TV's 'Beauty and the Beast' will delight fans

Here are some new TV shows coming to DVD on Tuesday, led by a romantic series that fans have been clamoring for ... just in time for Valentine's Day.

TV series

• "Beauty and the Beast: The First Season" (CBS/Paramount, 1987-88, six discs, $49.99). Between "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2," Linda Hamilton starred in this romance-laden fantasy-thriller, loosely based on the fairy tale and updated to modern-day New York City.

  Hamilton plays Catherine, a corporate lawyer who is mistaken for someone else and attacked by thugs. Her face is scarred and she's left for dead, but a mysterious stranger rescues her. Eventually we learn that he is Vincent (Ron Perlman), the giant, hairy, half human/half "Beast" of the title, who lives beneath the subways with an entire civilization unknown to the above-ground world. And thus their strange "forbidden" romance begins.

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  Eventually, Catherine heals, gets plastic surgery, takes self-defense lessons and returns to her life, but switches to criminal law and joins the district attorney's office. Vincent, who has developed a psychic connection with her, helps Catherine with her cases, and much of this first season plays like an unusual police procedural. (Ron O'Neal plays Catherine's martial-arts instructor in the pilot, replaced by Delroy Lindo in later episodes.)

  I was surprised how much I enjoyed this show, which holds up well all these years later. If your wife/girlfriend was a fan, this may be Wednesday's perfect gift.

  Extras: Full frame, 22 episodes

• "All in the Family: The Complete Sixth Season" (Sony, 1975-76, three discs, $29.95). In the sixth season, Mike and Gloria (Rob Reiner, Sally Struthers) move into their own home and have a baby, causing strife when Archie (Carroll O'Connor) wants the infant baptized. Guest stars include Billy Crystal, Doris Roberts, Robert Guillaume, Bernadette Peters and Betty Garrett.

  Extras: Full frame, 24 episodes

• "The Golden Girls: The Complete Seventh Season" (Touchstone, 1991-92, three discs, $39.99). This was the final season for this funny, albeit sometimes rather naughty, show about oldsters Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty in a Miami retirement community. Guests this season include Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, Kristy McNichol, Merv Griffin and Alex Trebek in a very funny "Jeopardy!" episode.

  Extras: Full frame, 26 episodes, featurette

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