is and it is Catherine's former "shallow" self that is the ugliness transformed by their love of each other.