First off, I'd like to state for the record, just so's you understand and all, that I'm not usually into cross-species crushes. Oh, like everyone else I have my secret lust objects .:cough:. Harrison Ford .:cough:. but I pretty much stick to the human race.

That said, there was a point in the late 1980's when I wanted to have Vincent's kittens.

Badly.

It all came back to me with a rush when I was flipping through today's mail and saw next week's TV Guide. They profiled Beauty and the Beast, an obscure TV show that ran in the late '80's and starred Ron Perlman as a half lion/half man creature named Vincent. His love interest was Linda Hamilton who you probably remember in her pumped up state back when she starred with Arnold S.

Oh man, did I *heart* Vincent. And that comment about wanting to have his kittens? Well, I could never objectify a man-beast, even if he had incredibly broad shoulders, one of the sexiest voices I have EVER heard, and walked around in clothing that was a cross between Mad Max and Renaissance Fair.

My crush was based on his um mind. Yes, that's it, it was a purely cerebral thing.

It gets worse.

I am incredibly embarrassed to have to admit that this show has nothing whatsoever redeeming about it. It was a modern sort of fairy tale but used the worst thing from the classic fairy tales, the image that a woman always needs a man to rescue her, no matter how competent she might be.

Did I mention the sexy voice? The shoulders? Just checking.

Here's the synopsis I grabbed from The Sci Fi Channel homepage which explains the premise of the show better than I ever could:

Far below the city of New York lies another world, a labyrinth of dark tunnels and twisting corridors, a world inhabited by those who could not find a place in the world Above. Wealthy attorney Catherine Chandler is drawn into this mysterious world Below when she is brutally attacked in a case of mistaken identity and left for dead in Central Park. She is rescued and nursed back to health by Vincent, a man/beast who lives sequestered Below. Catherine and Vincent are drawn into each other's lives by an empathic bond that soon turns to love. Always guarded and aided by Vincent, Catherine begins a new career tackling tough criminal cases for the District Attorney's office, and the two lovers embark on a secret life together.

Sheesh. No forward thinking modern woman would EVER let herself get sucked into a show such as this, which is basically a trashy romance novel kind of thingie.

No, not ever.

And no forward thinking woman would spend half an hour searching the schedule of The Space Channel because the TV Guide mentioned that The Beauty and the Beast might be re-run there.

Drat. I couldn't find it.

Wait, did I just say that out loud?