Static Thoughts - Beauty and the Beast (2012)

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Back in March, I took a look back at the 1987 Beauty and the Beast live action TV show.  If you need a refresher on that I said that it had some charming elements but was ultimately too much of a product of its time.  At the end of that article, I mentioned that there was a reboot of the show in 2012.  Well, now seems about the right time to tackle that particular piece of bizarre TV ephemera, especially given it’s the anniversary of the release of the animated Beauty and the Beast adaptation. 

However, the show itself has left me a little stymied.  It’s not exactly a bad series it’s just not interesting enough on its own to actually discuss so this will be less of a review than the previous article.  Instead, think of this as a retrospective as I think the way Beauty and the Beast (2012) actually happened is way more interesting than the show itself.  It’s a strange one-shot of a series that embodies the last moment in time when its various trends could come together in this way. 

Constantine Coming to Arrow

Edited by Robert Beach

W’s superhero TV universe is, by a wide margin, the best live-action DC Comics adaptation since Dark Knight. It started rough with the early seasons of Arrow adopting the horrible aesthetic of gritty realism in the setting but cartoonishly grim and one-dimensional characterization; however, ever since the third season of Arrow and about ½ way through season 1 of The Flash, CW has been knocking it out of the park in their shows. Arrow has developed into one of the best Green Arrow adaptations where they still embrace the idea of Green Arrow as a bit of a Batman rip-off and now drawing from the highly underutilized era of ‘70s globetrotting Batman. 

Meanwhile, The Flash has turned into a powerhouse combination of engaging characters and superhero adventure. In a lot of ways, The Flash ends up a rip-off of its own as so much of the show is grounded in the style of ‘70s Spider-Man. Given that Spider-Man hasn’t been good in 10 years, The Flash copying his aesthetic and winning combination of melodrama and superhero action is fine by me. Now, they’re looking to rescue another hero as John Constantine has been confirmed to appear in a crossover episode with Arrow.