Just watched the entire series on DVD. I used to watch this as a child, but a lot of it had faded, or being a child, didn't understand everything. Well now having viewed it in it's entirety through "adult eyes." It's a timeless series, definitely dated fashion-wise, but that's a minor concern.
It's funny when you watch something in rapid succession, perhaps it loses the effect it's supposed to have viewed on a weekly basis. Perlman is superior as Vincent, and Hamilton is charming as Catherine. Season 1 offered an almost rhythmic predictability though (with the exception of a few episodes.) Catherine would get into hot water, Vincent senses this, comes after her, kills the baddies and rescues her. It *almost* wore down after a while.
Season 2 was much better. We got to know the characters a lot better. And even the "Phantom of the Operaesque" Parcellus made an effective villain. Gone was the humdrum formula of trouble and savior, and more into making out characters three dimensional.
Season 3 saw the departure of Hamilton from the series (by her choice). It was a noticeably darker turn for the series (which isn't an entirely bad thing.) Catherine's death was sad and emotional (just the way it should be when a character is well developed and you care about them.) I liked Diana Bennett. She had a uniqueness all her own and a smart and strong way. The death of supporting character Elliott Burch was surprising and sad. Although there's only 12 episodes, they manage to be effective. I only wish they'd continued for a full season at least.
A lot of people criticize the final season, it wasn't all that bad, and is a nice change of pace from the sometimes "oversacchariness" of the previous 2 seasons. Regardless it's worth watching for Vincent alone. Perlman does such an excellent job of portraying his characters tortured psyche of fierce beast vs. gentle poet and intelligent scholar. It's easily his best role, and he's invisible behind the realistic makeup. 8/10 for nostalgic reasons and Ron Perlman
It's funny when you watch something in rapid succession, perhaps it loses the effect it's supposed to have viewed on a weekly basis. Perlman is superior as Vincent, and Hamilton is charming as Catherine. Season 1 offered an almost rhythmic predictability though (with the exception of a few episodes.) Catherine would get into hot water, Vincent senses this, comes after her, kills the baddies and rescues her. It *almost* wore down after a while.
Season 2 was much better. We got to know the characters a lot better. And even the "Phantom of the Operaesque" Parcellus made an effective villain. Gone was the humdrum formula of trouble and savior, and more into making out characters three dimensional.
Season 3 saw the departure of Hamilton from the series (by her choice). It was a noticeably darker turn for the series (which isn't an entirely bad thing.) Catherine's death was sad and emotional (just the way it should be when a character is well developed and you care about them.) I liked Diana Bennett. She had a uniqueness all her own and a smart and strong way. The death of supporting character Elliott Burch was surprising and sad. Although there's only 12 episodes, they manage to be effective. I only wish they'd continued for a full season at least.
A lot of people criticize the final season, it wasn't all that bad, and is a nice change of pace from the sometimes "oversacchariness" of the previous 2 seasons. Regardless it's worth watching for Vincent alone. Perlman does such an excellent job of portraying his characters tortured psyche of fierce beast vs. gentle poet and intelligent scholar. It's easily his best role, and he's invisible behind the realistic makeup. 8/10 for nostalgic reasons and Ron Perlman